Just ask it

a question!

1
Let’s get started
with a warm-up
 Order the activities from the one that takes the most of your
time to the one that takes the least.

➔ discussing weekly plans with colleagues

➔ calling people to schedule meetings
➔ answering emails
➔ looking for information online
➔ learning to speak English
➔ listening to colleague reports

3
Let’s work with some
vocabulary
Look at the phrases and find one that needs a preposition.

A. join ……….. a meeting

B. call ……….. a manager
C. contact ……….. technical support
D. answer ……….. a question
E. listen ……….. music
F. speak ……….. a foreign language

5
Let’s check the answers.

_
A. join ……….. a meeting
_
B. call ……….. a manager
_
C. contact ……….. technical support
_
D. answer ……….. a question
to
E. listen ……….. music
_
F. speak ……….. a foreign language

6
Look at the pairs of phrases and decide which one in each pair needs a
preposition. Then, complete it with a preposition.

A. answer ……………..……. a question / give an answer ……………..

……. a question
B. ask ……………..……. help / ask ……………..……. a question
C. prepare ……………..……. a report / prepare yourself ……………..
……. a presentation
D. speak ……………..……. English / read a book ……………..…….
English
E. talk ……………..……. plans / discuss ……………..……. plans

7
Let’s check the answers.

_
A. answer ……………..……. to……………..
a question / give an answer
……. a question
for
B. ask ……………..……. help /_ask ……………..……. a question
_
C. prepare ……………..……. a report / prepare yourselffor……………..
……. a presentation
_
D. speak ……………..……. in ……………..…….
English / read a book
English
about _
E. talk ……………..……. plans / discuss ……………..……. plans

8
Now, we’ll put it into practice!
Complete the sentences with your own ideas.

A. I always wanted to learn to speak…

B. When I feel sad, I listen…
C. When I need advice, I call…
D. If you have a lot of free time, join…
E. One of my responsibilities is preparing…
F. When I check messages in the morning, I first answer…
G. When I need to take a day off at work, I contact…
H. When I’m with friends, we usually discuss…
I. In a job interview, I hate when an interviewer asks…
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It’s reading time!
 Discuss the questions.

➔ Are you a busy person? Why/Why not?

➔ What tasks take a lot of your time?
➔ Do you often ask your friends and colleagues for help?
Why/Why not?
➔ Do you have an assistant? Would you like to have one? Which
of your tasks would they do?

12
Read the descriptions of some popular virtual assistants. [part 1/3]

1
Google Assistant is one of the smartest virtual assistants. It can use the
information from Google Calendar and Gmail to help you with your schedule.
It has a special mode that lets you translate into another language in real time.
It can also call your contacts using a special Google app called Duo. Another
great function is Continued Conversation that lets you discuss different topics
with Google Assistant like it is a real conversation.

13
Read the descriptions of some popular virtual assistants. [part 2/3]

2
Siri is the oldest personal assistant. It can find you an answer to any question,
make recommendations and contact your friends by a call or a text message.
You can also ask Siri for help when you need to book something. And you can
speak 21 different languages which Siri understands. Siri can also make jokes.
But it’s available only on Apple devices.

14
Read the descriptions of some popular virtual assistants. [part 3/3]

3
Alexa is one of the most popular personal assistants. It answers your questions
and lets you listen to your favourite music. Alexa can remind you to join an
online meeting that you have in your schedule or point out that you need to
prepare a weekly report. To activate it, you have to say ‘Alexa’. Alexa works
with more apps and services than any other personal assistant.

15
Read the statements below and decide which virtual assistant from the
texts each statement is about.

A. You can use it together with many other apps from the same
company.
B. It is funny.
C. To start using it you need only one word.
D. It can help you communicate with people who speak other languages.
E. It works with the longest list of apps and services.
F. You can talk about many things with it like with a real person.
G. It was created earlier than the other two assistants.
H. It helps you remember important things.
I. You don’t need to speak only English to use it.
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Let’s check the answers.

Google
A. You can use it together with many other apps from the same
Assistant
company.
B. It is funny. Siri

C. To start using it you need only one word. Alexa

Google
D. It can help you communicate with people who speak other languages. Assistant
E. It works with the longest list of apps and services. Alexa
Google
F. You can talk about many things with it like with a real person. Assistant
G. It was created earlier than the other two assistants. Siri

H. It helps you remember important things. Alexa

I. You don’t need to speak only English to use it. Siri

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Let’s talk!
 Discuss the questions. [part 1/2]

➔ Do you use any of the virtual assistants from the texts? If yes,
which one(s)? If not, why not?
➔ What are their most useful functions for you?
➔ Do you think virtual assistants will one day replace human
personal assistants?

19
 Discuss the questions. [part 2/2]

➔ Which of these things do you sometimes forget to do? Can a

virtual assistant help you with it? Why/Why not?
● call a friend on their birthday
● listen to a voice message from a colleague
● join a meeting
● prepare for a lesson/work meeting
● answer an email
● contact a doctor

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 Imagine that you need to create a virtual assistant for one of the
groups of people below. Think of a name for it, a way to activate
it and its functions. Present it to another group. Use the sentence
starters in the box.
It can…
Groups of people:
It works on/with…
➔ Art school students Also, it…
➔ Social media managers Another great feature is…
➔ New parents It’s available…

➔ Software engineers You can…

To activate it, you have to…
➔ Managers at international firms
➔ Elderly people who live alone
It helps you…
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Thanks!