Breaking News English Lesson: COMAC Airline

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Chinese airliner makes first commercial flight (1st June 2023)

The Reading / Listening - COMAC Airline - Level 3

China has entered the business of making airplanes. The first Chinese-made commercial aircraft took off from Shanghai on Sunday and landed at Beijing Airport. The narrow-bodied C919 plane had 128 passengers on board. The company that made the plane is the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. This is shortened to "COMAC". China's President Xi Jinping hailed the C919 aircraft as a "triumph of Chinese innovation". Newspapers in China called the C919 "a symbol of industrial prowess and national pride". A passenger on the flight was impressed with the plane. He said: "The flight was extremely smooth, comfortable and memorable. I'll remember this fondly for some time to come."

COMAC hopes to be a major player in the commercial airplane market. It hopes to compete with industry giants such as Boeing and Airbus. COMAC started developing the C919 in 2008. Production began in late 2011. In September 2022, it passed the standards to fly commercially in China. COMAC's first customer was China Eastern Airlines, which bought five of the aircraft. COMAC plans to build 150 planes each year for the next five years. A spokesperson said there were orders for more than 1,000 C919s from different Chinese airlines. He hopes airlines from other countries will soon start making orders. He added that the plane was an "important milestone" for China's aircraft industry.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

COMAC Airline - Level 0, COMAC Airline - Level 1 or COMAC Airline - Level 2

Sources

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-28/china-jet-to-rival-airbus-boeing-makes-first-commercial-flight
https://english.news.cn/20230528/69edc8d64183415eb491c3d191a3621f/c.html
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/5/28/chinas-first-home-built-passenger-jet-makes-inaugural-flight

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. AIRPLANES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about airplanes. 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?
China / business / airplanes / passengers / company / triumph / innovation / fondly /
major player / compete / industry / giants / production / standards / order / milestone
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. FLYING: Students A strongly believe flying is the best way to travel; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. AIRCRAFT: How can aircraft be better? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Current Problems	Improvements
Environment
Seats
Entertainment
Interior
Food
Routes

MY e-BOOK

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

See a sample

5. AIRPORT: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "airport". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. NATIONAL PRIDE: Rank these with your partner. Put the things a country can be most proud of at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

Airlines
Food
Sports teams
Armed forces
Universities
Human rights
History
Traditions

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	took off	a.	The action or process of creating new methods, ideas, or products.
2.	landed	b.	With affection or liking.
3.	narrow	c.	The moment an airplane left the ground and went into the air.
4.	innovation	d.	Having a small width in relation to length.
5.	triumph	e.	The moment an airplane touched the ground after being in the air.
6.	pride	f.	A big win or achievement.
7.	fondly	g.	A feeling of deep happiness about one's own achievements, or about things that are widely admired.

Paragraph 2

8.	commercial	h.	Big and important.
9.	major	i.	A very large company or organization.
10.	giant	j.	A request for something to be made, supplied, or served.
11.	standard	k.	Making or hoping to make a profit.
12.	customer	l.	An important stage or event in the development of something.
13.	order	m.	A person or business who buys goods or services from a shop or business.
14.	milestone	n.	A level of quality.

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

The first made-in-China airliner arrived in Shanghai on Sunday. T / F
The airplane had 128 passengers and crew on board. T / F
China's president said the plane was a great example of innovation. T / F
A passenger said the flight was a little rough. T / F
COMAC is now bigger than Boeing and Airbus. T / F
The C919 airplane was allowed to fly commercially from 2022. T / F
COMAC will build 150 C919s a year for five years. T / F
The company has over 1,000 orders for the C919. T / F

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

entered
landed
shortened
prowess
remember
major
compete
standards
orders
industry

guidelines
skill
big
touched down
requests
think about
business
joined
battle
abbreviated

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

China has entered the business
aircraft took
128 passengers on
a triumph of Chinese
I'll remember this fondly for some
a major player in the commercial
It hopes to compete with industry
Production began in late
each year for
an important

giants such as Boeing
innovation
time to come
off from Shanghai
airplane market
the next five years
of making airplanes
milestone
board
2011

