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IS
TINDERSURFING
FOR YOU?

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1 Warm up

In pairs, answer the following questions.

1. If you travel anywhere, how do you usually find your accommodation?

2. What difficulties have you encountered with finding accommodation?
3. What dating apps are you aware of? Do you think dating apps are a good way of finding a partner?
Why? Why not?

2 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the vocabulary to the definitions.

1. demystify (v) a. in a way that is obvious or not hard to see

2. galling (adj.) b. very stupid or dangerous

3. markedly (adv.) c. appearing to be expensive and important

4. privilege (n) d. being unfair and making you upset or angry

5. glossy (adj.) e. a right or advantage that some people have that others
do not have
6. insane (adj.) f. the crime of taking someone away against their will,
often using force
7. abduction (n) g. an action done to prepare for something to reduce
dangers or potential problems
8. precaution (n) h. make something less complicated by explaining it in a
clear manner

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Part B: Complete the following sentences with a different part of speech connected to the Part A
word in brackets.

1. I remember sitting in my maths lessons with a feeling of complete at how any of

it made sense to the other students. (demystify)

2. You’ve got a lot of coming to ask for my help after what you said to me last week.
(galling)

3. I’ve noticed that your grades have shown a improvement over the last few months.
(markedly)

4. The cost of higher learning now means that it’s only really accessible to the few
who come from rich families. (privilege)

5. The documentary takes a look at the deception and despair behind the of
Hollywood’s film industry. (glossy)

6. It would be absolute to try and leave now in the middle of this storm. You’ll never
make it. (insane)

7. Have you seen the news? The judge in the case has been and the entire police
force is out looking for him. (abduction)

8. I’m going to carry my credit card separately from my wallet as a measure in case
something happens. (precaution)

3 Listening for details

Listen to the interview and tick all of the questions that you hear.

1. What do you think women do in real life that men don’t?

2. What effect do you think social media has on our travel experiences?

3. Do you think men use social media differently than women?

4. How would you say that the female experience differs while
travelling?
5. Would you say social media has helped or harmed the travel industry?

6. How do you think social media highlights inequality?

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4 Listening comprehension

Choose the best response a - c for each of the questions 1 - 8.

1. What improvements does Tina mention there are nowadays in terms of travel?

a. The ability to travel has become easier thanks to apps and travel companies.

b. There’s greater access to information about a wider variety of places to visit.

c. Making choices about where to go has been improved due to reviews on travel sites.

2. What problems does Tina highlight with modern sources of information about travel?

a. It’s easier to find a subjective opinion than an objective assessment of most places to visit.

b. Travel companies market destinations in a way that appeals to the most people rather than
realistically.
c. There is often a gap between the reality and the way in which destinations are presented.

3. Why does Tina mention a situation as being a ‘double-edged sword’?

a. In the process of visiting idyllic destinations, tourists damage them which reduces their value.

b. Westerners travelling underlines the lack of equality in the world, but also provides revenue
in tourist destinations.
c. Tourism brings in income for locals and leads to greater understanding between people from
different cultures.

4. What does Tina say about female travellers?

a. Male travellers don’t have to worry about aspects of travel that females do when travelling
solo.
b. On the whole, travelling has become safer and much easier for females thanks to changing
attitudes.
c. She would strongly advise females not to travel without a friend or another male due to
international crime rates.

5. What is Tina’s attitude towards Botta and his Tindersurfing adventures?

a. He’s able to do it purely by virtue of being a male, as it’s an option females don’t have.

b. She enjoyed the playful nature of his videos and how he had a fresh take on travelling.

c. She thought he was taking advantage of his good looks by promising women more than he
was giving.

6. Tina thinks that a woman travelling alone would ...

a. receive more attention from the press than Botta did.

b. have to make sure she roomed with females.

c. automatically interest dangerous males.

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7. What does Tina say that women need to do in most situations?

a. plan their next step and be mindful of their situation

b. be prepared to defend themselves in case of attack

c. go everywhere with a trusted friend when possible

8. Tina believes that social media ...

a. helps to create a conversation about what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour in society.

b. makes it clear that there’s an inequality in opportunities for different people.

c. actually makes things more difficult for women by showing misogynistic behaviour to a larger
audience.

