The Perfect Match? How is technology affecting our relationships?

You are going to

• watch a short film
• use adjectives to describe personality
• discuss relationships 
• discuss technology 
• watch and discuss a short film

Note these are discussion activities for a speaking class based around a short 8 minute silent film called "97%"
(The film provoked considerable discussion when I used it in my FCE / CAE / CPE classes...)

Before you watch

A) Discuss personality

• Why do friends get on well with each other?
• How would you describe yourself to other people?
• Physically - choose any 3 words - eg tall, brunette, fair, dark-skinned, brown-eyed etc
• Personality - choose 5 words from the list below

• Who else in class has chosen the same words as you?

B) Discuss relationships

• How many of the personality adjectives above would you look for in a partner?
• Are you in a relationship? Do you have a partner/ boyfriend / girlfriend or are you married?
• What is a "perfect match" in a relationship? Is your partner a perfect match for you? Do "perfect matches" exist? Is personality important when choosing a partner?
• What do you look for in a partner?
• Would you accept a 50% match?

C) Discuss technology

• Do you have a smartphone?
• What do you use it for?
• Do you use social media (facebook, instragram, twitter)?
• What apps do you use?
• Are you addicted to it?

D) Watch
Watch the film below
What do you think the 97% in the title refers to?



97% (Short film) from Ben Brand on Vimeo.

E) After you watch - Discuss the film

• What do you think is the "message" of the film?
• Do you agree with it? Why / why not?
• What is the most important scene in the film? Why?
• What do you think is the man's attitude towards a) his phone? b) romantic relationships? c) other people? d) life?
• Do you think technology is changing the way we relate to each other? Can you give any examples from your own experience?
• Do you think using a phone app or a dating site is a good way to find a partner?
• Do you think technology will play an increasing role in our relationships and behaviour?

F) Write 
Choose 1

A) Write a review of the film discussing the film's ideas.

Plan
Introduction

• What is the name of the film? 
• What kind of film is it?
• What is the message of the film?
• Give a short (1 or 2 sentences) summary of the story. Do not give spoilers.

Main text

• Discuss the message of the film?
• Which scene best illustrates its message?
• Discuss the importance, prevalence and role of technology in our lives, our possible addiction to it and the effect it may be having on us and our relationships with each other.

Conclusion

• What is your opinion of the film's ideas and message?

B) "Our relationship with technology is having a damaging effect on the way we relate to each other." To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Plan
Introduction (3 sentences)

• Introduce the subject - modern technology 
• Introduce the idea to be discussed - our relationship with it.
• Introduce the question - What exactly are the effects it may be having on us?

Main text

• Discuss at least 3 examples of technology affecting our relationships or behavior. Give pros and cons. Support your ideas with specific examples.

Conclusion.
What is your opinion? Do you agree with the statement? Can you summarize your ideas in one sentence?

More

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Are the machines taking over?

You are going to 

• discuss our relationship with technology
• listen to a BBC radio clip about automation and do a comprehension activity
• look at the future continuous

1) Discuss

• How many machines, devices and gadgets do you use every day?
• What is artificial intelligence?
• What is automation?
• How many automated processes or tasks can you think of?
• When can you hear an automated voice?
• Do you prefer to pay at a self-service check-outs or a normal one when you go shopping?
• Do you think automation is a good thing?
• Do you think machines will replace human workers?
• Are machines getting smarter?
• What relationship will humans have with machines and technology in the future?
• Will we be living and working with robots in the future?

2) Listen.
Listen to this clip from BBC Radio 4's "Today" on "The rise of automated machines." 
A) Take notes.What do you learn about the following?

• The number of self-service check-outs in Britain
• The earliest automated machine
• The importance of automation to business
• Intelligent machines

listen to ‘The rise of automated machines’ on Audioboo

B) Listen again and do the quiz.

Printable worksheet here




3) Discuss
How will we be living in the future?
Practise the Future Continuous
Look at the presentation and discuss the pictures.

Future Continuous from David Mainwood

4) Discuss

• How do you see the future? Are you an optimist or a pessimist?
• Do you think the widespread use of technology has risks for humanity?
• Should we be careful about how technology is affecting our lives?
• Do you agree that in the future "The machines replacing humans might end up being better at being human that we are"?
• Do you think machines will replace humanity or radically transform us? 

 5) Write
Choose one

• We live in an age of technological revolution. How is technology affecting our lives today and should we be fearful of the effects it will have on life in the future?

• We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers. They are used in businesses, hospitals, crime detection and even to fly planes. What things will they be used for in future? Is this dependence on computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their benefits? Use specific details and examples in your answer (IELTS).

