AI and ChatGPT lessons
An artificial intelligence ESL lesson plan works best when it is about what AI does to people, not how it works. These AI ESL lesson plans each start from one real question:
| Lesson | The question students discuss | Level |
| ChatGPT | How will AI change our jobs and education? | B2-C1 |
| AI Art vs. Artists | Can you tell AI art from human art, and does it matter? | B2-C1 |
| AI in Fashion | How is AI changing styling and marketing? | B2-C1 |
| The Environmental Cost of Using AI | How much energy does every AI answer use? | B2-C1 |
| AI For Strategic Planning | Should company leaders plan with AI? | B2-C1 |
| Chief AI Officer | What does a brand-new job tell us about the future of work? | B2-C1 |
The Environmental Cost of Using AI is also part of the nature and science page, together with lessons about energy and the environment. Because these lessons are about the effect of AI rather than one version of an app, they stay useful even as the tools change.
Social media and life online
A social media ESL lesson plan is the easiest way to get a quiet group talking, because every student has habits to confess. Social Media Confessions does exactly that at A1-A2 while practicing gerunds and infinitives, and Weird Instagram looks at the strangest accounts online. TikTok Trends and Phubbing take the topic to B1-B2, with trends and the habit of ignoring friends for a phone.
For a lesson about staying safe, Staying Safe Online and How To Spot Fake News are both A2-B1, and more media lessons are on the society and news page. At B2-C1, Life Without Smartphones and Analogue Living ask whether we could live with less screen time, and Travel Unplugged asks the same question about a vacation.
Online safety and a digital detox are topics where adults often disagree with each other, which is exactly what you want in a speaking class. Ask the group to agree on three rules for phones at dinner, and watch how much language they need to get there.
Gadgets, smart homes and the future
Predictions are a natural reason to practice future forms. Life In 2030, free to try and the most popular lesson on the page, teaches will and won't through predictions about Wi-Fi homes and fridges that do the shopping. Humans In The Year 3000 goes further and asks how our bodies might change.
For a smart technology ESL lesson plan, Smart Home is about controlling a home with one touch, and Wearable Devices, also free, explores smart rings and fitness trackers while practicing relative clauses. Teachers who need a science and technology ESL lesson plan can combine these with the brain and space lessons on the nature and science page.
Predictions are also a safe way to talk about technology with students who don't use much of it. No student can be wrong about 2030 yet, so every opinion counts and the whole group joins in.
Technology lessons by level
Every technology ESL lesson plan on this page is labeled with its level band. If you are not sure where to start, pick two lessons from your students' level and teach them one after the other, so the vocabulary from the first lesson helps with the second:
| Level | Two lessons to start with |
| A1-A2 | Social Media Confessions, Weird Instagram |
| A2-B1 | Life In 2030, Smart Home |
| B1-B2 | Wearable Devices, Phubbing |
| B2-C1 | ChatGPT, The Environmental Cost of Using AI |
Conversation questions about technology
Use the first four with A1-A2 students and keep the last four for B1 and above.
These technology ESL conversation questions go from easy to B2:
- Which app do you use most every day?
- How many hours a day do you spend on your phone?
- Could you live without social media for a month?
- What is the best gadget you have ever bought?
- Have you ever used AI to help you write something?
- Will robots do most jobs in 20 years?
- Should children have smartphones? From what age?
- Is AI art real art?
Technology and AI lessons FAQ
Do students need to know a lot about technology?
No. Each lesson explains the idea it is built on, and the tasks ask for opinions and experience, not technical knowledge.
Will the AI lessons go out of date?
They are about the effect of AI on work, art and the planet, not about one app, so the questions stay open even as the tools change.
Are any of the lessons free?
Yes. Life In 2030, Wearable Devices, One More Game and New Year's Resolutions are free to try. More are on the free lessons page.
Can I teach these lessons online?
Yes. Most lessons are built around a short video or article that you can share on screen, and every lesson has a printable PDF.
Every technology ESL lesson plan on this page comes with a teacher subscription, together with the rest of the library.