The Reading / Listening - Brain Implants - Level 3

A man who cannot move his arms or hands has used his thoughts to write on a computer screen. The man has been paralyzed from the neck down for almost a decade. Scientists from Stanford University in the USA implanted two tiny sensors into the man's brain. The scientists gave this method two names - "brain-to-text" and "mindwriting". The man wants to remain anonymous, so scientists have called him T5. He became paralyzed after suffering a spinal cord injury ten years ago. The implants have allowed T5 to use his mind to write. He can write 90 characters (about 18 words) per minute. This is five words slower than the average person writing a text message on a smartphone.

The mindwriting system is very simple, but it involved a lot of advanced technology. Scientists asked T5 to imagine holding a pen and then writing a sentence on a paper. The sensors in T5's brain detected the activity in his brain as he imagined writing. A computer decoded this activity into text on a screen. The scientists used a special algorithm to do this. Professor Jaimie Henderson, a Stanford University researcher, hopes this research could help millions of paralyzed people, and those who have lost the ability to speak, to write again. He said: "The goal is to restore their ability to communicate by text." This technology may one day help anyone to write at the speed of thought.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Brain Implants - Level 0 Brain Implants - Level 1   or  Brain Implants - Level 2

Sources
  • https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/13/americas/paralyzed-handwriting-scn-scli-intl/index.html
  • https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/brain-computer-interface-user-types-90-characters-per-minute-with-mind-68762
  • https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00776-8


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. THE BRAIN: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about the brain. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       arms / screen / neck / tiny / names / mindwriting / paralyzed / implants / average /
       system / simple / advanced / technology / sentence / brain / millions / communicate
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. BRAIN IMPLANTS: Students A strongly believe brain implants will help us download whole languages in the future; Students B strongly believe this is impossible. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. IMPLANTS: How could brain implants help us? What do you think? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How Implants Could Help

Your Thoughts?

Learning English

 

 

Walking disabilities

 

 

Music

 

 

Mental Health

 

 

Peacemaking

 

 

Business

 

 

MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. SCREEN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "screen". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. COMMUNICATION: Rank these with your partner. Put the best ways to communicate at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Face-to-face speech
  • Writing
  • Body language
  • SMS
  • Social media posts
  • Letters
  • Phone calls
  • Mind reading

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. paralyzed a. Anything about the spine (backbone).
      2. decade b. Very, very small.
      3. tiny c. A period of ten years.
      4. anonymous d. Normal; usual.
      5. spinal e. Of a part of the body that the person cannot move.
      6. injury f. Of a person not identified by name; of unknown name.
      7. average g. An instance of being harmed or damaged.

    Paragraph 2

      8. involved h. A computer program that can calculate things or solve problems.
      9. sensor i. Share or exchange information, news, or ideas.
      10. detect j. Bring something back to the way it was before.
      11. algorithm k. A small machine or device that can measure and record something.
      12. restore l. How fast or slow something is.
      13. communicate m. Having something as a necessary part or result.
      14. speed n. Find whether or not something is there.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The man in the article cannot move his body below his neck.     T / F
  2. Scientists from Yale University in the USA helped the paralyzed man.     T / F
  3. The scientists called their system "mindwriting" and "brain-to-text".     T / F
  4. The man can write about 18 words per minute using his mind.     T / F
  5. The man was able to hold a pen after scientists asked him to.     T / F
  6. A special algorithm was used to translate the man's thoughts into text.    T / F
  7. A scientist hopes the technology will help people who cannot speak.     T / F
  8. The technology might allow us to write at the speed of thought.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. decade
  2. implanted
  3. method
  4. suffering
  5. average
  6. simple
  7. detected
  8. text
  9. ability
  10. help
  1. noticed
  2. procedure
  3. ordinary
  4. assist
  5. 10 years
  6. words
  7. experiencing
  8. capacity
  9. inserted
  10. straightforward