 



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The Changing UK - Southampton

You are going to

• watch a clip from a BBC documentary about the effects of immigration on the city of Southampton
• do a gap fill exercise
• discuss / write about immigration

1) Discuss

• How has your life changed in the last few years? 
• Has your city / town / country changed much in the last 10 years? How?
• What are the biggest changes in the world in the last 10 years?

2) Watch
You are going to watch a clip from a BBC documentary called the "The Truth About Immigration". The clip talks about the  changes in the population in the UK city of Southampton in the last 10 years. Southampton is a port on the south coast of England with a population of around 250,000.



Watch and answer

• How has Southampton been transformed in the last 10 years?
• What is special about the school in the clip?
• What nationalities are mentioned?

3) Practise
Do the gap-fill exercise. Watch the clip again if you need to check any answers.

Printable worksheet here

4) Discuss

• Do / Would you like to live or work in another country?
• Why do many people emigrate?
• What problems do you think people have when they emigrate?
• Why do you think so many immigrants have come to the UK in the last 10 years?
• What are the positive contributions that immigrants make to the economy and society?
• Do you think that immigrants have a responsibility to adapt to their new country? Should they learn the language and adapt to local customs?
• What are the effects of migration on both the migrants and the natives? How does it affect culture?
• What can be done to avoid problems in the future? What can politicians do? What should society do? How do you think the media should report immigration?

Many of these questions are discussed in the complete BBC documentary "The Truth About Immigration". If you have time you can watch it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHplEJgevqM

A summary of the documentary is here http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/01/08/the-truth-about-the-bbcs-the-truth-about-immigration/

5) Write (IELTS)

Choose one
1) To what extent will migration from the developing world to the developed world become a social and political issue in the 21st century? (250 words) (IELTS Task 2 Academic)

Plan your essay.

• Think about population, work, housing, education, health... What can be done to avoid problems in the future? Also think about culture - what are the effects of migration on both the migrants and the natives?

2) One of the major problems facing the world today is the growing number of refugees. The developed nations in the world should tackle this problem by taking in more refugees. To what extent do you agree with this opinion? (IELTS Task 2 Academic)







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How much have the British changed?

You are going to

• watch a video and read about recent changes in British social attitudes on marriage, relationships, religion and welfare
• practise numbers, percentages, fractions, the language of graphs and statistics
• listen to people giving opinions

1) Discuss

• What are the British like? 
• Are we conservative and traditional or liberal and tolerant?
• Do you think the UK has changed in the last 30 or 50 years?
• Has your country changed in the last 30 or 50 years?
• What changes do you think have happened in the UK in the last 30 or 50 years?

2) Discuss
Look at the opinions in the exercise below.
How many do you agree with?

3) Watch
Changes in British social attitudes since 1983

Watch the video.

1) Put the opinions in the exercise above in the order you hear them.
2) What other information does the video tell you about British views on marriage, religion, welfare and relationships?

source http://www.bsa-30.natcen.ac.uk/





3) Watch again and answer these questions.

4) Discuss
What language do we use to describe graphs, data and statistics?
Look at the words in the questions above. In 60 seconds how many more words or expressions can you think of?
In pairs write a list.
eg  a sharp rise, drop, double, per cent ...







5) Read  
A) How many of these words do you understand?

B) Look carefully at the diagram and do the exercise below.

Changing Attitudes - The 1980s and 2012

6) Read
A) Read the text below and answer these questions. 
Compared with 50 Years ago;

1. Is class still important in British life?
2. Are the British more or less interested in politics?
3. Are the British of today more or less optimistic?
4. Do people think the Queen is still important?

Poll shows our views on class, politics, unions and royalty have all moved on since 1963

Britons are more interested in politics than 50 years ago, but less convinced that the government pays much attention to their views. The survey also found that while trade union power has become less of a concern, the influence of big business persists as an issue for 61% of people, slightly up on half a century ago.

Half a century on, the survey suggests, the influence of class over British politics has diminished, along with a feeling of engagement with Westminster, but it has not been accompanied by a loss of interest in politics – rather the reverse. Significantly, in 2013 only 17% think that "having elections makes government pay a good deal of attention to what people think", against 46% in 1963. Yet in contrast, 28% now say they take "a good deal" of interest in politics, up from 16%, while 43% take "some" interest, compared with 37% in 1963. Politics is alive and well, it appears, but the House of Commons is not the focus.

Among the findings, the 1963 and 2013 polls also underscore the shift in public opinion on social security. In 1963, 77% thought the government should spend more on pensions and social services, while that figure is now 42%. However, given the choice between tax cuts and increases in social services, there has been a small decline in support for tax cuts, from 52% to 46%, and only a similar fall in support for more social services, from 42% to 37%.

The comparative figures reveal a sharp decline in optimism. Today 11% think they are better off than they were a year ago, and 38% feel worse off. The figures for 50 years ago were 33% and 21% respectively.

In 1963, 36% of British people thought Britain should have very close ties with the US. That has fallen to 14% in 2013.

The survey also underlines the decline in support for the monarchy as a political entity – 63% thought the Queen and the royal family were very important to the nation in 1963, compared with 41% now.

Adapted from http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/17/1963-opinion-poll-westminster-public



B) Vocabulary. Look at the text again and do the exercise below.

Printable worksheets here




More
Practice.
The language of graphs. 
Look at the presentation. Try and describe the graphs.

IELTS Task 1 vocab from David Mainwood

Reading.
NatCen Social Research site http://www.bsa-30.natcen.ac.uk/

News
http://www.channel4.com/news/british-attitudes-towards-health-family-sex-and-benefits

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/british-social-survey-shows-changing-5873917





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What is beauty?

You are going to

• discuss fashion, beauty and health
• practise words to describe people
• listen to someone talking about ideas of fashion, beauty and health

1) Discuss in pairs / write a list
In 60 seconds how many words can you think of which describe a person's appearance?
Make a note / write a list of them
eg tall, short...










2) Match
A) Choose the right category for each of the words below. Is it Build, Hair, Height or Opinion?







B) Now make a table and put all the words from the exercise and your list in the right column

Build	Hair	Height	Opinion
		tall

3) Discuss

• What is beauty?
• What makes someone beautiful or attractive?
• Where do we get our ideas of beauty from?
• Do ideas of beauty vary around the world?

4) Watch
Watch the clip "Food for Thought" below.
You are going to watch a woman called Mable talk about the first time she came to the UK.
A) Listen and answer

• Where does Mabel get her idea of beauty from?
• Why is she scared of coming to England?
• What does she learn about the British?

B) Watch again and fill in the gaps in the sentences

5) Discuss

• Why does Mabel think that beauty is what she sees in the magazines?
• What do you think “junk in the trunk” means? Junk = rubbish. Trunk (American) = the place where you put the bags in a car (boot in UK English). Can you guess what she means when describing people?
• Why do you think it is easier for an African to eat well and be healthy than for the British?
• Is it easy to eat healthily in your country? 
• Do you eat healthily?
• She says "the magazines show what the British want to look like."  Do you think this is true for all nationalities?
• Why do we want to look like the people in the magazines?
• Why does Mabel think she is lucky at the end?

6) Do the crossword

Click on a number and type in your answer. Click check to see the answers.

All the words are used to describe people.

Crossword printable version here

Printable exercises here






7) Play a game
20 questions.
Someone in the class thinks of a famous person. The others ask Yes / No questions to guess the name of the person.
- Is it a man? Yes it is
- Is he tall? - Yes he is.
- Has he got long hair? Yes he has

Continue until you guess. If you can't guess in 20 questions you lose!








8) Discuss / Write

A) In Pairs. Describe someone. Talk about their appearance and their personality. Don't say their name. Read your description to your partner or to the class. Can they guess who you are describing?


B) - IELTS

• The Fashion and clothing industry is becoming increasingly important in modern society. Is this a good or bad thing?

• Eating a balanced diet is the most important factor for a healthy life. To what extent do you agree?

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CN U TXT? (Texting, language and mobile phones)

You are going to

• watch a short video about the history of the mobile phone
• do a comprehension quiz
• look at texting in English
• look at an infographic on the history of the mobile phone
• discuss and write about language and the possible effects of technology on language

1) Discuss
What do you know about the history of the mobile phone?

• When was the first mobile phone?
• What did it look like?

2) Watch the clip
A) What do you find out about the history of the mobile phone?

B) Do the quiz
Answer the questions.
Watch the film again if you need to.

3) Practise
Can you text in English?
What text abbreviations do you know?
Can you match the ones below with their correct spelling?

4) Translate
Look at the 10 sentences below. They are from the video. What do they mean?
Can you translate them into "correct" English?

5) Discuss

• Do people use abbreviations to send texts in your language?
• Why do you think people do it??
• Do you agree it is "degrading spelling" (having a bad effect on people's ability to spell correctly)?
• Do you think it is important to spell correctly?
• In your language who decides what is "correct" spelling or grammar?
• Do you think that text abbreviations will become normal spelling one day?
• Do you think it is good for a language to change or should it always stay the same?
• How does language change and why?
• Are there words which have become fashionable / unfashionable in your language?
• What exactly is language?
• Who or what makes a language what it is?
• Who decides how we communicate?
• How do we decide what is language and what is not?
• In the end who has the final say in what is right or wrong when we communicate?

