Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. occur
    • ex. The power outage occurred last night during the storm.
  2. spread the word
    • ex. He made a big sign to spread the word about the soccer match next month.
  3. brick-and-mortar
    • ex. The bakery started online, but now they have a brick-and-mortar shop near the park.
  4. migrate
    • ex. The company decided to migrate to new software because the old one was too slow.
  5. an alternative
    • ex. When the library is closed, studying at home is an alternative.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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A TikTok ban that occurred on January 19 in the United States could have harmed millions of small businesses that depend on the app to grow. Many use TikTok for advertising, selling products, and connecting with customers. Since its release in 2016, the platform has been a key tool for small business owners to promote their services and reach new audiences.

Desiree Hill, a mechanic and the owner of Crown’s Corner Mechanic in Georgia, is one example. Sharing videos of her work on TikTok helped spread the word about her business. She became so popular that she opened a large brick-and-mortar shop with five employees. “Every day, at least two or three customers come to me because they watched my TikTok videos,” she shared.

According to TikTok, small businesses could have lost over $1 billion (around ¥158 billion) in just one month because of the ban. In preparation for the ban, many businesses prepared to migrate to other platforms, like Instagram Reels, Snapchat, or YouTube Shorts as an alternative.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Online Advertising

  • How important is it for small businesses to have an online presence today? Discuss.
  • Do you think online advertising is better than traditional advertising, like TV or radio? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you trust reviews, suggestions, or ads you see on social media? Why or why not? Discuss.

TikTok

  • The TikTok ban could have harmed millions of small businesses. Do you think banning apps like TikTok is fair? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What social media platform in your country is similar to TikTok? Discuss.
  • TikTok allows users to promote and sell their products within the app. Would you be willing to use TikTok for shopping? Why or why not? Discuss.