Lesson video

Hello, my name's Miss Gilyeat, and I'm your geography teacher for today.

In today's lesson, we are going to be looking at the drivers of globalization, okay?

And this is the fourth lesson of the globalization topic.

We've got loads of interesting things to learn about, so let's get going.

So our lesson outcome for today is that you can explain what drives globalization.

We've got four keywords for today's lesson.

So the first one is investment, which is the action of spending money on something to gain.

Trade, which is the exchange of goods and services between people, companies, and countries.

Globalization is the process of our world becoming more interconnected.

Communications is the act of giving and receiving information between people, companies, and countries.

These four key words are highlighted in bold throughout the lesson.

So if you need to refer back to them at any time, you can do that.

We've got two learning cycles.

So first of all, we're gonna learn about transport, trade and politics and how they can drive globalization.

We're then gonna look at communication and globalization in a bit more detail.

So let's get going with our first learning cycle, transport, trade and politics driving globalization.

Now, globalization is the process of the world becoming more interconnected.

Can you think of ways of how we are connected to people, companies and countries around the world?

Well, we've already covered that in previous lessons, but there are lots of different ways that we are connected, whether that be family, through holidays, through business, through companies, through what we're wearing.

Now, first, we're gonna think about the things that actually drive it.

So how are we becoming more connected with the rest of the world?

Now, here are some of them.

So politics and governments, education, business, the internet, trade, technology, communication, tourism and transport, all of these things are leading us to becoming more connected and are also ways that we are connected to different places around the world.

Let's check our understanding.

Now, what is globalization?

Is it A, the world becoming more interconnected, B, the growing population of the world, or C, the world developing?

Pause the video and have a go.

The answer's A, okay?

So it's the world becoming more connected.

It's not about a growing population, although you could argue that potentially influences what's happening.

And you might also argue that the world is developing because of globalization.

But globalization is about us or anyone being connected to different places around the world and interconnected.

Now, due to improvements in transport and technology, globalization has entered a new era.

We are more connected to the rest of the world than we ever have been.

Modern transportation has meant that different parts of the world are connected more easily.

People and goods, so goods are physical things that people can sell or buy, can move long distances in a short space of time.

Forms of transport include aircraft, railway, shipping, and road.

There are many low-budget airlines now, meaning that more people can afford to travel abroad.

This has led to an increase in international tourism, leading to countries becoming more connected.

Now, there were approximately 38 million flights in 2024.

Now, a lot of people think that actually the increase in low-budget airlines and more people going on holiday is not necessarily a good thing.

Because more people can do that, it is meaning that we're getting more emissions from air travel, which isn't good for global warming.

Containerization is a system of moving goods using containers which fit onto ships, trains, and lorries without having to open the container.

It became widely used after the Second World war.

It reduced the cost of transport and led to a boom in international trade.

Okay, so on the slide here, we've got a picture of a container ship.

Now, you can see on the ship, there are lots of these containers.

So they're square metal boxes basically.

Each one of those containers will be holding thousands and thousands of goods.

Now, if something needs to travel via multiple uses of transport, so it goes from a container ship onto rail, and then finally a lorry, those containers can be picked up, transported onto the next mode of transport and put back down again, okay?

That makes the movement of goods cheaper and more efficient.

Now, the invention of these really has boosted international trade.

Right, let's check our understanding.

So true or false?

Cheaper air travel has driven globalization.

That is true.

Can you tell me why?

Many more people are able to go on holiday abroad due to cheaper air travel.

This has boosted international tourism.

Trade has also been a key driver of globalization.

So as a quick reminder, trade is the exchange of services and goods.

The exchange of goods and services across international borders helps build relationships between countries.

It allows businesses to access the global market, meaning we become more familiar with global brands.

And when I say a business can access the global market, that means that it can sell goods or services to people in other countries of the world.

So not just their home countries, okay?

And that has led to the the growth of TNCs, which are transnational companies, which we're gonna look at in a couple of lessons' time.

But basically it's companies which operate in multiple countries of the world, not just the country that it originates from.

Organizations, such as the European Union, promotes free trade agreements between countries.

Now, there are quite a few different of these global trade agreements, such as NAFTA, which stands for the North American Free Trade Agreement, the WTO, which stands for the World Trade Organization and APEC, which stands for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

On the slide here, there is a flag of the European Union, okay?

You might remember this.

So in 2016, the UK actually had a democratic vote and we voted to leave the European Union.

And that actually took us out of the free trade agreement.

However, since then, there have been lots of discussions in place and we still do trade with a lot of European Union countries.

Now, these agreements make these countries become more connected and it builds on the relationships between them.

Globalization has led to the growth of transnational corporations or TNCs for short.

This is a company which operates in multiple countries of the world.

When a company decides to open up a factory or a shop in a different country of the world, this is called investment.

An example of a TNC is Tesco.

This means people in different countries can work for a TNC, okay?

So as I said earlier, it's like a company opening up to different countries of the world, okay?

So they tend to be very large companies because they're not just selling to the country that they originate from, but they can sell all over the world.

Let's check our understanding.

So the European Union is an organization which allows free trade between countries.

Is that true or is it false?

That's true.

Now, can you tell me why?

The European Union promotes free trade agreements between countries within Europe.

This helps countries build relationships.

Well done if you got that correct.

Now, political factors also can fuel globalization.

Countries' governments are key decision makers on issues such as international trade and migration, okay?

So international trade is countries exchanging goods and services between them.

And migration is people moving from where they live.

So particularly thinking about this, we're thinking about international migration.

