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Indonesia leader flies economy class (23rd November, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has adopted a spirit of austerity by flying economy class. People around the world have had to tighten their belts because of government cuts and higher taxes. Indonesia's leader has set an example to other world leaders that presidents are not exempt from making personal cutbacks. He and his wife flew economy class last week to Singapore to attend his son's high-school graduation ceremony. Mr Widodo opted not to use the official presidential airplane because his trip was of a personal nature. The couple paid for the air tickets themselves but the taxpayers footed the bill for the security officers who were on the flight to protect the president.

The Widodos are becoming known for their down-to-earth living. They have led a very modest lifestyle since he became leader of the world's fourth most populous country last month. His wife Iriana is never seen in designer dresses and does a lot of her shopping in a Jakarta clothing market. There was mixed reaction on social media in Indonesia to the couple flying economy, with some believing it was little more than a publicity stunt. One man tweeted: "Living a fake life is difficult. Widodo went to Singapore flying economy but slept in an expensive hotel." A woman praised Widodo, tweeting: "Widodo sets a good example by flying economy. Hopefully other officials can follow in his footsteps."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=404381:lesson-for-najib-indonesias-jokowi-flies-economy-class-to-sons-graduation-in-spore&Itemid=2#ixzz3JmHyQjNG
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/11/22/jokowi-flies-economy-class-attend-son-s-graduation.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-2845059/Indonesias-new-president-causes-buzz-flying-economy-class.html

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. ECONOMY CLASS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about economy class. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

austerity / economy class / set an example / world leaders / cutbacks / graduation / lifestyle / modest / populous / designer dresses / publicity / praised / follow / footsteps

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. FLYING: How can these things be better? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Problems now	Improvements
Check-in
Boarding
Seats
Food
Entertainment
Immigration

4. SETTING AN EXAMPLE: Students A strongly believe all leaders should set an example and fly economy class; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

See a sample

5. AUSTERITY: Rank these with your partner. Put the things you could cut back on at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• transport

• clothes

• cafes

• mobile phone

• books

• shopping

• sweets

• hobbies

6. LIFESTYLE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "lifestyle". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	The article says Indonesia's president is issuing austerity measures.	T / F
b.	Indonesia's leader told other world leaders to fly economy.	T / F
c.	The leader flew economy while his wife flew business class.	T / F
d.	The leader paid for his own ticket.	T / F
e.	The leader and his wife are known for their more simple lifestyle.	T / F
f.	The leader's wife often appears in public in designer dresses.	T / F
g.	A man tweeted that the leader flew economy to get more publicity.	T / F
h.	A woman tweeted to suggest other officials also fly economy.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	spirit	a.	fraudulent
2.	tighten their belts	b.	chosen
3.	exempt	c.	simple
4.	opted	d.	reduce spending
5.	footed the bill	e.	commended
6.	down to earth	f.	attitude
7.	reaction	g.	do the same
8.	fake	h.	response
9.	praised	i.	paid
10.	follow in his footsteps	j.	free from

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	adopted a spirit	a.	stunt
2.	tighten	b.	populous country
3.	set	c.	an example
4.	presidents are not	d.	on social media
5.	taxpayers footed	e.	of austerity
6.	down-to-	f.	exempt
7.	fourth most	g.	his footsteps
8.	mixed reaction	h.	the bill
9.	little more than a publicity	i.	earth living
10.	follow in	j.	their belts

GAP FILL

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has adopted a (1) ____________ of austerity by flying economy class. People around the world have had to (2) ____________ their belts because of government cuts and higher taxes. Indonesia's leader has (3) ____________ an example to other world leaders that presidents are not (4) ____________ from making personal cutbacks. He and his wife flew economy class last week to Singapore to attend his son's high-school graduation (5) ____________. Mr Widodo opted not to use the official presidential airplane because his trip was of a personal (6) ____________. The couple paid for the air tickets themselves but the taxpayers (7) ____________ the bill for the security officers who were on the (8) ____________ to protect the president.

footed
exempt
tighten
flight
ceremony
spirit
set
nature

The Widodos are becoming known for their down-to- (9) ____________ living. They have led a very modest lifestyle since he became leader of the world's fourth most (10) ____________ country last month. His wife Iriana is never seen in (11) ____________ dresses and does a lot of her shopping in a Jakarta clothing market. There was (12) ____________ reaction on social media in Indonesia to the couple flying economy, with some believing it was little more than a publicity (13) ____________. One man tweeted: "Living a (14) ____________ life is difficult. Widodo went to Singapore flying economy but slept in an expensive hotel." A woman (15) ____________ him, tweeting: "Widodo sets a good example by flying economy. Hopefully other officials can follow in his (16) ____________."

