Reading: young people and technology
- A recent study in the US found that nearly a quarter of teenagers use social media sites at least ten times a day and 75% own mobile phones.
- Texting is now the main form of communication for young people.
- ‘If you look back,’ she says, ‘you find the same panic reaction from older people to the growth of the telephone or television.
- Often it comes from a fear of something they don’t understand, but our research indicates that young people are quite capable of telling the difference between the online world and the real world, or between the types of language used for texts and job applications.
- new information and communications technologies are a force for social change and economic development, especially in poorer countries without a reliable traditional phone network.
- The World Bank has calculated that in countries like this, a 10% increase in high-speed Internet connections leads to a 1.3% increase in economic growth.
Period 2 / Reading and comprehension
- motivated – caused or encouraged
- citizens – people who live in a country
- trend – movement, fashion or change
- network – system of connections
- remote – difficult to get to
Grammar: talking about the future
- Researchers predict that the figures will continue to rise in future.
- The next flight to arrive will be the 732 from London.
- There’s nothing on TV, so I think I’ll go to bed.
- Don’t worry. I’ll help you solve the problem.
- I’m having a party next Saturday.
- He says he’s going to do his homework.
- That wall doesn’t look safe. It’s going to fall over one day.
A Plan the questionnaire
- questionnaire – a list of questions for doing a poll or study
- What do you want to achieve?
- Who is your questionnaire aimed at?
- How long will it be? (Shorter is better.)
- Are the questions in a sensible order? (Moving from general to particular is best.)
- Are they simple and clear?
- Can they be answered by everyone?
- Does it work as expected?