Video advertising

Hello there!

I bring some activities for a video explaining what video advertising is. There is quite a lot of interesting vocabulary that you can use for any discussion on the topic, and it combines a clear voice-over with interviews.

I propose the following gap-filling exercise. Be aware that you may need more than one word in each gap.


The popularity of online video in recent years (1) _______________ online video advertising, which is an increasingly attractive proposition for marketers.

This is a medium that seeks to engage consumers and making them want to be (2)_______________ a brand.

Broadband take up at an (3)______________________ of 89% of online users means we can enjoy faster speeds and better quality.

Around 40% of online adverts now carry (4)_____________________.

Broadband connection also leads to a more effective (5) __________________ of specific consumer groups, and the added bonus of marketers being able to (6)_______________ when and how long their films have been viewed.

If you were to (7) _____________ a TV spot in Coronation Street, your audience could be (8)_______________ an eight-month-old baby to a granny, and all the audiences in between.

Video advertising online can come in a variety of formats (9) _______________ every product: banners on site, pre-roll and post-roll video ads, as well as a range of new interactive units such as YouTube's new overlay format, (10) ________________________ the opportunity to interact.

An exciting part of online video is that viral videos enable marketers to tell a story in a slightly more (11)_____________ and _______________ way.

The last speaker suggests that to know whether online video advertising works for you or not, you should (12) ______________________ (idiom).

online video advertising

For those of you wanting to practice some pronunciation, I would propose to look for any words ending in -al, like "viral", and repeat the full sentence in the video to drill their pronunciation in context.

Key here, share your comments in the comment section! Enjoy!

The Short Transcript Challenge V: Desert Climates

Hello everyone!

As part of our long-forgotten Short Transcript Challenge, I propose this short video. It's a short description of desert climates and landscapes.

It's one minute long, but it's clear and the speed is quite reasonable. I would like to see your transcriptions in the comments, although I'll be posting a key soon (not too soon this time, though, to make sure you try!)

There are two words that you will need to know in advance, as they are very specific: erg and reg (better known as "desert pavement").


Go for it!

Topic videos: Food

I think that the New York Times have made all their videos available and free to watch. Hooray! So I thought that I might post a video for each important, large topic that we have seen this year, both for NA1 and for NA2. I'll try to keep it even. Advantage: your exams are very close together, so we have roughly the same amount of time.

I start with food (closely linked to health or to culture, usually), because it was seen at the beginning of the year and I imagine it must be far out in your memory: 

1. Consider this vocabulary and its pronunciation: 
processed- ultraprocessed food
aisle
whole(some) foods
navigate (quite modern, basically meaning "finding your way in")
come up with (an idea)

2. Note down adjectives or nouns related with food, especially those we have already seen. 

3. Answer: 

a) Why is it necessary to "navigate" the supermarket?
b) Can you find one of the most typical, strongest collocations of adverb+adjectives we have seen this course?
c) What's the difference between processed and ultraprocessed food?
d) Are frozen vegetables good, according to them?
 e) Why do yogurts have so much sugar in them?


 

Answers in the comments section, I hope to make the key available very very soon. Here's the key.

Enjoy!

Shopping online tips

Hello again!

This video shows us several useful tips to buy online. Disable the subtitles to do the comprehension and gap-filling below. You must complete each gap with up to 4 words.

ONLINE SHOPPING TIPS FROM THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

1.       Plan ahead by ______________________ .

2.      Be sure to include __________________________ in your budget.

3.      You must distinguish between the __________________________ features of a product and those that are simply ____________________________ but can be done without.

4.      Look for feedback about how the product works, or its _________________________ .

5.      Read several reviews on the company selling the product to avoid ________________

__________________ source.

6.      Make sure you take into account ______________________________ and other add-ons when considering the price of the item.

7.      Sellers are required by law to ship items _________________________________.

8.      Credit card is safer because the law allows you to ____________________________ if you dispute a charge.

9.      The “s” at https stands for “secure” and will allow your information to be ____________________________ before transmission.

10   You can ____________________________ with the Federal Trade Commission if you can’t work out problems with the seller first.

The Tense Challenge: American Pie

Here's The Tense Challenge! Try to complete all the gaps before listening. If you'd rather have a printed version, well, just copy and paste the lyrics below.

Good luck!





Transcript

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music _________________ me smile.
And I _________if I had my chance
That I _________make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

But February ________ me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.

I can’t remember if I _______
When I _______ about his widowed bride,
But something ________me deep inside
The day the music ________.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.
_______ my chevy to the levee,
But the levee ______ dry.
And them good old boys ______________ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

_______________ the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
`cause I ______you dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I _____a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I ________ I was out of luck
The day the music _______.

I _________ singin’,
"bye-bye, miss american pie…

Now for ten years we___________ on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone,
But that’s not how it ___________.
When the jester _________ for the king and queen,
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me,

Oh, and while the king ___________ down,
The jester ___________ his thorny crown.
The courtroom _____________;
No verdict _________________.
And while Lennon ________ a book of marx,
The quartet ____________ in the park,
And we ____________ dirges in the dark
The day the music ______________.

We _______________,
"bye-bye, miss american pie…

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds _________ off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It ___________ foul on the grass.
The players _________for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Now the half-time air ________ sweet perfume
While the sergeants __________a marching tune.
We all _________ to dance,
Oh, but we never _________the chance!
`cause the players __________to take the field;
The marching band __________to yield.
Do you recall what _________________
The day the music ____________?

We _________ singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie…

Oh, and there we __________ all in one place,
A generation ___________ in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!
Jack flash ____________ on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil’s only friend.

Oh, and as I ________________ him on the stage
My hands were _______________ in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
_____________ break that satan’s spell.
And as the flames _____________ high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I _____________ satan laughing with delight
The day the music __________

He __________________,
"bye-bye, miss american pie…

I __________ a girl who ____________ the blues
And I ______________ her for some happy news,
But she just ______________ and _____________ away.
I _____________ down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there ____________ the music wouldn’t play.

And in the streets: the children ____________,
The lovers ___________, and the poets __________.
But not a word _________________;
The church bells all __________________.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They _______________ the last train for the coast
The day the music ________________.

And they __________________,
"bye-bye, miss american pie… (bis)