Technology & innovation.
Students carry the most powerful device in history in their pocket. Ask them what it has actually done to them.
Warm-up · ask three
- What is the first app you open every morning?
- What piece of technology could you genuinely not live without?
- What did you do last year that a machine now does for you?
06
B2 course unit 6
Technology and Innovation
These prompts reuse the technology and innovation vocabulary from Unit 6, so students meet the same ten items in the reading, the workbook and here.
Let’s talk
Discussion questions
Project the generator and let it cold-call a question. Filter by level, then give a student 60 seconds to answer without stopping. Browse the full decks below.
Random question generator
Press “New question” to put one on the board.
Deck 1
Your tech
- How many hours a day are you actually on a screen?B2
- What gadget did you buy and never use?B2
- Which piece of wearable tech would you actually wear?B2
- How often do you back up anything you care about?B2
- Would you go a week with no internet for a good reason?C1
Deck 2
Artificial intelligence
- Where have you used artificial intelligence this week, knowingly or not?B2
- What job would you be happy to hand over to a machine?B2
- What should a machine never be allowed to decide?C1
- Should students be allowed to use AI for homework?B2
- If an algorithm makes a mistake, who is responsible?C1
Deck 3
Privacy and data
- What does your digital footprint say about you?B2
- Do you read terms and conditions? Does anyone?B2
- How much would you pay for real privacy?B2
- Is cybersecurity a personal responsibility or a company one?C1
- Should there be a legal right to be forgotten online?C1
Deck 4
Innovation
- What has been the biggest breakthrough of your lifetime?B2
- What problem still has no good technical solution?B2
- Does cutting-edge technology reach everyone, or only the rich?C1
- What technology from movies do you still expect to see?B2
- Do we innovate because we need to, or because we can?C1
Deck 5
Life online
- What was the last thing you saw go viral?B2
- Do algorithms show you the world, or a version of it?B2
- Has technology made you more connected or more distracted?B2
- What would you tell a ten-year-old about being online?B2
- Is attention the real product being sold?C1
Talk for longer
Useful language
The words students need to talk about technology without slipping into buzzwords. Pre-teach a handful, then challenge them to slip three into the discussion or the debate.
Sentence starters
Scaffolding for B2 — finish the sentence about you.
Explaining how it works
Weighing it up
Speculating
Being skeptical
Words & phrases
The unit’s target vocabulary — the same ten items as the workbook.
computer systems that can learn and decide
“AI is changing how we work.”
a small, clever device or tool
“He loves the latest gadgets.”
an important new discovery or advance
“A medical breakthrough saved lives.”
technology you wear, like a smartwatch
“Wearable tech tracks your health.”
the trace of data you leave online
“Mind your digital footprint.”
the protection of computers and data from attack
“Cybersecurity matters more than ever.”
to save a copy of data for safety
“Back up your files to the cloud.”
the most modern and advanced
“It’s cutting-edge technology.”
a set of rules a computer follows
“An algorithm chooses your feed.”
to spread very quickly online
“The video went viral overnight.”
Technology word bank
Quick words for the debate and the discussion.
Classroom debate
Innovation Showdown
Two technologies go head-to-head. Vote, watch the split — then make one student defend the winner and another rescue the loser.
Which would change life more?
Round 1
How to play: Read both technologies, take a vote and tap the totals in. Then one student defends the more popular choice, and another argues the case for the loser. Every argument needs a target phrase.
Model dialogue
Radek & Sofia argue about an app
Read it together, notice the underlined phrases, then act it out — and finally take on the roles below.
A cafe table. One of them has just installed something the other does not trust.
Look at this. It plans my whole week using artificial intelligence.
And it knows everything about you to do it.
It is cutting-edge. It even suggested I sleep more.
Which you could have worked out for free. What about your digital footprint?
It is one app.
It is one app with an algorithm deciding what matters in your day.
You use a smartwatch. That is wearable tech tracking your heart.
True, and I check its cybersecurity settings every month. Do you?
Now you sound like my father.
Your father backs his files up. Do you back up anything?
Fine, that is a fair hit. I lost a year of photos once.
Exactly. A breakthrough is only useful if you still control the thing.
Now argue the other side
Student A - the early adopter
You try everything first
New tools make life better and worrying about them is how people get left behind. Privacy is a reasonable price for something that genuinely works.
Student B - the cautious one
You want to know the cost
Every convenience is paid for with data, attention or dependence. You are not against technology — you want to know who benefits before you sign up.
Your mission
- Each choose a technology you use daily and explain what it costs you.
- Argue the opposite position to the one you actually hold.
- Agree on one rule you would both accept for using it.
- Report back to the class — use at least three phrases from the Useful language section.
Wind down & write
Choose your writing task
Pick one task to finish in class or as homework. Every option pushes the unit vocabulary into writing.
01
Describe a technology that has changed your daily life and explain how.
02
Write an article: three things everyone should know about their digital footprint.
03
Should students be allowed to use AI for schoolwork? Write an opinion piece.
04
Write an email persuading a friend to change one online habit.
05
Who should be responsible when an algorithm causes harm? Write an essay giving your view.
Exit ticket · 60 seconds
Before you leave
Quick round-the-room close: each student answers in one sentence. A fast way to check the target language landed.
“Name one thing technology does for you that you would not want to lose.”