Let’s do a short quiz to test your knowledge of gadgets from the 90s and then follow that up with some vocab acquisition and a video about predictions made by children in the 60s. You may well be rather surprised at their eloquence and accuracy !

The evolution of technology :

Lead in :

Which gadgets do you depend on most ?
What would you do if you lived alone and all of your equipment kicked the bucket ? Your mobile phone, laptop and the wifi went down ? Any advice for others ?
What are some of your pet peeves about technology
In which ways has technology improved or worsened your quality of life ?

How familiar are you with gadgets from the 90’s ?

Let’s test your knowledge !

Warmer : Quiz time !

Test your knowledge of these gadgets and facts from the 90’s

1.Google officially launched in 1998, but what was the search engine originally called?

NeckMassage

BackRub

BackItch

HeadAche

Gogglebox

2.The first commercial mobile phone, the Motorola DynaTAC, was discontinued in 1994. How long on average did it take to charge the phone?

10 Hours

9 Hours

8 Hours

11 Hours

Twelve centuries

4.What is this?

Xbox

A popcorn maker

GameBoy Color

Playstation One

Sega Dreamcast

5.What was this device called ?

A flip around phone

Your granny's hair dryer.

A rotary device

A rotary phone

6. What were the Yellow pages ?

Your granny’s journal

Your auntie’s hair curlers

A book of addresses, numbers and names

7.Listen to this sound up to ) 0 : 20 seconds : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSRG0TqxLWc

What device produced this particularly stressful sound ?

Check the vocabulary box, then let’s drill any tricky pronunciation !

Dull /tedious: Mundane, boring, not at all entertaining.
Rations : To be limited in what one can purchase or own.
Oblivion : destruction or extinction. To be completely destroyed, in the depths of struggle.
Automation : a term for technology applications where human input is minimised. This includes business process automation (BPA), IT automation, personal applications such as home automation and more.
Batteries ( As regards animals ) : (British English) a farm where large numbers of chickens or other animals are kept in very small cages or crowded conditions
To yield : produce or provide (a natural, agricultural, or industrial product). "the land yields grapes and tobacco"
Drastic : likely to have a strong or far-reaching effect; radical and extreme. "a drastic reduction of staffing levels"
Grapple : struggle to deal with or overcome (a difficulty or challenge).

Pick one or two of the vocabulary items and make some examples !

Now, let’s watch the video on children from the 1960’s making predictions about the future and then let’s chat :

What is the young boy’s prediction about the year 2000? Was he far off ?
The young girl predicted what food may be on offer - what do you think? A tad far out ?
What did the second boy mention about atomic bombs and the world as we know it ?
True or false : The world will become so overpopulated that ‘’population control’’ will have to take place through drastic measures.
The planet will become so hot ( global warming ) that there will no longer be any life on the earth. What are your thoughts ?
‘’I don’t think there will be an atomic war, though automation will take over jobs and I think something has to be done about it.’’. Do you agree ? Is it happening now ?
What does this expression mean : To temper the population problem.
Do you agree : ‘’Things would be awfully dull and people will all be squashed together, there won’t be any fun. People will be rationed for the amount of things they can have.’’
‘’I think it will be boring. People will be the same. Inauthentic.’’
First of all, computers are taking over now. Computers and automation. In the year 2000 there just won’t be enough jobs to go around. Did this happen or do you reckon it may well happen in future ?
‘’People will have to live in flats piled up on top of one another due to an increase in population. ‘’ Is this something prevalent in this day and age or do you disagree ?
Animals/livestock will be kept in batteries, no longer allowed to graze on pastures. The purpose is to yield more food for an overpopulated society. Is this necessary or not ? Does this happen in your country ?
‘’There will no longer be racial division in the future.’’ Was the girl’s prediction accurate ?
Which of the predictions were most surprising ? Take a moment to think : What are some of your own predictions ?

Part 2 :

Fill in the gaps : Remember to make notes as we go along !

Dull/tedious
Rations/rationed
Oblivion
To yield

Batteries
Automation
Drastic
Grappling

Maybe we should try something less______ first. We certainly do not need to take such serious measures !
Children predicted that animals would live in ______ and not be free to roam fields and live outdoors.
One of the children stated that food would be ____. I feel that this is true/ not true due to the fact that _____. ( Opinion )
Life could possibly become quite _____ if one limits oneself to playing computer games and spending too much time indoors.
In future, if climate change has more of an impact, the land will _____less produce and we may well have to ration what we consume.
It is said that ____ is going to make many jobs redundant. I do / do not believe that we will be able to adjust with the times.
If we do not take care of our planet, we may face total ______. Extinction of animals and a dramatic shift in climate globally.
Robotics/automation is said to have been a great help for countries such as Japan, who are ______ with a population decline and shortage of blue collar workers.

Questions to discuss :

How has technology helped you with language learning?
Can you name/ think of some gadgets that we use everyday? What technological item could you not do without?
What are some negative and positive aspects of using technology as a study tool? ( Dangers of technology.)
Have you thought of taking a social media detox lately ?
What do you do to recharge your batteries instead of spending a drastic amount of time online ?
What are your thoughts on automation ? Will there truly be fewer job opportunities for people ?
‘’South Korea is one of the top automated countries in the world. This AI country is focused on having the highest robot density in the manufacturing industry that can cover the workload of 15 full-time human employees.’’ - What do you think of this ? Do you find automation a tad scary ? Why or why not ?
Birth rates/natality rates have declined in countries such as Japan so it is said that fewer people feel threatened by automation. Is this the same situation in your country ?
If you could invent a robot / machine that could make your life easier, what functions would it have ?