|Intermediate||Future time clauses||Technology & Ethics|
|Upper-intermediate||Technology & business vocab||Sports & business|
|Advanced||Equality & empathy|
Chris Kluwe wants to look into the future of sports and think about how technology will help not just players and coaches, but fans. Here the former NFL punter envisions a future in which augmented reality will help people experience sports as if they are directly on the field – and maybe even help them see others in a new light, too.
- What do you know about augmented reality? What does it mean to have your experience augmented?
- Is this something you would use? Would Google Glass make your life better?
- Can you think of any other augmented reality technologies?
- Does this type of device cause any ethical problems? Are they important to consider?
- What is Kluwe’s professional background?
- What does he think is the first step to true augmented reality?
- Why does Kluwe think that Google Glass and other technologies would be successful in sport?
- According to Kluwe, how will augmented reality foster empathy in areas other than sport?
- What examples does he give?
|1. Emergent||A. To make better, improve.|
|2. Augmented||B. Becoming more accepted or popular, or coming into existence.|
|3. Immersive||C. The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.|
|4. Hype||D. To help grow or develop.|
|5. To enhance||E. Monetary income|
|6. To foster||F. Extreme publicity or promotion from multiple different sources.|
|7. Revenue||G. Content (books, movies, TV, games) that deeply involves a person.|
|8. Empathy||H. Having increased value or additional benefits.|
Gap Fill & Discussion
Complete the following questions using the vocabulary above and then discuss them with your group/partner.
- Do you think that ___________ technologies like Google Glass could really ___________ empathy? Can you think of any examples other than those that Kluwe mentions?
- What kind of implications do these technologies have for our privacy? How could this be used to generate ___________ for companies?
- How could we benefit from ___________ reality without suffering a massive lack of privacy?
- What other devices currently have a lot of ___________ around them? What about those with negative ___________?
- In what way might Google Glass ___________ your life – professionally? Personally?
- Could ___________, augmented reality technology diminish our experience of the real world?
GRAMMAR: Future Time Clauses
|Preposition / Conjunction||Definition & Use|
|As soon as||
To show that something will happen immediately after another action is completed.
Up to the event
Not before (negative construction)
As a preposition
|In case|| To prepare for possible future situations
PRACTICE – Using Unless
Match the halves of sentences together using ‘unless’ to practice structure & concept. See activities download for the required material.
- ‘I am not going to go on vacation this year unless I can afford it.’
- Answer: ‘If I can’t afford it, I won’t go on vacation this year.’
SPEAKING – ROLE PLAYS
- In groups of three, students decide whether or not to adopt Google Glass as a part of their business – either a football team or a restaurant & bar. Each student has different interests regarding the technology, and must use the grammar & vocab they have learned to reach a solution together.
- Devices like Google Glass should be made illegal until new laws about privacy are created. As soon as this happens, the world will be ready for the widespread use of similar, emergent technologies.
- It is true that new, augmented reality devices could foster empathy, but they will also cause problems. Big companies will definitely exploit them for revenue, and this will cause more problems than solutions.
- Google glass won’t actually enhance our experience of sports and other competitions, but instead take some of the “magic” away from the game. Unless we regulate its use, this technology will make sport boring. The players will be like robots, simply following the instructions given to them.
Correct the following sentences.
- I don’t watch TV unless the news is on.
- We can sit near the front unless you don’t want to sit at the back.
- You will put on weight unless you eat fatty food.
- Unless you will wear a thick coat, you will get very cold.
- Unless they are showing an action film, we could go to the movies tomorrow afternoon.
- You can borrow my car unless you ask me first.