Describing Technology with the Passive Voice
A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS
Guessing game for passive and techical English practice, moving onto a grammar presentation and work on engineering collocations, synonyms, abbreviations, etc.
Lesson Plan Content:
Describing technology with passive voice game
Choose one of the technologies below but don’t tell your partner which one. Read out the hints there one by one until your partner guesses what you are talking about, starting with the most difficult hints to guess from. Your partner can only guess once per hint, so give another hint if their guess is wrong. If you finish all the hints below before your partner guesses correctly, make up more hints (with passive voice if possible). If they know what you are talking about but can’t think of the name in English, they can just point at that thing in the classroom, ask the teacher for the word, use a dictionary, draw the object, etc. When they guess correctly, change roles and do the same thing. Take turns doing the same until your teacher stops you.
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Useful language for playing the game “I’m not sure/ I have no idea. Can you give me another hint?” “That could also be right, but it isn’t written here. I’ll give you another hint. The next hint is…” “That’s right. Now it’s your turn.” |
Ask about anything below you don’t understand.
Passive voice grammar presentation
Put one word into each gap below, without looking at the previous worksheets.
Humidifier
Your skin ___________________________________________ kept healthy by this.
Many ___________________________________________________ sold in Japan.
Lift/ Elevator
It _____________________________________________ invented a long time ago.
Some are made _______________________________________________ Toshiba.
Clamshell mobile phone/ Clamshell cellphone
It can _______________ used by old people and children (because it is so simple).
In most countries it _______________________ been replaced by smartphones.
Check your answers below.
Put the verbs below into the correct forms
Light bulb
It ___________________________________________________ (make) of glass.
It ________________________________________________ (power) by electricity.
It ____________________________________________________ (use) at night.
It _________________________________________ (replace) when it isn’t working.
It ____________________________________________ (invent) by Thomas Edison.
The traditional one ________________________________ (replace) by LED ones.
Check your answers with the other worksheets.
Descriptions of technology with passive voice
Humidifier
Your skin is kept healthy by this.
Steam is released by this.
It isn’t sold in the UK.
Many are sold in Japan.
It is most often used when the weather is cold and dry.
Lift/ Elevator
People are carried in it.
It was invented a long time ago.
It is powered by electricity.
Some are made by Toshiba.
It is controlled by buttons on the wall.
Things are transported up and down in it.
HDTV
Blu-ray videos are best watched on this.
It is made from very many LEDs.
It is sold in electronics shops.
It was launched quite a long time ago but it hasn’t become so popular yet.
A lot of space is needed to have it in your house.
Light bulb
It is made of glass.
It is powered by electricity.
It is replaced when it breaks.
It is sold in supermarkets.
It is mostly used at night.
It was invented by Thomas Edison.
The traditional one has been replaced by LED ones.
Vending machine
Money is put into it.
It is sometimes robbed or stolen.
It is placed outside shops, outside homes, in offices, in hospitals, etc.
It is brought and taken away by a truck.
The products inside are cooled or heated.
It is refilled at least once a week.
Contactless payment cards are sometimes accepted by these.
Strange products like canned bread, plastic models and pants are sometimes sold from these.
Air conditioner
It is put on the wall.
It is powered by electricity.
It is used a lot in the summer.
It is used to make the room hotter or colder.
The outside is made of plastic.
It is cleaned three or four times a year.
It is connected to outside the house.
It is bought in an electrical shop.
It is fixed by a technician.
It is replaced once every ten or twenty years.
(Travel) alarm clock
It can be usually be folded.
It can be carried in your suitcase.
It is powered by a battery.
People are woken up by it.
It is used to tell the time.
It is made from glass, plastic and metal.
Video game/ Computer game
Lots of time is wasted using this.
It is sold for more than a DVD or CD.
More money is made from these than from movies.
It is mainly played by teenage boys.
It is criticised by teachers and parents.
It was made popular by Sega.
Movies are sometimes based on these.
Clamshell mobile phone/ Clamshell cellphone
In most countries it has been replaced by smartphones.
It is opened and closed each time that you use it.
It can be used for a few days without charging it.
It can be used by old people and children (because it is so simple).
Fax (machine)
Paper is put into it.
Documents were often sent this way at the end of the 20th century.
It has mostly been replaced by email.
Its documents are sent through telephone lines.
Ask about anything above which you couldn’t understand, then do the grammar presentation on the first page.
