I am an onlines ESL teacher. I am about to do the following worksheet with my studnt. Please suggest possible answers:

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Just ask it a question!
Copyrights by ESL Brains
1. Order the activities from the one that takes the most of your time to the one
that takes the least.
[You can ask students which of these tasks they like/dislike doing.]
• discussing weekly plans with colleagues
• calling people to schedule meetings
• answering emails
• looking for information online
• learning to speak English
• listening to colleague reports
2. Look at the phrases and find one that needs a preposition.
a) join __ a meeting
b) call __ a manager
c) contact __ technical support
d) answer __ a question
e) listen to music
f) speak __ a foreign language
3. Look at the pairs of phrases and decide which one in each pair needs a
preposition. Then, complete it with a preposition.
a) answer __ a question / give an answer to a question
b) ask for help / ask __ a question
c) prepare __ a report / prepare yourself for a presentation
d) speak __ English / read a book in English
e) talk about plans / discuss __ plans
4. Complete the sentences with your own ideas.
a) I always wanted to learn to speak…
b) When I feel sad, I listen…
c) When I need advice, I call…
d) If you have a lot of free time, join…
e) One of my responsibilities is preparing…
Just ask it a question!
Copyrights by ESL Brains
f) When I check messages in the morning, I first answer…
g) When I need to take a day off at work, I contact…
h) When I’m with friends, we usually discuss…
i) In a job interview, I hate when an interviewer asks…
5. Discuss the questions.
• Are you a busy person? Why/Why not?
• What tasks take a lot of your time?
• Do you often ask your friends and colleagues for help? Why/Why not?
• Do you have an assistant? Would you like to have one? Which of your tasks
would they do?
6. Read the descriptions of some popular virtual assistants.
Google Assistant is one of the smartest virtual assistants. It can use the
information from Google Calendar and Gmail to help you with your schedule.
It has a special mode that lets you translate into another language in real
time. It can also call your contacts using a special Google app called Duo.
Another great function is Continued Conversation that lets you discuss
different topics with Google Assistant like it is a real conversation.
Siri is the oldest personal assistant. It can find you an answer to any
question, make recommendations and contact your friends by a call or a text
message. You can also ask Siri for help when you need to book something.
And you can speak 21 different languages which Siri understands. Siri can
also make jokes. But it’s available only on Apple devices.
Alexa is one of the most popular personal assistants. It answers your
questions and lets you listen to your favourite music. Alexa can remind you to
join an online meeting that you have in your schedule or point out that you
need to prepare a weekly report. To activate it, you have to say ‘Alexa’. Alexa
works with more apps and services than any other personal assistant.
Just ask it a question!
Copyrights by ESL Brains
7. Read the statements below and decide which virtual assistant from ex. 6
each statement is about.
a) You can use it together with many other apps from the same company.
Google Assistant
b) It is funny. Siri
c) To start using it you need only one word. Alexa
d) It can help you communicate with people who speak other languages. Google
Assistant
e) It works with the longest list of apps and services. Alexa
f) You can talk about many things with it like with a real person. Google
Assistant
g) It was created earlier than the other two assistants. Siri
h) It helps you remember important things. Alexa
i) You don’t need to speak only English to use it. Siri
8. Discuss the questions.
• Do you use any of the virtual assistants from ex. 6? If yes, which one(s)? If
not, why not?
• What are their most useful functions for you?
• Do you think virtual assistants will one day replace human personal
assistants?
• Which of these things do you sometimes forget to do? Can a virtual assistant
help you with it? Why/Why not?
o call a friend on their birthday
o listen to a voice message from a colleague
o join a meeting
o prepare for a lesson/work meeting
o answer an email
o contact a doctor
Just ask it a question!
Copyrights by ESL Brains
9. Imagine that you need to create a virtual assistant for one of the groups of
people below. Think of a name for it, a way to activate it and its functions.
Present it to another group. Use the sentence starters in the box.
[You can adapt the groups of people to what your students do or what they are
familiar with.]
Groups of people:
• Art school students
• Social media managers
• New parents
• Software engineers
• Managers at international firms
• Elderly people who live alone
It can… It works on/with… Also, it…
Another great feature is… It’s available… You can…
To activate it, you have to… It helps you…

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