Unit 20 – AI: Helpful or Harmful?
Warm-up and Vocabulary
Hi everyone! Welcome to Unit 4. Robots, ChatGPT, and smart assistants—AI is everywhere! But is it a good friend or a dangerous problem? Today, we will practice your Speaking Skills. You will learn how to express your opinions and paraphrase ideas so you don’t just sound like a robot yourself. Speak up and have fun!
Vocabulary List
Instruction: Read the list below carefully. You will need these words to practice paraphrasing.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): Computer programs that can think or learn like humans.
- Replace: To take the place of someone or something.
- Efficient: Working quickly and well without wasting time.
- Assist: To help.
- Lazy: Not wanting to work or use energy.
- Depend on: To need something/someone to function.
- Creative: Having new and original ideas.
- Tool: An object or program used to do a job.
- Automate: To make a machine do a job automatically.
- Cheat: To act dishonestly to gain an advantage.
Activity 1: Let’s Discuss
Instruction: Look at the questions below. Think about your answers or discuss them with a partner.
- Do you use ChatGPT or other AI tools to help you with your homework? If yes, what for?
- Do you think robots or AI will ever replace teachers in the future? Why/Why not?
- Does using AI make students smarter or lazier? What is your opinion?
Activity 2: Check Your Vocabulary
The Art of Paraphrasing
Say It In Your Own Words
To succeed in Speaking, you cannot just repeat what you read or hear. You must Paraphrase.
What is Paraphrasing?
It means keeping the same meaning but using different words.
The “S.C.O.” Method:
To paraphrase simply, use these 3 tricks:
1. S – Synonyms (Change the words)
- Original: “AI is dangerous.”
- Paraphrase: “AI is harmful.”
- Original: “Students use AI.”
- Paraphrase: “Students utilize AI.”
2. C – Change Sentence Structure (Flip it)
- Original: “AI helps students.” (Active)
- Paraphrase: “Students are helped by AI.” (Passive)
3. O – Omit (Remove) Unnecessary Details
- Original: “I use ChatGPT, Gemini, and other bots to write essays.”
- Paraphrase: “I use AI tools for writing.”
Example:
- Original Text: “Many people are worried that AI will take their jobs because it is faster.”
- Spoken Paraphrase: “Some people fear losing their work to AI since computers are quicker.”
Skill Practice
Complete the following 4 exercises. Exercise 4 requires recording your voice.
Exercise 1: Word Search
Exercise 2: Matching Synonyms
Exercise 3: Identify the Best Paraphrase
 Read the original sentence. Choose the option that keeps the same meaning but uses different words.
Exercise 4: Record and Speak
Read the sentence, think of a paraphrase, and then record your voice saying the paraphrase of number 1-5. Do not just read the original sentence!