Play the same game with your own ideas, for example the kinds of technology on the next page.
Suggested technology to describe with passive voice
- Air conditioning
- (Travel) alarm clock
- Answerphone/ Answer machine/ Voice mail
- (Smartphone) app(lication)
- AR/ Augmented reality
- Autonomous vehicles/ Self-driving cars
- Biometric identification (voice recognition, facial recognition, fingerprint sensor, etc)
- Block-chain technologies (Bitcoin, etc)
- (Pocket/ Solar-powered) calculator
- (Digital) camera
- Carbon capture/ Carbon sequestering
- (Clamshell/ 4G) cellphone/ mobile phone
- Cloud computing/ The cloud
- Combined toilet and bidet
- Computer translation/ Machine translation
- Contactless payment card (e.g. Oyster Card)
- (Extension) cable/ cord
- DAB/ digital radio
- Debit card
- Desktop computer/ PC
- Dictaphone/ (Digital) voice recorder
- Drinks machine
- Electric vehicle
- Erasable pen
- (Electric) fan
- Fire extinguisher
- Flashlight/ Torch
- Fluorescent light/ Fluorescent strip
- Fridge freezer
- GM/ GMO/ genetically modified…
- Hair clippers
- Hair dryer
- Hands-free phone/ Conference call function
- (Inner-ear/ Noise cancellation) headphones
- Headset
- Humidifier
- Instant messaging
- Intercom
- (Steam) iron
- IoT/ The internet of things
- IWB/ Interactive whiteboard
- (Electric) kettle
- (Desk) lamp
- Laptop (computer)
- (LED) light bulb
- Maglev (bullet) train
- Microphone
- Microwave (oven)
- Nanotechnology
- Nuclear power station
- Online chat
- Pager/ Beeper
- Photocopier/ Copy machine
- (Two-pin/ Three-pin) plug
- Projector
- Radio cassette player
- Remote control
- (Nano/ Micro) satellite
- Sewing machine
- (Paper) shredder
- SIM card
- Smoke detector
- SMS/ text
- Social media
- Socket/ Electrical outlet
- (Anti-virus/ Photo-editing) software
- Spam filter
- (Deep sea) submarine
- Tablet (computer)
- Teleconferencing
- (Cable/ HD/ Satellite/ Wide-screen/ 3D) television/ TV
- USB (stick)/ (USB) thumb drive
- (Robot) vacuum cleaner/ Hoover
- Vending machine
- Video conferencing
- Video game (console)
- VoIP (e.g. Skype)
- VR/ Virtual reality
- Water cooler/ Water dispenser
- Wearable technology (smartwatches, etc)
- Wi-fi
- Word processor
Ask about anything you don’t understand above, working together to make suitable descriptions each time.
Science and technology collocations
Connect words from the left and right of each section below to make STEM collocations.
- Air app(lication)
- Alarm clock
- Answer calculator
- Voice chain technologies (Bitcoin, etc)
- (Smartphone) conditioning
- Augmented identification
- Autonomous mail
- Biometric phone/ machine
- Voice/ Facial reality
- Block- recognition
- (Pocket/ Solar-powered) vehicles
- (Digital) bidet
- Carbon camera
- (Clamshell/ 4G) cell/ mobile capture/ sequestering
- Cloud card
- Combined toilet and computing
- Computer/ Machine cable/ cord
- Contactless payment card (e.g. Oyster Card)
- (Extension) phone
- Digital radio
- Debit translation
- Desktop/ Personal computer
- (Digital) voice extinguisher
- Drinks fan
- Electric freezer
- Erasable light/ Torch
- (Electric) light/ strip
- Fire machine
- Flash modified…
- Fluorescent pen
- Fridge recorder
- Genetically vehicle
- Hair bulb
- Hands- clippers/ dryer
- Head com
- Inter- free phone
- (Steam) iron
- The internet of kettle
- (Electric) lamp
- (Desk) set
- Lap things
- (LED) light top (computer)
- Maglev (bullet) chat
- Micro control
- Micro copier
- Nano machine
- Nuclear power phone
- Online player
- (Two-pin/ Three-pin) plug
- Photo satellite
- Copy station
- Radio cassette technology
- Remote train
- (Nano/ Micro) wave (oven)
- Sewing card
- (Paper) (computer)
- SIM detector
- Smoke filter
- Social machine
- (Electrical) marine
- Anti media
- Spam outlet
- (Deep sea) sub- shredder
- Tablet -virus software
- Tele/ Video cleaner/ Hoover
- (Cable/ HD/ Satellite/ Wide-screen) conferencing
- USB cooler/ dispenser
- (Robot) vacuum fi
- Vending game (console)
- Video machine
- Virtual processor
- Water reality
- Wearable (stick/ thumb drive)
- Wi- technology (smart watches, etc)
- Word television/ TV
- Finger headphones
- Instant messaging
- (Inner ear/ Noise cancellation) -print sensor
Check as a class or with the worksheets above.
