Module 6 I

Tech & iz

What will you find in this module?
You will be learning about:
The ethics behind self-driving cars
Starting and running a business
Get ready for the Hands On!
Let's pitch your business idea

Intermediate
 Module 6
tech & biz

PART 1 Technology and ethics

LISTENING
a. Discuss these questions in pairs.

1. Do you have a driving license? If not, would you like to have one?
2. Do you or someone in your family often drives a car or rides a motorcycle?
3. What do you know about self-driving cars?
4. What companies are producing them or doing research to make them?
5. In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of self-driving vehicles?
6. Do you see them as the future of everyday transport?

Self-driving cars are already cruising the streets today. And while these cars will
ultimately be safer and cleaner than their manual counterparts, they can’t completely
avoid accidents altogether. How should the car be programmed if it encounters an
inevitable accident? Patrick Lin navigates the not very clear ethics of self-driving cars.

b. Watch the TED-Ed video “The ethical dilemma of self-driving cars” by Patrick Lin.

The ethical dilemma of self-driving cars - Patrick Lin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixIoDYVfKA0

2
c. Read the following questions, try to answer them in pairs, as many as you can. Then watch the video again to confirm
and complete your answers.

1. In the first scenario, which option would best protect the autonomous car
and its occupants?
a. The car does not swerve and stays in its lane
b. The car swerves toward the large SUV
c. None of the above
d. The car swerves toward the motorcyclist

2. In the second scenario, which option would follow the design principle to
minimize harm?
a. The car swerves toward the motorcyclist with the helmet
b. The car does not swerve and stays in its lane
c. The car swerves toward the motorcyclist without the helmet
d. None of the above

3. What other ethical dilemmas are mentioned here about autonomous cars?
a. Determining the value of your life versus the lives of others
b. Whether it should take a parking spot away from a human driver who’s looking for one
c. Whether advertisers may influence the route-selection of the car
d. None of the above

d. Now discuss the following questions in small groups and then socialize your answers with the rest of the class.

1. Which design principle for crash decisions seems the most ethical to you and why: to minimize harm, protect the driver
over other drivers, treat everyone equally, hand back control to the driver, follow the law, or something else?
2. For the crash scenarios we considered and the option you selected in c. 1, does your answer change if you or your loved
ones were that target, instead of anonymous strangers? What does that say about ethics?
3. When an ethics judgement is needed, who should get to decide how robot cars are programmed: engineers/programmers,
manufacturers/company executives, government, owner/occupants of the vehicles, the general public, or someone else?

WRITING
a. Read the following set of questions and write a 150-word paragraph answering them.

Many people believe that autonomous cars

will save a lot of lives—tens of thousands every
year in the U.S. alone. Does that fact reduce
the need to think about rare ethical dilemmas
where a few innocent people may be injured or harmed? That is, does the greater good
or utility excuse any bad outcomes? Can you think of scenarios—whether about robot
cars or anything else—where the greater good does not justify a bad action, such as a
few wrongful deaths?

SOURCE: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-ethical-dilemma-of-self-driving-cars-patrick-lin

3
 PART 2 Get the business running
READING & SPEAKING
One of the companies that has been getting involved in the business of self-driving cars is
Amazon, most prominently since its purchase of Zoox in June 2020, a self-driving startup
focused on a driveless ridesharing service. Amazon has numerous projects and investments
and has successfully expanded into multiple areas of technology and e-commerce, to the
point that it is currently the most profitable business in the world. How did it get there?

a. Discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups.

1. What’s your opinion on online shopping? Have you bought anything online?
2. Have you ever bought anything on Amazon? If not, would you consider buying from it?
3. Do you know anything about the origins of Amazon?
4. Do you know who Jeff Bezos is? What do you know about him?

b. Now, read the following text that briefly describes how Amazon started and how it became the huge company that
it is today.

It’s July 16, 1995 and…

AMAZON OPENS FOR BUSINESS

On this day in 1995, Amazon 1994, after realizing the commercial
officially opens for business as an potential of the Internet and
online bookseller. Within a month, determining that books might sell
the fledgling retailer had shipped well online, he moved to Washington
books to all 50 U.S. states and to State and founded Amazon. He
45 countries. Founder Jeff Bezos’s initially dubbed the business
motto was “get big fast,” and Seattle- Cadabra (as in abracadabra) but
based Amazon eventually morphed after someone misheard the name
into an e-commerce colossus, as “cadaver,” Bezos decided to call his
selling everything from groceries startup Amazon, after the enormous
to furniture to live ladybugs, and river in South America, a moniker
helping to revolutionize the way he believed wouldn’t box him into
people shop. offering just one type of product or
Bezos earned an undergraduate service.
degree in computer science and electrical engineering In the spring of 1995, Bezos invited a small group
from Princeton University in 1986 then worked in of friends and former colleagues to check out a
the financial services industry in New York City. In beta version of Amazon’s website, and the first-ever

