CUADERNILLO DE MATERIAL ESPECÍFICO

INGLÉS I & INGLÉS II

Ingeniería en Sistemas Informáticos

Licenciatura en Gestión de Tecnología Informática
Licenciatura en Producción de Simuladores y Videojuegos

Profesor Compilador: Lic. Carlos D. Navarro A.

Ciclo Lectivo 2023

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 Tabla de Contenidos

Textos Inglés I Pág.

Text Nº1: 7 Sneaky Ways Hackers Can Get Your Facebook Password 3
Text Nº2: With the increase in remote work, businesses need to protect themselves 6
against cyberattacks

Text Nº3: Bard: Google launches ChatGPT rival 10

Text Nº4: Mastering the Foundations of AI: Top 8 Beginner-Level AI Courses to Try 12

Textos Inglés II

Text Nº1: How hiring more women IT experts improves cybersecurity risk 16
Management

Text Nº2: How do video games provide effective learning? 20

Texto Nº3: An Introduction to Application Software 23

Texto Nº4: Have we fallen out of love with voice assistants? 27

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 Textos Inglés I

Text Nº1: 7 Sneaky Ways Hackers Can Get Your Facebook Password
Author: Jennifer Seaton
Source: https://www.techopedia.com/2/28629/internet/social-media/7-
sneaky-ways-hackers-can-get-your-facebook-password

Facebook can be a great way to stay in contact with friends and family. But it can
also make you more vulnerable. Your account likely has a ton of personal data and
connections that could benefit a hacker. The more you understand about how a
hacker can access your password, the savvier you will be at keeping it safe.

Here are seven sneaky ways hackers can access your password and what you can
do to stop them.

1) Suspicious Emails
You have probably heard many times by now not to open suspicious emails. This
is still true today. But fake emails have become much more sophisticated than in
the past. Fake emails might appear to be from Facebook and have all the
formatting and logos you expect in a legitimate email. It can be very difficult to
determine if an email is fake.

There are a multitude of ways a hacker can use a suspicious email to gain access
to your Facebook account. The best way to avoid this is to delete the email and do
not click on anything in the email. It is best to not even open suspicious emails.

If Facebook has to reach you, they can do so from your Facebook account. If you
get an email from “Facebook”, instead of opening the email, log into your account
to see if you have a notification there. Do not trust any emails that ask for account
information, request money, or threaten to suspend your account.

©Techopedia

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2) Phishing
The purpose of many fake emails is phishing. Phishing is when someone asks for
personal information that they can use to gain access to your account. A common
way to phish is to trick someone to sign in on a fake site.
Some hackers will go through the trouble of creating a fake website that looks the
same as Facebook. But, you can avoid this trap. It is always best to go to Facebook
rather than click on a link. If you do use a link, carefully read the email address.
Does it look correct, or is Facebook misspelled? Finally, check for the secure icon
in the web address before signing in.

3) Fake Facebook Buttons

You might know not to trust links, but don’t forget that “like” and “share” buttons
act like links. Clicking on one of these buttons on a fake site might lead you to a
fake login page designed to steal your information.
To avoid this, sign in to your Facebook account from a new tab in your browser.
Your browser will keep you logged in on other tabs. Now, any likes or shares will
go directly to Facebook. If you still get a prompt to login, it's a good indicator that
the button was fake.

4) Password Spraying
Coming up with a password is hard. It can be tempting to use something like
“123456789”. Of course, that is a bad idea; it is too easy to guess. But many people
do use similar easy passwords. Because of this, many hackers employ password
spraying. This is when they guess a password by using the most common
passwords.
It is hard to remember a random alphanumeric sequence. So, more people use
words, which limits the number of potential passwords available. When creating
a password, it is best to use a unique phrase, replace some of the letters with
numbers, and vary the capitalization. And definitely avoid any variation of the
word “password”, including pa$$word123.

5) Plain Password Grabbing

Once you come up with a good password, make sure you only use it for your
Facebook account. If you use the same password everywhere, you leave yourself
vulnerable to Plain Password Grabbing. This is when a hacker attacks a more
vulnerable and less secure site. Some sites do not properly encrypt passwords. In
that case, a hacker can then use the email and password saved in the database to
try to access other sites like Facebook.
If you have a lot of accounts that require passwords, consider using a password
manager. Often, they will generate strong passwords for you too.

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6) Keylogging
Keylogging is a more advanced hacking technique. It requires installing a program
on your device to track everything that you type. This can give hackers far more
information than just your Facebook login information. They could even get credit
card information using this method.
But, because a hacker needs to install a keylogging program on your device, it is a
little easier to protect yourself against this sort of attack. Generally, hackers hide
these programs in other software. To stay safe, do not download anything from
an untrusted source. Your computer’s security software can detect these
programs, but you might want to get anti-malware software for your smartphone.
Make sure to keep your security software up to date too.

