The Future of Work

Time: 90 minutes
Level: C1 (Advanced)
Skills Focus: Speaking, Reading, Vocabulary, Functional Language
Theme: Evolving Workplaces and Careers

Warm-Up Discussion (10–15 minutes)

Prompts (Pairs or Groups):

  • What does a “typical” job look like today compared to 20 years ago?
  • What kind of job do you think might not exist in 10 years?
  • Do you think AI and automation are more likely to help or harm workers?

Encourage students to give examples, speculate, and use a range of opinion and hedging language.

 

Vocabulary: Work Trends (15 minutes)

Introduce and discuss these C1-level terms:

    • Remote work / hybrid working
    • Gig economy
    • Job displacement
    • Reskilling / upskilling
    • Work-life balance
    • Digital nomad
    • Knowledge economy
    • Quiet quitting
    • Portfolio career
    • Emotional intelligence in leadership

Activity:
Match vocabulary with definitions → Discuss:

    • Which of these trends are most relevant in your country or industry?
    • Are they positive or negative? Why?

Reading Task (20 minutes)

Text: “Is Your Job Future-Proof?” (A short article exploring automation, soft skills, and career adaptability)
Comprehension Tasks:

  • What three predictions does the author make?
  • What tone does the author use—optimistic, critical, or uncertain?
  • Identify examples of hedging or cautious language.
  • Do you agree with the conclusions?

(Reading can be teacher-provided or replaced by a similar TED Talk/podcast if preferred)

 

Speaking Task: Work Scenarios Debate (25 minutes)

Instructions:
Groups receive one scenario to discuss and prepare arguments:

    • “In the future, most people will be freelancers with no fixed employer.”
    • “Companies should offer a 4-day work week to improve mental health.”
    • “Soft skills are becoming more important than technical skills.”
    • “AI should make hiring decisions to avoid bias.”

Steps:

    1. Prepare arguments (agree/disagree)
    2. Use persuasive and hedging language
    3. Present, listen, and rebut opposing arguments

Functional Language: Expressing Cautious Opinions (10 minutes)

Introduce or review advanced hedging expressions:

    • “There’s some evidence to suggest…”
    • “It’s possible that…”
    • “While that may be true in some cases…”
    • “Not everyone would agree, but…”
    • “One could argue that…”

Mini-Activity: Rephrase strong statements into more cautious ones.
Example:

    • Strong: “AI will destroy all jobs.”
    • Cautious: “It’s possible that AI could replace certain roles, though not necessarily all of them.”

Wrap-Up & Homework (5 minutes)

Discussion Prompt:

    • Has your view of the future of work changed during this lesson?
    • What steps would you personally take to prepare for changes in the job market?

Functional Language – Hedging Opinions

Rephrase these strong opinions using more nuanced expressions:

Strong Opinion

Nuanced Version

  1. “Automation is going to ruin the job market.” | ____________________________________
  2. “Soft skills are more important than hard skills.” | ____________________________________
  3. “Remote work destroys productivity.” | ____________________________________
  4. “Young people don’t want to work anymore.” | ____________________________________

Useful phrases:

  • It could be argued that…
  • While that may be the case…
  • Not everyone would agree, but…
  • There’s growing concern that…
  • Some evidence suggests that…

Debate Prep – Future of Work Scenarios

Choose a statement (or be assigned one) and plan your position.

Debate Prompts:

  • “Soft skills are more important than technical skills.”
  • “A 4-day work week should be the new standard.”
  • “AI should replace human managers in recruitment.”
  • “Freelancing is the future of employment.”

Instructions:

  1. Decide: Do you agree or disagree?
  2. Brainstorm 3 key arguments.
  3. Write one strong rebuttal you could use against the other side.
  4. Practice using hedging language and persuasive expressions.

Reflection – Write & Share

Answer in your own words:

  • How do you imagine your career evolving in the next 10 years?
  • What skills do you think will be most important to develop?
  • Do you feel optimistic or concerned about the future of work? Why?

Homework Suggestion:

Write a 250-word opinion piece on one of the following topics:

  • “Why soft skills will define future careers”
  • “How I imagine the workplace in 2040”
  • “Should we fear automation or embrace it?”

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