Robot teachers

Read an article about robot teachers to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Preparation

Reading text

If you think of the jobs robots could never do, you would probably put doctors and teachers at the top of the list. It's easy to imagine robot cleaners and factory workers, but some jobs need human connection and creativity. But are we underestimating what robots can do? In some cases, they already perform better than doctors at diagnosing illness. Also, some patients might feel more comfortable sharing personal information with a machine than a person. Could there be a place for robots in education after all?

British education expert Anthony Seldon thinks so. And he even has a date for the robot takeover of the classroom: 2027. He predicts robots will do the main job of transferring information and teachers will be like assistants. Intelligent robots will read students' faces, movements and maybe even brain signals. Then they will adapt the information to each student. It's not a popular opinion and it's unlikely robots will ever have empathy and the ability to really connect with humans like another human can.

One thing is certain, though. A robot teacher is better than no teacher at all. In some parts of the world, there aren't enough teachers and 9–16 per cent of children under the age of 14 don't go to school. That problem could be partly solved by robots because they can teach anywhere and won't get stressed, or tired, or move somewhere for an easier, higher-paid job.

Those negative aspects of teaching are something everyone agrees on. Teachers all over the world are leaving because it is a difficult job and they feel overworked. Perhaps the question is not 'Will robots replace teachers?' but 'How can robots help teachers?' Office workers can use software to do things like organise and answer emails, arrange meetings and update calendars. Teachers waste a lot of time doing non-teaching work, including more than 11 hours a week marking homework. If robots could cut the time teachers spend marking homework and writing reports, teachers would have more time and energy for the parts of the job humans do best.

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Exercise

Discussion

Would you like to have a robot as a teacher?

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I like if can have one robet.,help me in homework and shopping

Hi, Question what is the different between 'think of' or 'think -without preposition-' or 'think about' for example in the beginning in this article it say "If you think of the jobs robots could never do," can we say "if you think the jobs ..." and it give us the same meaning? thanks in advance

Hi ahmad 920,

We use 'think of...' to mean 'imagine' (1) or 'consider' (2):

(1) Think of your a number, but don't tell me it.

(2) Think of the jobs robots could never do.

We can also use 'think about' with the second meaning.

We do no use 'think' with a noun as a direct object after it, so 'Think jobs...' is incorrect.

A good dictionary will provide you with this information and more. For example:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/think

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

No, I wouldn't. I think that that never will happen, but is possible that the robots help in the future to the teachers in some activities like to prepare que classes and check exams. Althought the artifical intelligence is advancing I think that the robots never will could undestand the behaviours or the emotions of the students.

As stated in the text, a robot cannot possess empathy or any other mental connection with other humans. I would hate it if my teacher is just teaching me and never ask how I am doing or even try to look me in the eyes trying to understand me. Socializing is one important part of teaching, therefore replacing teachers with robots sounds really unnecessary and even could impose a threat to our education system. I imagine if our schools are being taken over by robots, then our children would not be able to communicate with others in real life

Never at all would I like to have a robot as a teacher, because a robot is just the latest technology machine. It never can read, write and understand of the human brain and psychology. A teacher plays a main role to build up a human character and build the nations .Teacher is a back bone of the society. All big and famous personalities of the world become successful and get a high rank through a teacher from childhood till old age. American Bill Gate says technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.

Of course not, teachers have knowledge and skills about a determined subject or area that they are supposed to transmit to their students in the most effective and efficient way possible. The main issue here is that students' situations, feelings, intelligence and abilities vary greatly. Thanks to their human abilities, feelings, empathy and emotional intelligence, teachers understand that difference and have experience to deal with their students according to those factors. Robots may be able to do a part of teachers' work but can't perceive emotional behaviours, they are lacking of sensitivity to treat delicate people who need special attention, understanding or empathy.

Compared with good esteemed teachers I have come across, a human teacher is superior than a robot. But if a human teacher is unfit, it's the other way round. ;)