Twitter Secrets: English Listening Lesson about Tech

50-minute English Lesson

In this English listening lesson about tech, discover why Twitter used to be 140 characters.

Read the story

Twitter

Why are tweets limited to 140 characters? There are 2 reasons.

In the beginning, Twitter was designed to work on cell phones. When Twitter started in 2006, cell phones were popular. Smartphones were uncommon. The iPhone didn’t even exist.

Cell phone messages had to be short because of a 160 character limit. If you sent a message longer than that, the phone company might have cut it up and sent two or three separate messages.

The 160 character limit came from a man named Friedhelm Hillebrand. In 1985, he studied many kinds of messages. He said the average message was 160 characters or less.

That was good news for telephone companies. 160 characters was about the most they could send in a single message with their technology. So, phone companies picked 160 characters as the international standard for the short messaging system, or SMS.

Why did Twitter limit messages to only 140 characters? Twitter said each tweet required 20 characters for the user’s name. The remaining 140 were needed for the information in the message. Another reason was style. Twitter wanted people to send easy to read messages that would not be cut up into smaller pieces by the phone companies.

Back to the original question, why are tweets 140 characters? History and style. Tweets were designed 10 years ago for cell phones. Today’s technology has advanced a lot compared to the past, but nobody can think of a good reason to change the 140 limit.

Short tweets are here to stay.

Listen without reading

English listening lesson about tech

English listening lesson: Gap Fill

LISTEN TO THE STORY AGAIN AND FILL IN THE BLANKS.

Why are tweets limited to 140 ________ ? There are 2 reasons.

In the beginning, Twitter was ________ ______ work on cell phones. When Twitter started in 2006, cell phones were popular. Smartphones were uncommon. The iPhone didn’t even _______ .

Cell phone messages ________ _____ _____ short because of a 160 character limit. If you sent a message longer than that, the phone company might have cut it up and sent two or three ________ messages.

The 160 character limit came from a man named Friedhelm Hillebrand. In 1985, he ________ many kinds of messages. He said the ________ message was 160 characters or less.

That was good news for ________ companies. 160 characters was about the most they could send in a ________ message with their technology. So, phone companies picked 160 characters as the ________ standard for the short messaging ________ , or SMS.

Why did Twitter limit messages to only 140 characters? Twitter said each tweet 20 ________ characters for the user’s name. The ________ 140 were needed for the information in the message. Another reason was ________ . Twitter wanted people to send ________ ______ ______ messages that would not be cut up into smaller ________ by the phone companies.

Back to the ________ question, why are tweets 140 characters? History and style. Tweets were ________ 10 years ago for cell phones. Today’s technology has ________ a lot compared to the past, but nobody can think of a good reason to ________ the 140 limit.

Short tweets are here to ________ .

ESL discussion questions

Talk about the story.

1. What kind of story is this?
2. When was Twitter launched?
3. Why aren’t tweets 160 characters?
4. How did style influence the design of tweets?
5. Are tweets limited to 140 characters today?
6. Do you use Twitter?

Synonym match

MATCH THE WORD OR PHRASE ON THE LEFT WITH THE CORRECT SYNONYM.

English listening lesson: anagrams

MOVE THE LETTERS. MAKE A WORD FROM THE English listening lesson about tech.

1. GNRLAOII
2. DTLEIIM
3. ANSDDRAT
4. SGINDEDE
5. NOCMMONU
6. PTEREASA

Writing practice

Write the sentences. Put the words in the correct order.

1. for / 10 / phones / tweets / cell / were / years / ago / designed
2. even / exist / the / didn’t / iPhone
3. here / stay / tweets / to / short / are
4. was / or / he / less / said / characters / 160 / the / message / average
5. 20 / the / name / required / Twitter / each / user’s / tweet / characters / said / for

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Watch a video and take notes

Learn more? Watch a short video about Twitter. It’s less than three minutes.

1. Watch the video.
2. Take notes.
3. Make a list with at least six facts.

Get the worksheet

Want to print out the English listening lesson activities? Click to download the PDF worksheet.