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).

 



More

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• The Virtual Revolution (Episode 4) - BBC Series a...Advanced, Discussion Activities, Film and TV, IELTS, Listening, The Virtual Revolution, Technology, Writing

Who was the world's first online shopper?

You are going to 

• discuss shopping online
• practise listening
• look at and practise technology vocabulary

Note - activities in this post are level differentiated and can be used with students from pre-intermediate to upper intermediate levels.The final gap-fill and crossword are aimed at upper intermediate students.
You will hear the following vocabulary.

Discuss 
You are going to watch a video about the first person to shop online.

• Do you ever shop online?
  
• What do you buy online?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of shopping online?
• Who do you think was the first person to buy something online?
• Do you think it was a man or a woman?
• How old do you think he / she was?
• What do you think he / she bought?
• When do you think it happened? Where?

Watch
Watch the video and find out if you are right.







Discuss

• Does anything in the story surprise you?
• Why do you think Mrs Snowball is called a "silver surfer"?

Practise 
1) Watch again and do the matching exercise.



 

2) Quiz - Answer the questions.





3) Do the vocabulary matching exercise.





4) Read the summary and do the gap fill exercise



5) Gap fill of complete transcript here


6) Crossword of vocabulary used here




Download printable worksheets
1) Sentence matching exercise here
2) Listening Quiz here
3) Vocab matching exercise here
4) Gap-fill here
5) Complete transcript gap-fill here
6) Print Crossword (and answers) here





Write
Choose one

• Write a report about online shopping. Explain how to do it, why people do it and what to be careful of.

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of online shopping?

• "Technology has transformed the way we shop and changed the face of our high streets."  To what extent do you agree?

More

• UK goes online shopping Advanced, Business, IELTS, Listening, Technology, Upper Intermediate 

• What is the most important innovation of the last 100 years? Debate, Intermediate, Inventions, Inventors, Listening, Presentations, Science, Speaking, Technology, Upper Intermediate

• 60 Seconds - Things That Happen On The Internet Every 60 Seconds - Things That Happen On The Internet Every Sixty Seconds, Intermediate, Numbers, Technology,  Passive, Upper Intermediate