Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Dentists' Drills

An inventor has come up with a device that blanks out the sound of the dentist’s drill. It allows patients to listen to music on their MP3 player, while filtering out the sound of the drill. The technology recognizes and captures the distinctive frequency of the drill’s sound. It then turns the sound into a digital signal which people listening to an MP3 player cannot hear. The new device still allows patients to hear the dentist speaking because his or her voice is on a frequency very different to the drill. The invention is great news for people who fear going to the dentists. The sound of a dentist’s drill is one of the most distinctive in the world. Hearing it creates instant anxiety in many people. Researchers say the device could help millions overcome their fear of the dentist.

The new device was originally the idea of Professor Brian Millar of King's Dental Institute. He got inspiration from the sports car maker Lotus, who developed technology to reduce road noise in their cars. Professor Millar spent 10 years collaborating with engineers from different British universities before coming up with the prototype. He is now looking for investors to take the idea and start selling it. He hopes it will encourage more people to have more check-ups. He said: “What we need now is an investor to develop the product further, to enable us to bring this device to as many dental surgeries as possible, and help people whose fear of visiting the dentist stops them from seeking the oral healthcare they need." He added: "The beauty of this gadget is that it would be fairly cost-effective for dentists to buy.”

WARM-UPS

1. DENTISTS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about dentists. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

inventors / MP3 players / frequencies / devices / drills / anxiety / fear of the dentist / inspiration / road noise / collaborating / prototype / check-ups / dental surgeries

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. NOISES: What do you like and dislike and why? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

	Like (Why?)	Dislike (Why?)
Dentists
Children
Computers
Cities
Animals
Your house

4. PAIN FREE: Students A strongly believe dentists will be pain free one day; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. FEAR: Which of these do you fear most? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the scariest at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

dentists
snakes
heights
public speaking

other people
flying
the dark
spiders

6. DRILL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘drill’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	A dentist developed a new drill that is soundless.	T / F
b.	New technology turns the sound into digital signals, which are blocked.	T / F
c.	The device means patients can hear neither drills nor doctors.	T / F
d.	The sound of a dentist’s drill is a cause of anxiety in many.	T / F
e.	The idea for the dentist’s drill came from road noise reduction in cars.	T / F
f.	It took the developer two decades to create the noise reducer.	T / F
g.	The inventor is looking for money to get his project going.	T / F
h.	The device will be quite expensive to install in dental surgeries.	T / F

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

1.	device	a.	looking for
2	allows	b.	trial product
3.	captures	c.	stress
4.	turns	d.	lets
5.	anxiety	e.	ideas
6.	inspiration	f.	changes
7.	collaborating	g.	gadget
8.	prototype	h.	reasonably
9.	seeking	i.	working together
10.	fairly	j.	catches

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

1.	blanks out the sound	a.	anxiety in many people
2	turns the sound into a	b.	the prototype
3.	people who fear	c.	in their cars
4.	it creates instant	d.	of the dentist’s drill
5.	overcome their	e.	have more check-ups
6.	reduce road noise	f.	effective for dentists
7.	coming up with	g.	digital signal
8.	encourage more people to	h.	healthcare
9.	oral	i.	fear of the dentist
10.	fairly cost-	j.	going to the dentists

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

An inventor has come up with a (1) ____________ that blanks out the sound of the dentist’s drill. It allows patients to listen to music on their MP3 player, while (2) ____________ out the sound of the drill. The technology recognizes and captures the distinctive (3) ____________ of the drill’s sound. It then turns the sound into a digital signal which people listening to an MP3 player cannot hear. The new device still (4) ____________ patients to hear the dentist speaking because his or her voice is on a frequency very (5) ____________ to the drill. The invention is great news for people who (6) ____________ going to the dentists. The sound of a dentist’s drill is one of the most distinctive in the world. Hearing it creates (7) ____________ anxiety in many people. Researchers say the device could help millions (8) ____________ their fear of the dentist.