4
order was placed on April 3 of that year, for a science
book titled “Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies.”
When Amazon.com went live to the general public in
July 1995, the company boldly billed itself as “Earth’s
biggest bookstore,” although sales
initially were drummed up solely by
word of mouth and Bezos assisted
with assembling orders and driving the
packages to the post office. However, by the
end of 1996 Amazon had racked up $15.7 million
in revenues, and in 1997 Bezos took the company
public with an initial public offering that raised $54
million. That same year, Bezos personally delivered
his company’s one-millionth order, to a customer in
Japan who’d purchased a Windows NT manual and a
Princess Diana biography. In 1998, Amazon extended
beyond books and started selling music CDs, and
by the following year it had added more product
categories, such as toys, electronics and tools.
By December 1999, Amazon had shipped 20 million
items to 150 countries around the globe. That same
month, Bezos was named Time magazine’s Person
of the Year. In 2000, the company introduced a
service allowing individual sellers and other outside
merchants to peddle their products alongside
Amazon’s own items. Meanwhile, Amazon continued
to spend heavily on expansion.
In 2007, Amazon debuted its Kindle
e-reader; four years later, the company
announced it was selling more e-books than
print books. Also in 2011, Amazon’s tablet computer,
the Kindle Fire, was released. Among a variety of
other ventures, Amazon launched a cloud computing
and video on demand services in 2006; a studio that
develops movies and TV series, in 2010; and an online
marketplace for fine art, in 2013, which has featured
original works by artists including Claude Monet and
Norman Rockwell. Additionally, Amazon has acquired
a number of companies, including Zappos and Whole
Foods. In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the
world’s most valuable retailer. Two decades after its
founding and with Bezos still at the helm, Amazon’s
market value was $250 billion. In 2017, Bezos was
named the richest man in the world.

Adapted from https://www.history.com

Images: https://www.amazon.com | interactive.satellitetoday.com

c. Look at the highlighted words from the text, match the words with their definitions.

1. Box (v) ( ) a. a person, an organization or a system that is new and without experiences
2. At the helm (IDM) ( ) b. a person or business that sells goods to the public
3. Retailer ( ) c. name, nickname
4. Venture ( ) d. to limit someone’s freedom to choose what to do
e. to describe someone in a particular way in order to advertise them or
5. Fledgling ( )
make them known
6. Bill (v) ( ) f. to try to increase business activity or get support for something
7. Drum up ( ) g. to transport something or someone by air, train, boat, or truck
8. Peddle ( ) h. to offer an item or promote as valuable
9. Moniker ( ) i. a business project or activity, especially one that involves taking risks
10. Ship (v) ( ) j. in charge of an organization, project, etc

5
d. Read again and find the answers to these questions. Compare your answers with a partner.

1. Why did he name his company “Amazon”?

2. How did the sales initially get promoted?
3. What was the next step for Amazon after selling only books?
4. What kind of gadgets has Amazon produced?
5. Do you know of any other products or gadgets designed and sold by Amazon?

e. Discuss these questions in small groups.

1. What businesspeople and entrepreneurs do you admire?

2. Do you know any other stories of how big companies started?

f. Let’s do a two-minute presentation in pairs.

» Step 1: Find a inspiring story about a company that started small and made it big.
» Step 2: Do some research and prepare a quick two-minute presentation with a couple of slides or a poster, which should
contain only keywords, numbers, images or graphs that illustrate the information.
» Step 3: Share it with the class.

WATCHING & LISTENING

Building a company, especially as successful as Amazon, is not a small task, especially
when you are a college student. However, there are many stories of profitable
businesses that have started from simple ideas and humble beginnings. All you have to
do is take the first step, but how?

a. Before watching the video, discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. What are the characteristics that you believe successful entrepreneurs have?
2. What are some things that a person needs to start a business?
3. Would you like to have your own business? If your answer is yes, what kind of business? If not, why?

b. Watch the TEDx Talk “What college students need to know before starting a business” by Jan Bednar.

What college students need to know before starting a business

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63tVsJI31Tk

6
c. Try to answer in pairs the following questions in pairs. Then watch the video again, if necessary, to confirm your
answers.

