AI in Government - Building Dialogue

Get your students talking about one of the biggest questions of our time

What role should artificial intelligence play in the decisions that shape our lives?

AI in Government is a ready-to-use B2+ English lesson that gets students thinking, listening and talking about the growing role of artificial intelligence in society and government.

But this is more than a discussion lesson about technology.

Students learn practical strategies for asking better questions, listening more carefully and exploring different points of view without immediately agreeing, disagreeing or trying to win an argument.

Perfect for teachers who want to develop language skills, critical thinking and meaningful classroom dialogue at the same time. A 90+ minute lesson built around meaningful communication

Students learn to listen — not just respond

One of the central activities challenges students to do something deceptively difficult:

Find out exactly what another person thinks without sharing your own opinion.

Students ask open questions, listen carefully and avoid contradicting, agreeing or disagreeing.

They then summarise their partner's views and check that they have understood them correctly.

Finally, they look for areas of common ground.

It's a simple structure that helps students experience what genuine dialogue feels like.

Who is it for?

Level: B1+

Lesson length: 90 minutes or more

Focus: Speaking, listening, critical thinking and dialogue skills

Topic: Artificial intelligence and government

Ideal for general English, speaking and conversation classes, critical-thinking courses and lessons exploring contemporary issues.

What students do

During the lesson, students:

•  Build and discuss vocabulary connected with AI and government
•  Share their existing knowledge and identify questions they still have
•  Watch a short video exploring AI and its possible role in government
•  Consider potential positive and negative uses of AI
•  Listen to two people expressing different opinions
•  Identify examples used to support different arguments
•  Create polite, open questions to explore someone's beliefs
•  Practise listening without immediately agreeing or disagreeing
•  Summarise another person's point of view
•  Identify areas of agreement
•  Reflect on what they have learned and what they would still like to know
• Develop language and dialogue skills together

Digital materials to support the lesson

The lesson includes supporting resources designed to make delivery easier and give students different ways to engage with the content.

These include:

•  Digital lesson presentation
•  Video-based note-taking activity
•  Listening gap-fill activity
•  Two interactive script tasks
•  Question-building activity
•  Reflection task
•  Suggestions for collaborative whiteboard and notepad tools

Students can also use some of the digital activities independently, making it easier to adapt the lesson to different classroom contexts.

Give students a reason to communicate

Controversial topics can create some of the richest language-learning opportunities — but only when students have the skills to explore them constructively.

AI in Government gives learners a compelling topic to discuss and a practical framework for understanding the people they are talking to.

Help your students move beyond simply expressing opinions.