So, for example, someone who lives in the UK deciding to go live in Spain.

Now, governments of different countries have got different ideas and different ways that they want to manage migration and international trade.

So the government is a real key decision maker and a rather large influence on the globalization.

Governments can also come together to discuss and take action on global issues, such as climate change and peace agreements, okay?

So there are lots of meetings that happen around the world every year where governments come and discuss kind of important issues.

So we've got a picture on the slide there.

So we've got the Houses of Parliament where new laws are made and current issues are debated, such as trade and migration.

Okay, so we're onto our first task for the lesson.

What I'd first like you to do is annotate the spider diagram with different factors which can drive globalization.

So pause the video and have a go at task A, question one.

The second question for task A is I'd like you to complete the table to explain how each factor drives globalization, and one has been done for you to help you out.

So I'll explain this one.

So the factor is transport, and I've explained there how it drives it.

So modern transportation has made our world smaller.

People and goods can move long distances in a short space of time.

For example, now there are many low-budget airlines, such as Ryanair, meaning that people can afford to travel abroad.

This has led to an increase in international tourism.

So pause the video and in your table, can you explain how trade and politics can drive globalization too?

Okay, let's check our understanding on our answers.

So these are the different factors which can drive globalization.

So if you've not got any of these, it might be an idea to pause the video and jot down any ones that you didn't get.

So we've got politics, education, business, the internet, trade, technology, communication, tourism and transport.

And here I've got some example answers for trade and politics.

So trade has been a key driver of globalization.

The exchange of goods and services across international borders helps build relationships between countries and it allows businesses to access the global market.

Political factors can fuel globalization.

Countries 'governments are key decision makers on issues such as international trade and migration.

Governments also come together to discuss and take action on global issues such as climate change and peace agreements.

It might be an idea to pause the video there and see if you can add any extra detail to your answer.

Okay then, we're gonna move on to our second learning cycle, which is looking at communication and globalization.

So communication is the process by which we share our ideas, information, and our experiences.

This can be done in person, so talking to people face-to-face, or using a phone or video calls, emails, messaging apps or social media.

Now, due to advances in technology, this has become quicker, easier, and cheaper than it ever has done before.

The internet especially has been a large driver in globalization.

Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989.

His idea was to create a globally linked information system.

The internet boomed in the 1990s and continues to influence many aspects of our daily lives.

Alex has got a question for you there.

So how do you use the internet to connect to people all around the world?

Pause the video and have a quick chat with your partner.

Communications have driven globalization in a range of different ways.

So, for example, businesses can easily employ people around the world now, and as we mentioned earlier, transnational corporations are a large part of that.

We can buy from shops all around the world.

So if we wanted to buy something online that was from America, we can actually do that.

Now, we might have to pay an import tax on it, but we are able to do it.

We can communicate with friends and family around the world using social media, okay?

So you might have either used or have heard of Facebook or Instagram.

Those are some of the main ones.

And we can also research places around the world, okay?

Well, we've probably all used search engines such as Google.

So if we want to find out about somewhere from around the world, we can easily do that by just searching in.

Before it would've been much harder 'cause you would've had to have found a book about it or heard from someone's personal experience.

Now, researching places has also led to a boost in international tourism because as people find out about more places about the world and what they can do there, it means that people want to visit.

If you'd never heard of it, which you might not have done before the internet, then it's less likely that you would travel there.

All of this is meaning that the world is becoming interconnected.

Let's check our understanding.

So true or false?

Social media is an example of globalization.

That's true.

Now, can you tell me why?

People are able to connect on other sides of the world in a couple of seconds, okay?

So whether that be through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, lots of different platforms now, you're able to connect with people that live thousands and thousands of miles away.

Okay, we're on to task B for this lesson.

So the first thing that I would like you to do is describe how global internet usage growth has changed since 1995.

Now on here, we've got a graph which shows the amount of people using it on the y-axis in billions.

So it goes from zero to five billion.

And then on the x-axis, you've got dates.

So from December 1995 to June 2020.

So I'd like you to describe that figure, okay?

Now, remember, when you're describing, you are just saying what you can see.

So it might be a good idea to try and use some numbers in your answer from the graph.

Your second question for this is explain how the change in internet usage has been a key driver in globalization.

So pause the video and have a go at the task.

Okay, let's have a look at our first answer.

So internet usage has increased rapidly from 1995 to 2020.

In 1995, there were 16 million people using the internet.

In 2020, there were 4.

8 billion people using the internet.

Since 2010, 2.

8 billion more people are using it.

That's a lot of people that have access to the internet.

Pause the video and see if you can add any extra detail to your own answer.

Okay, here we've got an explanation.

So the internet has been a key driver in many aspects of globalization.

It's allowed people to easily communicate across the world.

Businesses have been able to reach the global market and expand.

It has also meant that there is more easy access to information through search engines.

This means people are more educated on what is happening in the rest of the world.

As I said also, it might lead to an increase in tourism as people find out about more places.

So pause the video and see if you can add any extra detail to your own answer.

Okay, here we've got a summary for today's lesson.

There are several drivers for globalization, and these include improvements in transport and technology.

Other drivers for globalization include politics and trade.

Companies which operate in different countries of the world are called TNCs, which stands for transnational corporations.

When a company decides to open up a factory or a shop in a different country of the world, this is called investment.

And the invention of the internet in 1989 has been a large driver of globalization as it has led to improvements in communication in many aspects of life.

Now, that's it for today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure teaching you.

I hope you've enjoyed it and I'll see you next time.

Bye.