Virtual Assistants
ESL Lesson PlansVirtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

This B2 ESL lesson for teens and adults explores the world of virtual assistants such as Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant, focusing on how they are changing daily life. Students engage in a fact-gap activity, brainstorming tasks, a reading comprehension with discussion questions, all leading to a class debate. By the end, learners will be able to describe how virtual assistants can support routines, productivity, and even language learning, while reflecting on their role in modern society.

Skills

  • Can understand straightforward, factual texts on subjects relating to their interests or studies.
  • Can take an active part in informal discussion in familiar contexts, commenting, putting a point of view clearly, evaluating alternative proposals and making and responding to hypotheses.
Online Interactive
Based on CEFR
Fully Customizable
1

Read the facts about virtual assistants and fill in the missing information. Which of the facts surprised you the most?

72
100000
30 billion
8 billion
500
2005
2011
1
Virtual assistants can handle over
tasks, from scheduling to answering queries.
2
Apple's Siri was launched in
and was one of the first popular assistants.
3
By 2024, over
devices were using virtual assistants worldwide.
4
Amazon's Alexa can control more than
smart home devices.
5
The term "virtual assistant" became popular around
with online support services.
6
% of consumers prefer using voice search over typing on their devices.
7
The global market for virtual assistants is expected to reach $
by 2026.
2

Listen to three people talking about virtual assistants. Who do you agree with, and why?

3

Brainstorm the uses of virtual assistants.

4

Read the blog post and answer the questions.

5

Can virtual assistants help you learn a language?

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