What if the government paid every adult a regular sum of money, with no conditions, whether they worked or not? Universal basic income (UBI) has been tested in Finland, Germany, the US and Wales, and the rise of AI has brought it back into the headlines. This lesson looks at what the experiments found and gets students debating whether free money is a good idea. This B2 version looks at the evidence from the trials, the arguments on both sides and the link with AI, with vocabulary for welfare, work and the economy.
Level: B2 · Time: 45 to 90 minutes. Pick the activities that suit your class. They work in almost any order.
Lesson Activities
- Warmer: What’s Happening Here? – Reveal the picture tile by tile. Where is it? What is the truck doing? Why would anyone tip 8 million coins outside a parliament?
- Vocabulary: Pre-teach the Key Words – Match 10 words and phrases from the article to their meanings before reading (unconditional, means-tested, safety net, disincentive, obstacle, the wealthy…).
- Reading: Safety Net or Expensive Dream? – An article with 12 gaps and audio. Choose without a word bank or with a word bank for extra support.
- Vocabulary and Ideas: For or Against? – Students sort 14 arguments into “for” and “against” a basic income. Works well before reading (to predict) or after (to review).
- Discussion: Universal Basic Income – 12 discussion questions on who should get it, AI and jobs, unpaid care work, prices and the role of the welfare state.
- Speaking: Ranking – You get €1,000 a month for three years. What would you do with it? Students rank nine options, from saving and paying off debts to working less or starting a business, then compare with a partner.
Teacher Tips
- For a shorter lesson, use the warmer, the reading and the discussion cards.
- The reading has audio. Play it after students have tried the gaps, so they can listen and check their answers, or use it as a listening task with stronger groups.
- Language focus: language for presenting evidence and both sides of an argument (supporters see…, critics point out…, painted a more mixed picture, far from settled). Students use it to summarise the debate in their own words.
- UBI can be a political topic. The for/against sort and the ranking let students discuss the ideas without having to share their own political views.
- Business English classes: focus on AI, automation and how a basic income could be paid for, for example by taxing tech companies.
- Follow-up: hold a short class debate, or ask students to write a paragraph giving their opinion with reasons.
Teaching a lower-level group? Try the B1 version of this lesson.
Photo: Stefan Bohrer, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.