Listening

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Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. integral
    • ex. Eating fruits and vegetables is integral to maintaining a healthy diet.
  2. a curriculum
    • ex. The curriculum at this language school focuses on developing students' speaking and listening skills.
  3. alongside
    • ex. We worked alongside each other to complete the project on time.
  4. an educator
    • ex. The school organized training for educators to improve their teaching skills.
  5. unrealistic
    • ex. Learning a new language in just a day is unrealistic.

Article

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Tech experts at London’s British Educational Training and Technology (Bett) tech show said that AI should be an integral part of the school curriculum. They believe that AI is becoming a common part of our lives, and children will grow up alongside it. The last time the UK’s National Curriculum was updated was in 2014, and ten years is a long time in technology. AI wasn’t particularly mentioned in the curriculum, which worries many educators.

Roger Grogan owns a company that teaches schoolchildren about computers and AI. He said that it’s really important to teach children about AI, how they can use it, and also the dangers of AI. However, he thinks teachers have a difficult job discussing everything in their curriculums. So, expecting them to be AI experts is unrealistic.

The Bett tech show allows educators to learn all about the advantages and disadvantages of the latest technology in the classroom, and the new tools they can use for teaching. AI is one of the most discussed topics in the show. The show also promoted the educational benefits of the game Minecraft, which encourages exploration and creativity.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

AI Technology in Education

  • Do you believe AI should be an integral part of the school curriculum? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think students would become dependent on AI if educators taught it in school? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • The UK's National Curriculum was last updated in 2014, and ten years is a long time in technology. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Discuss.

Teaching Tools

  • How do you think tech shows like Bett benefit educators (ex. they update educators’ knowledge, they help educators teach better)? Discuss.
  • How do you feel about the use of popular games like Minecraft in school (ex. I agree with it, I don’t like it)? Why? Discuss.
  • How do you think teaching/learning tools have changed over the years (ex. teachers use more educational technology now)? Discuss.