A dictionary chose “AI” as the most important word for 2023. This word is about smart machines that can think like people. People talked about AI four times more this year than before. A man named Alex Beecroft said that AI is what everyone is talking about because it is becoming a big part of new inventions.

Leaders and smart people are meeting to talk about AI. They think about the good and bad things AI can do. The Beatles, a very famous music group, used AI to make a new song with the voice of a singer who died long ago. The word of the year shows what people care about, and this year, they care a lot about AI.

There were other words that almost became the word of the year. These words were about food, cars, and banks. But AI was chosen because it is changing the world a lot. AI helps make new things using special math and information.

Original news source: AI named word of the year by Collins Dictionary (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Students pair up, with one student acting as a news reporter and the other as an expert on AI. The reporter interviews the expert about the significance of AI being chosen as the word of the year. The expert should explain why AI is important and how it is changing the world. Swap roles after 5 minutes to ensure both students get to play each role.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key words from the article (e.g., AI, smart machines, inventions, The Beatles) on slips of paper. Students take turns drawing a slip of paper and then drawing the word for their team to guess without speaking or writing any letters or numbers. Set a timer for each turn to make it more challenging.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a list of statements about AI based on the article (e.g., “AI is beneficial for creating new things,” “AI can be dangerous,” “AI is interesting”). Students walk around the class and ask their classmates whether they agree or disagree with each statement. At the end, discuss the overall opinions of the class.

– Synonym Challenge
Instructions: Write down challenging words from the article (e.g., important, smart, inventions, meeting, care). Students work in small groups to come up with synonyms for each word without using a dictionary. Afterward, discuss the synonyms as a class and write them on the board.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Ask students to write down their own predictions about AI and how it will affect our future based on what they understood from the article. Then, in small groups, students share their predictions and discuss the potential pros and cons of these future developments. After sharing in groups, a few students can present their predictions to the class.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What word did a dictionary pick as the most important for 2023?
2. What does “AI” stand for?
3. How much more did people talk about AI this year compared to before?
4. Who is Alex Beecroft and what did he say about AI?
5. What did the Beatles use AI for?
6. What does the word of the year tell us about people?
7. What other kinds of words were almost chosen as the word of the year?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A dictionary chose “AI” as the most important (1)______ for 2023. This word is about smart machines that can (2)______ like people. People talked about AI four times more this year than before. A man (3)______ Alex Beecroft said that AI is what everyone is (4)______ing about because it is becoming a big part of new (5)______.

Leaders and smart people are (6)______ to talk about AI. They think about the good and bad things AI can do. The Beatles, a very famous music group, (7)______ AI to make a new (8)______ with the voice of a singer who died long ago. The word of the (9)______ shows what people care about, and this year, they care a lot about AI.

There were other words that almost (10)______ the word of the year. These words were about food, cars, and (11)______. But AI was chosen because it is changing the world a lot. AI helps make new things using special (12)______ and information.
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Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is “AI” in your own words?
2. Do you think machines that think like people are a good idea? Why or why not?
3. How would you feel if a robot could do your homework?
4. Have you ever talked to a smart machine? What was it like?
5. Do you like the idea of robots helping people? Why?
6. What kind of new inventions with AI would you like to see?
7. Do you think smart machines could ever be dangerous? Why or why not?
8. Would you like to listen to a song made by a computer? Why?
9. What do you think is the most important word for this year? Is it different from “AI”?
10. Can you think of something you do every day that could be done by AI?
11. Do you think AI can help us learn better? How?
12. If you could ask a smart machine any question, what would you ask?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. AI
2. inventions
3. machines
4. meeting
5. famous
6. group
7. care
8. chosen

Meanings:
(a) Smart robots that can think like people
(b) To feel concerned or interested in something
(c) Well-known and recognized by many people
(d) New things that people create
(e) When people come together to talk
(f) Picked as the most important or best option
(g) A collection of people who do things together
(h) Things that can do work automatically
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why was “AI” chosen as the most important word for 2023?
(a) Because it is about smart machines that can think like people
(b) Because it is about food, cars, and banks
(c) Because it is a new word that people are using a lot
(d) Because it is the name of a famous music group

2. How many times more did people talk about AI this year compared to before?
(a) Two times more
(b) Four times more
(c) Ten times more
(d) Five times more

3. Who used AI to make a new song with the voice of a singer who died long ago?
(a) The Rolling Stones
(b) The Beach Boys
(c) The Beatles
(d) Queen