1. What is the general purpose of Jan’s TEDx Talk?

2. What is the meaning of the quote he provided at the beginning?
3. Which are the three essential pieces of advice to start a business?
4. What examples does he give about each piece of advice?
5. What is mentorship in the business field?
6. How does he relate Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb, to his business experience?

d. Some reflection questions to discuss in small groups.

1. Which tip of the three do you consider to be the most important?

2. What other tips can you give to someone who wants to start their own business?
3. Do you anyone who has created their own company? How was that process?
4. Is there in Colombia any specific kind of support for young people who want to start a business?

Î Go to VOCABULARY Idiomatic Expressions Related to Business

READING & SPEAKING

a. In order to expand the principles and considerations when starting a new business, let’s read the following article by
The Bottom Line from NationalFunding.com. Highlight all the words you don’t know.

5 TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN STARTING A SMALL BUSINESS

PLANNING FOR GROWTH

Starting a small business is a massive but rewarding undertaking. Part of starting a small business is
doing things in a way that makes the most sense to you, but a little guidance can help as well. Consider
these tips for starting your own company and incorporate them as needed:

1. RECOGNIZE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Every small business owner has certain skills, abilities, knowledge and experience
that give them an edge when it comes time to build up a business and start
operating it. However, no small business owner is so adept that they can be an
expert in every single process related to developing a new company.
While you’ll have to wear a lot of different hats, especially during the business’s
earliest stages, don’t place too much of a burden on yourself for too long or expect
yourself to dive into a highly complicated task with no prior training. Develop a
strong understanding of your skills and weaknesses so you know where to best focus your attention.
Don’t be afraid to learn how to handle new responsibilities and workloads – it’s essentially a requirement for growing small
businesses. You also shouldn’t shy away from working with business partners, family members, employees, independent
contractors and others to address major needs and make sure important concerns are handled successfully.

7
2. START WITH A SIMPLE BUSINESS PLAN AND GROW IT AS NEEDED
One of the first things you should do as a small business owner is develop a business plan. It’s vital
that you develop this essential document to steer future work and hold yourself accountable, but
it’s also important to not go too in-depth during the early stages of developing your concept. ABC
News contributor Tory Johnson said a simple business plan is often the best approach when in the
beginning stages of developing your organization.

A shorter plan, about one page or 500-600 words, can give you direction without requiring you to
answer questions that won’t have solutions presented until later on in the process. Johnson suggested focusing on your products or
services, target market and customers, basic prices and costs and the work needed to turn the concept into a reality.

As work progresses and your idea moves closer to actual operations, you can expand your business plan. Over time, include more
accurate estimates, actual costs, longer-reaching projections, mission statement, company summary and other elements commonly
seen in fully developed documents.

3. FOCUS ON SOMETHING YOU HAVE A PASSION FOR

Having a passion for something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s your all-time favorite activity or type of
business. It does mean that you won’t quickly grow tired of running that type of business, that parts
of it appeal to you and, ideally, you can use some combination of existing knowledge or skills related
to parts or all of the operation to your advantage.

Finding an existing need and targeting it is a major element of starting a successful small business,
whether it’s providing accounting services to other companies or setting up a bakery. Pairing that
need with something that excites, interests and motivates you can lead to substantial development and returns.

This piece of advice is relatively basic and most useful when deciding what type of business to start as opposed to getting a specific
concept off the ground. Focus on your passion early on and pair it with a strong business plan to give yourself the best chance of crafting
an enduring and popular organization.

4. UNDERSTAND YOUR TARGET CUSTOMERS AND EXISTING MARKET

It’s possible to develop an excellent business concept and deploy it in the wrong area. That’s why it’s important to understand the area
in which you want to start your small business as well as your target customers. An idea that could
work out very well in a large, densely populated area simply may not get the amount of foot traffic or
number of customers it needs in an area with fewer residents.

Assessing the market for your products or services, seeking out the presence of potential competitors
and conducting an assessment of how your business will hypothetically perform can all move your
idea in the right direction.

You can also look to competitors and similar businesses for ideas and guidance, although indirectly.
Visiting their stores, looking at their websites and marketing materials and other intelligence-gathering initiatives can help you fill in
pieces of the puzzle.

5. DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP

Even when a business is on the right track, unexpected issues and chances for growth and improvement
can quickly pop up. Addressing these problems and opportunities is critical for long-term stability and
prosperity. As a small business owner, you shouldn’t be afraid to seek out alternative business financing.
It’ll speed up the process and will get you a head start.

Adapted from https://www.nationalfunding.com/blog/5-leading-tips-for-starting-a-successful-small-business/

8
b. In pairs, work out from context the meaning of the words that you don’t know. If help is needed, check the dictionary
or consult with the teacher.

c. Discuss the following questions with your partner according to the text.

