Regulating big tech

Olia | Dec 09, 2022Feb 24, 2023

LESSON OVERVIEW

This lesson on regulation and technology focuses on rules and laws vocabulary and speaking. The lesson features a video about a particular law and allows students to discuss it. Students also talk about regulating big companies and different technologies. 

WARM-UP & VOCABULARY

The lesson starts with a warm-up that prompts students to discuss big tech companies and their personal experience with them. It also raises the issue of whether these companies are well-regulated. Then, students learn rules and laws vocabulary. At first, they read some sentences and choose the correct subject (companies, laws, or regulators). After that, students have to match the words and phrases in bold from these sentences to their synonyms (e.g. come into effect – enter into force, enforce – impose). 

VIDEO

In this part of the worksheet, students learn about a law (Digital Markets Act) designed to regulate big tech companies. Students watch the video about it for the first time and say why it might be interesting for them. Then, students watch the video in parts and answer the questions. They also get a chance to use the rules and laws vocabulary they learnt in the previous exercise. After watching the video, students look at dos and don’ts of this act and complete them with missing words. This part of the lesson finishes with a discussion on whether students think this act is a good idea. 

READING & DISCUSSION

In the last part of the lesson, students read a short text about regulation and technology. It summarises the future EU’s law that intends to put some restrictions on Artificial Intelligence. Students have to discuss the text taking into consideration different points (implications, challenges, future development). To wrap up the lesson, students look at an idea related to a new law and discuss it similarly to the previous task. 

WORKSHEETS

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