designer
stunt
footsteps
populous
praised
earth
fake
mixed

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Indonesian President Joko Widodo has adopted a ______
	a. spirit of austerity b. split of austerity c. spiral of austerity d. splitting of austerity
2)	People around the world have had to ______
	a. tighten their bits b. tighten their bolts c. tighten their belts d. tighten their bets
3)	set an example to other world leaders that presidents are not exempt from making ______
	a. personal back cuts b. personality cutbacks c. personality back cuts d. personal cutbacks
4)	Widodo opted not to use the official presidential airplane because his trip was ______
	a. of a personally nature b. of a personal nature c. of a personalised nature d. of a personality nature
5)	The couple paid for the air tickets themselves but the taxpayers ______
	a. feted the bill b. foot it the bill c. footed the bill d. footie the bill
6)	The Widodos are becoming known for their down-______
	a. to-us living b. to-earth living c. to-her living d. to-Perth living
7)	since he became leader of the world's fourth most ______
	a. popular country b. populous country c. poppy lace country d. pop you lace country
8)	There was mixed reaction ______
	a. in social media b. of social media c. on social media d. unsocial media
9)	some believing it was little more than ______
	a. a publicity stint b. a publicity strut c. a publicity slant d. a publicity stunt
10)	Hopefully other officials can follow ______
	a. in his feet steps b. in his hoot steps c. in his footsteps d. in his foot steps

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has adopted (1) ___________________ by flying economy class. People around the world have had to tighten their belts because of government (2) ___________________. Indonesia's leader has set an example to other world leaders that presidents are not exempt from making (3) ___________________. He and his wife flew economy class last week to Singapore to attend his son's high-school (4) ___________________. Mr Widodo opted not to use the official presidential airplane because his trip was (5) ___________________. The couple paid for the air tickets themselves but the taxpayers footed the bill for the security officers who were on the (6) ___________________ president.

The Widodos are becoming known for (7) ___________________ living. They have led a very modest lifestyle since he became leader of the world's fourth (8) ___________________ last month. His wife Iriana is never seen in designer dresses and does a lot of her shopping in a Jakarta clothing market. There (9) ___________________ on social media in Indonesia to the couple flying economy, with some believing it was little more (10) ___________________. One man tweeted: "Living a fake life is difficult. Widodo went to Singapore flying economy but slept (11) ___________________." A woman praised him, tweeting: "Widodo sets a good example by flying economy. Hopefully other (12) ___________________ in his footsteps."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What does the article say Mr Widodo adopted by flying economy?
2.	What does the article say people worldwide have to tighten?
3.	Where did Indonesia's leader and his wife fly to?
4.	Why did Mr Widodo not use the presidential plane?
5.	Who footed the bill for the president's security guards?
6.	What kind of lifestyle have the Widodos become known for?
7.	Where is Indonesia on the list of the most populated countries?
8.	Where does Mrs Widodo shop for clothes?
9.	What kind of response was there on social media to Mr Widodo flying economy?
10.	What did a woman want other officials to follow in?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What does the article say Mr Widodo adopted by flying economy?	6.	What kind of lifestyle have the Widodos become known for?
	a) a strong mentality b) a spirit of austerity c) a frequent flyers membership d) bad habits		a) a lavish lifestyle b) an extravagant lifestyle c) a down-to-earth lifestyle d) a back-to-basics lifestyle
2.	What does the article say people worldwide have to tighten?	7.	Where is Indonesia on the list of the most populated countries?
	a) jeans b) their schedules c) bolts d) their belts		a) seventh b) sixth c) fifth d) fourth
3.	Where did Indonesia's leader and his wife fly to?	8.	Where does Mrs Widodo shop for clothes?
	a) Singapore b) Jakarta c) Darwin d) Kuala Lumpur		a) at a local market b) online c) Chanel d) in a Jakarta department store
4.	Why did Mr Widodo not use the presidential plane?	9.	What kind of response was there on social media to Mr Widodo flying economy?
	a) it was in for repairs b) the foreign secretary was using it c) it was a personal trip d) he doesn't like it		a) a mixed reaction b) a muted response c) a real hullaballoo d) no one was that interested
5.	Who footed the bill for the president's security guards?	10.	What did a woman want other officials to follow in?
	a) Mr Widodo b) taxpayers c) Indonesia's national airline d) Mr Widodo's son		a) rows of two b) Mr Widodo's footsteps c) limousines d) black suits

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Going to coffee shops

You think going to coffee shops is the easiest thing to cut back on. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so easy to cut back on. Also, tell the others which is the most difficult of these (and why): buying books, spending on hobbies or travel.