Technology synonyms
Without looking above for now, try to think of other expressions which mean the same as:
- app
- answerphone
- AR
- cellphone
- cord
- DAB
- PC
- Dictaphone
- torch
- fluorescent light
- photocopier
- SMS
- socket
- Hoover
- water dispenser
------------------------------fold, cover or cut--------------------------
Mixed answers
Use the words below to help with the task below. Some need to be combined with each other or with words from above.
- (digital)
- -lication
- augmented
- cable
- cleaner
- computer
- cooler
- copy
- desktop
- digital
- electrical
- flash-
- light
- machine
- machine
- mobile
- outlet
- radio
- reality
- recorder
- strip
- text
- vacuum
- voice
Differences between similar technology words
The things on the same line below are at least slightly different from each other. Work together to describe the differences.
air conditioner/ humidifier
AR/ VR
chat/ online chat
clamshell mobile phone/ smartphone
clock/ watch
credit card/ debit card
desktop computer/ laptop (computer)
drinks machine/ vending machine
electric(al)/ electronic
email/ SMS
fluorescent light/ (LED) light bulb
fridge/ freezer
game/ video game
kettle/ teapot
microwave (oven)/ oven
plug/ socket
sewing machine/ machine
smartphone/ tablet
teleconference/ video conference
Ask about any which you are not sure about.
Technology Janglish
Write British and/ or American English for each of the “Japanese English” expressions below. All need to be changed.
appli X
barikan X
(NHK) BS X
consent X
cool box X
cooler X
degital X
digi camera X
dryer X
eco technology X
(a pair of) headphone X
high vision X
homep X
pasokon X
note pasokon X
rajio X
remo con X
SF (movies) X
(computer) soft X
stand lamp X
televi X
TV conference X
TV game X
washlet X
word pro X
wirus X
Mixed answers
Use the words to correct the phrases above. Some can be used more than once or need to be combined.
air
and
app
application
bidet
clippers
combined
computer
conditioner
control
desk
digital
electrical
fi
fiction
fridge
green
hair
HD
lap
outlet
processor
radio
refrigerator
remote
satellite
-s
sci-
science
site
socket
telly
the box
toilet
top
TV
video
virus
-ware
web
Science and technology abbreviations
Without looking above, try to remember, work out or guess what the long form of each thing here is:
- 3D
- app
- AR
- biotech
- BSc
- DAB
- fridge
- GM
- HDTV
- IoT
- IT
- IWB
- LED
- math(s)
- mobile
- MSc
- OS
- PC
- sci-fi
- SMS
- STEM
- teleconference
- trig
- vlog
- VR
- www
Use the hints below to help, then check as a class or with the worksheets above.
Use words below to help with the task above. Some words can be used more than once.
- augmented
- audio
- bachelor of
- biological
- broadcasting
- computer
- definition
- digital
- dimensions/ dimensional
- diodes
- emitting
- engineering
- fiction
- genetically
- high
- information
- interactive
- internet
- -lication
- light
- master
- mathematics
- maths
- messaging
- modified
- of
- operating
- personal
- phone
- reality
- refrigerator
- science
- service
- short
- system
- technology
- telephone
- television
- the
- trigonometry
- video
- virtual
- web
- whiteboard
- wide
- world
Join words from the left and right of the same section below to make things that have common abbreviations, then write the abbreviation next to the completed form.
- three dimensions/ dimensional
- augmented definition television
- bio- emitting diode
- bachelor of modified
- genetically of things
- high phone
- the internet reality
- information science
- light technology
- mobile technology
- master of computer
- operating fiction system
- personal log/ blog
- science messaging
- short reality
- science science
- video system
- virtual technology engineering and maths
- world wide web
Check as a class or with the worksheets above.
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