fear
allows
filtering
overcome
device
instant
frequency
different

The new device was (9) ____________ the idea of Professor Brian Millar of King's Dental Institute. He got inspiration from the sports car maker Lotus, who developed technology to (10) ____________ road noise in their cars. Professor Millar spent 10 years collaborating with engineers from different British universities before (11) ____________ up with the prototype. He is now looking for investors to take the (12) ____________ and start (13) ____________ it. He hopes it will encourage more people to have more check-ups. He said: “What we need now is an investor to develop the product (14) ____________, to enable us to bring this device to as many dental surgeries as possible, and help people whose (15) ____________ of visiting the dentist stops them from seeking the oral healthcare they need." He added: "The (16) ____________ of this gadget is that it would be fairly cost-effective for dentists to buy.”

further
idea
coming
beauty
originally
fear
selling
reduce

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

An inventor _________________________ device that blanks out the sound of the dentist’s drill. It allows patients to listen to music on their MP3 player, while filtering _________________________. The technology recognizes and captures the distinctive frequency of the drill’s sound. It then turns the sound _________________________ people listening to an MP3 player cannot hear. The new device still allows patients to hear the dentist speaking because _________________________ a frequency very different to the drill. The invention is great news for people _________________________ dentists. The sound of a dentist’s drill is one of the most distinctive in the world. Hearing it _________________________ many people. Researchers say the device could help millions overcome their fear of the dentist.

The new device _________________________ of Professor Brian Millar of King's Dental Institute. He got inspiration from the sports car maker Lotus, who developed technology _________________________ their cars. Professor Millar spent 10 years collaborating with engineers from different British universities _________________________ the prototype. He is now looking for investors to take the idea and start selling it. He hopes it will encourage _________________________ check-ups. He said: “What we need now is an investor to develop the product further, to enable us to bring _________________________ dental surgeries as possible, and help people whose fear of visiting the dentist stops them from seeking the oral healthcare they need." He added: "The beauty of this gadget is that it would _________________________ dentists to buy.”

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

dentist

drill

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:

blanks
filtering
turns
news
creates
overcome

idea
reduce
coming
encourage
possible
fairly

STUDENT DENTISTS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about dentists 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.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

DENTISTS DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘dentist’?
c)	What good and bad experiences of the dentist have you had?
d)	Do you think this new invention is a good one?
e)	Would you use it to block out the sound of the drill?
f)	How does the sound of the dentist’s drill make you feel?
g)	What goes through your mind when sitting in the chair at the dental surgery waiting room and the dentist’s chair?
h)	What other things can dentists do to reduce anxiety in patients?
i)	How has going to the dentist changed over the years?
j)	What fears do you have?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Where do you get your inspiration?
c)	Do you think the idea / device will sell?
d)	How much should dentists charge for blocking out the sound of the drill?
e)	When do you think scientists will find a way of blocking out the pain?
f)	Do you think being a dentist would be interesting?
g)	What needs doing with your teeth?
h)	What oral hygiene habits do you do regularly?
i)	How desirable are perfectly straight, lovely, white teeth?
j)	What questions would you like to ask a dentist?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

An inventor has come (1) ____ with a device that blanks out the sound of the dentist’s drill. It allows patients to listen to music on their MP3 player, (2) ____ filtering out the sound of the drill. The technology recognizes and captures the distinctive (3) ____ of the drill’s sound. It then turns the sound into a digital signal which people listening to an MP3 player cannot hear. The new device still allows patients to hear the dentist speaking because his or her voice is (4) ____ a frequency very different to the drill. The invention is great news for people who fear going to the dentists. The sound of a dentist’s drill is one of the (5) ____ distinctive in the world. Hearing it creates instant anxiety in many people. Researchers say the device could help millions (6) ____ their fear of the dentist.

The new device was originally the idea of Professor Brian Millar of King's Dental Institute. He got (7) ____ from the sports car maker Lotus, who developed technology to (8) ____ road noise in their cars. Professor Millar spent 10 years collaborating with engineers from different British universities (9) ____ coming up with the prototype. He is now looking for investors to take the idea and start selling it. He hopes it will encourage more people to have more check-(10) ____. He said: “What we need now is an investor to develop the product further, to enable us to bring this device to as many dental surgeries as possible, and help people whose fear of visiting the dentist stops them from seeking the (11) ____ healthcare they need." He added: "The (12) ____ of this gadget is that it would be fairly cost-effective for dentists to buy.”