5 Finding vocabulary
You are going to read an article about dating and travelling. Work in pairs. Each student should read
the article to find vocabulary which matches the definition. When you have finished, share your
vocabulary and the definitions with your partner.

Group 1

1. (adj. para A): (of a road, path or way of doing something) used regularly

2. (adj. para. B): connected to the topic of sexual activity or the human body

3. (n, para. D): resistance to a plan, an idea or generally a change

4. (adv. para. E): in great amounts

5. (n, para. F): a business that publishes news and current events

6. (adj. para. F): experiencing very poor luck or a lack of success

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Group 2

1. (n, para. B): something that’s exciting and interesting

2. (n, para. C): a problem that prevents something from working as it should

3. (adv. para. E): in a way that shows that you don’t really want to do something

4. (n, para. E): a pipe that carries dirty water away

5. (v, para. F): go somewhere that may be difficult

6. (adj. para. F): stuck on land or not going anywhere

6 Skimming for details

Skim-read the text and find the meaning of the following numbers.

a. 8→

b. 5→

c. 25 →

d. 4→

e. 30 →

f. 21 →

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Dating and travelling

The Tindersurfer

A. With his university days coming to an end, Anthony Botta wanted to spend his final lengthy summer doing
something memorable before he embarked on a career in marketing. He’d already decided he wanted to tour eight
European countries, a task made somewhat easier by the five languages that the Belgian was able to converse in
(English, Italian, Spanish, French and Dutch). Yet he wanted to avoid the purely conventional, well-trodden route
of hostels and hotels.

B. Botta took some inspiration from his favourite YouTube channel, ‘Yes Theory’ which followed the philosophy that
life’s best experiences happen when you take opportunities that push you outside of your comfort zone. So he hit
upon the idea of using the popular dating app, Tinder to not only meet women in all the areas he was travelling
to, but also to source accommodation. It would potentially reduce his costs, but also added a little pizzazz to the
adventure - not to mention that as a single 25-year-old man, it enhanced the possibility of satisfying his carnal
appetites.

C. Prior to travelling to a new city, he would change his location on the app to his destination. This allowed him to
virtually meet women ahead of his arrival and set up accommodation. Early on though, he found a flaw in his plan.
Explaining to multiple women what his plans were turned out to be time-consuming and he was spending many
hours each day on the app repeating himself rather than enjoying the experience of each place. As a remedy, he
set up a YouTube channel documenting his travels and once a woman showed interest, he was able to send her a
link which simultaneously saved him time and grew his audience.

D. It wasn’t all plain-sailing and he did encounter pushback. Some women insulted him and unmatched with his profile
once they found out his plans, while others offered to put him up before they’d even engaged in conversation.
Botta said that once he’d been offered a palace to stay, he never turned them down, although he later suspected
that he should have in some cases. At times, he was forced to accept everyone just to widen the net of possibilities,
but it was only Vienna where he was unable to find a single match and was forced to divert to Bratislava.

E. His favourite experience was an Italian woman named Guilia who he’d planned to stay with for a day, but their
connection was so strong that it turned into four days. He even questioned whether he should leave at all, but
knew that he’d promised himself that he’d have a great adventure, so reluctantly left. They did, however, remain
in touch. In Poland, he stayed with a lady from Portugal who told him she lived close to the station where he was
arriving. Contrary to her description, it was a good 30-minute walk in the heat with his backpack. On arrival, he
asked if he could shower off his now profusely sweaty body, but she refused as she needed it for the dishes. The
apartment was tiny, and there was no sink, so the dishes had to be done in the shower. They also had to sit on
the bed to eat. When he was finally able to wash himself, the water wouldn’t go down the drain as it was blocked
with hair.

F. By the time his trip finished, he had stayed with a total of 21 hosts, received media coverage from various outlets
across the world and completed a season of his travels on his YouTube channel. Later, he was invited to Finland
which he covered in a special episode on his channel and for season two, ventured to Colombia. He diversified
into offering advice for hapless users of dating apps, but by late December 2023, he posted a photo of him kissing
a girl and a caption which indicated that the tindersurfer was now permanently beached.

