The Reading / Listening - Airports - Level 6

The first scheduled commercial airplane has landed on the remote British island of St Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic. The SA Airlink service from South Africa touched down at Saint Helena Airport on Saturday with 68 passengers on board. One passenger, Libby Weir-Breen, a British travel operator, had flown from Scotland especially to be on the flight. She said: "I've never felt so emotional in all my life. I never thought I'd see this day." The inaugural flight marks a new era of accessibility for the island, which is 1,900 km west of the African nation of Angola. Previously, the only way of getting to Saint Helena was by a ship that sailed once every three weeks from Cape Town, South Africa.

Despite the positive social and economic effects the airport will have for the island and its tourism, the British media have dubbed it as "the most useless airport in the world". The airport was built with $380m of British taxpayers' money. That's $80,000 for each of the island's inhabitants. It was beset with delays and was due to open in 2016, but dangerous wind conditions delayed the launch. The Governor of Saint Helena, Lisa Phillips, dismissed the criticism. She said: "I've seen the headlines about the world's most useless airport, but for St Helena, this has already been the most useful airport. It's priceless." She added: "I for one am getting really excited about the new chapter in St Helena's history."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Airports - Level 4  or  Airports - Level 5

Sources
  • http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41620003
  • http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/st-helena-first-commercial-plane-remote-british-territory-south-africa-a8001061.html
  • https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/st-helena-airport-welcomes-first-commercial-flight-but-it-lands-45-minutes-late-a3658891.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 :-)

Warm-ups

1. AIRPORTS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about airports. 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?

       commercial / airplane / remote / passengers / travel operator / emotional / ship /
       social / economic / island / media / useless / inhabitants / wind / headlines / priceless

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

3. REMOTE: Students A strongly believe living in a remote area is better than living in a city; Students B strongly believe living in a city is better.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

4. ISLANDS: What do you know about these islands? Would you like to visit? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What you know

How much you'd like to visit

Hawaii

 

 

Sicily

 

 

Bali

 

 

Alcatraz

 

 

Jamaica

 

 

Madagascar

 

 
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ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

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

6. TOURISM: Rank these with your partner. Put the things that can best help tourism at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • safety
  • language
  • value for money
  • accommodation
  • airports
  • good food
  • sights
  • weather

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. Ten flights landed on the island of St Helena on Saturday.     T / F
  2. The flight that landed on St Helena had 168 passengers.     T / F
  3. A woman flew from Scotland to get on the flight to St Helena.     T / F
  4. The only way to St Helena before the plane was by ship.     T / F
  5. British airlines called Saint Helena Airport "useless".     T / F
  6. The cost of the airport is equal to $80,000 per St Helena inhabitant.     T / F
  7. The airport was originally due to open in 2006.     T / F
  8. St Helena's Governor said she was writing a chapter about the airport.    T / F

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

  1. scheduled
  2. remote
  3. touched down
  4. inaugural
  5. era
  6. dubbed
  7. built
  8. beset
  9. criticism
  10. priceless
  1. initial
  2. nicknamed
  3. bad press
  4. landed
  5. troubled
  6. timetabled
  7. age
  8. invaluable
  9. faraway
  10. constructed

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

  1. The first scheduled commercial
  2. the remote
  3. touched
  4. The inaugural
  5. a ship that sailed once
  6. taxpayers'
  7. It was beset
  8. dangerous wind conditions
  9. I've seen the
  10. the new chapter
  1. down at Saint Helena Airport
  2. delayed the launch
  3. flight
  4. money
  5. British island
  6. headlines
  7. in St Helena's history
  8. airplane
  9. with delays
  10. every three weeks

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
especially
era
touched
once
scheduled
nation
middle
emotional

The first (1) ____________ commercial airplane has landed on the remote British island of St Helena in the (2) ____________ of the South Atlantic. The SA AirLink service from South Africa (3) ____________ down at Saint Helena Airport on Saturday with 68 passengers on board. One passenger, Libby Weir-Breen, a British travel operator, had flown from Scotland (4) ____________ to be on the flight. She said: "I've never felt so (5) ____________ in all my life. I never thought I'd see this day." The inaugural flight marks a new (6) ____________ of accessibility for the island, which is 1,900 km west of the African (7) ____________ of Angola. Previously, the only way of getting to Saint Helena was by a ship that sailed (8) ____________ every three weeks from Cape Town, South Africa.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
taxpayers'
effects
launch
history
tourism
priceless
beset
headlines

Despite the positive social and economic (9) ____________ the airport will have for the island and its (10) ____________, the British media have dubbed it as "the most useless airport in the world". The airport was built with $380m of British (11) ____________ money. That's $80,000 for each of the island's inhabitants. It was (12) ____________ with delays and was due to open in 2016, but dangerous wind conditions delayed the (13) ____________. The Governor of Saint Helena, Lisa Phillips, dismissed the criticism. She said: "I've seen the (14) ____________ about the world's most useless airport, but for St Helena, this has already been the most useful airport. It's (15) ____________." She added: "I for one am getting really excited about the new chapter in St Helena's (16) ____________."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  The first scheduled commercial airplane has landed on the ______
     a.  remotely British island
     b.  remoter British island
     c.  remotes British island
     d.  remote British island

2)  touched down at Saint Helena Airport on Saturday with 68 passengers ______
     a.  on board
     b.  in board
     c.  half board
     d.  to board

3) a British travel operator had flown from Scotland ______ on the flight
     a.  especial to be
     b.  ESP specially to be
     c.  especially to be
     d. special to be

4)  The inaugural flight marks a new ______ accessibility
     a.  ear of
     b.  era of
     c.  aurora of
     d.  aura of

5)  the only way of getting to Saint Helena was by a ship that sailed ______ three weeks
     a.  once ever
     b.  once evenly
     c.  once cleverly
     d.  once every

6)  That's $80,000 for each of the ______
     a.  island's inhabitants
     b.  island's cohabitants
     c.  island's immigrants
     d.  island's recalcitrance

7)  It was beset with delays and was ______ in 2016
     a.  glue to open
     b.  drew to open
     c.  due to open
     d.  dew to open

8)  The Governor of Saint Helena, Lisa Phillips, dismissed ______
     a.  the criticism
     b.  the criticizing
     c.  the critics' schism
     d.  the critics' prism

9)  …for St Helena, this has already been the most useful airport. ______
     a.  It's priced less
     b.  It's price lest
     c.  It's pricey less
     d.  It's priceless

10)  I for one am getting really excited about the new ______ St Helena's history
     a.  chapter on
     b.  chapter in
     c.  chapter an
     d.  chapter by

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The first scheduled commercial airplane (1) ___________________ the remote British island of St Helena in (2) ___________________ the South Atlantic. The SA AirLink service from South Africa touched down at Saint Helena Airport on Saturday with 68 (3) ___________________. One passenger, Libby Weir-Breen, a British travel operator, had flown from Scotland especially to be (4) ___________________. She said: "I've never felt so emotional in all my life. I never thought I'd see this day." The inaugural flight marks a new (5) ___________________ for the island, which is 1,900 km west of the African nation of Angola. Previously, the only way of getting to Saint Helena was by a ship (6) ___________________ every three weeks from Cape Town, South Africa.

Despite the positive social (7) ___________________ the airport will have for the island and its tourism, the British media (8) ___________________ as "the most useless airport in the world". The airport was built with $380m of British taxpayers' money. That's $80,000 for each of the island's inhabitants. It was (9) ___________________ and was due to open in 2016, but dangerous wind conditions (10) ___________________. The Governor of Saint Helena, Lisa Phillips, dismissed the criticism. She said: "I've seen the headlines about the world's most useless airport, but for St Helena, this (11) ___________________ the most useful airport. It's priceless." She added: "I for one am getting really excited about the (12) ___________________ St Helena's history."

Comprehension questions

  1. In which ocean is St Helena?
  2. How many passengers were on the flight to St Helena?
  3. Where had a passenger flown from to be on the flight?
  4. Which African country is 1,900km from St Helena?
  5. How often does a ship from South Africa sail to St Helena?
  6. Who dubbed the airport as the world's "most useless"?
  7. How much did British taxpayers have to pay for the airport?
  8. In what year was the airport due to open?
  9. Who is Lisa Phillips?
  10. What did Lisa Phillips call the airport?

Multiple choice quiz

1) In which ocean is St Helena?
a) the Indian Ocean
b) the Atlantic Ocean
c) the Pacific Ocean
d) the Arctic Ocean

2)  How many passengers were on the flight to St Helena?
a) 62
b) 67
c) 69
d) 68

3) Where had a passenger flown from to be on the flight?
a) Scotland
b) Argentina
c) China
d) India

4) Which African country is 1,900km from St Helena?
a) Egypt
b) Madagascar
c) Angola
d) South Africa

5) How often does a ship from South Africa sail to St Helena?
a) three times a week
b) once every three weeks
c) three times a month
d) once every three months

6) Who dubbed the airport as the world's "most useless"?
a) Britain's press
b) pilots
c) an airport group
d) a passenger group

7) How much did British taxpayers have to pay for the airport?
a) $318m
b) $388m
c) $380m
d) $308m

8) In what year was the airport due to open?
a) 2016
b) 2015
c) 2014
d) 2013

9) Who is Lisa Phillips?
a) Governor of Saint Helena
b) President of Saint Helena
c) Queen of Saint Helena
d) Prime Minister of Saint Helena

10) What did Lisa Phillips call the airport?
a) nice
b) Lisa Phillips International
c) Bob
d) priceless

Role play

Role  A – Airports

You think airports are the most important things to help tourism. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): safety, value for money or accommodation.

Role  B – Safety

You think safety is the most important thing to help tourism. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): airports, value for money or accommodation.

Role  C – Value for Money

You think value for money is the most important thing to help tourism. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): safety, airports or accommodation.

Role  D – Accommodation

You think accommodation is the most important thing to help tourism. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why):  safety, value for money or airports.

After reading / listening

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

'airport'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'flight'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • 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:

    • social
    • built
    • money
    • due
    • headlines
    • chapter
    • first
    • touched
    • especially
    • so
    • nation
    • ship

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic 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.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - World's 'most useless' airport opens

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'airport'?
    3. What is your favourite airport?
    4. How could airports be improved?
    5. What would it be like to live on a remote island?
    6. How important is the new airport to the people of St Helena?
    7. What do you know about St Helena?
    8. Would you like to visit St Helena?
    9. What islands would you like to visit?
    10. Which is better – flying or sailing?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'flight'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. How important are airports?
    5. What do you dislike about airports?
    6. What do you think of flying?
    7. Why do the British media think it's the most useless airport?
    8. Why did the Governor say the airport was priceless?
    9. What will the new chapter look like for St Helena?
    10. What questions would you like to ask people on St Helena?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    The first scheduled commercial airplane has landed on the (1) ____ British island of St Helena in the middle (2) ____ the South Atlantic. The SA AirLink service from South Africa touched (3) ____ at Saint Helena Airport on Saturday with 68 passengers on board. One passenger, Libby Weir-Breen, a British travel (4) ____, had flown from Scotland especially to be on the flight. She said: "I've never felt so emotional in all my life. I never thought I'd see this day." The inaugural flight marks a new (5) ____ of accessibility for the island, which is 1,900 km west of the African nation of Angola. Previously, the only way of getting to Saint Helena was by a ship that (6) ____ once every three weeks from Cape Town, South Africa.

    Despite the positive social and economic (7) ____ the airport will have for the island and its tourism, the British media have (8) ____ it as "the most useless airport in the world". The airport was built with $380m of British taxpayers' money. That's $80,000 for each of the island's (9) ____. It was beset with delays and was due to open in 2016, but dangerous wind conditions (10) ____ the launch. The Governor of Saint Helena, Lisa Phillips, dismissed the criticism. She said: "I've seen the headlines about the world's most useless airport, but for St Helena, this has already been the most useful airport. It's (11) ____." She added: "I for one am getting really excited about the new (12) ____ in St Helena's history."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     reluctant     (b)     remain     (c)     repost     (d)     remote    
    2. (a)     from     (b)     for     (c)     off     (d)     of    
    3. (a)     on     (b)     down     (c)     landing     (d)     up    
    4. (a)     operative     (b)     operation     (c)     operator     (d)     operates    
    5. (a)     aura     (b)     aurora     (c)     era     (d)     ear    
    6. (a)     sailed     (b)     voyaged     (c)     submerged     (d)     surfed    
    7. (a)     affects     (b)     effects     (c)     reflects     (d)     inflects    
    8. (a)     dubbed     (b)     clubbed     (c)     rubbed     (d)     subbed    
    9. (a)     immigrants     (b)     inhabitants     (c)     emigrants     (d)     cohabitants    
    10. (a)     delay     (b)     delaying     (c)     delayed     (d)     delays    
    11. (a)     priced     (b)     pricey     (c)     priceless     (d)     pricing    
    12. (a)     charger     (b)     chastise     (c)     charter     (d)     chapter

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. The first elhcsddeu commercial airplane
    2. the meroet British island of St Helena
    3. with 68 eesrnpssag on board
    4. a British travel ptroorea
    5. I've never felt so oanmletoi
    6. The lraiunuag flight

    Paragraph 2

    1. economic ectsffe
    2. each of the island's sinihttabna
    3. wind conditions yaeledd the launch
    4. dismissed the cmrctsiii
    5. It's slscierpe
    6. the new eptrcah in St Helena's history

    Put the text back together

    (    )     the criticism. She said: "I've seen the headlines about the world's most useless

    (    )     airport, but for St Helena, this has already been the most useful airport. It's

    (    )     media have dubbed it as "the most useless airport in the world". The airport was built with $380m of British taxpayers'

    (    )     priceless." She added: "I for one am getting really excited about the new chapter in St Helena's history."