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. A man who cannot
  2. The man has been paralyzed from
  3. The man wants to remain
  4. paralyzed after suffering a
  5. five words slower than the
  6. it involved a lot of advanced
  7. A computer decoded this activity into
  8. scientists used a special
  9. restore their ability to communicate
  10. help anyone to write at the speed
  1. spinal cord injury
  2. average person
  3. by text
  4. text on a screen
  5. the neck down
  6. of thought
  7. move his arms or hands
  8. technology
  9. anonymous
  10. algorithm to do this

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
method
injury
thoughts
message
tiny
characters
neck
remain

A man who cannot move his arms or hands has used his (1) _____________________ to write on a computer screen. The man has been paralyzed from the (2) _____________________ down for almost a decade. Scientists from Stanford University in the USA implanted two (3) _____________________ sensors into the man's brain. The scientists gave this (4) _____________________ two names - "brain-to-text" and "mindwriting". The man wants to (5) _____________________ anonymous, so scientists have called him T5. He became paralyzed after suffering a spinal cord (6) _____________________ ten years ago. The implants have allowed T5 to use his mind to write. He can write 90 (7) _____________________ (about 18 words) per minute. This is five words slower than the average person writing a text (8) _____________________ on a smartphone.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
this
millions
simple
speed
detected
goal
imagine
algorithm

The mindwriting system is very (9) _____________________, but it involved a lot of advanced technology. Scientists asked T5 to (10) _____________________ holding a pen and then writing a sentence on a paper. The sensors in T5's brain (11) _____________________ the activity in his brain as he imagined writing. A computer decoded (12) _____________________ activity into text on a screen. The scientists used a special (13) _____________________ to do this. Professor Jaimie Henderson, a Stanford University researcher, hopes this research could help (14) _____________________ of paralyzed people, and those who have lost the ability to speak, to write again. He said: "The (15) _____________________ is to restore their ability to communicate by text." This technology may one day help anyone to write at the (16) _____________________ of thought.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) A man who cannot move his arms or hands has used his ______
     a.  thoughts too write
     b.  thoughts to writhe
     c.  thoughts too writhe
     d.  thoughts to write
2)  The man has been paralyzed from ______
     a.  the neck dawn
     b.  the neck down
     c.  the neck drown
     d.  the neck drone
3)  and "mindwriting". The man wants to remain ______
     a.  anonymously, sew
     b.  anonymous, sow
     c.  anonymous, so
     d.  anonymously, saw
4)  The implants have allowed T5 to use his ______
     a.  mound to write
     b.  remind to write
     c.  minder to write
     d.  mind to write
5)  about 18 words) per minute. This is five words slower than ______
     a.  the averaged person
     b.  the average person
     c.  the averages person
     d.  the averaging person

6)  The mindwriting system is very simple, but it involved a lot ______
     a.  of advantage technology
     b.  of advances technology
     c.  of advance technology
     d.  of advanced technology
7)  The sensors in T5's brain detected the activity in his brain as ______
     a.  he imagine it writing
     b.  he imagines writing
     c.  he imagine writing
     d.  he imagined writing
8)  researcher, hopes this research could help millions ______
     a.  of paralegal people
     b.  of paralysis people
     c.  of paralyze people
     d.  of paralyzed people
9)  He said: "The goal is to restore their ability to ______
     a.  communicate by text
     b.  communicate by test
     c.  communicate by tux
     d.  communicate by texture
10)  This technology may one day help anyone to write at the ______
     a.  sped of thought
     b.  speed of thought
     c.  speedy of thought
     d.  spud of thought

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A man who cannot move (1) ____________________ hands has used his thoughts to write on a computer screen. The man has (2) ____________________ the neck down for almost a decade. Scientists from Stanford University in the USA implanted (3) ____________________ into the man's brain. The scientists gave this method two names - "brain-to-text" and "mindwriting". The man wants (4) ____________________, so scientists have called him T5. He became paralyzed after suffering a spinal cord injury ten years ago. The implants have allowed T5 to use his (5) ____________________. He can write 90 characters (about 18 words) per minute. This is five words slower than (6) ____________________ writing a text message on a smartphone.