7) Unsecured Networks
Even if you have the best passwords, and are using the most secure computer, it
won’t help if the network you are using is not secure. Public Wi-Fi is often
unsecured. Unsecure networks allow hackers to snoop through all the data that
you send and received from webpages while on that network.
Instead of using free Wi-Fi to access Facebook on the go, sign in using mobile data.
It will ensure that your data is more secure. Or consider getting a virtual private
network (VPN). Many VPN providers will encrypt your data, which will protect it
even if you are connecting to the internet on an unsecured network.

Facebook Security in a Nutshell

Our growing dependence on the internet means that we need to be a little more
careful online. All the security information out there can be a little overwhelming.
But it all boils down to a couple of simple tips. Use unique passwords for all your
accounts. Do not click on any links that you do not trust (even if it looks like they
are from Facebook). Do not download anything unless you are certain if it is safe.
Do not enter sensitive information on public computers or across public Wi-Fi. If
in doubt, error on the side of caution.

After-Reading Task: Find 5 example sentences in the Present Simple Tense in

the text.

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Text Nº2: With the increase in remote work, businesses need to protect
themselves against cyberattacks
Author: Michael Parent
Source: https://theconversation.com/with-the-increase-in-remote-work-
businesses-need-to-protect-themselves-against-cyberattacks-138255

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown have forever changed how we
socialize and conduct business. More and more, our personal and professional
lives will be online.

Paradoxically, our office towers sit empty. However, the amount of traffic in the
virtual world continues to increase exponentially. Our physical borders are
closed, but the virtual ones remain wide open, and relatively undefended.
Cybercriminals — callous opportunists of the worst kind — take advantage of
crises to engage in even more attempts to penetrate computer networks and
extract data.

Phishing, smishing (SMS phishing) and vishing (voice phishing) attacks are all on
the rise. Our tendency to click on infected emails has increased with the
correspondent increase in email traffic — a two-fold impact on the severity of the
threat environment.

© The Conversation

New work spaces

In the past, knowledge workers might have been centralized into one, or a few
locations, with controlled access to information. Now they are are dispersed
across thousands of sites that the enterprise has no control over. Face-to-face
communications are taking place on open, web-based platforms
like Zoom, bbCollaborate, BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, Google Meet and many
others, all vying for market share in an attempt to become the industry standard.

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Concurrently, managers in organizations are dealing with unseen reductions in
business volumes and making the difficult decisions of laying-off employees,
shutting down plants and stores, and yet somehow still maintaining some kind of
presence and level of customer service in the hope of recovering losses once the
pandemic response restrictions are eased.
The challenges for enterprises of all kinds, then, are many: How can they maintain
service levels while managing cuts and workarounds?
How do they provide employees with the equipment, tools, resources and
information to work from home? How do they balance restrictions from the
lockdown against recovery when it lifts? How do they support employees and
protect them from burnout, exhaustion and other mental health issues? This is
especially true for administrative front-line workers like those in information
technology (IT) who are now responsible for maintaining secure, fully operational
and accessible virtual work environments.

Adapting for cyber-resiliency

The “start, stop, continue” approach offers a powerful structure to frame possible
answers to the questions and dilemmas surrounding cybersecurity. Here, I offer
three things to start, two to stop, and three to continue to ensure strong cyber-
resilience is retained.

START: The most important thing to start is to monitor internal and external
security threats and incidents. A few months ago, most of us had not even heard
of Zoom, much less used it on a daily basis for both work and social gatherings.
Most of us were not used to working from home, accessing work files remotely,
uploading and downloading gigabytes of data. Most of us did not have more than
rudimentary security on our home routers and networks. Most of us only had a
passing knowledge of the IT support staff at work (usually called in a panic).

For managers and executives, this means daily reports on security incidents, their
sources (internal or external), their nature and whether new types of attacks and
attackers have been observed.

Enterprises also need to start asking themselves about the impact this new work
environment has had on customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders.
Executives should monitor what is being adjusted, and how. For example, to what
extent are access permissions (to databases, files, systems and information) being
increased? Concurrently, to what extent are insider monitoring programs being
deployed to ensure employees do not inadvertently, or deliberately leak
confidential or proprietary information?

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Finally, the time has come to start enhanced online security protocols and tools,
like multi-factor authentication, which only 57 per cent of enterprises are using.

STOP: In dealing with the new, distributed and virtual operating environment,
organizations should first immediately stop or suspend any non-critical IT
projects: this is not the time to continue with replacement of administrative
systems, access systems, enterprise networking enhancements, application
development or any other project aimed at changing or enhancing business
processes.

There are two reasons for this. First, IT staff burnout increases exponentially in
the current situation. They are dealing with a deluge of requests to configure
home systems, manage access, provide ad hoc and formal training and deal with
emergency shutdowns, not to mention an increased risk of breaches. They are not
only at risk of burning out, but of making critical errors if they are also asked to
continue non-essential development work.

The second reason is that hackers and other criminals will deliberately target
organizations that are attempting to juggle remote staff support and IT
development, perceiving these organizations to be weak, unfocused and
inattentive.

Shadow IT are information systems or applications that individuals or

departments use without the knowledge or support of IT staff in the organization.
For example, a marketing manager may prefer to use privately sourced customer
relationship management software that they find more accessible and modifiable,
without the need to submit change requests to an IT department. The problem
with shadow IT is that it has not been vetted for any potential security
vulnerabilities. In the event of a breach, system administrators may not be
notified or able to contain the breach if it emerges from a shadow system.

CONTINUE: Most organizations have well-developed crisis response plans as

part of their enterprise risk frameworks. These documents need to be updated to
reflect the new circumstances. Organizations need to contact their insurance
providers — including for cyber-insurance — and third-party support providers
to alert them to their new operating environment. Like the enterprises they serve,
these insurers and providers are also trying to cope and may be temporarily
overburdened. Finally, organizations must continue to rehearse and update these
plans.

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Executives need to continue monitoring resources in their organizations, and
where necessary, rapidly adjust budgets, staffing levels and other resources,
allocating them to those areas that most need them. This might mean re-allocating
IT development budgets and staff to cybersecurity or plant and office
maintenance to supporting remote work environments.

Finally, executives need to ensure that succession plans for key staff are current.
This is especially true for IT and cybersecurity personnel.

Preparing for the unknown

COVID-19 will prove to be a generational event with long-lasting and as yet
unknown effects on society. By critically considering and discussing what to Start,
Stop, or Continue with regards to cyber-resilience, businesses and their
employees will be in a better position to anticipate, mitigate and flourish in
current conditions and beyond.

After-Reading Task: Find 5 example sentences which use the Verb To Be in the
text.

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Text Nº3: Bard: Google launches ChatGPT rival
Author: Zoe Kleinman
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64546299

Google is launching an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered chatbot called

Bard to rival ChatGPT.

Bard will be used by a group of testers before being rolled out to the public in the
coming weeks, the firm said.

Bard is built on Google's existing large language model Lamda, which one
engineer described as being so human-like in its responses that he believed it
was sentient.

The tech giant also announced new AI tools for its current search engine.

AI chatbots are designed to answer questions and find information. ChatGPT is

the best-known example. They use what's on the internet as an enormous
database of knowledge although there are concerns that this can also include
offensive material and disinformation.

"Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world's knowledge with the power,
intelligence, and creativity of our large language models," wrote Google boss
Sundar Pichai in a blog.

Mr Pichai stressed that he wanted Google's AI services to be "bold and

responsible" but did not elaborate on how Bard would be prevented from sharing
harmful or abusive content.

The platform will initially operate on a "lightweight" version of Lamda, requiring

less power so that more people can use it at once, he said.

Google's announcement follows wide speculation that Microsoft is about to bring

the AI chatbot ChatGPT to its search engine Bing, following a multi-billion dollar
investment in the firm behind it, OpenAI.

ChatGPT can answer questions and carry out requests in text form, based on
information from the internet as it was in 2021. It can generate speeches, songs,
marketing copy, news articles and student essays.

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It is currently free for people to use, although it costs the firm a few pennies each
time somebody does. OpenAI recently announced a subscription tier to
complement free access.

But the ultimate aim of chatbots lies in internet search, experts believe - replacing
pages of web links with one definitive answer.

Sundar Pichai said that people are using Google search to ask more nuanced
questions than previously.

Whereas, for example, a common question about the piano in the past may have
been how many keys it has, now it is more likely to be whether it is more difficult
to learn than the guitar - which does not have an immediate factual answer.

"AI can be helpful in these moments, synthesizing insights for questions where
there's no one right answer," he wrote.

"Soon, you'll see AI-powered features in Search that distil complex information
and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats, so you can quickly
understand the big picture and learn more from the web."

© BBC News

After-Reading Task: Find 5 example sentences which use the Verb Can in the
text.

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Text Nº4: Mastering the Foundations of AI: Top 8 Beginner-Level AI Courses
to Try
Author: Claudio Buttice
Source: https://www.techopedia.com/mastering-the-foundations-of-ai-top-6-
beginner-level-courses-to-try/2/33995

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are amazing technologies that are
revolutionizing practically every field of human activity. Intelligent machines can
assist or downright substitute humans in literally all tasks, from business and
commerce to health care, environment, communications, and any endeavors we
can imagine.

Understanding AI, while this tech is still in its prime days, is a great way to boost
a career in technology. Professionals who can build thinking machines able to get
the most value from the immense vaults of unstructured data currently floating
around are highly sought after by employers across the globe.

Whether you already have experience in the technology field or you are a student
with little or no background in AI and programming, there are many online
courses available to outpace your competition and find the job of your life.

IBM, for example, offers many of these online courses that are streamlined to give
you a firm understanding of AI and many of its use cases, plus an applied
understanding of machine learning and deep learning, with no prior knowledge
expectations.

©Techopedia

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Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Everyone has to start somewhere, right? Well, let’s start from the very beginning,
then! This introductory course will teach you the basics of AI even if you’ve got no
technical background nor any computer science expertise. You will learn about
the most recent use cases and applications of AI, understand how your job may
benefit from a general knowledge of AI, the basic terminology, and the
controversies and ethical questions surrounding this technology.
After the course, you will test the skills you learned with a hands-on project, and
then earn a certificate you can share with your present or future employers.

Getting Started with AI Using IBM Watson

IBM Watson is probably the most well-known AI in recent years, and it
is currently employed by many organizations since it has numerous different uses
and applications. In this 4-week course, you will learn the ropes of Watson, how
it works, and how it has been used so far. You will quickly understand how to
build smart AI-based apps and work with several Watson services to demonstrate
AI in action.

In particular, by knowing more about this AI, you will get a practical overview of
how this technology can be applied to improve the workflow of any organization.

Building AI Powered Chatbots Without Programming

Did you know that according to Gartner, 85% of customer interactions with the
enterprise will occur via chatbots by 2020? That means now is the time to learn
how to use them! In particular, during this course, as the title suggests, you will
learn how to build and deploy an AI-enabled chatbot on a website — without any
coding. In fact, this course will teach you how to create chatbots visually (no
coding required) with IBM Watson Assistant and leverage AI’s popular natural
language processing capabilities.

Python for Data Science and AI

The word “beginner” usually has a negative connotation. If you want to reach the
next level in your journey of learning, this course is the one you need. Python is
the programming language that most data scientists love and prefer, and for a lot
of reasons.

Knowing how to manipulate Python, its data structures, and programming

fundamentals is critical if you want to talk the same language spoken by the

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machines. This simple and accessible course will take you from zero to
programming in Python in just a few hours — 17 in total, to be exact.

Building AI Applications with Watson APIs

One of the most interesting features of Watson AI is that you can use its services
and APIs to create smart applications with close to zero coding skills. However,
since you’re already skilled in Python, you can easily apply your newly acquired
knowledge to exploit the full potential of IBM’s popular AI.
In particular, this course will teach you how to leverage Watson services
(assistant, discovery, speech to text, and text to speech), combine them, and create
interactive information retrieval systems.

Introduction to Computer Vision with Watson and OpenCV

One of the most amazing and futuristic applications of ML and AI is, hands down,
computer vision (CV). With applications ranging from virtual reality and
augmented reality, to self-driving cars and biometrics, CV has a ton of different
applications that are already changing our world. This last course is a solid
foundation to learn about CV, its many applications, and how to use Python,
Watson, AI and Open CV to process images.

In this hands-on course, you will build, train and test your own custom image
classifiers through several labs on the cloud environment. You will even deploy
your own CV web app to the cloud.

AI Foundations for Everyone Specialization

The AI Foundations for Everyone Specialization is a series of three courses —
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Getting Started with AI Using IBM
Watson and Building AI Powered Chatbots Without Programming — that will
introduce you to the world of AI. At the end of this program, you will have
mastered the basics of AI and will understand how this technology is going to
transform our society.

A great place to start even for people who lack a technical or programming
background, this specialization is suited for literally everyone, from students to
IT professionals.

Applied AI: Artificial Intelligence with IBM Watson Specialization

The Applied AI: Artificial Intelligence with IBM Watson Specialization is a
somewhat more advanced program that will teach you how to create AI-powered
applications. Even if you have no programming background, you will quickly
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grasp the ropes of Python, the most widely used programming language of the AI
world.

Comprised of all six of the courses listed above, this specialization will provide
you with plenty of practical examples and use cases.

What We've Learned

Whether you want to run the full specialization courses or enroll in a single course
among the ones mentioned above, is up to you. In either case, you will earn a
shareable certificate that will help you skyrocket your career in tech.
And if you can’t afford the price, don’t forget that Coursera provides financial aid
to learners who cannot afford it.

After-Reading Task: Find 5 examples of negative sentences in the Present Tense

in the text.

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 Textos Inglés II

Text Nº1: How hiring more women IT experts improves cybersecurity risk
management
Authors: Camélia Radu & Nadia Samaili
Source: https://theconversation.com/how-hiring-more-women-it-experts-
improves-cybersecurity-risk-management-193701

Despite the contributions women have made to the information and technology
field, they continue to be underrepresented. Ada Lovelace, for example, was the
world’s first computer programmer. Grace Murray Hopper developed the first
compiler. And Hedy Lamarr co-invented the modern spread-spectrum
communication technology, which is found in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS
technology.

Today, the leading figures in the IT field are all men. Although 39 per cent of the
board members of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies are women, all the
chairpersons and CEOs are men: Arthur D. Levinson and Tim Cook for
Apple, Satya Nadella for Microsoft, Jeff Bezos and Andrew Jassy for
Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg for Meta, and John L. Hennessy and Sundar Pichai for
Google.

