Tool or game
Lesson
Speaking Part 3: Discussing technology and work
Part 3 asks for opinions on abstract issues. Learn to speculate, generalise and weigh up other perspectives, then answer four discussion questions against the clock.
What changes in Part 3
Part 1 is about you. Part 3 is about society: trends, causes, comparisons and the future. Examiners listen for whether you can develop and justify an abstract opinion for 4–5 minutes.
A simple shape for each answer
- Answer the question directly.
- Explain why.
- Illustrate with an example, or a contrast between groups or places.
- Qualify it: an exception, or another point of view.
Q: Do you think robots will replace teachers?
Answer: I doubt they'll replace them entirely.
Explain: Machines might well take over routine tasks, such as marking grammar exercises,
Illustrate: and some apps already do that quite effectively.
Qualify: That said, the motivational side of teaching, noticing when a student is losing confidence, seems much harder to automate.
Answer: I doubt they'll replace them entirely.
Explain: Machines might well take over routine tasks, such as marking grammar exercises,
Illustrate: and some apps already do that quite effectively.
Qualify: That said, the motivational side of teaching, noticing when a student is losing confidence, seems much harder to automate.
Language for abstract discussion
- Speculating: I'd imagine… / It's quite likely that… / might well…
- Generalising: By and large… / In many cases… / On the whole…
- Contrasting groups: …whereas older people… / In cities…, but in rural areas…
- Qualifying: That said,… / Having said that,… / To some extent…
Practise freely
Questions 1–3
Choose the best answer, A, B or C.
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"Do you think robots will replace teachers?" Which answer would score highest?
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Which phrase is the most appropriate for speculating about the future?
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Which response brings in another perspective?
Questions 4–8
Complete the answers with a phrase from the box. Use each phrase once.
By and largeThat depends onTo some extentIt's hard to saywhereas
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, people in cities have adapted to working online surprisingly quickly.
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"Is remote work better for everyone?" " the kind of job. A programmer can work from anywhere, but a nurse obviously can't."
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, I agree that technology isolates people, but it also keeps families who live far apart in touch.
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"Will offices disappear?" " , really, but I suspect they'll become places for meetings rather than places to sit all day."
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Younger employees often value flexible hours, their parents' generation tended to prefer a fixed routine.
Your turn: a Part 3 discussion
Answer these questions as fully as you can, one after another. Aim for 40–60 seconds each.
- How has technology changed the way people work in your country?
- Do you think working from home is good for employees? Why or why not?
- Some people say machines will take most jobs in the future. Do you agree?
- What skills will young people need most in the workplace of the future?
Speaking
4:00
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Check your answer
Model answer
1. The biggest change, I'd say, is that a lot of office work has moved online. Ten years ago, if you needed a document signed, you'd physically go to someone's desk, whereas now most of that happens through messaging apps and shared files. Mobile banking has transformed small businesses too: a shopkeeper in a district town can now receive payments instantly. That said, the change has been very uneven, and in agriculture, for example, many people still work much as their parents did.
2. To some extent, yes. Employees save a lot of time and money on commuting, which in a city like Dhaka can easily take two or three hours a day. On the other hand, it can be quite isolating, and younger staff in particular may miss out on learning informally from more experienced colleagues. So I think a mixture, perhaps two or three days in the office, probably works best for most people.
3. I'd agree only partly. Machines are likely to take over many routine and repetitive tasks, such as data entry or basic customer service. But historically, new technology has also created jobs that nobody could have imagined, so I suspect the nature of work will change more than the amount of it. The real challenge will be retraining people whose jobs disappear.
4. Probably adaptability more than any single technical skill, because the tools people use will keep changing. Beyond that, I'd imagine communication and teamwork will matter even more, precisely because those are the things machines find hardest. And, of course, a good level of English, since so much international work is done in English.
