ESL WORKSHEET - The first computer programmer

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

ADA LOVELACE

LinguaHouse

Jan. 11, 2022

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)
Type of English: General English
Tags: Celebrities and Historical Figures; Behavior, Feelings and Emotions; Challenges; Historical Events; Science and Technology; Entertainment; Vocabulary and Grammar
Publication date: 01/11/2022

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking and includes a short look at “so ... that” cause-and-effect structures. There is also an optional extension activity about the genre steampunk. (by Stephanie Hirschman)

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in British English.

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Historian: Augusta Ada Byron, the Countess of Lovelace, was born in London in 1815. Her father was the famous Romantic poet Lord Byron, and her parents separated shortly after her birth. Although she never knew her father, who died when she was eight years old, he indirectly influenced her early life and education.
Lord Byron had been described as “mad, bad, and dangerous to know” - so, to prevent her from following in her father’s footsteps, Ada’s mother encouraged her to study science and mathematics. It was very unusual for girls to study these subjects at that time. Ada was taught at home by a number of prominent people, including Mary Somerville, a Scottish astronomer and mathematician.
At the age of twelve, Ada wrote a book called “Flyology”, which explored whether human flight would be possible, describing the anatomy of birds and comparing various materials to build wings. In 1833, she met Cambridge professor Charles Babbage at a party.
Babbage was a mathematician who had invented a calculating machine called the Difference Engine, and he was planning a second more complicated machine called the Analytical Engine. Although Babbage was much older, they struck up a friendship, and he arranged for Ada to study advanced mathematics with a professor at the University of London.
In 1842, Babbage visited the University of Turin in Italy to deliver a lecture about his machines, and an Italian engineer wrote an article describing Babbage’s work. Ada translated the article into English and added her own comments and notes, which ran to almost three times the length of the original article.
This was published in a scientific journal in 1843, but she was only credited by her initials. In her notes, Ada described a set of repeating instructions for the engine called a looping procedure which is still used today, making her the world’s first computer programmer.
She had a deep understanding of the potential of these machines and proposed a “science of operations” related to but different from the science of mathematics. She suggested it would be possible to use the machines to produce music or pictures or explain relationships in the natural world. Ada also believed that the winners of horse races could be predicted mathematically.
She loved gambling and lost so much money that she had to pawn her husband’s family diamonds. In 1835, Ada married William King and, through him, acquired the title of Countess of Lovelace. They had three children and socialized with many famous people of the time, including scientist Michael Faraday and writer Charles Dickens.
Ada died of cancer in 1852 and asked to be buried next to her father in a small church outside Nottingham. For many years, Ada was an unsung hero, but after more than a century, the true importance of her achievements has been recognized. She is very much part of popular culture, with a programming language named after her and inspiring many characters in books and films.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/ada-lovelace. Accessed on July 25, 2024. © 2008–2024 LinguaHouse.com. All rights reserved.