6) Write
"Technology is having a negative effect on young people's written language skills".
To what extent do you agree with this statement?







7) Read
Look at the infographic below

• How many mobile phones are there in the world?
• Which country has the highest number of phone subscribers?
• Who holds the record for the fastest typing on a phone?
• What did she type?
• How fast can you type it?

Printable worksheets are here


More
How to text in English




Try these posts
Are you always on your phone? Advanced, CAE, FCE, IELTS, Intermediate, Listening, Technology, Upper Intermediate, Writing, Writing an argument, Writing introductions for argument essays

Could you live without it? Mobile phones, Living without electricity, Advantages and disadvantages, IELTS, Intermediate, Linking words, Listening, Reading, Smartphones, Writing an argument, Contrasting, Technology

More technology means more communication? Communication, Crossword, IELTS, Intermediate, Technology, Upper Intermediate , Writing an argument 

What is news?

You are going to

• discuss news, news sources and media
• do some listening comprehension exercises
• practise vocabulary to describe news
• discuss the reliability of news and information sources 

Note - This post is not a complete lesson plan designed to be followed from start to finish. It is really a collection of activities mainly designed to stimulate discussion and help advanced or upper intermediate students think about what news is, what makes something newsworthy and how trustworthy news sources may be. 

The internet has enriched our lives and given many of us access to information that was previously unavailable. However, nowadays we seem to be verging on information overload and the 2 really important questions for the future seem to be how do we filter good news sources from bad and, in the age of photoshop, easy video editing tools, blogging and social networking, how do we differentiate real from fake?






1) Discuss - The News
Vocabulary

• How do you stay updated on what's important to you? Make a list eg TV, facebook...
• What news topics are there? Make a list eg politics, sport...
• What news vocabulary do you know? Make a list eg journalist, headline...

2) Discuss - Your views
Your views

• What kind of news matters to you?
• Are you interested in the news? Why? / Why not?
• What exactly is news? How do you define news? What makes something interesting or newsworthy?
• Who writes the news? Who decides what news is? Who can influence the news (politicians, business...)?

3) Watch Youth Views on the News
A) Youth Views on the News 1
How do the people answer some of the questions above?
Watch again and do the exercise below.

B) Youth Views on the News 2
What reasons do the people give for choosing their preferred news sources?

Watch the clip again and do the exercise below

4) Read - What is News?
What is news? 
Some famous quotes

• How many do you agree with?

When a dog bites a man that is not news, but when a man bites a dog that is news. 
Charles Anderson Dana, American journalist, 1819-1897

News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising. 
Lord Northcliffe, British publisher 1865-1922

Well, news is anything that's interesting, that relates to what's happening in the world, what's happening in areas of the culture that would be of interest to your audience. 
Kurt Loder, American journalist, b. 1945

What you see is news, what you know is background, what you feel is opinion. 
Lester Markel, American journalist, 1894-1977

No news is good news. 
Ludovic Halevy, French author, 1834-1908

For most folks, no news is good news; for the press, good news is not news. 
Gloria Borger, American journalist, b. 1952

News is what a chap who doesn't care much about anything wants to read. And it's only news until he's read it. After that it's dead. 
Evelyn Waugh, British author, 1903-1966

Journalism consists largely in saying Lord Jones died to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive. 
G.K. Chesterton, British writer, 1874-1936

from http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Resources/what_is_news_00.htm







5) Watch - What is News?
Watch this video from the Pulitzer Center
What answers do these journalists give to the question "What is news?

1) Watch again and do exercise A. 
Put the sentences in the order you hear them

2) Watch the second half of the video again (1:45 - end) and do exercise B

6) Can you believe what you read? - Discuss

• Do you think advertising affects news? How?
• What is the most important thing a newspaper or media outlet should do - make money or give information?
• Are there occasions when the media should be censored?
• Do you think social networks like facebook and twitter should ever be censored?
• If the news is business how much can you trust what you read or see?
• Do you think a lot of news is sensationalist or exaggerated? Why?
• What are the reasons for a a news story being exaggerated or untrue? Can you think of any examples?
• What are the best ways of knowing when a news story is exaggerated or untrue?
• What are the best ways of researching information on the web?
• What are the best ways of knowing what is going on in the world?
• What are the best ways of knowing what is true and what is fake?