    (    )     down at Saint Helena Airport on Saturday with 68 passengers on board. One passenger, Libby Weir-Breen, a British

    (  1  )     The first scheduled commercial airplane has landed on the remote British island

    (    )     for the island, which is 1,900 km west of the African nation of Angola. Previously, the only

    (    )     travel operator, had flown from Scotland especially to be on the flight. She said: "I've never felt so

    (    )     of St Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic. The SA AirLink service from South Africa touched

    (    )     emotional in all my life. I never thought I'd see this day." The inaugural flight marks a new era of accessibility

    (    )     in 2016, but dangerous wind conditions delayed the launch. The Governor of Saint Helena, Lisa Phillips, dismissed

    (    )     money. That's $80,000 for each of the island's inhabitants. It was beset with delays and was due to open

    (    )     way of getting to Saint Helena was by a ship that sailed once every three weeks from Cape Town, South Africa.

    (    )     Despite the positive social and economic effects the airport will have for the island and its tourism, the British

    Put the words in the right order

    1. airplane   landed   first   commercial   has   The   scheduled   .
    2. from   flown   had   operator   travel   British   A   Scotland   .
    3. "I've   .  emotional   life   so"   my   felt   said:   all   never   She   in
    4. of   marks   accessibility   a   The   new   inaugural   era   flight   .
    5. three  that   Cape  sailed   Town  once   A   weeks  ship   from   every  .
    6. economic   airport   for   The   the   have   island   effects   will   the   .
    7. of   The   built   $380m   money   was   taxpayers'   airport   with   .
    8. was   and   delays   with   beset   was   It   2016   in   open   to   due   .
    9. useless   most   world's   the   about   headlines   The   airport   .
    10. the   new   chapter  I   for   one   am   getting  really   excited   about  .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    The first scheduled commercial airplane has landed on the remoteness / remote British island of St Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic. The SA AirLink service from South Africa touched up / down at Saint Helena Airport on Saturday with 68 passengers on / in board. One passenger, Libby Weir-Breen, a British travel operation / operator, had flown from Scotland especially / special to be on the flight. She said: "I've never felt so emotional / emotionally in all my life. I never thought / think I'd see this day." The inaugural flight mark / marks a new era of accessibility for the island, which is 1,900 km west of the African national / nation of Angola. Previously, the only way of getting to Saint Helena was by a ship that sailed / sealed once every three weeks from Cape Town, South Africa.

    Despite the positive socially / social and economic effects / affects the airport will have for the island and its tourism, the British medium / media have dubbed it as "the most useless airport in the world". The airport was built / building with $380m of British taxpayers' money. That's $80,000 for each of the island's cohabitants / inhabitants. It was beset / best with delays and was due to open in 2016, but dangerous wind conditions delayed the launch / lunch. The Governor of Saint Helena, Lisa Phillips, dismissive / dismissed the criticism. She said: "I've seen the headlines about the world's most useless airport, but for St Helena, this has already been the most useful airport. It's priced / priceless." She added: "I for one am getting really excited about the new chapter / sentence in St Helena's history."

    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)

    Th_ f_rst sch_d_l_d c_mm_rc__l __rpl_n_ h_s l_nd_d _n th_ r_m_t_ Br_t_sh _sl_nd _f St H_l_n_ _n th_ m_ddl_ _f th_ S__th _tl_nt_c. Th_ S_ __rL_nk s_rv_c_ fr_m S__th _fr_c_ t__ch_d d_wn _t S__nt H_l_n_ __rp_rt _n S_t_rd_y w_th 68 p_ss_ng_rs _n b__rd. _n_ p_ss_ng_r, L_bby W__r-Br__n, _ Br_t_sh tr_v_l _p_r_t_r, h_d fl_wn fr_m Sc_tl_nd _sp_c__lly t_ b_ _n th_ fl_ght. Sh_ s__d: "_'v_ n_v_r f_lt s_ _m_t__n_l _n _ll my l_f_. _ n_v_r th__ght _'d s__ th_s d_y." Th_ _n__g_r_l fl_ght m_rks _ n_w _r_ _f _cc_ss_b_l_ty f_r th_ _sl_nd, wh_ch _s 1,900 km w_st _f th_ _fr_c_n n_t__n _f _ng_l_. Pr_v___sly, th_ _nly w_y _f g_tt_ng t_ S__nt H_l_n_ w_s by _ sh_p th_t s__l_d _nc_ _v_ry thr__ w__ks fr_m C_p_ T_wn, S__th _fr_c_.