4. What do leaders and smart people meet to talk about?
(a) Food
(b) Cars
(c) Banks
(d) AI

5. What does AI help make using special math and information?
(a) New things
(b) Old things
(c) Food
(d) Cars

6. What does the word of the year show?
(a) What animals like to eat
(b) What the weather will be like
(c) What people care about
(d) What time it is

7. What almost became the word of the year?
(a) The word “AI”
(b) The word “Hello”
(c) The word “Goodbye”
(d) Words about food, cars, and banks

8. Why was AI chosen as the word of the year?
(a) Because it is a fun word to say
(b) Because it is changing the world a lot
(c) Because it is the name of a famous music group
(d) Because it is a new word that people are using a lot

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Alex Beecroft mentioned that AI is a small part of new inventions and is what no one is talking about.
2. People talked about AI one-fourth times more this year compared to before.
3. The word of the year reflects what people don’t care about, and this year, they don’t care at all about AI.
4. 1. “AI” was chosen as the most important word for 2023 by a dictionary.
5. AI helps make new things using special math and information.
6. The Beatles used AI to create a new song with the voice of a singer who died long ago.
7. Leaders and smart people are meeting to discuss the good and bad things AI can do.
8. Other words about food, cars, and banks were considered for the word of the year, but AI was chosen because it is not changing the world at all.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What word was chosen as the most important for 2023?
2. How much more did people talk about AI this year compared to before?
3. Who is Alex Beecroft and what did he say about AI?
4. What did the Beatles use AI for?
5. What kinds of topics were the other words about that could have been the word of the year?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What word did a dictionary pick as the most important for 2023?
The dictionary picked “AI” as the most important word for 2023.

2. What does “AI” stand for?
“AI” stands for artificial intelligence.

3. How much more did people talk about AI this year compared to before?
People talked about AI four times more this year than they did before.

4. Who is Alex Beecroft and what did he say about AI?
Alex Beecroft is a person who said that AI is what everyone is talking about because it is a big part of new inventions.

5. What did the Beatles use AI for?
The Beatles used AI to make a new song with the voice of a singer who died long ago.

6. What does the word of the year tell us about people?
The word of the year tells us what people care about, and this year, they care a lot about AI.

7. What other kinds of words were almost chosen as the word of the year?
Words about food, cars, and banks were almost chosen as the word of the year.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) word
(2) think
(3) named
(4) talk
(5) inventions
(6) meeting
(7) used
(8) song
(9) year
(10) became
(11) banks
(12) math
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. AI
Answer: (a) Smart robots that can think like people

2. inventions
Answer: (d) New things that people create

3. machines
Answer: (h) Things that can do work automatically

4. meeting
Answer: (e) When people come together to talk

5. famous
Answer: (c) Well-known and recognized by many people

6. group
Answer: (g) A collection of people who do things together

7. care
Answer: (b) To feel concerned or interested in something

8. chosen
Answer: (f) Picked as the most important or best option
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why was “AI” chosen as the most important word for 2023?
Answer: (a) Because it is about smart machines that can think like people

2. How many times more did people talk about AI this year compared to before?
Answer: (b) Four times more

3. Who used AI to make a new song with the voice of a singer who died long ago?
Answer: (c) The Beatles

4. What do leaders and smart people meet to talk about?
Answer: (d) AI

5. What does AI help make using special math and information?
Answer: (a) New things

6. What does the word of the year show?
Answer: (c) What people care about

7. What almost became the word of the year?
Answer: (d) Words about food, cars, and banks

8. Why was AI chosen as the word of the year?
Answer: (b) Because it is changing the world a lot
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Alex Beecroft mentioned that AI is a small part of new inventions and is what no one is talking about. (Answer: False)
2. People talked about AI one-fourth times more this year compared to before. (Answer: False)
3. The word of the year reflects what people don’t care about, and this year, they don’t care at all about AI. (Answer: False)
4. 1. “AI” was chosen as the most important word for 2023 by a dictionary. (Answer: True)
5. AI helps make new things using special math and information. (Answer: True)
6. The Beatles used AI to create a new song with the voice of a singer who died long ago. (Answer: True)
7. Leaders and smart people are meeting to discuss the good and bad things AI can do. (Answer: True)
8. Other words about food, cars, and banks were considered for the word of the year, but AI was chosen because it is not changing the world at all. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