Role B – Buying books

You think buying books is the easiest thing to cut back on. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so easy to cut back on. Also, tell the others which is the most difficult of these (and why): going to coffee shops, spending on hobbies or travel.

Role C – Spending on hobbies

You think spending on hobbies is the easiest thing to cut back on. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so easy to cut back on. Also, tell the others which is the most difficult of these (and why): going to coffee shops, buying books or travel.

Role D – Travel

You think travel is the easiest thing to cut back on. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so easy to cut back on. Also, tell the others which is the most difficult of these (and why): going to coffee shops, spending on hobbies or buying books.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'economy' and 'class'.

economy

class

Share your findings with your partners.

Make questions using the words you found.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

spirit
belts
personal
attend
couple
protect

earth
fourth
market
stunt
fake
follow

ECONOMY CLASS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about economy class in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

ECONOMY CLASS DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'austerity'?
3)	What do you think of economy class?
4)	How do you feel when you sit on an airplane?
5)	What do you think of Indonesia's leader flying economy?
6)	When have you had to tighten your belt (financially)?
7)	How could other world leaders follow suit?
8)	Do people in power have a responsibility to act modestly?
9)	Should President Widodo have not taken his bodyguards?
10)	Does your leader spend too much on personal things?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	How down-to-earth is your lifestyle?
13)	What do you think of the first lady shopping in a clothes market?
14)	Do you think the economy class flight was a publicity stunt?
15)	Why are people always skeptical when others do good things?
16)	Is it OK for Widodo to have stayed in an expensive hotel?
17)	What do you do to set a good example to others?
18)	How much should world leaders be paid?
19)	How would the world change if other leaders followed in Widodo's footsteps?
20)	What questions would you like to ask President Widodo?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has (1) ____ a spirit of austerity by flying economy class. People around the world have had to (2) ____ their belts because of government cuts and higher taxes. Indonesia's leader has set an example to other world leaders that presidents are not exempt (3) ____ making personal cutbacks. He and his wife flew economy class last week to Singapore to attend his son's high-school graduation ceremony. Mr Widodo (4) ____ not to use the official presidential airplane because his trip was of a personal (5) ____. The couple paid for the air tickets themselves but the taxpayers (6) ____ the bill for the security officers who were on the flight to protect the president.

The Widodos are becoming known for their down-to-(7) ____ living. They have led a very modest lifestyle since he became leader of the world's fourth most populous country last month. His wife Iriana is never seen (8) ____ designer dresses and does a lot of her shopping in a Jakarta clothing market. There was (9) ____ reaction on social media in Indonesia to the couple flying economy, with some believing it was (10) ____ more than a publicity stunt. One man tweeted: "Living a (11) ____ life is difficult. Widodo went to Singapore flying economy but slept in an expensive hotel." A woman praised him, tweeting: "Widodo sets a good example by flying economy. Hopefully other officials can follow in his (12) ____."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	adoptive	(b)	adopted	(c)	adapted	(d)	adaptive
2.	(a)	strengthen	(b)	tighten	(c)	modify	(d)	loosen
3.	(a)	by	(b)	as	(c)	for	(d)	from
4.	(a)	apt	(b)	opted	(c)	adopted	(d)	aperture
5.	(a)	notion	(b)	topic	(c)	theme	(d)	nature
6.	(a)	eared	(b)	stomached	(c)	footed	(d)	toed
7.	(a)	earth	(b)	mud	(c)	dirt	(d)	planet
8.	(a)	by	(b)	of	(c)	in	(d)	for
9.	(a)	mix-it-up	(b)	mixture	(c)	mixing	(d)	mixed
10.	(a)	little	(b)	few	(c)	tiny	(d)	small
11.	(a)	fake	(b)	rake	(c)	take	(d)	make
12.	(a)	footsteps	(b)	car	(c)	example	(d)	duty

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	adopted a spirit of ayestriut
2.	itegnth their belts
3.	presidents are not mtxeep
4.	graduation enyocemr
5.	use the lacifiof presidential airplane
6.	taxpayers ftdeoo the bill
Paragraph 2
7.	led a very dstmeo lifestyle
8.	the world's fourth most uospoplu country
9.	rsdgeien dresses
10.	mixed acoetirn on social media
11.	little more than a cblpyitui stunt
12.	can follow in his tfotsespo

