Social Media Scene 1

Stephen helps Ashlie with some ideas for her blog so that it gets more ‘views’. What does he advise?

Do the Preparation task first. Then do the first two Tasks while watching the video. After that, try the third and fourth Tasks. If you need help, you can read the Transcript at any time.

Preparation

Think about the following questions:

  • What do you like about the blogs or websites that you regularly view?
  • If you were to make a video about something you love, what would your video be about?

Join Stephen as he helps Ashlie think about how to spice up her blog.

Transcript

Ashlie: Hi, I’m Ashlie Walker and today, as you can see, I’m going to be talking about sixties fashion. The sixties is one of the most recognisable…

Stephen: What are you wearing, Ash?

Ashlie: Stephen! You’ve ruined it. I’ll just have to start again now.

Stephen: Are you filming this?

Ashlie: I’m making a short video for my fashion blog. Or I was, until you came in and spoilt it.

Stephen: Why do you want a video? I thought your blog was just words and pictures.

Ashlie: It is. That’s why I want to give it something extra – a bit of action. Now can you go away and leave me alone?

Stephen: Well, sounds a bit strange to me but OK, carry on. I’m going to make a sandwich.

Ashlie: Thank you! The sixties was one of the most recognisable styles in fashion history. We’re talking about colourful designs…

Stephen: Ashlie, is there any cheese?

Ashlie: Stephen! You are really putting me off! Anyway, what was I saying, oh yes… the sixties is one of the most vibrant design…

Stephen: Sorry, Ash. Is there any cheese?

Ashlie: I’m trying to make an interesting video and you keep wandering around in the background and talking to me.

Stephen: Do you really think anyone is going to watch that? It’s not very exciting.

Ashlie: Why not? What’s wrong with it?

Stephen: People don’t listen to you going on about fashion.

Ashlie: How do you know?

Stephen: How many people visited your blog last month?

Ashlie: Thirty-two. But maybe lots of people were on holiday last month.

Stephen: See, you have to be funny or really entertaining if you want to have lots of visitors. Here, let’s have a look at some popular blogs. I’ll show you what I mean.

Ashlie: OK. A few more visitors to my blog would be good, I suppose.

Stephen: That one’s really funny. Look at that!

Ashlie: I can’t believe they’re doing that. That’s amazing.

Stephen: Aw, that’s hilarious. Shall we have a go?

Ashlie: No, Stephen. I really don’t think that’s a good idea.

Stephen: But do you see what I mean? Look how many views that video has.

Ashlie: She’s got a whole channel of videos. Almost a hundred thousand followers. Wow! I’d love to ask her how she got so popular.

Stephen: Well, let’s post a comment and see if she’s online.

Ashlie: Hi, is that SunbeamsJess?

Jess: Yeah, it is. Who are you guys?

Stephen: Hi, yeah, I’m Stephen and this is my sister, Ashlie. We’ve just been watching your latest upload. It’s really good.

Jess: Thank you.

Ashlie: You’ve got loads of subscribers. How many do you have?

Jess: I have about 91,000 at the moment.

Ashlie: Wow, that is a lot. And how did you start?

Jess: Well I started by watching other people’s videos and then decided to make my own. At first I used the webcam in my laptop but then as I got more and more followers, I decided to switch to a camera and make higher-quality videos.

Ashlie: I’m making my own blog and I wanted to start adding video. I wondered if you had any advice? Like, how to get more people to watch?

Jess: I think the most important thing would be to choose a subject that you’re really passionate about because if you love it, then your viewers will really love it too. And also it’s important to remember that it is video, so choosing something that will look good on camera is also key.

Ashlie: Sounds like good advice. Thank you, Jess.

Stephen: Yes, thanks for that. We’ll let you go now, OK? Goodbye!

Jess: Bye!

Ashlie: Bye, thanks. Take care.

 

Ashlie: That was really interesting.

Stephen: I think we should start our own channel. What could we make videos about?

Ashlie: She said it should be something you’re passionate about.

Stephen: Something you really love…

Ashlie: ...that looks great on camera.

Stephen: Hmm.

Stephen and Ashlie: Poppy!

Task 1

Watch the video. Are the sentences true or false?

exercise

Task 2

Watch the video again. Choose the correct option to complete each sentence.

exercise

Task 3

In the video, Ash and Jess use expressions for getting, giving and responding to advice. Put the words in the correct order to make the expressions

exercise

Task 4

Can you remember the expressions from Task 3? Type in the correct words.

exercise

Language level

Average: 5 (1 vote)

Submitted by fidaasiddig on Tue, 15/10/2019 - 20:36

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Hello a bit of action , What it mean Thanks
Profile picture for user Kirk Moore

Submitted by Kirk Moore on Thu, 17/10/2019 - 07:13

In reply to by fidaasiddig

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Hello fidaasiddig

Stephen was just saying that Ashlie's blog was only words and pictures and asking why she wanted it to have a video. She thinks that a video will give it 'a bit of action', in other words, make it more interesting and more engaging.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by büşrabe on Sun, 06/05/2018 - 11:51

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how can i donwnload the videos? Sometimes, internet connection may be problematic at our school therefore i wanna prepare it at home

Hello büşrabe,

I'm afraid our videos are not available for download for legal reasons. All of the content in our Audio series are freely available for download, so you might want to consider them.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team