    D_sp_t_ th_ p_s_t_v_ s_c__l _nd _c_n_m_c _ff_cts th_ __rp_rt w_ll h_v_ f_r th_ _sl_nd _nd _ts t__r_sm, th_ Br_t_sh m_d__ h_v_ d_bb_d _t _s "th_ m_st _s_l_ss __rp_rt _n th_ w_rld". Th_ __rp_rt w_s b__lt w_th $380m _f Br_t_sh t_xp_y_rs' m_n_y. Th_t's $80,000 f_r __ch _f th_ _sl_nd's _nh_b_t_nts. _t w_s b_s_t w_th d_l_ys _nd w_s d__ t_ _p_n _n 2016, b_t d_ng_r__s w_nd c_nd_t__ns d_l_y_d th_ l__nch. Th_ G_v_rn_r _f S__nt H_l_n_, L_s_ Ph_ll_ps, d_sm_ss_d th_ cr_t_c_sm. Sh_ s__d: "_'v_ s__n th_ h__dl_n_s _b__t th_ w_rld's m_st _s_l_ss __rp_rt, b_t f_r St H_l_n_, th_s h_s _lr__dy b__n th_ m_st _s_f_l __rp_rt. _t's pr_c_l_ss." Sh_ _dd_d: "_ f_r _n_ _m g_tt_ng r__lly _xc_t_d _b__t th_ n_w ch_pt_r _n St H_l_n_'s h_st_ry."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    the first scheduled commercial airplane has landed on the remote british island of st helena in the middle of the south atlantic the sa airlink service from south africa touched down at saint helena airport on saturday with 68 passengers on board one passenger libby weir-breen a british travel operator had flown from scotland especially to be on the flight she said "i've never felt so emotional in all my life i never thought i'd see this day" the inaugural flight marks a new era of accessibility for the island which is 1900 km west of the african nation of angola previously the only way of getting to saint helena was by a ship that sailed once every three weeks from cape town south africa

    despite the positive social and economic effects the airport will have for the island and its tourism the british media have dubbed it as "the most useless airport in the world" the airport was built with $380m of british taxpayers' money that's $80000 for each of the island's inhabitants it was beset with delays and was due to open in 2016 but dangerous wind conditions delayed the launch the governor of saint helena lisa phillips dismissed the criticism she said "i've seen the headlines about the world's most useless airport but for st helena this has already been the most useful airport it's priceless" she added "i for one am getting really excited about the new chapter in st helena's history"

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    ThefirstscheduledcommercialairplanehaslandedontheremoteBritish
    islandofStHelenainthemiddleoftheSouthAtlantic.TheSAAirlinkservic
    efromSouthAfricatoucheddownatSaintHelenaAirportonSaturdaywit
    h68passengersonboard.Onepassenger,LibbyWeir-Breen,aBritis
    htraveloperator,hadflownfromScotlandespeciallytobeontheflight.S
    hesaid:"I'veneverfeltsoemotionalinallmylife.IneverthoughtI'dseeth
    isday."Theinauguralflightmarksaneweraofaccessibilityfortheisland,
    whichis1,900kmwestoftheAfricannationofAngola.Previously,theonl
    ywayofgettingtoSaintHelenawasbyashipthatsailedonceeverythree
    weeksfromCapeTown,SouthAfrica.Despitethepositivesocialandeco
    nomiceffectstheairportwillhavefortheislandanditstourism,theBritish
    mediahavedubbeditas"themostuselessairportintheworld".Theairpo
    rtwasbuiltwith$380mofBritishtaxpayers'money.That's$80,000fore
    achoftheisland'sinhabitants.Itwasbesetwithdelaysandwasduetoope
    nin2016,butdangerouswindconditionsdelayedthelaunch.TheGover
    norofSaintHelena,LisaPhillips,dismissedthecriticism.Shesaid:"I'ves
    eentheheadlinesabouttheworld'smostuselessairport,butforStHelen
    a,thishasalreadybeenthemostusefulairport.It'spriceless."Sheadded
    :"IforoneamgettingreallyexcitedaboutthenewchapterinStHelena'sh
    istory."

    Free writing

    Write about airports for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Airports are the most important part of a country's infrastructure. Discuss.

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    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 this news. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

    3. AIRPORTS: Make a poster about airports. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

    4. INFRASTRUCTURE: Write a magazine article about airports being the most important part of a country's infrastructure. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against building more airports.

    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 an expert on airports. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how airports could be better. 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

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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