The mindwriting system (7) ____________________, but it involved a lot of advanced technology. Scientists asked T5 to imagine holding a pen and then (8) ____________________ on a paper. The sensors in T5's brain detected the activity in his brain as he imagined writing. A computer decoded this activity into (9) ____________________ screen. The scientists used a special algorithm to do this. Professor Jaimie Henderson, a Stanford University researcher, (10) ____________________ could help millions of paralyzed people, and those who have lost the (11) ____________________, to write again. He said: "The goal is to restore their ability to communicate by text." This technology may one day help anyone to write at the (12) ____________________.

Comprehension questions

  1. For how long has the man been paralyzed?
  2. How many sensors did scientists implant into the man's brain?
  3. What did scientists call their method besides "brain-to-text"?
  4. What did scientists nickname the man?
  5. How many words per minute can the man write with his mind?
  6. What does the article say the mindwriting system involves a lot of?
  7. What detected activity in the man's brain?
  8. What special thing did the scientists use to decode the man's thoughts?
  9. Who else could the technology help besides paralyzed people?
  10. How fast could we be able to write in the future?

Multiple choice quiz

1) For how long has the man been paralyzed?
a) over 10 years
b) almost a decade
c) exactly a decade
d) just fewer than 10 years
2) How many sensors did scientists implant into the man's brain?
a) 5
b) 4
c) 3
d) 2
3) What did scientists call their method besides "brain-to-text"?
a) mindwriting
b) writingmind
c) brainwriting
d) writingbrain
4) What did scientists nickname the man?
a) S5
b) T4
c) T5
d) P4
5) How many words per minute can the man write with his mind?
a) about 90
b) about 18
c) about 5
d) millions

6) What does the article say the mindwriting system involves a lot of?
a) hard work
b) sentences
c) advanced technology
d) paragraphs
7) What detected activity in the man's brain?
a) a dictionary
b) brain cells
c) a scanner
d) sensors
8) What special thing did the scientists use to decode the man's thoughts?
a) an algorithm
b) a smartphone
c) a pen
d) a dictionary
9) Who else could the technology help besides paralyzed people?
a) people who cannot speak
b) doctors
c) scientists
d) researchers
10) How fast could we be able to write in the future?
a) pretty fast
b) the speed of thought
c) as slow as a snail
d) as fast as a cheetah

Role play

Role  A – Body Language
You think body language is the best form of communication. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): phone calls, writing letters or SMS texts.

Role  B – Phone Calls
You think phone calls are the best form of communication. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): body language, writing letters or SMS texts.

Role  C – Writing Letters
You think writing letters is the best form of communication. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): phone calls, body language or SMS texts.

Role  D – SMS Texts
You think SMS texts are the best form of communication. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): phone calls, writing letters or body language.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'brain'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'thought'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • arms
    • neck
    • tiny
    • remain
    • ten
    • slower
    • simple
    • paper
    • text
    • millions
    • goal
    • speed

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Brain Implants

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'brain'?
    3. What do you think of the brain?
    4. What do you know about brain implants?
    5. What do you think of putting sensors in the brain?
    6. How will technology be able to help people who are paralyzed?
    7. What do you think of brain-to-text technology?
    8. What do you think of writing messages on smartphones?
    9. Are there any dangers with brain implants?
    10. What advice do you have for T5?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'implant'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you think of the idea of 'mindwriting'?
    5. What advanced technology do you like?
    6. What do you think of brain implants allowing us to learn languages?
    7. Might brain implants mean governments could control us?
    8. What would change if we could write at the speed of thought?
    9. What do you think of never needing to use a pen again?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the scientists?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    A man who cannot (1) ____ his arms or hands has used his thoughts to write on a computer screen. The man has been paralyzed from the neck (2) ____ for almost a decade. Scientists from Stanford University in the USA implanted two (3) ____ sensors into the man's brain. The scientists gave this method two names - "brain-to-text" and "mindwriting". The man wants to (4) ____ anonymous, so scientists have called him T5. He became paralyzed after (5) ____ a spinal cord injury ten years ago. The implants have allowed T5 to use his mind to write. He can write 90 characters (about 18 words) per minute. This is five words slower than the (6) ____ person writing a text message on a smartphone.