But progress is being made. A study from Osler, a business law firm, found that 23
per cent of S&P/TSX 60 company boards seats were held by women. This is an
increase from data we — as accounting researchers — collected on Toronto Stock
Exchange companies between 2014 and 2018 that found the following: 11.7 per
cent of companies had one woman on the board of directors, 27.7 per cent had
two women, and 56.3 per cent had at least three women.

But when it came to the number of women IT experts on boards, the number was
even lower. Only 22 out of 683 board members in 2018 were women IT experts.
Although this number had doubled since 2014, it remained very low. It’s
important to increase the number of women working in IT — not just for equality
reasons, but because women improve key organizational outcomes.

Cybersecurity is key for success

Our recent research on the impact of board gender diversity on how corporations
respond to cyber risk shows that, when women are present on boards of

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directors, cyber risk management improves. Proper cyber risk management is key
to the success of tech companies.

Cybersecurity involves taking appropriate actions and making ethical decisions

to mitigate cyber risks. In particular, it addresses the financial and technical risk
caused by digital acceleration — the increased rate of digital transformation
caused by the pandemic.

Because of digital acceleration, organizations are more vulnerable to unethical

uses of technology. Facebook and Google’s history of inappropriate and unethical
uses or suppression of information has shined a spotlight on the importance of an
ethical approach to cybersecurity. The most high-profile example of this occurred
when Facebook sold data to companies that were trying to influence the 2016 U.S.
presidential election

Organizations should construct cybersecurity based on ethical

principles concerning privacy, data collection, deposit and use, artificial
intelligence and algorithms development and profiling.

One way to approach cybersecurity is through a board of directors. Boards

represent stakeholder interests, monitor firm management and troubleshoot any
problems that arise between the shareholders that own publicly listed firms and
the firm’s management. They also have a duty to ensure their companies adopt
appropriate and effective cybersecurity measures.

Women improve cybersecurity

Our study found a positive association between the level of cybersecurity
disclosure and board gender diversity. In other words, the presence of women IT
experts on boards resulted in improved cyber risk management — board
monitoring, management supervision and corporate governance in particular.

Women brought new perspectives to the decision-making process and added a

greater variety of skills and capabilities, which in turn, improved boards’ decision-
making.

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 © The Conversation

Women are more informative, meaning they tended to value communication and
disclosures more than men did, and collaborated better with stakeholders.
Women also had lower risk tolerance, enhanced ethical practices and engaged
less in fraudulent practices.

These specific skills, combined with their IT expertise, meant women improved
the cybersecurity risk monitoring of their companies. Ultimately, having more
women IT experts on boards could result in a more integrative cybersecurity
approach that brings technological, business and ethical perspectives together.

Suggestions for improving equality

To close the gender gap, there must be a concerted effort to provide girls and
women with IT-related education and skills. Firms should develop programs to
promote the presence of women with IT skills and fund scholarships and grants
for women.

Women should be encouraged to choose IT-related education and careers. At the

earliest stage, schools should motivate tech-related curiosity and interest in
children. While there are universities that offer graduate programs, diplomas and
certificates in cybersecurity, more should be created. NGOs can also be a part of
the solution by embracing and championing women IT experts.

Another way to close the gender gap is to promote more women to executive
positions. As of 2020, the Canada Business Corporations Act requires public
companies to provide information on policies and practices related to diversity
on boards and within senior management. More young women should be

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promoted to IT leadership positions to feed the pool of potential candidates for
the board.

Updating the skills of existing board members should also be a priority. Ethics and
cybersecurity should be a training priority for all board members. As
such, updating ethics and cybersecurity skills of all board members is a step
towards improving the skills of women on boards.

After-Reading Task: Mention 3 advantages of hiring more women in IT jobs

described in the text.

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Text Nº2: How do video games provide effective learning?
Author: Majia Koslova
Source: https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/blog/how-do-video-games-
provide-effective-learning/

© Cambridge English

There are five broadly defined prerequisites for effective learning: meaningful
context, authenticity, motivation, freedom to make mistakes, and learner
autonomy. Cambridge English teaching and learning materials harness the power
of meaningful context and authenticity by presenting new language in a way that
creates a genuine need to interact and communicate. And, as all teachers would
attest, learners are most successful when they are motivated, free to learn from
their mistakes, and take ownership of their own learning process.

So what do video games have to do with this? Well, in addition to the

known benefits of games, video games support each of the building blocks of
effective learning by providing:
 a strong and engaging narrative (context)
 purposeful interactions (authenticity)
 emotional engagement (motivation)
 freedom to fail (mistakes)
 opportunities for independent decision making (learner autonomy).

