October 2023 This month our activities are dedicated to the topic of technology. Our C1 Advanced and 82 First students will practise Use of English with a text on Artificial Intelligence in EU enterprises. Our 81 Preliminary and 2 First students will watch 2 video about robots in science fiction and prepare a presentation. Finally, our young learners will talk about different machines and what they can do. Happy teaching! 1. Alin the workplace. 2. Robots and sci-fi. 3. Technology. 4. References.1. Alin the workplace Level: B2 First / C1 Advanced ‘Skills: Speaking, Use of English and Writing Interaction: Individual, in pairs and whole class activity Time: 75 mins ‘Warm up (10' = whole class activity ‘© Whats artifical intelligence (Al)? © Doyou think it is useful? Why (not)? © Canyou give any examples of Al applications? Which ones do you use? ‘© How is Al used by companies? Why do they use it? ‘© In which kinds of jobs do you think Al is most useful? Use of English (10') ~ individual activity Artificial intelligence in EU enterprises Artifical intelligence (Al) is an area of strategic importance and a key driver 0. of economic development. It can provide solutions to many challenges, such as treating diseases or minimising the environmental impact of farming. Artificial intelligence gives machines and systems the capability to analyse their environment and 1. decisions with some degree of autonomy to achieve specific goals. In 2020, 7% of enterprises in the EU with at least 10 people employed used Al applications. Machine learning was used to analyse big data internally in 2% of the enterprises and natural language processing, natural language generation or speech recognition was used by 1% of the enterprises for this purpose. A chat service, where a chatbot or virtual agent generated natural language replies to customers, 2. used in 2% of the enterprises. The same proportion of enterprises, 2%, used service robots, 3. are characterised by some degree of autonomy, for example to carry out cleaning, dangerous or repetitive tasks such as cleaning 4, poisonous substances, sorting items in the warehouse, helping customers ‘with shopping or at payment points etc. 5. the EU Member States, Ireland recorded the highest share of enterprises (239) that used any of the four considered Al applications in 2020. Other countries with widespread uptake of Al technologies were Malta (19%), Finland (12%) and Denmark (11%). 6 contrast, less than 10% of enterprises used any of the four Al applications in 2020 in all other Member States. The lowest shares 7. recorded in Latvia (2%), Slovenia, Hungary, Cyprus (396 each) and Poland (4%). Adapted from Eurostat (2020)Follow-up (10') —in pairs Compare answers in pairs working together to explain why you chose this word. Then look at the key and correct your answers. What was the problem with the questions you got wrong? Now answer the following questions: * According to the text, which challenges can Al be used to overcome? How is Al being Used by some enterprises in the EU? © Whydo you think companies are using these Al applications? © Why might some companies not be using them? ing (45') ~ individual activity Imagine that the company where you work is evaluating the possibility of using more artificial Intelligence applications to improve thelr processes. Your boss has asked you to write a report outlining which kinds of tasks could be automated using Al and how this would improve their processes. They have also asked you to include any risks of making these changes. Write your report in 220-260 words.Key Artificial intelligence in EU enterprises Artificial intelligence (Al) is an area of strategic importance and a key driver of economic development. It can provide solutions to many challenges, such as treating diseases or minimising the environmental impact of farming. Artificial intelligence gives machines and systems the capability to analyse their environment and 1. make / take / reach decisions with some degree of autonomy to achieve specific goals, In 2020, 7% of enterprises in the EU with at least 10 people employed used Al applications. Machine learning was used to analyse big data internally in 2% of the enterprises and natural language processing, natural language generation or speech recognition was used by 1% of the enterprises for this purpose. A chat service, where a chatbot or virtual agent generated natural language replies to customers, 2. was used in 2% of the enterprises. The same proportion of enterprises, 2%, used service robots, 3. which are characterised by some degree of autonomy, for example to carry out cleaning, dangerous or repetitive tasks such as cleaning 4, up poisonous substances, sorting items in the warehouse, helping customers with shopping or at payment points etc 5. Among the EU Member States, Ireland recorded the highest share of enterprises (23%) that used any of the four considered Al applications in 2020. Other countries with widespread uptake of Al technologies were Malta (19%), Finland (12%) and Denmark (11%). 