What is the metaverse?

I. Lead-in. Discuss the questions with other students.

Have you ever heard of Meta or the Metaverse?

Have you heard of any virtual worlds or games like Roblox or Minecraft?

What do you think about the idea of a fully immersive online world where people can interact with each other through avatars?

How do you think the rise of virtual worlds will change the way we live and work in the future?

II. Match the words to their definitions. Use four words in your sentences.

1.	buzzword	A.	an imaginary place where everything is perfect
2.	virtual world	B.	a famous unfinished cathedral in Barcelona, Spain, designed by the architect Antoni Gaudi
3.	Sagrada Familia	C.	story that imagines what the future could be like with new technology
4.	to  dabble	D.	a popular word or phrase that people use to describe a particular idea
5.	science fiction	E.	fully involving people and making them feel like they are part of activity
6.	utopia	F.	a digital environment where people can interact with each other and with virtual objects
7.	immersive	G.	to experiment with something for a short period of time

 

III. Watch the video and fill in the gaps with the words from the list. There are some words you don’t need to use.

 

well-versed; economists; smartphones; formerly; businesses; metaverse; accessible; safer; internet; virtual world; science fiction; businessman; economy; exist; display

 

The tech industry loves a buzzword. And right  now, everyone’s talking about the 1) _____.

Broadly speaking, the metaverse can be  defined as a 2) _____where we can live, work, travel and play. But it doesn’t actually 3) exist yet, and just like Gaudi’s cathedral, the Sagrada  Familia, it may take a while to complete.

But that hasn’t stopped 4) _____of all shapes and sizes from trying to get involved. J.P. Morgan, HSBC, Gucci and Coca-Cola are among a few of the firms that have  dabbled with the metaverse so far. And of course, there’s Meta, the company 5) _____known as Facebook.

While the metaverse is still  mostly 6) _____at this stage, there are some early versions of it out there  that give us a taste of what might be possible. Here at Barcelona’s  Mobile World Congress, many of them are on 7) _____. Let’s take a look.  

Many in the tech industry claim that the  metaverse is the next phase of the 8) _____. Companies like Meta are hailing it as this sort of utopia that will make the time we spend online more interactive and fun. They also say it will present businesses with new ways to make money. A lot of money. One report estimates that the metaverse 9) _____could be worth between $8 and 13 trillion by 2030, but getting there is going to require significant investment.

The metaverse, we think, is something that has already been with us. It’s in essence, the digital world, with things like our 10) _____, the web, gaming. We’ve always been in the metaverse. It’s not something that’s going to turn on in a single day. We’re looking at how to make those things more immersive, how to make those things more 11) _____. How do we make those things better for humanity, and how do we make those things 12) _____as well?

 

IV. Match the words to their definitions. Use three words in your sentences.

1.	regulator	A.	to hit   something with a quick  blow
2.	scam	B.	unclear and vague
3.	augmented reality	C.	a person or organizations responsible for creating and enforcing rules
4.	to swat	D.	expressing opinions   openly
5.	gimmick	E.	a dishonest scheme designed to trick people out of their money or personal information
6.	nebulous	F.	a brief or incomplete view  of something
7.	arcade game	G.	a technology that combines computer-generated content and   real world
8.	vocal	H.	a clever  trick used to attract attention
9.	blended	I.	a type of video game   that requires coins or tokens to play
10.	to pump	J.	foolish or incompetent person
11.	glimpse	K.	to push   forcefully
12.	numpty	L.	mixed or combined together

 

V. Watch the video and choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

Alongside the hype have been a whole host of  concerns, ranging from child safety to scams, which is why navigators/regulators/regulations will no doubt be  keeping an eye on how the technology progresses. But the companies here in Barcelona have placed their bets on the metaverse’s promise/remiss/abyss, with a wide range of demos on display. From SK Telecom’s “4D Metaverse” ride to an augmented reality demo from Qualcomm that allowed you to swat virtual insects. It was actually kind of fun. One tech firm called Unity is trying to put  sports fans in the middle of the fraction/active/action. But what else is their software/hardware/aware being used to create?

Sometimes it can be like an amazing magical fantasy/fantastic/fancy world where people ride unicorns and are dancing on the moon or it can be something really ordinarily/primary/ordinary like you want a 3D representation of what a new building is going to look like. What we’ll see is all of these different companies will be creating their own subsets of that in the same way that the internet is the internet, but there are many, many different lights/sight/websites for you to go to.

But are these demonstrations/interpretations/notifications just gimmicks,  or are they a sign of things to come?

The challenge with the  metaverse is it’s a very nebulous term. So, we’ve got Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta vision of almost like an arcade game that you insert yourself into and then we’ve got the more grounded inversion/reverse/version of virtual and augmented reality, which might augment your life in a very simple way.

 No company has been more active and more vocal about the metaverse than Facebook, which changed its game/name/namely to Meta at the end  of 2021 to reflect its “all in” attitude.

We’re at the beginning of a long journey. Meta had to do something that was a statement to grab people’s attentive/attention/retention. And if you look at the huge amounts of money that they’re investing, they had to justify that investment. My personal belief is we’ve already had an interesting step in the right direction with the endemic/pandemic/pandemonium because we’re starting to live more blended lives. We’re working from home. We’re coming back to the office. Some of that will continue to exist and there will be elements of that that will lend   themselves to a metaverse-like appearance/expertise/experience.

Tech companies are pumping billions of dollars into developing  hardware/hardly/beware that has the potential to act as a gateway to these metaverses. Facebook bought virtual reality firm Oculus back in 2014 and the company’s latest VR headset is the Quest 2, which competes with the HTC Vive Pro, and, to some degree, Microsoft’s HoloLens 2.

At $299, the Quest 2 is a moderately priced  headset that may offer a glimpse of the future. If you don’t mind looking like a bit of a numpty, you can play some highly attractively/interactive/counteractive games on it and explore worlds that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to.

  

VI. Match the words to their definitions. Use two words in your sentences.

 

1.	hiccup	A.	a device or computer technology that can be worn on the body
2.	wearable	B.	capital invested in  a project in which there is an element of risk
3.	momentum	C.	dominant or popular
4.	venture capital	D.	a problem that delays something
5.	mainstream	E.	a device worn on the head that includes headphones and a microphone
6.	headset	F.	the force that keeps an object moving

 

VII. Watch the video and choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

1.    VRChat is an app that allows users to  create _____ and explore virtual  worlds with other people online.

a)      an avatar                 b)  a website             c)   an immersive game

 

2.    Today the app has problems because people were _______  .

a)    refusing to interact online                      

b)    stealing avatar designs from each other                                

c)    hurling abuse  at one another

 

3.    Roblox and Minecraf are the examples of computer games  and web-based platforms virtual worlds where you can  _______.

a)    make money

b)    study with peers

c)    interact with other players

 

4.    Decentraland is a ______ virtual world that users can create, explore and trade in.

a)    desktop-based           b)   US-based               c)  Facebook-based

 

5.    On Decentraland, people can buy and sell land, estates, and wearables for their ______.

a) business partners             b)       avatar                          c)  employer

 

6.    Now we can see significant amounts of money being invested by ________.

a)       government                 b)  venture capital               c)   Facebook

 

7.    VR is now attainable and _____ to people.

a)     protected                  b)  hidden                       c) accessible 

 

8.    Some people believe that users will not spend ____ in metaverse.

a)  a whole hour              b)  a whole year                c)   a whole day

 

9.    Average U.K. and U.S. adults spend more than ______ online.

a)  20 hours a day       b)   12 hours a day         c) 20 hours a week 

 

10.It’s more than ______ on a screen.

a)    half of every day                     

b)    half of every holiday                                

c)    half of every year

 

11.This trend has been accelerated by _______and how we’ve all lived over the last 12 months. 

a)  cobalt     b) Covid     c) cooling off 

 

 

VIII. Watch all the video fragments again. Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false statements.

 

1.  The concept of the metaverse refers to a virtual world that allows people to live, work, travel and engage in leisure activities, but it does not currently exist and its development may take some time.

2.  Several major corporations, including J.P. Morgan, HSBC, Gucci, and Coca-Cola, are attempting to stop the development of the metaverse.

3.  Facebook, formerly known as Meta, is a company that is actively involved in the creation of the metaverse.

4.  According to many experts in the technology industry, the metaverse will not be part of the internet's evolution.

5.  Meta believes that the metaverse has the potential to make our online experiences more interactive and enjoyable.

6.  The emergence of the metaverse will offer businesses few opportunities to generate revenue.

7.  By 2024, the metaverse economy is expected to have a value of anywhere from $8 to $13 trillion.

8.  Achieving significant financial success in the metaverse will require little investments.

9.  The metaverse essentially refers to a more immersive and accessible digital world, which includes devices like smartphones, the internet, and gaming.

10.      There concerns related to the metaverse include issues such as child safety and fraudulent activities.

11.      Mark Zuckerberg's vision for Meta is akin to a social networking site where businesses can fully immerse themselves in the communication.

12.      Facebook rebranded as Meta in late 2021 to showcase its commitment to the metaverse.

13.      Tech companies are spending billions of dollars into developing hardware that has the potential to act as a gateway to these metaverses.

14.      In 2014, Facebook acquired Oculus, a virtual reality company, and their most recent VR headset is called the Quest 2. 

15.      With the help of the latest  headsets users can play some highly interactive games on it and explore worlds that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to.

 

 

IX. Vocabulary focus. Follow the link. Study the words using flashcards, check your understanding. Play matching vocabulary game and solve the crossword puzzle. Take a test to check your knowledge.    

 

X. OVER TO YOU. Think of the use of metaverse and immersive experience. Get ready to discuss their benefits and drawbacks. Use the questions below to organize your ideas:

1.    What is the metaverse, and how does it differ from the internet as we know it today?

2.    What are some of the potential benefits and drawbacks of the metaverse for individuals and society as a whole?

3.    What kinds of companies and industries are currently investing in the metaverse, and what do they hope to achieve?

4.    How might the development of the metaverse impact the way we live, work, and interact with each other?

5.    What role do you think governments and regulators should play in overseeing the development of the metaverse, particularly with regards to issues like privacy, security, and user safety?

6.    How might the metaverse change the nature of entertainment, and what opportunities and challenges does this present for content creators?

7.    Finally, do you think the metaverse will eventually become a mainstream technology, or will it remain a niche interest for gamers and tech enthusiasts?