    The mindwriting system is very simple, but it involved a lot of advanced technology. Scientists asked T5 to imagine (7) ____ a pen and then writing a sentence on a paper. The sensors in T5's brain detected the activity in his brain (8) ____ he imagined writing. A computer decoded this activity into text on a screen. The scientists used a special algorithm to do (9) ____. Professor Jaimie Henderson, a Stanford University researcher, hopes this research could help millions of paralyzed people, and those who have (10) ____ the ability to speak, to write again. He said: "The goal is to restore their ability to communicate (11) ____ text." This technology may one day help anyone to write at the (12) ____ of thought.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     move     (b)     movement     (c)     moves     (d)     moving    
    2. (a)     previous     (b)     below     (c)     down     (d)     before    
    3. (a)     tinny     (b)     tinted     (c)     tiny     (d)     tainted    
    4. (a)     lively     (b)     still     (c)     exist     (d)     remain    
    5. (a)     suffering     (b)     surfing     (c)     sufficing     (d)     sifting    
    6. (a)     usually     (b)     average     (c)     mean     (d)     median    
    7. (a)     penning     (b)     imagining     (c)     writing     (d)     holding    
    8. (a)     was     (b)     as     (c)     'twas     (d)     has    
    9. (a)     them     (b)     those     (c)     this     (d)     these    
    10. (a)     strayed     (b)     failed     (c)     mislaid     (d)     lost    
    11. (a)     on     (b)     as     (c)     of     (d)     by    
    12. (a)     momentum     (b)     speed     (c)     fast     (d)     briskness

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. aeplydrza from the neck down
    2. for almost a ecdead
    3. The man wants to remain onauoynsm
    4. after suffering a spinal cord uirynj
    5. slower than the vareega person
    6. writing a text ssaemeg

    Paragraph 2

    1. it ivnlvdeo a lot of advanced technology
    2. writing a cneetens on a paper
    3. sensors in T5's brain tedcedet the activity
    4. The scientists used a special holrgitam
    5. The goal is to seerrot their ability
    6. cntuecmaimo by text

    Put the text back together

    (...)  method two names - "brain-to-text" and "mindwriting". The man wants to remain anonymous, so scientists have
    (...)  called him T5. He became paralyzed after suffering a spinal cord injury ten years ago. The implants have allowed T5 to
    (...)  Stanford University in the USA implanted two tiny sensors into the man's brain. The scientists gave this
    (...)  of paralyzed people, and those who have lost the ability to speak, to write
    (...)  screen. The man has been paralyzed from the neck down for almost a decade. Scientists from
    1  ) A man who cannot move his arms or hands has used his thoughts to write on a computer
    (...)  use his mind to write. He can write 90 characters (about 18 words) per minute. This is five
    (...)  again. He said: "The goal is to restore their ability to communicate by text." This technology may one
    (...)  day help anyone to write at the speed of thought.
    (...)  words slower than the average person writing a text message on a smartphone.
    (...)  The mindwriting system is very simple, but it involved a lot of advanced technology. Scientists asked T5 to imagine
    (...)  algorithm to do this. Professor Jaimie Henderson, a Stanford University researcher, hopes this research could help millions
    (...)  holding a pen and then writing a sentence on a paper. The sensors in T5's brain detected the activity in
    (...)  his brain as he imagined writing. A computer decoded this activity into text on a screen. The scientists used a special