1. What does the expression “wear a lot of different hats“ mean in Tip 1?
2. What are the benefits of having a business plan?
3. How does the author defend the idea of focusing on something you really like?
4. What does the expression “intelligence-gathering initiatives” mean in Tip 4?
5. According to the author, is it a good idea to ask for a loan?

d. With your partner, summarize in a list of short phrases the information given in each of the 5 tips from the text.

TIPS KEY ASPECTS

Tip 1

Tip 2

Tip 3

Tip 4

Tip 5

e. Compare your list of ideas with another pair.

f. Discuss the following questions in a small group.

1. Are you more encouraged to start a new company as soon as you have the opportunity to do it?
2. What kind of business would you like to build?

Î Go to HANDS ON Pitch your business idea!

9
 Module 6
Hands On
PITCH YOUR BUSINESS IDEA!
WHAT IS SHARK TANK?

It’s a reality TV show where aspiring entrepreneurs

from around the world pitch their business models
to a panel of investors and persuade them to invest
money in their idea.

To get an example of how the reality show works,

watch this clip to see the non-dairy ice cream treat
company Coconut Girl business being pitched
(English captions available).
The Sharks Stage a Bidding War for Coconut Girl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2XLBA9VlWg

THE TASK THE PITCH

In groups of 3 or 4, think of a business idea and » With your group, do a 5-minute pitch to the
consider the following parameters: rest of the class.

» Prepare some slides with keywords, figures,

» Business name
charts, images or diagrams to help you
» Description of the product or service and
highlight the most important details prepared
reasoning behind its creation
in “The task” section.
» Business logo (can be designed using Canva
» Two students from the class will be the “sharks”
or other free online image editing tools)
and will decide whether they want to invest in
» Estimates of costs and product service/pricing the business or not, taking into consideration

» Expectations of business growth the deal the team is looking for. Each pitch will
have two different “sharks”, so that everyone
» Deal your team is looking for (e.g.: $5.000
can be in that role during the activity.
investment for a 10% ownership of the
business)

10
 Module 6
Academic Production
ACADEMIC SPEAKING: INTERVIEWS

a. Write the letter indicated beside the examples of the types of interview question

Types of interview questions:

Personal/ About You (P) Behavioral (B) About the Future (F) Value that you add (V)

1. ___ What are you looking for in your next job? What is important to you?
2. ___ Have you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren’t thrilled about? How did you do it?
3. ___ Tell me about the trends in your profession and industry.
4. ___ Have you gone above and beyond the call of duty? If so, how?
5. ___ Where do you see yourself five years from now?
6. ___ Do you consider yourself successful? Why?
7. ___ What can you contribute to this company?
8. ___ What is your greatest strength?
9. ___ Tell me about yourself.
10. ___ Describe a stressful situation at work and how you handled it.
11. ___ Of which three accomplishments are you most proud?
12. ___ Why shouldn’t we hire you?
13. ___ What is your professional development plan?
14. ___ Why should we hire you?
15. ___ What do you do when your schedule is interrupted? Give an example of how you handle it.

THE STAR TECHNIQUE

The STAR technique is used to organize thoughts to respond to questions about experience in a logical and
complete way. It is a common strategy to answer behavioral interview questions as well as other types. The
acronym STAR means:

Situation: What was the situation at work?

Task: What task(s) were you required to do?
Action: What actions did you take? How did you solve the problem?
Result: What was the outcome?

11
 Module 6
Academic Production
b. Answer the questions in the chart below using the STAR method. All of your answers should refer to a professional,
academic or volunteer experience.

Question Situation Task Action Result

I had recently I would lead a I spoke with The professor
Example started working class session one of the said yes and I
Have you been in in a school as a every two weeks professors that I worked with him
a situation where teaching assistant for different was working with in class to give
you didn't have but the assigned professors and to see if I could students more
enough work to hours were less spend the rest of assist him on individualized
do? than expected. the time lesson some of the class feedback.
planning. days that I wasn’t
scheduled to
work with him.

Tell me about
how you worked
effectively under
pressure.

Give an example
of how you set
goals and achieve
them.

Give an example
of an occasion
when you used
logic to solve a
problem

12
 Module 6
Academic Production

ACTIVITY Choose five questions from the two previous activities and conduct a mock interview with a partner
for 10 minutes. Complete the evaluation form for the interviewee. Change roles and repeat the activity.