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	higher taxes. Indonesia's leader has set an example to other world leaders that presidents are not exempt
( )	The Widodos are becoming known for their down-to-earth living. They have led a very modest
( )	the bill for the security officers who were on the flight to protect the president.
( )	lifestyle since he became leader of the world's fourth most populous country last month. His wife Iriana is never
( )	reaction on social media in Indonesia to the couple flying economy, with some believing it was little
( )	economy but slept in an expensive hotel." A woman praised him, tweeting: "Widodo sets
( )	flying economy class. People around the world have had to tighten their belts because of government cuts and
( )	a good example by flying economy. Hopefully other officials can follow in his footsteps."
( )	a personal nature. The couple paid for the air tickets themselves but the taxpayers footed
( )	seen in designer dresses and does a lot of her shopping in a Jakarta clothing market. There was mixed
( )	high-school graduation ceremony. Mr Widodo opted not to use the official presidential airplane because his trip was of
( )	from making personal cutbacks. He and his wife flew economy class last week to Singapore to attend his son's
( )	more than a publicity stunt. One man tweeted: "Living a fake life is difficult. Widodo went to Singapore flying
( 1 )	Indonesian President Joko Widodo has adopted a spirit of austerity by

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	by class a austerity economy Adopted of flying spirit .
2.	of because belts their Tighten cuts government .
3.	from Presidents making are personal not cutbacks exempt .
4.	couple tickets paid themselves for the The air .
5.	security the officers bill for Taxpayers the footed .
6.	for their down - to - earth living Becoming known .
7.	social on reaction mixed was There media .
8.	little more than a publicity stunt Some believing it was .
9.	by sets flying a economy good example Widodo .
10.	his officials footsteps can follow Hopefully in other .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has adopted a spirit / split of austerity by flying economy class. People around the world have had to tighten their belts / bolts because of government cuts and higher taxis / taxes. Indonesia's leader has set an example to other world leaders that presidents are not exempt / expert from making personal cutbacks. He / Him and his wife flew economy class last week to Singapore to attendance / attend his son's high-school graduation ceremony. Mr Widodo opted / option not to use the official presidential airplane because his trip was of a personally / personal nature. The couple paid for the air tickets themselves but the taxpayers footed / feted the bill for the security officers who were on the flight to protect / protract the president.

The Widodos are becoming known / knowing for their down-to-earth living. They have led a very modest / modesty lifestyle since he became leader of the world's fourth / forth most populous country last month. His wife Iriana is never seen in designs / designer dresses and does a lot of her shopping in a Jakarta clothing market. There was mixture / mixed reaction on social media in Indonesia to the couple flying economy, with some beliefs / believing it was little more than a publicity / publication stunt. One man tweeted: "Living a fake / flake life is difficult. Widodo went to Singapore flying economy but slept in an expensive hotel." A woman praised / praises him, tweeting: "Widodo sets a good example by flying economy. Hopefully other officials can follow in his footsteps."

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

_nd_n_s__n Pr_s_d_nt J_k_ W_d_d_ h_s _d_pt_d _ sp_r_t _f __st_r_ty by fly_ng _c_n_my cl_ss. P__pl_ _r__nd th_ w_rld h_v_ h_d t_ t_ght_n th__r b_lts b_c__s_ _f g_v_rnm_nt c_ts _nd h_gh_r t_x_s. _nd_n_s__'s l__d_r h_s s_t _n _x_mpl_ t_ _th_r w_rld l__d_rs th_t pr_s_d_nts _r_ n_t _x_mpt fr_m m_k_ng p_rs_n_l c_tb_cks. H_ _nd h_s w_f_ fl_w _c_n_my cl_ss l_st w__k t_ S_ng_p_r_ t_ _tt_nd h_s s_n's h_gh-sch__l gr_d__t__n c_r_m_ny. Mr W_d_d_ _pt_d n_t t_ _s_ th_ _ff_c__l pr_s_d_nt__l __rpl_n_ b_c__s_ h_s tr_p w_s _f _ p_rs_n_l n_t_r_. Th_ c__pl_ p__d f_r th_ __r t_ck_ts th_ms_lv_s b_t th_ t_xp_y_rs f__t_d th_ b_ll f_r th_ s_c_r_ty _ff_c_rs wh_ w_r_ _n th_ fl_ght t_ pr_t_ct th_ pr_s_d_nt.