    Put the words in the right order

    1. man   his   who   cannot   move   arms   .   A
    2. the   two   Implanted   sensors   tiny   into   man's   brain   .
    3. the   gave   mindwriting   .   method   scientists   this   The   name
    4. mind   to   use   write   .   his   T5   Allowed   to
    5. average   slower   words   Five   than   the   person   .
    6. advanced   of   It   technology   .   involved   a   lot
    7. detected   brain   T5's   in   sensors   the   The   activity   .
    8. into   A   text   .   decoded   activity   this   computer
    9. help   could   research   of   millions   people   .   paralyzed   This
    10. the   of   thought   .   write   anyone   speed   at   Help

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A man who cannot move his arms or hands has used his thinks / thoughts to write on a computer screen. The man has been paralysis / paralyzed from the neck down for almost a / the decade. Scientists from Stanford University in the USA implanted two tinny / tiny sensors into the man's brain. The scientists gave this / these method two names - "brain-to-text" and "mindwriting". The man wants to still / remain anonymous, so scientists have called him T5. He became paralyzed after suffer / suffering a spinal cord injured / injury ten years ago. The implants have allowed T5 to use his mind to write. He can write 90 characters (about 18 words) for / per minute. This is five words slower than the average person writing a text message in / on a smartphone.

    The mindwriting system is very simple / sample, but it involved a lot of advanced technology. Scientists asked T5 to imagine hold / holding a pen and then writing a sentence on a paper. The sensors / senses in T5's brain detected the / a activity in his brain as he imagined written / writing. A computer decoded this activity into text on a screen. The scientists used a special algorithm to doing / do this. Professor Jaimie Henderson, a Stanford University researcher, heaps / hopes this research could help millions of paralyzed people, and those who have lost the able / ability to speak, to write again. He said: "The goal / score is to restore their ability to communicate by text." This technology may one day help anyone to write at the fast / speed of thought.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    _  m_n  wh_  c_nn_t  m_v_  h_s  _rms  _r  h_nds  h_s  _s_d  h_s  th__ghts  t_  wr_t_  _n  _  c_mp_t_r  scr__n.  Th_  m_n  h_s  b__n  p_r_lyz_d  fr_m  th_  n_ck  d_wn  f_r  _lm_st  _  d_c_d_.  Sc__nt_sts  fr_m  St_nf_rd  _n_v_rs_ty  _n  th_  _S_  _mpl_nt_d  tw_  t_ny  s_ns_rs  _nt_  th_  m_n's  br__n.  Th_  sc__nt_sts  g_v_  th_s  m_th_d  tw_  n_m_s  -  "br__n-t_-t_xt"  _nd  "m_ndwr_t_ng".  Th_  m_n  w_nts  t_  r_m__n  _n_nym__s,  s_  sc__nt_sts  h_v_  c_ll_d  h_m  T5.  H_  b_c_m_  p_r_lyz_d  _ft_r  s_ff_r_ng  _  sp_n_l  c_rd  _nj_ry  t_n  y__rs  _g_.  Th_  _mpl_nts  h_v_  _ll_w_d  T5  t_  _s_  h_s  m_nd  t_  wr_t_.  H_  c_n  wr_t_  90  ch_r_ct_rs  (_b__t  18  w_rds)  p_r  m_n_t_.  Th_s  _s  f_v_  w_rds  sl_w_r  th_n  th_  _v_r_g_  p_rs_n  wr_t_ng  _  t_xt  m_ss_g_  _n  _  sm_rtph_n_.

    Th_  m_ndwr_t_ng  syst_m  _s  v_ry  s_mpl_,  b_t  _t  _nv_lv_d  _  l_t  _f  _dv_nc_d  t_chn_l_gy.  Sc__nt_sts  _sk_d  T5  t_  _m_g_n_  h_ld_ng  _  p_n  _nd  th_n  wr_t_ng  _  s_nt_nc_  _n  _  p_p_r.  Th_  s_ns_rs  _n  T5's  br__n  d_t_ct_d  th_  _ct_v_ty  _n  h_s  br__n  _s  h_  _m_g_n_d  wr_t_ng.  _  c_mp_t_r  d_c_d_d  th_s  _ct_v_ty  _nt_  t_xt  _n  _  scr__n.  Th_  sc__nt_sts  _s_d  _  sp_c__l  _lg_r_thm  t_  d_  th_s.  Pr_f_ss_r  J__m__  H_nd_rs_n,  _  St_nf_rd  _n_v_rs_ty  r_s__rch_r,  h_p_s  th_s  r_s__rch  c__ld  h_lp  m_ll__ns  _f  p_r_lyz_d  p__pl_,  _nd  th_s_  wh_  h_v_  l_st  th_  _b_l_ty  t_  sp__k,  t_  wr_t_  _g__n.  H_  s__d:  "Th_  g__l  _s  t_  r_st_r_  th__r  _b_l_ty  t_  c_mm_n_c_t_  by  t_xt."  Th_s  t_chn_l_gy  m_y  _n_  d_y  h_lp  _ny_n_  t_  wr_t_  _t  th_  sp__d  _f  th__ght.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a man who cannot move his arms or hands has used his thoughts to write on a computer screen the man has been paralyzed from the neck down for almost a decade scientists from stanford university in the usa implanted two tiny sensors into the mans brain the scientists gave this method two names  braintotext and mindwriting the man wants to remain anonymous so scientists have called him t5 he became paralyzed after suffering a spinal cord injury ten years ago the implants have allowed t5 to use his mind to write he can write 90 characters about 18 words per minute this is five words slower than the average person writing a text message on a smartphone

    the mindwriting system is very simple but it involved a lot of advanced technology scientists asked t5 to imagine holding a pen and then writing a sentence on a paper the sensors in t5s brain detected the activity in his brain as he imagined writing a computer decoded this activity into text on a screen the scientists used a special algorithm to do this professor jaimie henderson a stanford university researcher hopes this research could help millions of paralyzed people and those who have lost the ability to speak to write again he said the goal is to restore their ability to communicate by text this technology may one day help anyone to write at the speed of thought

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Amanwhocannotmovehisarmsorhandshasusedhisthoughtstowriteo
    nacomputerscreen.Themanhasbeenparalyzedfromtheneckdownfor
    almostadecade.ScientistsfromStanfordUniversityintheUSAimplante
    dtwotinysensorsintotheman'sbrain.Thescientistsgavethismethodtw
    onames-"brain-to-text"and"mindwriting".Themanwantstoremaina
    nonymous,soscientistshavecalledhimT5.Hebecameparalyzedafters
    ufferingaspinalcordinjurytenyearsago.TheimplantshaveallowedT5t
    ousehismindtowrite.Hecanwrite90characters(about18words)permi
    nute.Thisisfivewordsslowerthantheaveragepersonwritingatextmes
    sageonasmartphone.Themindwritingsystemisverysimple,butitinvol
    vedalotofadvancedtechnology.ScientistsaskedT5toimagineholding
    apenandthenwritingasentenceonapaper.ThesensorsinT5'sbraindet
    ectedtheactivityinhisbrainasheimaginedwriting.Acomputerdecoded
    thisactivityintotextonascreen.Thescientistsusedaspecialalgorithmt
    odothis.ProfessorJaimieHenderson,aStanfordUniversityresearcher,
    hopesthisresearchcouldhelpmillionsofparalyzedpeople,andthosewh
    ohavelosttheabilitytospeak,towriteagain.Hesaid:"Thegoalistorestor
    etheirabilitytocommunicatebytext."Thistechnologymayonedayhelp
    anyonetowriteatthespeedofthought.

    Free writing

    Write about brain implant for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    QUESTION

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. THE BRAIN: Make a poster about the brain. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. IMPLANTS: Write a magazine article all of us having brain implants in the future to boost our mental abilities. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on the brain implants. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how they could help us . Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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