50-minute English Lesson
In this Listening for ESL students story, learn how YouTube got started.
Read the story
YouTube
Everybody knows YouTube. It’s the little video website that became a big success. How did it become so popular?
The history of YouTube starts in 2004. A few friends got together for a dinner party. They shot some video and realized it was impossible to upload it to the internet. At that time, the web was almost exclusively text and images.
That’s when three people had an idea: build a site where people could easily upload video for the world to watch. The three co-founders of YouTube were Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim.
In the early days, YouTube was in a small office above a pizza restaurant. There were a few employees. The biggest expense was the monthly bill for computer storage space.
Soon, the money problems disappeared. Investors saw the potential of video and they liked YouTube. There were a few online video sites, but YouTube beat them all. The main reason? YouTube was easy to use. With just a few clicks, your video was online.
YouTube quickly became a hit. It was so successful, Google bought it for $1.6 billion in 2006. The deal was signed around midnight in a restaurant parking lot. Some people thought the price was high, but the investment paid off. In 2014, YouTube’s global ad revenue was about $6 billion.
Another reason for its success is income for content creators. People who upload videos are paid based on the number of views. For example, a video of a baby biting his brother’s finger was watched 500 million times. The person who made that video earned $150,000.
Today, YouTube is a global library. You can watch important speeches and fascinating interviews from 50 years ago, popular TV shows and music videos. And it all started with some friends who found a problem and created a solution.
Listen without reading
Listening for ESL students
Audio
Here is the listening file for this lesson.
Audio file: 2:25 min
Story length: 304 words
Quiz: YouTube
Did you understand the story?
Let's check with a True-False quiz.
English listening lesson: Gap Fill
Listen to the ESL story again and fill in the blanks.
Everybody knows YouTube. It’s the little video __________ that became a big success. How did it become so __________ ?
The history of YouTube starts in 2004. A few friends got together for a __________ party. They shot some video and __________ it was impossible to upload it to the internet. At that time, the web was almost __________ text and images.
That’s when three people had an idea: build a site where people could easily __________ video for the world to watch. The three __________ of YouTube were Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim.
In the early days, YouTube was __________ _______ _______ office above a pizza restaurant. There were a few __________ . The biggest expense was the monthly bill for computer __________ space.
Soon, the money problems disappeared. __________ saw the potential of video and they liked YouTube. There were a few online video sites, but YouTube __________ them all. The main reason? YouTube was easy to use. With just a few __________ , your video was online.
YouTube quickly became a hit. It was so successful, Google __________ __________ for $1.6 billion in 2006. The deal was signed around midnight in a restaurant parking lot. Some people thought the price was high, but the investment __________ _______ . In 2014, YouTube’s global ad __________ was about $6 billion.
Another reason for its success is income for __________ creators. People who upload videos are paid based on the number of __________ . For example, a video of a baby biting his brother’s finger was watched _______ __________ times. The person who made that video earned $ __________ .
Today, YouTube is a global __________ . You can watch important speeches and __________ interviews from __________ years ago, popular TV shows and music videos. And it all started with some friends who found a problem and __________ a solution.
ESL discussion questions
Talk about the esl story.
- What kind of story is this?
- Inventions often start with a problem. What was the problem in this story?
- Describe the early days of the YouTube company office.
- What factors helped make YouTube a financial success?
- Have you ever created YouTube content?
- Do you know any famous YouTubers?
Synonym match
MATCH THE WORD OR PHRASE ON THE LEFT WITH THE CORRECT SYNONYM.
| 1. exclusively 2. expense 3. deal 4. revenue 5. beat | a. operating cost b. defeat c. income d. contract e. entirely |
ESL listening activity: anagrams
MOVE THE LETTERS. MAKE A WORD FROM THE Listening for ESL students.
- UXLCSILVYEE
- AYSEIL
- ESEXPEN
- ARGKNPI
- EVURENE
- TAGFIINSNAC
Writing practice
Write the five sentences. Put the words in the correct order.
- With / few / was / online / video / clicks / your / a / just
- restaurant / was / in / a / early / above / small / office / pizza / days / In / the / a / YouTube
- based / who / views / are / videos / number / the / upload / of / People / on / paid
- interviews / fascinating / can / 50 / years / from / ago / videos / and / and / shows / / TV / popular / watch / speeches / You / music / important
- video / that / success / It’s / big / the / website / became / little / a
Another ESL listening story
Ready for another lesson? Try this free online listening comprehension lesson about the Rubik’s cube.
Watch a video and take notes
Listening for ESL students
Did you like this Listening for ESL students story about YouTube? Watch this video – it was the first video posted on YouTube.
- Watch the video.
- Take notes.
- Make a list with at least six facts.
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Copyright Notice
This text and audio file are copyrighted. They may be used for non-commercial educational purposes. They may not be used or adapted for any commercial purpose.