Context – A strong narrative

Context is the glue that helps us connect new information to what we already
know about the world. This is why when we learn a language, we cover a series of
topics like family, hobbies or holidays, instead of learning all of the words in the
order that they appear in a dictionary starting with A and ending with Z. Without
appropriate context, new information has nothing to attach itself to in our brain
and becomes almost impossible to remember.
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Video games set excellent context by providing a strong and engaging narrative,
a story. Humans are wired to connect with stories. A strong narrative is
compelling because it triggers an emotional response, which in turn makes it
memorable. That’s why storytelling is such a powerful tool in marketing, politics,
business and media. When teaching young learners, storytelling is vital: children
rely on episodic memory much more than adults – remembering concrete facts
and events they experienced that are linked together in learning.
Video games in general, and Adventures in English with Cambridge in particular,
provide a strong and engaging narrative in which the player is intrinsically
motivated to participate. How could they not be when they’re placed in the centre
as the main protagonist? ‘Someone’s destroying my library, help me!’ pleads Lilac,
‘The stories need fixing, too!’

Authenticity – Purposeful interactions

We all know that being able to use the second language (L2) is more important
than knowing facts about it. How often would you have to explain to a waiter in a
foreign country which part of speech you are about to use when ordering a cup of
coffee? Never – what matters is communication and meaning! ‘I’d like a cup of
coffee, please,’ when sitting down at a table in a café. You wouldn’t expect the
waiter to then reply, ‘Well done, that was the correct use of “would”!’ This is
because in real life, we speak or write or read or listen when we have a need or a
reason to do so – we call this ‘intrinsic motivation’.

Video games provide similar intrinsic motivation to communicate in a meaningful

context. In our language-learning experience in Adventures in English with
Cambridge , for example, the player will interact with Lilac, a fairy librarian in a
giant library. ‘I’m thirsty! Can you bring me a hot drink?’ Lilac asks. To fulfil her
request, the player will not need to complete a classroom-like vocabulary task.
Instead, by exploring the beautiful library, the player will find a fully functional
vending machine. Just like in real life, ‘milkshake’, ‘juice’ and ‘lemonade’ will be
available for purchase, but the player will only hear the librarian say, ‘Ah, finally!
It was delicious, thank you!’ when they bring her back a cup of coffee, rewarding
the player with some more authentic language used in context.

Motivation – Emotional engagement

There’s a direct link between learner motivation and learning outcomes in and
outside the classroom. Engaged learners are focused and curious, and generally
do better than those who are disinterested or distracted. Video games are very
good at leveraging the story, the challenges and the rewards within the game to
trigger emotional response which is directly linked to motivation.
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Inside our game in Minecraft, learners are motivated to solve the language puzzles
because it ensures their progress within the game. They’re encouraged to
persevere in their learning, both by the environment and the characters they
meet. Players can choose which parts to pay most attention to, but they can’t avoid
it. The language is built into the interactions within the game. To progress, players
have no choice but to communicate … in English!

Mistakes help you learn – Freedom to fail

It might seem counter-intuitive, but when learning a language, mistakes can be
beneficial when learners are given an opportunity to notice and reflect on them
in a safe environment. Video games are excellent at providing plenty of safe
opportunities to practise. In our Minecraft game, for example, players are free to
wander off the wrong way or spell a word wrong. Instead of losing marks or
progress, each mistake will result in more language input, to nudge learners
towards the solution. This freedom to fail in video games is key to uninhibited
language practice and is fundamental to our Adventures in English with
Cambridge.

Autonomy – Independent decision making

Finally, in all kinds of teaching contexts, learner autonomy is another pillar of
success. The more engaged the learner is in their own learning process, the more
fruitful the results. In language-learning classrooms, learners are encouraged to
develop study skills alongside listening, writing, speaking and reading – keeping
consistent vocabulary notes, drawing mind maps, developing strategies for exam
taking, listening and expeditious reading, to name just a few.

In video games, the process of becoming an independent decision maker is

naturally fostered through the nature of the task in hand: the player has to
discover ways out of tricky situations, frequently coming back to the starting
point and starting all over again in order to progress within the game. In doing so,
the players not only develop their sense of curiosity, but also perseverance,
problem-solving skills and confidence, the usefulness of which stretches back to
the classroom and beyond.

After-Reading Task: Find 5 examples of quantifiers in the text.

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Text Nº3: An Introduction to Application Software
Author: Tara Struyk
Source: https://www.techopedia.com/2/28350/personal-tech/software-
applications/an-introduction-to-application-software

©Techopedia

Whether creating a presentation for work, searching for a mate or just wanting to
find out where to buy a box of Girl Scout cookies, there’s probably an app out there
to help you do it. Unfortunately, there’s no app that actually explains what an app,
short for application software, actually is or does. Here, we’ll take a high-level
view of this term, including what it means, how it’s used and how it has evolved –
and you don’t even need an app to read it.

What Is Application Software?

Computer software is the set of instructions and data that tells a computer what
to do and how to do it. Software provides instructions to your computer’s
hardware. Without it, your PC or Mac would be little more than a large
paperweight. But software actually comes in three main types: system
software, programming software and application software. System software
includes all the stuff that makes up a computer's operating system (OS),
including device drivers, configuration files and other key system components.
This is the software that tells the computer’s hardware what to do and provides a
foundation for the system. Programming software, or middleware, works much
like the plumbing in your home by invisibly keeping things running behind the
scenes. Application software, however, is the most important type for computer
users because it is used to achieve many of the tasks that make us turn to our
computers in the first place, such as word processing, web browsing and data
crunching.

