Skype Will Shut Down in May 2025

Lesson made on February 28, 2025

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Reading Lesson:

Microsoft announced that Skype, a popular video-calling service, will shut down in May 2025. Skype was once one of the biggest ways people connected with friends and family online. It let people make free voice and video calls from their computers, making long-distance communication much easier.

Skype first launched in 2003 and quickly became a huge success. By the time Microsoft bought it in 2011 for $8.5 billion, the app had hundreds of millions of users. Microsoft added Skype to its other products, like Xbox and Windows. At its peak, Skype was considered one of the most important apps on the internet. Many people were amazed that they could talk to others across the world for free, something that had been very expensive before.

Over time, Skype lost popularity as other apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger became more common. By 2021, Skype was no longer included in the new Windows 11 operating system, while Microsoft Teams became the default app for video calls. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Teams became widely used for work meetings and online classes, making it a stronger competitor to Skype.

Now, Microsoft has decided to officially shut down Skype and focus on Teams instead. The company says Teams has all the main features of Skype, like video calls, messaging, and file sharing, but also includes extra tools for meetings, calendar management, and group chats. Soon, Skype will just be a memory of the past.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Why was Skype important when it first launched?

a) It was the only app that worked on Windows.
b) It was the first app to allow texting.
c) It had the best internet security.
d) It allowed people to make free video calls.

2. Why did Skype become less popular over time?

a) It stopped working on Windows computers.
b) It became too expensive to use.
c) Other apps like WhatsApp and Messenger became more common.
d) Skype accidentally deleted everyone’s contacts.

3. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Teams became widely used for work meetings and online classes. What does “widely” mean?

a) Only in a few places.
b) By many people and in many places.
c) For a short time.
d) Only on weekends and holidays.

4. Which is the correct order of events?

a) Skype launches → Microsoft buys Skype → Skype shuts down.
b) Microsoft buys Skype → Skype launches → Skype shuts down.
c) Skype launches → Skype shuts down → Microsoft buys Skype.
d) Microsoft buys Skype → Skype shuts down → Skype launches.

5. What is Microsoft’s business strategy?

a) Microsoft wants to focus on Teams instead of Skype.
b) Microsoft is shutting down all video-calling services.
c) Microsoft is planning to bring back Skype in the future.
d) Microsoft no longer wants to have communication apps.

6. How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect Skype?

a) Skype became more popular than before.
b) More people used Microsoft Teams instead.
c) Skype introduced new features to compete with Teams.
d) Microsoft decided to bring back Skype.

7. Why did Microsoft remove Skype from Windows 11?

a) Microsoft wanted people to use Teams instead.
b) Skype did not work on Windows computers.
c) Skype was not owned by Microsoft anymore.
d) Skype was never a popular app.

8. What can we guess about Skype’s future after May 2025?

a) People will still be able to use Skype as usual.
b) Skype will become part of WhatsApp.
c) Skype will no longer be available.
d) Skype will become the most popular app again.

9. Why might some people be unhappy about Skype shutting down?

a) Skype was the only app that allowed video calls.
b) Skype was never popular, so no one will care.
c) Skype was the only app that worked underwater.
d) They have used Skype for a long time and prefer it over Teams.

10. What is the main idea of the article?

a) Microsoft is improving Skype with new features.
b) Skype is shutting down because Microsoft wants to focus on Teams.
c) Skype was a really popular video conferencing program.
d) Microsoft is selling Skype to another company.

Speaking and Writing Prompts:

– Discuss these questions with a partner or a small group.

– Choose one topic and write a response to it. Show your writing to a classmate or teacher.

1. What apps do you use to chat with family and friends? What do you like and dislike about them?

2. Do you prefer video calls, phone calls, or texting? Why?

3. What is the funniest moment you’ve ever had during a video call?

More Reading Practice:

Skype

Skype was created in 2003 by a group of developers from Estonia, Denmark, and Sweden. The idea was to make it easy for people to talk to each other over the internet using voice calls. At the time, this was a big deal because most people still used traditional phones for long-distance calls, which could be expensive. Skype offered a cheaper way to communicate, especially for international calls.

In 2005, just two years after it started, Skype was bought by eBay, a big online shopping company. eBay thought Skype could help people communicate better while buying and selling things. However, in 2009, eBay sold most of Skype to a group of investors. Then, in 2011, Microsoft, a huge tech company, bought Skype for about $8.5 billion. Microsoft wanted to use Skype to improve its own communication tools.

Over the years, Skype added new features like video calls, group calls, and messaging. It became one of the most popular ways for people to stay in touch, especially for free calls over the internet. Even though there are now many other apps for communication, Skype remains a well-known and widely used tool around the world.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams was launched in 2017 as part of Microsoft’s Office 365 suite, which is a collection of tools for work and productivity. Microsoft created Teams to compete with other communication apps like Slack, which were becoming popular for team collaboration. The goal was to make a tool that could bring together chat, meetings, file sharing, and other work tasks in one place.

When Teams first started, it was mostly used by businesses. It allowed teams to create different “channels” for specific projects or topics, making it easier to organize conversations and files. Over time, Microsoft added more features, like video calls, screen sharing, and the ability to work with other apps, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Teams became even more important. With many people working and learning from home, it became a key tool for staying connected. Microsoft added new features to help with remote work, like virtual backgrounds for video calls and better tools for online classes.

By 2023, Teams had grown into one of the most widely used collaboration tools in the world. It’s not just for businesses anymore—schools, nonprofits, and even families use it to communicate and work together.


Skype Official Website

Microsoft Teams Official Website

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