EVALUATION FORM

1 2 3 4
poor fair good excellent

Verbal Expression
Loud and clear with natural and fluent speech

Elaboration
Complete answers for each question with detail

Relevance
Answers relate to professional or academic activities

Accuracy
Grammar usage and errors

Notes
Areas to improve:
Additional comments

13
 VOCABULARY REFERENCE
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS RELATED TO BUSINESS

a. Match the idioms to definitions

EXPRESSION MEANING

1. tricks of the trade ( ) A. an agreement or decision that is made without the public knowing about it.

2. get down to B. To start something over again because a previous attempt failed
business ( )

3. break even ( ) C. To dominate a particular market (or business sector)

4. backroom deal ( ) D. to have a lot of work to do or a particularly difficult assignment

5. red tape  ( ) E. Stop making small talk and start talking about serious business topics

6. the bottom line ( ) F. to stop doing something that is unproductive and won't ever generate
results

7. corner the market ( ) G. Special knowledge associated with a profession

8. cut one’s losses ( ) H. too much paperwork that slows down business

9. make a killing ( ) I. earn a lot of money in a short time

10. back to square one ( ) J. Have no profit or loss

11. have someone’s work K. The end result

cut out ( )

b. Record a podcast dialogue with an entrepreneur (one of you) who had a business fail before, but is successful now
using some of the idioms from the list.

14
 USE OF ENGLISH REFERENCE
QUANTIFIERS

1. We use much and little with uncountable nouns:

much time much luck little energy little money

We use many and few with plural nouns:

many friends many people few cars few countries

We use a lot of / lots of / plenty of with both uncountable and plural nouns:

a lot of luck lots of time plenty of money

a lot of friends lots of people plenty of ideas
Plenty = more than enough:
There’s no need to hurry. We’ve got plenty of time.
2. Much is unusual in positive sentences (especially in spoken English). Compare:
We didn’t spend much money.
but We spent a lot of money. (not We spent much money)
• Do you see David much?
but I see David a lot. (not I see David much)
We use many and a lot of in all kinds of sentences:
• Many people drive too fast. or A lot of people drive too fast.
• Do you know many people? or Do you know a lot of people?
• There aren’t many tourists here. or There aren’t a lot of tourists here.
Note that we say many years / many weeks / many days (not a lot of …):
• We’ve lived here for many years. (not a lot of years)
3. Little = not much, few = not many:
• Gary is very busy with his job. He has little time for other things. (= not much time, less time than he would like)
• Vicky doesn’t like living in London. She has few friends there. (= not many, not as many as she would like)
You can say very little and very few:
• Gary has very little time for other things.
• Vicky has very few friends in London.
4. A little = some, a small amount:
• Let’s go and have a coffee. We have a little time before the train leaves. (a little time = some time, enough time
to have a coffee)
• ‘Do you speak English?’ ‘A little.’ (so we can talk a bit)
A few = some, a small number:
• I enjoy my life here. I have a few friends and we meet quite often. (a few friends = not many but enough to have
a good time)
• ‘When was the last time you saw Clare?’ ‘A few days ago.’ (= some days ago)

15
 USE OF ENGLISH REFERENCE
QUANTIFIERS

Compare little and a little, few and a few:

• He spoke little English, so it was difficult to communicate with him.
• He spoke a little English, so we were able to communicate with him.
• She’s lucky. She has few problems. (= not many problems)
• Things are not going so well for her. She has a few problems. (= some problems)
You can say only a little and only a few:
• Hurry! We only have a little time. (not only little time)
• The village was very small. There were only a few houses. (not only few houses)

PRACTICE
Put in much/many/little/few (one word only).
1. She isn’t very popular. She has few friends.
2. Ann is very busy these days. She has _________________ free time.
3. Did you take _________________ pictures when you were on holiday?
4. I’m not very busy today. I don’t have _________________ to do.
5. This is a very modern city. There are _________________ old buildings.
6. The weather has been very dry recently. We’ve had _________________ rain.
7. ‘Do you know Rome?’ ‘No, I haven’t been there for _________________ years.’

Adapted from English Grammar in Use by CUP, 2015 | Oxford Living Grammar. Published by OUP, 2009

16
INTENSIVE ENGLISH & INTERNATIONALIZATION
Explora UN Mundo - Program Coordination
Nohra Vargas
Module Content Coordination
Camilo Mancera Rozo
Module Content Design
Alaina Landi
Anna Shepard
Olivia Mejía-Martínez
Racquel Francis
Delaney Lawson
Layout & Visual Design
Camilo Mancera Rozo

SECOND EDITION

Explora UN Mundo - Program Coordination

Kelly Vera
Module Content Revision
Camilo Mancera Rozo
Layout & Visual Design
Camilo Mancera Rozo

2019-2021