Advanced topic · Debate & discussion
The future of work
Robots, remote work, careers that don't exist yet. It's the future these students will actually live in — so let's get them debating it now, with the language to do it well.
Warm-up · ask three
- What job did you want to do when you were a child?
- Would you rather work from home or in an office?
- What's one job you could never do?
What will work look like?
Let's talk
Discussion & debate questions
Start with the easier B2 questions to build confidence, then push to the C1 stretch. Project the generator, filter by level, and give a student 60 seconds.
Random question generator
Press “New question” to put one on the board.
Deck 1
Jobs of the future
- How do you think jobs will change in the next 10–20 years?B2
- What new jobs might exist in the future that don't today?B2
- What skills do you think will matter most for future jobs?B2
- Do you think you'll have one career, or several?B2
- What job would you love to have, realistically?B2
Deck 2
Where & how we work
- Would you rather work from home or in an office? Why?B2
- What are the good and bad sides of working from home?B2
- Could you work while travelling, as a "digital nomad"?B2
- Is a four-day working week a good idea?B2
- How important is "work-life balance" to you?B2
Deck 3
Technology & jobs
- Which jobs do you think are safe from automation?B2
- Would you trust a robot to do a job a human does now?B2
- Will AI and robots create more jobs, or take them away?C1
- Should workers be retrained when machines take their jobs?C1
- Is it fair that some jobs will simply disappear?C1
Deck 4
Money & fairness
- Should everyone receive a basic income, whether they work or not?C1
- Who should benefit when technology makes companies richer?C1
- Is it a problem that some jobs pay so much more than others?C1
- Should governments protect old jobs, or let them change?C1
- Will the gap between rich and poor grow or shrink?C1
Deck 5
You & your career
- Is it better to be a specialist or to have many different skills?B2
- Do your family's expectations affect your career choices?B2
- Would you rather earn a lot, or love what you do?B2
- How do you choose a career that will still exist in 20 years?C1
- Will people ever really "retire" in the future?C1
Argue with confidence
Useful language
Talking about the future needs the language of probability and debate. Pre-teach these — they're what make the topic work for B2 as well as C1.
Debate & prediction phrases
For making a forecast and defending it.
Making a prediction
Agreeing & disagreeing
Conceding & countering
Hedging a forecast (C1)
Words & phrases
Topic vocabulary to sound precise on work.
a system of short-term, freelance jobs
"Delivery drivers work in the gig economy."
machines doing tasks people used to do
"Automation is transforming factories."
learning new skills for work
"Upskilling keeps workers relevant."
working away from a central office
"Remote work suits me far better."
to lose a job because it's no longer needed
"He was made redundant last year."
the balance between job and personal life
"Good work-life balance really matters."
an extra job or income on the side
"Her side hustle is photography."
Talking-about-the-future word bank
Words to judge how likely a prediction is.
Model debate
Hana & Diego on automation
Watch how they predict and push back without ever falling out. Then hold the formal debate below.
A coffee break, both scrolling the same news story.
Did you see this? They've automated half the warehouse jobs at that company.
I did. Honestly, I reckon automation is bound to take a lot of jobs.
You've got a point, but every new technology also creates jobs we can't imagine yet.
That's possible, but will there be enough of them? And soon enough?
I doubt the change will be as fast as people fear. These things take decades.
Even if that's true, the people who lose jobs now can't wait decades.
Fair. So the real question is retraining, isn't it?
Exactly. Whoever pays for upskilling will decide who wins.
I'd argue companies should pay — they're the ones making the savings.
On the other hand, governments benefit too. Maybe it's shared.
See — in all likelihood the answer is "a bit of everyone".
The most boring answer, and probably the right one.
Now hold the debate
Proposition · for the motion
The optimist
History is on your side: every wave of technology has, in the end, created new industries and new kinds of work.
Opposition · against the motion
The realist
This time is different. AI replaces thinking, not just muscle — and the new jobs may be too few, and come too late.
Your mission
- Take your side, even if it's not what you personally believe.
- Prepare two arguments — each one a Point, an Example and an Explanation.
- Predict one argument the other side will make, and prepare your response.
- Debate: one minute each to argue, then one rebuttal each. Use at least three phrases from the language section.
Classroom game
Likely or Unlikely?
Read each prediction about the future of work. Vote with the class, watch the room split — then pick a student from each side to defend their view for 45 seconds.
Prediction 1
How to play: Read it out, take a quick show of hands and tap the totals in. Then one student argues why it's likely, another why it's unlikely — using real reasons, not just opinions.
Wind down & write
Choose your writing task
Turn the debate into writing. These are B2–C1 tasks — encourage a clear position, real examples, and the probability language from the lesson.
01
Write about the job you imagine yourself doing in the future. How might it differ from jobs today?
02
Working from home: discuss the advantages and disadvantages, then give your own view.
03
"Automation will do society more harm than good." How far do you agree?
04
Describe a technology you think will change the way people work, and how.
05
How do you think the idea of "work" will change in the next fifty years?
Exit ticket · 60 seconds
Before you leave
Quick round-the-room close: each student finishes the sentence — and has to give a reason, not just a job.
"Finish this: the job I'd most like to have in 2040 is… because…"