YouTubing on the road

• Check you can access the video. Common problems include:

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Note: This video is only accessible via the TeachingEnglish website.

• Write 'vlogging/YouTubing' on the board. Ask the class what this means. (Answer: Making video blogs or video logs, often for the video-sharing platform YouTube.)
• Ask your learners if they follow a particular vlogger/YouTuber. Elicit details.
• Brainstorm and introduce vocabulary associated with vlogging, e.g. a subscriber, a follower, a viewer, to film, to post, to edit, to release, to generate (views/hits), a shot, a (vlogging) platform, a drone, a mirrorless camera, GoPro.

Note: GoPro is a brand of small video cameras designed for use while travelling or taking part in sports.

• Put learners into groups of four or five.
• Display Slides 2 and 3 or give each group a copy of Worksheet 1. Draw the learners' attention to the photos and have them discuss the questions.

• Display Slide 4. Tell your learners that they are going to watch an interview with Trent and Allie.
• Explain that learners will watch a brief introduction.
• They should make notes about the couple.
• Play the start of the video (0:00–0:20).
• After viewing, have learners tell you four or five things they learned about Trent and Allie.

Note: The slide links to the webpage. You will need to scroll to view the video and make it full size.

Suggested answers: Trent and Allie live in their camper van; they've been travelling around the world for the last two years; they started out in the USA; they've travelled through Mexico/Central America and they're now in the mountains of Ecuador.  

• Give out Worksheet 2. Learners watch the rest of the video and answer the questions.
• Play the full interview. (If helpful, pause the video at the end of each section.)
• Learners compare answers in pairs.
• Play the video again, if needed.
• Elicit the answers from the class.

Answers

1. They got a million views/hits.
2. They're heading for Tierra del Fuego, the southern tip of South America.
3. They release three videos a week.
4. A short video requires eight to ten hours of filming and six to eight hours of editing.
5. They have a GoPro, a drone and a mirrorless camera and sometimes use phones.
6. They fall out constantly/every day.
7. The people.
8. Their advice is to go for it. Be consistent and give it time.
9. She was grumpy because it was early morning. He was in a good mood.
10. He proposed at the top of a pyramid in Guatemala.

• Put learners into small groups.
• Ask them to discuss the questions together.
• Monitor and give language support.
• Create a whole-class discussion.

• Explain to your learners that they are going to prepare, and act out, a similar interview.
• Divide the class into three groups: two groups of vloggers and one group of journalists.
• Give out the roles so that each learner has a role card.
• Groups read and discuss the card together.
• Tell the vloggers they must come up with answers to the questions. Keep reminding them to use their imagination.
• Tell the journalists they should write one question and practise saying the other questions. Support them with intonation by displaying Slide 5.
• Put learners into groups of three, with one journalist and two vloggers.
• Learners practise their interviews in their groups. Remind them not to read directly from their notes.
• Join each group of three with another group of three. Tell them to carry out the interview for the new group.

Note: If possible, learners can record their interviews for other groups.

• Discuss as a class what they thought was good about their interview and what they could do better next time.