7) Discuss - Headlines

• What is a headline?
• What are today's news headlines?
• What makes a good headline?
• Why are headlines important?
• Are headlines sometimes more important than the story? Why? Why not?

Watch this clip from the film The Shipping News. You will hear three headlines
What are they?

Answers - highlight below
 - Horizon filled with dark clouds
 - Imminent storm threatens village
 - Village spared from deadly storm
Which two headlines are the best? Why?

In English headlines are often abbreviated leaving out common words like the or a. Why do you think newspapers do this?





8) Write
IELTS.Choose 1

1) News editors decide what to broadcast on TV and what to print in newspapers. What factors do you think influence their decisions? Have we become used to bad news? Would it be better if more good news was reported?

2) Present a written argument or case to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic.
Whoever controls the media also controls opinions and attitudes of the people and there is little can be done to rectify this.
To what extend do you agree or disagree?
You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

3) The popularity of news media often has significant influence on people’s lives. Some people believe this to be a negative development.
Do you agree or disagree?

4) The mass media, including TV, radio and newspapers, have great influence in shaping people's ideas. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer.





Printable worksheets here




More
General news sites
http://www.bbc.com/news/

http://www.thepaperboy.com/

Snopes. Source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.
http://www.snopes.com/

Humour, satire and parody
http://www.private-eye.co.uk/

http://www.theonion.com/

Media Literacy http://www.frankwbaker.com/

BBC How fake images change our memory and behaviour





For EFL / ESL students
Words in the News - The English Blog

BBC Words in the News

BBC In the News quiz

Breaking News English

Newspaper Vocabulary
http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/newspaper-vocabulary

What can we do about the environment?

You are going to 

• discuss environmental issues
• listen to someone talking about the environment
• do a gap-fill
• write an answer to a question related to the topic

1) Discuss

• What is the environment?
• What should our attitude be towards the environment?
• What is climate change?
• What do you think causes climate change?
• Do you think it is important? Why / Why not?
• What effects could climate change have on our lifestyles and the planet?
• What can we do to support the environment?

2) Listen
You are going to listen to Mary Sargeant talking about climate change and the environment on BBC Radio Devon.
Mary Sargeant is from Devon in the UK.

• What issues does she mention?
• What solutions does she offer?

listen to ‘Pause For Thought with Mary Sargeant’ on Audioboo

Listen again and do the gap fill below
Check you understand the vocabulary before you start.

Printable worksheet here




3) Discuss

• Do you agree with Mary?
• Do we do enough or should we do more?
• Should individuals be responsible for helping to protect the environment or is it the responsibility of governments?
• What do you do to help the environment?

4) Write
Choose 1 (IELTS)

1. “Many people think it is very important to protect the environment but they make no effort to do it themselves. Why do you think this is the case? What actions should individuals take to protect the environment?”
2. Nowadays environmental problems are too big to be managed by individual persons or individual countries. In other words, it is an international problem. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

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Are you always on your phone?

You are going to

• listen to someone talking about the advantages and disadvantages of technology and do a gap-fill 
• practise essay planning
• write an argument essay 

Note this post can be used in combination with  Could you live without it?







1) Discuss

• Are you always on your phone?
• How often do you use your phone?
• What do you use it for?
• What are the good things and bad things about smartphones?
• Can you think of any situations when it would be inappropriate to use a phone?
• Are we addicted to technology now?

2) Match
You are going to listen to someone talking about the advantages and disadvantages of technology.
Before you listen. Look at the exercise below. If you were writing an essay on this subject what would make the best order of sentences?

3) Listen
Alison Treharne is talking about technology on BBC Radio Devon.
According to her;

• What are the good things?
• What are the bad things?
• Does she follow the structure above for talking about the topic?

listen to ‘Pause For Thought with Alison Treharne’ on Audioboo

4) Listen
Listen again and fill in the gaps.

Printable worksheet here






5) Write 
Use some of your own ideas and Alison's ideas to answer the question below.
Remember;

1. Introduce the topic to be discussed.
2. Explain the topic to be discussed
3. Restate the question in you own words (what are you going to tell us about?)
4. Give some advantages and disadvantages
5. Support your ideas with some specific examples of advantages and disadvantages
6. Give you conclusion (you can restate the question and give an an opinion)

"Nowadays the way many people interact with each other has changed because of technology. In what ways has technology affected the types of relationships that people make? Has this been a positive or negative development?"
(IELTS - 250 words) 






Read
Mobile phones are ruining relationships
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9714616/Mobile-phone-addiction-ruining-relationships.html





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