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	over	(b)	down	(c)	here	(d)	up
2.	(a)	when	(b)	while	(c)	which	(d)	whoever
3.	(a)	frequency	(b)	frequented	(c)	frequently	(d)	frequent
4.	(a)	with	(b)	by	(c)	on	(d)	as
5.	(a)	many	(b)	much	(c)	most	(d)	mere
6.	(a)	came	(b)	overcome	(c)	become	(d)	coming
7.	(a)	inspiration	(b)	inspires	(c)	inspiring	(d)	inspire
8.	(a)	low	(b)	below	(c)	cutting	(d)	reduce
9.	(a)	during	(b)	before	(c)	earlier	(d)	past
10.	(a)	outs	(b)	ins	(c)	overs	(d)	ups
11.	(a)	aural	(b)	aura	(c)	oral	(d)	orally
12.	(a)	beauty	(b)	beautify	(c)	beautiful	(d)	beauties

WRITING

Write about dentists for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 the new noise-free dentist drill. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. DENTISTS: Make a poster about dentists. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. CHECK-UP: Write a magazine article about a nervous dental patient. Include imaginary interviews with him/her and a dentist.

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. LETTER: Write a letter to a dentist. Ask him/her three questions about dentists. Give him/her three ideas on how to make dental visits more pleasant. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	device	a.	gadget
2	allows	b.	lets
3.	captures	c.	catches
4.	turns	d.	changes
5.	anxiety	e.	stress
6.	inspiration	f.	ideas
7.	collaborating	g.	working together
8.	prototype	h.	trial product
9.	seeking	i.	looking for
10.	fairly	j.	reasonably

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	blanks out the sound	a.	of the dentist’s drill
2	turns the sound into a	b.	digital signal
3.	people who fear	c.	going to the dentists
4.	it creates instant	d.	anxiety in many people
5.	overcome their	e.	fear of the dentist
6.	reduce road noise	f.	in their cars
7.	coming up with	g.	the prototype
8.	encourage more people to	h.	have more check-ups
9.	oral	i.	healthcare
10.	fairly cost-	j.	effective for dentists

GAP FILL:

Dentist drill noise reducer invented

An inventor has come up with a (1) device that blanks out the sound of the dentist’s drill. It allows patients to listen to music on their MP3 player, while (2) filtering out the sound of the drill. The technology recognizes and captures the distinctive (3) frequency of the drill’s sound. It then turns the sound into a digital signal which people listening to an MP3 player cannot hear. The new device still (4) allows patients to hear the dentist speaking because his or her voice is on a frequency very (5) different to the drill. The invention is great news for people who (6) fear going to the dentists. The sound of a dentist’s drill is one of the most distinctive in the world. Hearing it creates (7) instant anxiety in many people. Researchers say the device could help millions (8) overcome their fear of the dentist.

The new device was (9) originally the idea of Professor Brian Millar of King's Dental Institute. He got inspiration from the sports car maker Lotus, who developed technology to (10) reduce road noise in their cars. Professor Millar spent 10 years collaborating with engineers from different British universities before (11) coming up with the prototype. He is now looking for investors to take the (12) idea and start (13) selling it. He hopes it will encourage more people to have more check-ups. He said: “What we need now is an investor to develop the product (14) further, to enable us to bring this device to as many dental surgeries as possible, and help people whose (15) fear of visiting the dentist stops them from seeking the oral healthcare they need." He added: "The (16) beauty of this gadget is that it would be fairly cost-effective for dentists to buy.”

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - b

3 - a

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - a

8 - d

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

Breaking News English

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13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities

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MP3 (2:07 - 1,015KB)

Dentist Drill Noise Reducer Invented (10th January, 2011)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT DENTISTS SURVEY

DENTISTS DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Dentist drill noise reducer invented

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

My 1,000 Ideas e-Book	Breaking News English HOME \| HELP MY SITE \| 000s MORE FREE LESSONS	My 1,000 Ideas e-Book

Breaking News English

PRINT

13-Page PDF Handout - with all-skills activities

LISTEN

MP3 (2:07 - 1,015KB)

Dentist Drill Noise Reducer Invented (10th January, 2011)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT DENTISTS SURVEY

DENTISTS DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Dentist drill noise reducer invented

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities