TikTok, a famous app for sharing videos, is stopping its shopping service in Indonesia. This is because the Indonesian government made new rules to help local shops. Indonesia was the first place to test TikTok’s shopping service and it became very popular there. But, the government said TikTok must separate its shopping service from its video service, or it might not be allowed to work in the country anymore.
TikTok said it wants to follow the local laws and rules. So, it will stop helping people buy and sell things on TikTok Shop in Indonesia. Online shopping in Indonesia has grown a lot in the past few years. TikTok Shop was becoming a big part of this, with over 125 million users in Indonesia, including many people who make money by selling things on the app.
This is another problem for TikTok, which has had trouble in many countries, including the US, Europe, and the UK, because of worries about safety. TikTok’s decision to stop its shopping service in Indonesia is because of the government’s new rules to help local shops. TikTok Shop was doing very well in the online shopping market in Indonesia. But now, TikTok must separate its shopping service from its video service to follow the rules.
Original news source: TikTok: Social media app shuts shop after Indonesia ban (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Give each team a set of vocabulary words related to the article (e.g. TikTok, shopping, video, government, rules). One member from each team will come to the front of the class and act out one of the words without speaking. The team members must guess the word within a certain time limit. The team that guesses the most words correctly wins.
– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns summarizing the article to their partner. They should try to include the main points and key details. After both students have summarized the article, they can compare their summaries and discuss any differences or similarities.
– Word Association
Instructions: Write a vocabulary word from the article on the board (e.g. TikTok). Students will take turns saying a word that is related to the one on the board (e.g. video, app, social media). Encourage students to explain the connection between the words. Continue until no more words can be thought of or until a certain time limit is reached.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a set of vocabulary words from the article. One student will choose a word and draw a picture to represent it, while the other student tries to guess the word. They can take turns being the drawer and the guesser. After each round, the pairs can switch roles and choose a new word.
– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Give each student a copy of the article. Set a timer for 2 minutes. Students must read the article and then write a brief summary of it within the time limit. After the time is up, students can compare their summaries with a partner and discuss any differences or missing information.
Comprehension Questions:
1. Why is TikTok stopping its shopping service in Indonesia?
2. What did the Indonesian government want TikTok to do?
3. How has online shopping grown in Indonesia?
4. Who was using TikTok Shop to make money?
5. Why has TikTok had trouble in other countries?
6. What does TikTok have to do to follow the rules in Indonesia?
7. Why did TikTok stop its shopping service in Indonesia?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
TikTok, a famous app for (1)______ videos, is (2)______ its shopping service in Indonesia. This is because the Indonesian government made new rules to help local shops. Indonesia was the first place to test TikTok’s shopping service and it became very (3)______ there. But, the government said TikTok must separate its (4)______ service from its (5)______ service, or it might not be allowed to work in the country anymore.
TikTok said it wants to follow the (6)______ laws and rules. So, it will stop helping people buy and sell things on TikTok Shop in Indonesia. Online shopping in Indonesia has grown a lot in the past few (7)______. (8)______ Shop was becoming a big part of this, with over 125 million users in Indonesia, including many (9)______ who make money by selling things on the app.
This is another problem for TikTok, which has had trouble in many countries, including the US, Europe, and the UK, because of worries about safety. TikTok’s decision to stop its shopping service in (10)______ is because of the government’s new (11)______ to help local shops. TikTok Shop was doing very well in the (12)______ shopping market in Indonesia. But now, TikTok must separate its shopping service from its video service to follow the rules.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What is TikTok?
2. Have you ever used TikTok? If so, what do you like about it?
3. How would you feel if you couldn’t buy and sell things on TikTok anymore?
4. Do you like online shopping? Why or why not?
5. What do you think about the government’s new rules to help local shops?
6. Have you ever sold anything online? If so, what did you sell?
7. How do you think TikTok Shop becoming popular affected online shopping in Indonesia?
8. Do you think it’s important for companies to follow local laws and rules? Why or why not?
9. How do you think TikTok separating its shopping service from its video service will affect its popularity?
10. What other problems has TikTok faced in different countries?
11. Do you think TikTok should continue its shopping service in Indonesia, even if it means not following the new rules? Why or why not?
12. How do you think the government’s new rules will help local shops in Indonesia?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. TikTok
2. shopping
3. Indonesia
4. government
5. rules
6. popular
7. separate
8. service
Meanings:
(a) A famous app for sharing videos
(b) Liked by many people
(c) The people who make decisions for a country
(d) A country in Southeast Asia
(e) Something that helps people or provides a job
(f) Instructions that must be followed
(g) To keep things apart from each other
(h) Buying and selling things online
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Why is TikTok stopping its shopping service in Indonesia?
(a) TikTok’s shopping service was not popular in Indonesia.
(b) The Indonesian government made new rules to help local shops.
(c) TikTok wants to focus on its video service instead.
(d) TikTok is facing safety concerns in Indonesia.
2. Where was TikTok’s shopping service first tested?
(a) United States
(b) Europe
(c) Indonesia
(d) United Kingdom
3. What might happen if TikTok does not separate its shopping service from its video service in Indonesia?
(a) It might not be allowed to work in the country anymore.
(b) TikTok will lose all of its users in Indonesia.
(c) The Indonesian government will ban online shopping.
(d) TikTok will have to shut down its video service.
4. Why did TikTok decide to stop helping people buy and sell things on TikTok Shop in Indonesia?
(a) TikTok’s shopping service was not profitable in Indonesia.
(b) TikTok wants to focus on its video service instead.
(c) The Indonesian government banned TikTok Shop.
(d) TikTok wants to follow the local laws and rules.
5. How many users did TikTok have in Indonesia?
(a) Over 100 million
(b) Over 125 million
(c) Over 50 million
(d) Over 200 million
6. What has been a problem for TikTok in many countries?
(a) Worries about safety
(b) Lack of popularity
(c) Competition from other apps
(d) Technical issues
7. What is the reason behind TikTok’s decision to stop its shopping service in Indonesia?
(a) TikTok’s desire to focus on its video service
(b) Safety concerns in Indonesia
(c) Decreased popularity of TikTok Shop
(d) The government’s new rules to help local shops
8. What must TikTok do to follow the rules in Indonesia?
(a) Shut down its video service
(b) Increase its user base in Indonesia
(c) Separate its shopping service from its video service
(d) Improve its safety features
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. TikTok did not have over 125 million users in Indonesia, including people who made money by selling things on the app.
2. TikTok does not want to follow the local laws and rules, so it decided to continue helping people buy and sell things on TikTok Shop in Indonesia.
3. TikTok, a popular app for sharing videos, is no longer offering a shopping service in Indonesia.
4. The Indonesian government did not make new rules to support local shops, which led to TikTok stopping its shopping service.
5. TikTok has faced problems in many countries, including the US, Europe, and the UK, due to concerns about safety.
6. The government told TikTok that it must separate its shopping service from its video service or it might not be allowed to operate in the country anymore.
7. Indonesia was the first country to test TikTok’s shopping service and it became very popular there.
8. Online shopping in Indonesia has not grown a lot in recent years, and TikTok Shop was not a big part of this growth.
Go to answers ⇩
Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Writing Questions:
Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
1. Why is TikTok stopping its shopping service in Indonesia?
2. What did the Indonesian government want TikTok to do?
3. How many users did TikTok have in Indonesia?
4. Why has TikTok had trouble in other countries?
5. What does TikTok need to do to follow the new rules in Indonesia?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. Why is TikTok stopping its shopping service in Indonesia?
TikTok is stopping its shopping service in Indonesia because the government made new rules to help local shops.
2. What did the Indonesian government want TikTok to do?
The Indonesian government wanted TikTok to separate its shopping service from its video service.
3. How has online shopping grown in Indonesia?
Online shopping in Indonesia has grown a lot in the past few years.
4. Who was using TikTok Shop to make money?
Many people in Indonesia, including TikTok users, were using TikTok Shop to make money by selling things.
5. Why has TikTok had trouble in other countries?
TikTok has had trouble in other countries because of worries about safety.
6. What does TikTok have to do to follow the rules in Indonesia?
TikTok has to separate its shopping service from its video service to follow the rules in Indonesia.
7. Why did TikTok stop its shopping service in Indonesia?
TikTok stopped its shopping service in Indonesia because it wanted to follow the local laws and rules set by the government.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
(1) sharing
(2) stopping
(3) popular
(4) shopping
(5) video
(6) local
(7) years
(8) TikTok
(9) people
(10) Indonesia
(11) rules
(12) online
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. TikTok
Answer: (a) A famous app for sharing videos
2. shopping
Answer: (h) Buying and selling things online
3. Indonesia
Answer: (d) A country in Southeast Asia
4. government
Answer: (c) The people who make decisions for a country
5. rules
Answer: (f) Instructions that must be followed
6. popular
Answer: (b) Liked by many people
7. separate
Answer: (g) To keep things apart from each other
8. service
Answer: (e) Something that helps people or provides a job
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. Why is TikTok stopping its shopping service in Indonesia?
Answer: (b) The Indonesian government made new rules to help local shops.
2. Where was TikTok’s shopping service first tested?
Answer: (c) Indonesia
3. What might happen if TikTok does not separate its shopping service from its video service in Indonesia?
Answer: (a) It might not be allowed to work in the country anymore.
4. Why did TikTok decide to stop helping people buy and sell things on TikTok Shop in Indonesia?
Answer: (d) TikTok wants to follow the local laws and rules.
5. How many users did TikTok have in Indonesia?
Answer: (b) Over 125 million
6. What has been a problem for TikTok in many countries?
Answer: (a) Worries about safety
7. What is the reason behind TikTok’s decision to stop its shopping service in Indonesia?
Answer: (d) The government’s new rules to help local shops
8. What must TikTok do to follow the rules in Indonesia?
Answer: (c) Separate its shopping service from its video service
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. TikTok did not have over 125 million users in Indonesia, including people who made money by selling things on the app. (Answer: False)
2. TikTok does not want to follow the local laws and rules, so it decided to continue helping people buy and sell things on TikTok Shop in Indonesia. (Answer: False)
3. TikTok, a popular app for sharing videos, is no longer offering a shopping service in Indonesia. (Answer: True)
4. The Indonesian government did not make new rules to support local shops, which led to TikTok stopping its shopping service. (Answer: False)
5. TikTok has faced problems in many countries, including the US, Europe, and the UK, due to concerns about safety. (Answer: True)
6. The government told TikTok that it must separate its shopping service from its video service or it might not be allowed to operate in the country anymore. (Answer: True)
7. Indonesia was the first country to test TikTok’s shopping service and it became very popular there. (Answer: True)
8. Online shopping in Indonesia has not grown a lot in recent years, and TikTok Shop was not a big part of this growth. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧
