Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan for C1 ESL students explores the ethics of AI in the workplace. This class material provides a full English lesson with engaging activities, vocabulary, and grammar practice focused on this highly relevant modern topic.
This lesson engages students with a thought-provoking ethical dilemma about AI employee monitoring. Activities include a key vocabulary matching task, a gap-fill listening exercise with an expert's opinion, and a practical case study on a biased AI hiring tool. Students will practice formal language and speculation before applying all their new skills in a structured role-play debate about the future of AI in management. This comprehensive lesson plan ensures a dynamic and communicative class.
Activities
- A warm-up ethical dilemma about AI surveillance in the workplace to prompt immediate discussion on benefits, risks, and employee privacy.
- The introduction and practice of key terminology through a matching exercise before students test their comprehension with a listening gap-fill task featuring an expert's monologue.
- A realistic case study about a biased AI hiring tool, encouraging small group discussion on accountability and potential consequences using the lesson's target language.
- A concluding role-play debate where students argue for or against delegating key management decisions to AI, consolidating all the vocabulary and grammar learned.
Vocabulary focus
This lesson equips students with the essential vocabulary to discuss AI ethics in a professional context. Key terms include: algorithmic bias, transparency, accountability, automation, human oversight, job displacement, re-skilling, and paradigm shift. These terms are introduced in a matching activity and reinforced throughout the lesson's speaking and discussion tasks.
Grammar focus
The grammar section has two key focuses. First, students practice using modal verbs for speculation (may, might, could) to discuss the potential future impact of AI. Second, the lesson teaches how to use more formal and objective language through the passive voice and nominalisation, which is crucial for professional and academic discussions on this topic.
