LESSON OVERVIEW

In this lesson, students learn and practise using verbs with prepositions, as well as verbs without prepositions. They also read texts about virtual assistants and discuss the topic in depth using the new language. 

VERBS WITH PREPOSITIONS

The lesson starts with a warm-up activity in which students order six activities (e.g. discussing weekly plans with colleagues, calling people to schedule meetings) from the one that takes the most of their time to the one that takes the least. Then, students look at six verb phrases and find one which requires a preposition. Next, they decide which verbs in pairs of phrases take prepositions, and which don’t (e.g. talk about plans, discuss plans). Students get more practice of using verbs with prepositions in the next task, where they complete sentences with their own ideas (e.g. In a job interview, I hate when an interviewer asks…). Finally, students discuss how busy they are at work, if they get any help from their colleagues, and whether they have an assistant. 

READING AND SPEAKING

In this part of the lesson, students read three descriptions of virtual assistants. They also read some statements and decide which virtual assistant they refer to. After the reading task, they discuss the idea of a virtual assistant and decide which of the three they would choose. They also decide what tasks virtual assistants could do for them (e.g. answer an email, contact a doctor). Finally, students create a virtual assistant for a specific group of people (e.g. software engineers, elderly people who live alone). They think of a name for it and a way to activate its functions. Then, they present their ideas to other students. They do it using some useful phrases (e.g. To activate it, you have to…, Another great feature is…) and verbs with and without prepositions they practised in the lesson.