| LESSON OVERVIEW
The main objectives of this ESL lesson on transhumanism are to:
- discuss ideas and concerns about transhumanism;
- practise phrases to present controversial opinions;
- watch a video supporting advanced human technology.
Students explore the topic of transhumanism and share their thoughts on real-life examples and technology in everyday life. They discuss ideas that excite or worry them and read about an episode of Black Mirror. They watch a video supporting transhumanism and take notes on key arguments. They practise expressions for presenting controversial ideas (e.g. Here’s an idea that might ruffle some feathers: what if…) and use them to argue for challenging viewpoints. Students discuss the ethics and impact of humans using advanced technology.
WARM-UP AND VOCABULARY
This ESL lesson on transhumanism begins with a warm-up. Students read the definition of ‘transhumanism’ and say whether they’ve seen any examples or signs of it in real life. They think about everyday technology, medicine or science. Afterwards, students look at examples of transhumanism (e.g. genetic engineering, mind uploading, nanotechnology brain chips). They say which of them excites them the most and which worries them. Moving on, students choose the best words to complete a paragraph about an episode of the series Black Mirror and questions about technology, identity and ethics. After that, they discuss the questions from the previous task. Students then look at other arguments against transhumanism (e.g. social inequality, loss of diversity, privacy invasion). They explain them and give examples.
VIDEO AND FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE
In this part of the ESL lesson on transhumanism, students watch a video in which a speaker speaks in support of transhumanism. They take notes on what the speaker mentions about different arguments (e.g. It can improve communication). Afterwards, students discuss questions about reacting to ideas on humans and technology. Following that, they complete words with the missing letters to create expressions used to present controversial ideas (e.g. I know this goes against the grain, but…). Moving on, students choose controversial ideas (e.g. Creating supersoldiers could greatly enhance national security and save lives) and argue in support of them using the expressions from the previous task.
HOMEWORK/REVISION
This lesson also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students complete gaps with the words related to risks and ethical issues. They then choose a statement and respond to it using one of the target phrases from the lesson. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.
WORKSHEETS
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