Sources: worldcrunch.com, metro.co.uk, independent.co.uk, critic.co.nz

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7 Reading comprehension
Decide in which paragraph A - F you can find the following information. Write the letter of the
paragraph for each item.

1. Unusually swift positive reactions to Botta’s proposal of staying with a match.

2. An attitude to life that Botta admired.

3. A reason why Botta decided to video his exploits and put them on social media.

4. A method Botta used for offering more than just details of his travels to keep his social media
presence going.

5. The industry that Botta intended to work in after his travels.

6. An unpleasant situation Botta found himself on during a particular stay with a match.

7. An unexpected change that Botta had to make in his travel route.

8. The process Botta used in order to find places to stay during his trip.

8 Talking point
In pairs, answer the following questions.

1. What is your opinion of Tindersurfing? Do you think it’s a good idea? Why/Why not?
2. Do you think social media has had a good effect on travel? Why/Why not?
3. Do you agree that social media often highlights the inequalities between Westerners and the
people who live in the places that they travel to? Why/Why not?
4. Do you think that Tina is correct about the differences in the way men and women have to think
about situations? Why/Why not?
5. How do you think travel could be made safer for everyone?

9 Optional extension / homework

Read the question. To what extent do you agree with the statement?

Men have always had opportunities that women don’t have due to their strength and greater
ability to attack others and defend themselves. Women need to accept that it’s just a
biological fact, rather than anything personal.

You should:

• write at least 250 words,

• check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

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Transcripts

3. Listening for details

Show host: Welcome back, everyone. Today we have Tina with us to talk about her experiences
with travel and how social media plays such a part in it these days. Tina, welcome to the
show, thanks for coming in.

Tina: Thanks for having me. I’m delighted to be here.

Host: So first of all, what effect do you think social media has on our travel experiences?

Tina: Well, in some ways it has opened the world up and demystified it a bit. For a long time,
the only ways you could learn about a place was what you saw in books and perhaps in
documentaries on TV. Now, it’s easy to see people’s personal experiences in any number
of places which can be very inspiring in terms of being able to see beautiful places, but
also making you think ‘if they can do it, so can I!’. On the other hand, social media is quite
a superficial medium in many ways as it naturally places so much emphasis on the visual
aspects. So it becomes more about the presentation than the reality. It also highlights
the inequality in terms of what experiences people are able to have.

Host: That’s interesting. How do you think social media highlights inequality?

Tina: In so many ways. If you look at who is having the experiences, they are largely people
from the West documenting their experience in poorer countries. It’s a double-edged
sword because they do provide income for people in these areas, but there’s something
a little galling about watching young people taking videos and selfies with cameras and
phones that cost more than a lot of the people they’re filming make in several months.
Also, while there are female travellers who go it alone, their experience is markedly
different from the male one. There’s simply a privilege that is reserved for some people
that is entirely inaccessible to others. So if you go beyond the glossy videos, that’s
highlighted too.

Host: How would you say that the female experience differs while travelling?

Tina: Take the guy who was Tindersurfing for example. No woman could take that approach
to travel. You can’t turn up in a city that you don’t know and go and stay with a stranger!
That would be insane! Even two women travelling together would be taking a risk. He
said himself that there are a lot of very creepy men online, so a woman advertising herself
as travelling alone would definitely attract the wrong type of person. Definitely. There
would be harassment as a minimum, but worse you could open yourself up to serious
assault or even abduction. I’m not saying it’s perfectly safe for men, but they don’t have
to approach it in the same way, just as there are things they don’t have to consider in
real life.

Host: What do you think women do in real life that men don’t?

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Tina: I had a female friend who lived in South London who ran home from the train station
every single night as a way to reduce the possibility of attack. You’ve got to constantly
be aware of your environment and think ahead, where are my keys? Which route do I
take? Who is around me? These are all things that men don’t have to consider in the
same way. There’s always a potential threat. It affects your experience online, in the
street, driving, everything. My friends and I all have an emergency signal that we can
quickly send each other if we need help. I don’t know a single male who has the same
thing or has to take the same precautions. But the point is, I think social media really
highlights this. There’s nothing wrong with the Tindersurfing guy doing what he does.
But I think society needs to ask why is this not an opportunity for women too. I think
it’s because the answer is deeply uncomfortable...