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Application software applies the power of system software. This is why when
downloading software, you have to find a version that is compatible with your
running operating system. In essence, that software draws on the OS to create
a Word document, spreadsheet or PowerPoint presentation.

Applications from A to Z
As you may have surmised, there’s a world of application software out there. The
reason is simple: Computers are used to complete a very diverse set of tasks. Thus,
the application software category includes the following types:

Application Suite
This refers to multiple and related bundled applications, such as Microsoft Office,
which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and possibly others,
depending on your suite version.

Content Access Software

This software is used to access and view content without manipulating it and
includes browsers and media players.

Database Software
A database is a type of electronic filing system for the information used by various
computer programs. Database software acts as the filing clerk for this system by
keeping everything organized and storing, modifying and extracting database
information. Large organizations use industrial-strength database systems
like Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. At a less intense level, you'll see database
systems like Microsoft Access and MySQL.

Educational Software
Designed for teaching or learning, educational software applications are able to
run tests, track programs and include software, such as MATLAB.

Enterprise Software
Enterprise software refers to applications businesses use to solve business-level
problems. This category includes software for billing, payment processing and
human resource (HR) management. (Learn more about this category
in Enterprise Computing: What's All the Buzz?)

Information Worker Software

This type of software is closely related to enterprise software, but it refers to the
applications used by the individual employees of a business to create and manage
information. Examples include word processors, spreadsheets and media editors.
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Multimedia Software
Multimedia software allows users to create and experience text, graphics, video
and animation in an integrated way. There is some overlap with content access
software, but multimedia software is specific to multimedia and includes
applications like VLC Media Player, Windows Media Player and Winamp.

Presentation Software
If you’ve ever created a slideshow presentation, you are already familiar with this
type of application. Presentation software is designed to arrange information for
use in a demonstration or display. Examples include Microsoft PowerPoint,
Keynote and SlideRocket.

Product Engineering Software

This type of software is essentially an application for applications and used to
design and develop software products. The integrated development
environments (IDE) and programming tools used by software developers fall into
this category.

Simulation Software
Simulation software models real phenomena by using a set of mathematical
formulas. This application type is used for research and design, as well as
entertainment. Simulation software applications include flight simulators,
weather simulators and feedback control systems.

Spreadsheet Software
Spreadsheet applications allow users to compile data and perform calculations in
a spreadsheet format. Common examples include Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-
3 and Apple Numbers.

Word Processing Software

Nearly everyone has experience with word processing applications. Whether
writing a letter or creating a resume, this software allows you to create and edit
these documents. Common examples of word processing software include
Microsoft Word, iWork and Google Docs.

Applications and Platforms

In recent years, classifying applications according to computing platforms has
become more complicated. A platform is the hardware/software combination in
which an application runs. In the early days of computing, this amounted to a
computer operating system, which is why some software works with a Windows
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operating system, while other software operates only on iOS or Unix. Over the
years, however, a few dimensions have been added with the development of new
software delivery methods. The buzzword for this phenomenon is cloud
computing, which means that many applications no longer rely on operating
systems. Rather, they run on the web and may be accessed through a browser.
As you may have guessed, the final application platform – increasingly becoming
the most important – is the mobile platform.

From Applications to Apps

Apps for mobile devices have become a huge part of the application software
market, leading to the ubiquitous use of the term "app." In fact, in most cases, this
term is used to refer to a mobile application. As it turns out, this shortened version
of the term is very apt when it comes to mobile applications because this type of
software is often much smaller and more specific than that on a PC. So, while a
slick software suite provides full functionality, an app usually has a narrow and
specific function – or very little function at all, as many mobile applications are
designed for entertainment. (To learn more about mobile apps, see Mobile Device
Management vs. Mobile Application Management: The Big Fight Continues.)

This type of application was popularized by Apple through its App Store, where
applications are sold for a few dollars apiece. These apps work only on Apple
devices. So, other companies have followed Apple’s lead, creating apps
for Android and BlackBerry devices. In fact, in 2015, more than 200 million apps
were downloaded – per day – totaling 75 billion apps for the year. In 2016, that
number jumped to 90 billion apps, lending credit to the notion that there truly is
an app for just about everything you could imagine (and several things you
couldn't ... or wouldn't want to).

An App to Predict the Future … of Apps

As with all things in technology, the evolution of application software is likely to
take some unexpected turns. In the near future, however, we can expect to see
less emphasis on traditional desktop PC software and an increasing shift to cloud
and mobile applications. This represents potential privacy and security risks, and
benefits, in terms of user accessibility. Maybe the next stop is applications that
better balance these risks and rewards. This may be the future users want, but
will they get it? So far, there’s no app to predict that.

After-Reading Task: Find 5 examples of the Past Simple Tense in the text.

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Text Nº4: Have we fallen out of love with voice assistants?
Author: Katherine Latham
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64371426

To begin with, Abigail Barnes loved her voice assistant. Now it lives in the
drawer.

"I used [my Amazon Alexa] to turn on the lights or set a timer, and as a speaker
for books and podcasts," says the 43-year-old Londoner. "She turned my fan on
and off during the heatwave and played me Christmas music in the winter."

Ms Barnes would ask her device to set alarms, tell her the time or for the weather
forecast.

"I kept my first Alexa in the kitchen and, a few months later, I got a second Alexa
and set it up in my bedroom."

However, Ms Barnes fell out of love with her voice assistants when they began
giving her frequent delivery notifications, asking her to review purchases or
prompting her to reorder items.

"It started giving me random updates or asking me to rate a product I'd bought
last month," she says, "which I found really irritating."

She became concerned about conversation data "being stored in a cloud

somewhere". Then she found the voice commands became unreliable.

"I stopped asking her to turn off the lights when I went to bed, as I'd ask a number
of times and then manually turn them off anyway."

What started out saving her time, she says, quickly became something that cost
time.

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 © BBC News

The Internet of Things (IoT) - the ever-growing network of physical objects

connected to the internet - is increasingly becoming embedded in our lives. There
is a wide range of smart devices on the market from light bulbs, ovens and
washing machines, to speakers, fitness trackers, toothbrushes and baby changing
mats.

Voice assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple's Siri, enable
users to control IoT devices by voice command.

It is estimated that this year, the number of voice assistants in existence will
match the global population - at around eight billion.

However, after several boom years, the big tech companies are making cutbacks,
with their voice assistant units in particular trouble.

Amazon is in the process of cutting 18,000 jobs. Of those cuts 2,000 will fall on its
devices and services unit, which develops Alexa and smart speakers.

Google also reportedly made the decision to scale back development of its
Google Assistant.

Do these mounting losses and job cuts point to the downfall of the voice assistant?

When Alexa launched, Amazon pioneered a new business model. The goal wasn't
to make money from selling the devices themselves but for shoppers to make
purchases using the voice assistant.
In terms of engagement Amazon's voice assistant has been a success. Amazon says
it has more than doubled the number of active Alexa customers over the last three
years and Alexa has "billions" of interactions every week.

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But it's not clear whether they are money-making opportunities. Reports say most
interactions are relatively simple tasks like checking the weather, or playing
music.

More broadly, according to one report, over the past three years voice assistant
use has been falling and another report suggests that the adoption of smart
speakers is slowing.

"Voice assistants have not become as socially sticky as promised," says Helen
Jambunathan from consumer insights agency Canvas8.

"A number of factors have fed into this, including concerns about privacy."

According to a 2020 survey, 82% of people are worried about monitoring by

phone microphones, laptop webcams and voice assistants.

Reports of Amazon Alexa sending voice recordings to the wrong

person and employees listening to private conversations only add to this
concern.

In its defence, Amazon says it reviews only a tiny fraction of Alexa requests to help
improve the service.

Nevertheless, "voice assistants have never shaken connotations of invasion and

intrusion," says Ms Jambunathan. "There have also been several high-profile
instances of voice assistants being creepy, racist and giving dangerous advice -
further eroding consumer trust."

Add the cost-of-living crisis to this, she continues, and voice assistants have
become a luxury item "unable to compete with other aspirational luxury or tech
purchases".

However, while voice assistants may be losing their appeal for general use, in
healthcare they are on the rise.

When it comes to people with dementia, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity

disorder), sight problems and mobility challenges, Alexa is "a game changer", says
Eric Saarnio, international business lead for Amazon Alexa.

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"Smart assistants are evolving - it's early days," he says. "We've come a long way
over the past eight years and we're certainly not stopping. What we're doing can
change people's lives."

Majesticare provides residential, nursing and dementia care, and is one of the
UK's first care groups to introduce Alexa Smart Properties for Senior
Living into their homes.

"It's just amazing to walk into a resident's room and know that they are listening
to music they have chosen, or catching up on their favourite radio shows," says
Angela Boxall, CEO of Majesticare.

Residents are able to connect with family and friends. They can ask for a drink,
find out what's on the menu, or ask what activities are planned that day - simply
by talking.

"Video calls with loved ones bring peace of mind," says Ms Boxall, "and [the
residents have such] wonderful smiles when they see the ones they cherish."
While voice assistants might have found a useful niche in healthcare, their appeal
in the broader market may be on the wane.

Abigail Barnes's Alexa won't be seeing daylight again any time soon.

"I do miss her," she says. "I may revisit her, but [if I do] I'll invest time in looking
into the notification settings, and reading the terms and conditions."

After-Reading Task: Find 5 examples of the Present Continuous in the text.

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