6. In / By contrast, less than 10% of enterprises used any of the four Al applications in 2020 in all other Member States. The lowest shares 7. were recorded in Latvia (2%), Slovenia, Hungary, Cyprus (3% each) and Poland (4%). ‘Adapted from Eurostat (2020) Follow-up — possible answers ‘According to the text, which challenges can Al be used to overcome? How is Al being used by some enterprises in the EU? ‘They can provide solutions to many challenges, for example, they can be used to treat diseases (or minimise the environmental impact of farming. Al is being used by some EU enterprises to analyse big data, to reply to customers through a chat service and to carry out cleaning and dangerous or repetitive tasks.2. Robots and sci-fi Level: B1 Preliminary / B2 First ‘Skills: Speaking and Listening Interaction: Individual, in pairs and whole class activity Time: 35 minutes ‘Warm up (10") ~ whole class activity © What is science fiction (sci-fi)? * Doyou enjoy watching scifi films? Why (not)? * Can ou think of any robots you have seen in sci films? What could they do? + Whatis artificial intelligence (Al)? * Canyou think of any Al applications that you use? Why do you use them? # Is there anything that robots or Al applications can’t do? Listening (10') ~ individual activity You're going to watch a video on the National Geographic website about robots and artificial intelligence. Read questions 1-6 below and write an answer. You will watch the video twice. 1. When and where was the word ‘robot’ first used? 2. How has sci-fi often shown robots?3, Who was Rosie and what did she inspire? 4, What can Boston Dynamics robots do? 5. What can’t Al do? 6. Inreality, what will robots and Al be able to do in the future? ‘Speaking (15') ~ in pairs and whole class activity ‘You have recently attended a creativity fair and the organisers of the event are running a competition. They have asked participants to send in a video with an idea for a new product ‘which uses Al or another kind of technology. The participants with the most imaginative and creative idea will win 2 €50 voucher to spend on electronic devices. Work in pairs to think of an idea and prepare a 2-minute presentation for the video. You should mention what the product would do, who would benefit from it and why it would be useful, Present your idea to your classmates. Answer any questions your classmates have about your product. Now listen to your classmates’ presentations. Can you think of any questions you would like to ask them about their product?‘Suggested answers 1 When and where was the word ‘robot’ first used? In a Czech play (Rossum’s Universal Robots) in 1920. How has scifi often shown robots? As either fully evil or fully good. Who was Rosie and what did she inspire? She was the Jetsons’ housekeeper. She was an inspiration for the robotic vacuum cleaner, Roomba, What can Boston Dynamics robots do? Carry heavy objects, open doors and do parkour. ‘What can’t Al do? Process human emotions and idiosyncrasies, In reality, what will robots and Al be able to do in the future? Anything we are creative enough to programme.3. Technology Level: Pre Ad Starters, Al Movers, A2 Flyers ‘Skills: Speaking, Reading and Writing Interaction: in pairs, whole class and individual activity Time: 25-35 minutes ‘Warm up (10’) - whole class activity © Look around your classroom. What machines can you see? © What can they do? © What machines do you use at home? © What can they do? Vocabulary (10’) ~ Individual activity (Pre Al Starters and Al Movers) Look at the pictures. Look at the letters and write the words. Example > ° g s 2 5 Gp __- | or il 3. + ——_ __ __ ___ NEPOHeo ——————————— TTLAEB lS z ——— VTEILESNOI ee cTHAW EPCUOTMR: Follow-up (5') ~ whole class activity (Pre Al Starters and A1 Movers) What can you do with these different machines? Talk about it with your teacher and classmates.Reading (10') ~ individual activity (2 Flyers) Read the sentences and write the correct word on each line. There are three extra words. There is one example. television robot astronaut engineer internet phone watch computer plane camera keyboard car Plane] This machine flies to different places around the world, 1 You can use this to talk to your friends and it fits in your pocket. 2. This machine has a computer and does things for you. 3. You can use this to write on a computer. 4 People can drive this on the road to go to another place. 5. This machine has a screen, a keyboard, and a mouse. You can use this to watch programmes on a big screen at home, 7. This person can design or build machines. 8, People wear this to know the time. Definitions adapted from Cambridge Dictionary (Cambridge University Press & Assessment, 2023) ‘Writing and Speaking (15') individual activity and in pairs (A2 Flyers) ‘Write four sentences about your favourite machine and then tell your partner about it. 104, References Brefx (n.d.). Vector gratuito cdmara compacta cldsica sobre fondo blanco. [image/jpeg]. Freepik. 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