Th_ W_d_d_s _r_ b_c_m_ng kn_wn f_r th__r d_wn-t_-__rth l_v_ng. Th_y h_v_ l_d _ v_ry m_d_st l_f_styl_ s_nc_ h_ b_c_m_ l__d_r _f th_ w_rld's f__rth m_st p_p_l__s c__ntry l_st m_nth. H_s w_f_ _r__n_ _s n_v_r s__n _n d_s_gn_r dr_ss_s _nd d__s _ l_t _f h_r sh_pp_ng _n _ J_k_rt_ cl_th_ng m_rk_t. Th_r_ w_s m_x_d r__ct__n _n s_c__l m_d__ _n _nd_n_s__ t_ th_ c__pl_ fly_ng _c_n_my, w_th s_m_ b_l__v_ng _t w_s l_ttl_ m_r_ th_n _ p_bl_c_ty st_nt. _n_ m_n tw__t_d: "L_v_ng _ f_k_ l_f_ _s d_ff_c_lt. W_d_d_ w_nt t_ S_ng_p_r_ fly_ng _c_n_my b_t sl_pt _n _n _xp_ns_v_ h_t_l." _ w_m_n pr__s_d h_m, tw__t_ng: "W_d_d_ s_ts _ g__d _x_mpl_ by fly_ng _c_n_my. H_p_f_lly _th_r _ff_c__ls c_n f_ll_w _n h_s f__tst_ps."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

indonesian president joko widodo has adopted a spirit of austerity by flying economy class people around the world have had to tighten their belts because of government cuts and higher taxes indonesia's leader has set an example to other world leaders that presidents are not exempt from making personal cutbacks he and his wife flew economy class last week to singapore to attend his son's high-school graduation ceremony mr widodo opted not to use the official presidential airplane because his trip was of a personal nature the couple paid for the air tickets themselves but the taxpayers footed the bill for the security officers who were on the flight to protect the president

the widodos are becoming known for their down-to-earth living they have led a very modest lifestyle since he became leader of the world's fourth most populous country last month his wife iriana is never seen in designer dresses and does a lot of her shopping in a jakarta clothing market there was mixed reaction on social media in indonesia to the couple flying economy with some believing it was little more than a publicity stunt one man tweeted "living a fake life is difficult widodo went to singapore flying economy but slept in an expensive hotel" a woman praised him tweeting "widodo sets a good example by flying economy hopefully other officials can follow in his footsteps"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

IndonesianPresidentJokoWidodohasadoptedaspiritofausteritybyflyi
ngeconomyclass.Peoplearoundtheworldhavehadtotightentheirbelts
becauseofgovernmentcutsandhighertaxes.Indonesia'sleaderhasset
anexampletootherworldleadersthatpresidentsarenotexemptfromm
akingpersonalcutbacks.Heandhiswifefleweconomyclasslastweekto
Singaporetoattendhisson'shigh-schoolgraduationceremony.MrWi
dodooptednottousetheofficialpresidentialairplanebecausehistripwa
sofapersonalnature.Thecouplepaidfortheairticketsthemselvesbutth
etaxpayersfootedthebillforthesecurityofficerswhowereontheflightto
protectthepresident.TheWidodosarebecomingknownfortheirdown-
to-earthliving.Theyhaveledaverymodestlifestylesincehebecamele
aderoftheworld'sfourthmostpopulouscountrylastmonth.HiswifeIria
naisneverseenindesignerdressesanddoesalotofhershoppinginaJaka
rtaclothingmarket.TherewasmixedreactiononsocialmediainIndones
iatothecoupleflyingeconomy,withsomebelievingitwaslittlemorethan
apublicitystunt.Onemantweeted:"Livingafakelifeisdifficult.Widodo
wenttoSingaporeflyingeconomybutsleptinanexpensivehotel."Awom
anpraisedhim,tweeting:"Widodosetsagoodexamplebyflyingeconom
y.Hopefullyotherofficialscanfollowinhisfootsteps."

FREE WRITING

Write about economy class for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

All leaders should set an example and fly economy class. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about economy class. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. AIRPLANES: Make a poster about the different classes you can fly on an airplane. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. ECONOMY CLASS: Write a magazine article about world leaders flying economy class. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to President Joko Widodo. Ask him three questions about his flying economy class. Give him three of your ideas on what he can do next to set an example of cutting back. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

F

c

F

d

T

e

T

f

F

g

T

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	spirit	a.	attitude
2.	tighten their belts	b.	reduce spending
3.	exempt	c.	free from
4.	opted	d.	chosen
5.	footed the bill	e.	paid
6.	down to earth	f.	simple
7.	reaction	g.	response
8.	fake	h.	fraudulent
9.	praised	i.	commended
10.	follow in his footsteps	j.	do the same

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	A spirit of austerity
2.	Their belts
3.	Singapore
4.	His trip was personal
5.	Taxpayers
6.	A down-to-earth lifestyle
7.	Fourth
8.	At a clothes market
9.	A mixed reaction
10.	Mr Widodo's footsteps

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

d

3.

a

4.

c

5.

b

6.

c

7.

d

8.

a

9.

a

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Indonesia leader flies economy class (23rd November, 2014)

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