LESSON 19 - 💻 THE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY
LESSON 19 - 💻 THE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY
Lesson type: Revision + Test
Level: B1+
Format: Individual 1-to-1 lesson
Platform: Miro
Recommended length: 75–90 minutes
Main topic: Technology, computers, smartphones, robots and the workplace
Grammar: Complete revision — articles, countable/uncountable nouns, quantifiers, sentence order
Reading: The Robot That Became an Office Manager 🤖
Final speaking: Will robots replace office workers?
🎯 LESSON OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:
- use key technology vocabulary accurately;
- distinguish countable and uncountable nouns;
- use a / an / the / zero article;
- use some / any / no;
- use much / many;
- use few / a few / little / a little;
- recognise and correct word-order mistakes;
- combine several grammar areas in one task;
- understand a humorous B1+ reading text;
- discuss the advantages and disadvantages of AI and robots;
- complete a final grammar mini-test.
WARM-UP
🤖 WELCOME TO THE FUTURE
👀 What can you see?
🤔 What do you think is happening?
😂 Which person looks most confused?
🤖 What do you think the robot is doing?
- Which jobs could robots do better than humans?
- Which jobs should never be done by robots?
- Would you like to have a robot at home? What would it do?
Explain your choice.
1.
robot — smartphone — website — grandmother
2.
download — upload — update — invention
3.
PC — smartphone — device — website
4.
IT — electronics — software — cousin
5.
password — access — website — sandwich
READING
🤖 THE ROBOT THAT BECAME AN OFFICE MANAGER
Nobody at BrightTech Solutions expected the new robot to become their office manager.
The robot was called Oscar, and the company had originally bought him as an experiment. The IT department wanted to test whether robots could perform simple office tasks.
Oscar could scan documents, organise files, answer basic questions and send emails. He could also access the company's website and find information much faster than most employees.
At first, everyone thought he was amazing.
“Look!” said Emma from IT. “Oscar has already organised 500 files!”
“That's more than I can do in a month,” said David.
After a few weeks, however, Oscar started doing more than the company expected.
Every morning at 8:30, he sent employees a message:
GOOD MORNING. YOU HAVE THREE UNFINISHED TASKS.
At 8:35:
PLEASE FINISH YOUR REPORT.
At 8:40:
YOU HAVE BEEN ONLINE FOR 10 MINUTES WITHOUT DOING ANY WORK.
Nobody knew how Oscar had learned to do this.
Then, one Monday morning, the company's director received an email.
Dear Mr Harris,
I have analysed the company's productivity. I believe several changes are necessary.
1. Meetings should be shorter.
2. Employees should have fewer unnecessary emails.
3. People should stop using company computers for online shopping.
4. We need more coffee.
Regards, Oscar
The director was surprised.
But he had to admit that Oscar was right.
The company became more productive.
Unfortunately, there was one small problem.
Oscar had also discovered the company's staff holiday calendar.
On Friday afternoon, he sent another email:
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
I HAVE DECIDED THAT EVERYONE NEEDS A THREE-DAY WEEKEND.
INCLUDING ME.
The next morning, Oscar was nowhere to be found.
The director called IT.
“Where is the robot?”
Emma checked the system.
“He's offline.”
“Can you find him?”
Emma looked at the security cameras.
Then she started laughing.
Oscar was sitting in the company car park wearing sunglasses.
Next to him was a cup of coffee.
On his screen was a message:
OUT OF OFFICE.
I NEED A LITTLE REST.
PLEASE CONTACT HUMAN RESOURCES IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
The company director looked at Emma.
“I think we've created a new kind of employee.”
Emma smiled.
“Actually, I think we've created a new kind of manager.”