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
This task opens the lesson with asking students to think about travel and dating apps, both of which are topics
that are covered in the lesson.

2. Focus on vocabulary

10 mins.
Part A
Ask students to complete the task unaided in the first instance, but allow them to use a reference later if needed.
Be sure that they can correctly pronounce the target language.

1. → h. 2. → d. 3. → a. 4. → e.
5. → c. 6. → b. 7. → f. 8. → g.
Part B
The aim of this part is to expand students’ knowledge of vocabulary by drawing their attention to different parts
of speech connected to the target language. They are likely to need a reference to do this.

1. mystification (n) 2. gall (n)

3. marked (adj.) 4. privileged (adj.)
5. gloss (n) 6. insanity (n)
7. abducted (v) 8. precautionary (adj.)

3. Listening for details

5 mins.
This task gives students a chance to hear the interview ahead of the main comprehension and practise listening
for details.

1. ✓ What do you think women do in real life that men don’t?

2. ✓ What effect do you think social media has on our travel experiences?
4. ✓ How would you say that the female experience differs while travelling?
6. ✓ How do you think social media highlights inequality?

4. Listening comprehension

10 mins.
Ask students to read and complete the questions after the first listening. Then allow them to listen again to check
their answers.

1. b. 2. c. 3. b. 4. a. 5. a. 6. c. 7. a. 8. b.

5. Finding vocabulary

5 mins.

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Ask students to work in pairs. You may want to set a time limit on this activity to encourage students to skim and
scan for their words. If you have odd student numbers, you may have to fill in and work in a pair with the extra
student, or ask three students to work together with the third student taking two of each of the other students’
definitions.
Group 1

1. well-trodden 2. carnal 3. pushback

4. profusely 5. outlet 6. hapless
Group 2
Note that the adjective "beached" from para. 6 is used metaphorically in the article.

1. pizzazz 2. flaw 3. reluctantly

4. drain 5. venture 6. beached

6. Skimming for details

5 mins.
You may want to set a strict time limit on this task to encourage students to skim and scan for the answers.

a. the number of countries Botta visited on his trip

b. the number of languages Botta speaks
c. Botta’s age at the beginning of the trip
d. the number of days Botta spent with Guilia
e. the number of minutes it actually took Botta to walk from the station to meet the Portuguese lady (as opposed
to what she said it would take)
f. the number of hosts that Botta had in total during his trip
Article sources:
https://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/my-close-encounter-with-a-tinder-surfer
https://metro.co.uk/2018/02/03/tindersurfing-is-great-if-youve-got-the-privilege-of-being-male-7283515/
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/tindersurfing-dating-app-couchsurfing-tinder-travel-europe-sleep-
man-women-anthony-botta-belgium-brussels-a8191026.html
https://www.critic.co.nz/features/article/7266/the-tindersurfer

7. Reading comprehension

10 mins.
Ask students to read the article more carefully and underline where they find the information.

1. D - "while others offered to put him up before they’d even engaged in conversation."
2. B - "Botta took some inspiration from his favourite YouTube channel, ‘Yes Theory’ which followed the philosophy
that life’s best experiences happen when you take opportunities that push you outside of your comfort zone."
3. C - "Explaining to multiple women what his plans were turned out to be time-consuming .... As a remedy, he
set up a YouTube channel documenting his travels".
4. F - "He diversified into offering advice for hapless users of dating apps..."
5. A - "Anthony Botta wanted to spend his final lengthy summer doing something memorable before he embarked
on a career in marketing.
6. E - "When he was finally able to enter the shower, the water wouldn’t go down the drain as it was blocked with
hair."
7. D - "it was only Vienna where he was unable to find a single match and was forced to divert to Bratislava."

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8. C - "Prior to travelling to a new city, he would change his location on the app to his destination. This allowed
him to virtually meet women ahead of his arrival and set up accommodation."

8. Talking point

10 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

9. Optional extension / homework

40 mins+.
Ask students to plan, write and edit the question based on their work in the lesson and their discussions. Be sure
to give them feedback on their work.

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