English B1 – Intermediate

🎙️ Click to View Video Transcript

Below is the transcript of today’s video briefing. Watch the lesson and pay close attention to how we describe internet trends objectively by keeping the focus on the digital shifts themselves:

“Welcome to today’s lesson! Every day, millions of videos are uploaded to the web. When a video becomes incredibly popular, it is called a viral video. Instantly, new hashtags are created, and within hours, a new trending topic is born across the globe. Let’s look at how we talk about our digital lives using the present and past passive voice.”

💡 Listening Comprehension Check: Did you notice how the focus stayed entirely on the viral videos and the hashtags instead of the people making them? That is the strategic power of the passive voice when describing online trends!

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Lesson 10: The Digital World

Talking About Social Media, Everyday Trends, and Privacy

Your Skill Targets for Today

Listening & Speaking: Practice natural English rhythm by shadowing everyday digital updates.
Active Reading: Hunt for passive structures in an article about social media privacy.
Vocabulary Boost: Master everyday tech terms and passive actions used online.

1. Everyday Tech Vocabulary

You don’t need to be a programmer to talk about technology. Here are the common words we use every day when browsing or talking about the internet:

Word	What it Means	Example Sentence
Trending Topic	A subject that many people are talking about on social media right now.	“The new smartphone launch is the top trending topic today.”
User-friendly	Easy for regular people to learn, see, and use.	“I love this social media app because the design is very user-friendly.”
Privacy Settings	The controls where you decide who can see your personal information.	“You should check your privacy settings so strangers can’t see your photos.”
Viral	Spreading incredibly fast from person to person across the internet.	“A funny video of a cat went viral and got millions of views in one hour.”

2. The Digital Lexicon: Passive Actions

Look at how we change active actions into passive actions when we talk about the technical operations of social networks and digital systems:

Core Tech Action	The Passive Meaning	How to Use it in Conversation
To Share / Is Shared	When content is distributed by users across their profiles.	“Millions of viral posts are shared across the platform every hour.”
To Upload / Is Uploaded	Sending data, photos, or files from a local device to the internet.	“A new system update was uploaded to the network last night.”
To Protect / Is Protected	Keeping files or personal accounts safe from external threats.	“Your password is protected by our secure encryption system.”

3. Active Reading: The Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt

Your Task: Read the online blog post below. Find the four hidden vocabulary words from our first table, and count how many times the Passive Voice (is/are + verb-3) is used to describe actions.

📝 Blog Post: Living on the Web

“When a new app is launched, everyone wants to try it. If the interface is user-friendly, it becomes popular quickly. Sometimes, a single post goes viral, and suddenly the app becomes the number one trending topic online. However, we must be careful. Our personal information is collected constantly, so our privacy settings are updated regularly to keep our profiles safe.”

🔍 Click to Check Your Answers

• The 4 Vocabulary Words: user-friendly, viral, trending topic, privacy settings.

• The Passive Voice Phrases (2 total here): “is collected” and “are updated”.

4. Interactive Dialogue: Chatting About Tech

See how people naturally use these terms and passive verbs when talking about their online experiences:

Friend A: “Did you see that crazy dance video online today?”
Friend B: “Yes! It was shared by millions of people. It went totally viral!”

Colleague A: “Why did you change your social media profile to private?”
Colleague B: “Because my photos are downloaded easily if they are public. I prefer to have strict privacy settings.”

🎙️ Speaking Challenge: Shadowing & Recording

Let’s practice your natural pronunciation, rhythm, and confidence through Shadowing (listening and repeating).

Step 1: Click the audio play button below to listen to the model line. Focus on the pauses and the “d” sounds at the end of the passive verbs.

Step 2: Read the text below out loud to match the speaker’s speed and rhythm:

“On this platform, funny videos are uploaded every single minute. When a clip goes viral, it is watched by millions of users. It is important to remember that our data is protected by smart privacy settings, making the application safe and user-friendly.”

Step 3 (Your Task): Open the voice recorder on your phone or computer. Record yourself reading the paragraph out loud. Play it back to hear how natural you sound!

💡 Pronunciation Check: When listening to your recording, make sure you hear the crisp endings on “uploaded” (/id/ sound) and “protected” (/id/ sound).