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

board
took
innovation
entered
fondly
shortened
pride
narrow

China has (1) _____________________ the business of making airplanes. The first Chinese-made commercial aircraft (2) _____________________ off from Shanghai on Sunday and landed at Beijing Airport. The (3) _____________________ -bodied C919 plane had 128 passengers on (4) _____________________. The company that made the plane is the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. This is (5) _____________________ to "COMAC". China's President Xi Jinping hailed the C919 aircraft as a "triumph of Chinese (6) _____________________". Newspapers in China called the C919 "a symbol of industrial prowess and national (7) _____________________". A passenger on the flight was impressed with the plane. He said: "The flight was extremely smooth, comfortable and memorable. I'll remember this (8) _____________________ for some time to come."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

developing
customer
orders
giants
milestone
major
standards
build

COMAC hopes to be a (9) _____________________ player in the commercial airplane market. It hopes to compete with industry (10) _____________________ such as Boeing and Airbus. COMAC started (11) _____________________ the C919 in 2008. Production began in late 2011. In September 2022, it passed the (12) _____________________ to fly commercially in China. COMAC's first (13) _____________________ was China Eastern Airlines, which bought five of the aircraft. COMAC plans to (14) _____________________ 150 planes each year for the next five years. A spokesperson said there were (15) _____________________ for more than 1,000 C919s from different Chinese airlines. He hopes airlines from other countries will soon start making orders. He added that the plane was an "important (16) _____________________" for China's aircraft industry.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) commercial aircraft took off from Shanghai on Sunday and ______
     a. landed at Beijing
     b. landed on Beijing
     c. landed it Beijing
     d. landed that Beijing
2) The narrow-bodied C919 plane had 128 ______
     a. passengers on board
     b. passengers in board
     c. passengers an board
     d. passengers and board
3) China called the C919 a symbol of industrial prowess ______
     a. and national prize
     b. and national price
     c. and national prime
     d. and national pride
4) The flight was extremely smooth, ______
     a. comfortable and memorably
     b. comfortable and memory able
     c. comfortable and memorable
     d. comfortable and memorial
5) I'll remember this fondly for some ______
     a. time took cone
     b. time to come
     c. time too can
     d. time toucan

6) COMAC hopes to be a major player in the ______
     a. commerce shall airplane market
     b. commercials airplane market
     c. commercial airplane market
     d. commercially airplane market
7) It hopes to compete ______
     a. with industry giants
     b. with industry giant
     c. with industry gigantic
     d. with industry grants
8) COMAC started developing the C919 in 2008. Production began ______
     a. on late 2011
     b. elate 2011
     c. inflate 2011
     d. in late 2011
9) He hopes airlines from other countries will soon ______
     a. start taking orders
     b. start baking orders
     c. start making orders
     d. start marking orders
10) the plane was an "important milestone" for ______
     a. China's aircraft industry
     b. China's aircraft industrial
   c. China's aircraft industries
     d. China's aircraft in dust tree

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

China has (1) ____________________ of making airplanes. The first Chinese-made commercial aircraft (2) ____________________ Shanghai on Sunday and landed at Beijing Airport. The narrow-bodied C919 plane had (3) ____________________ board. The company that made the plane is the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. This (4) ____________________ "COMAC". China's President Xi Jinping hailed the C919 aircraft as a "triumph of Chinese innovation". Newspapers in China called the C919 "(5) ____________________ industrial prowess and national pride". A passenger on the flight was impressed with the plane. He said: "The flight was extremely smooth, comfortable and memorable. I'll remember this fondly for some (6) ____________________."

COMAC hopes to be a (7) ____________________ the commercial airplane market. It hopes to compete with industry (8) ____________________ Boeing and Airbus. COMAC started developing the C919 in 2008. Production began in late 2011. In September 2022, it (9) ____________________ to fly commercially in China. COMAC's first customer was China Eastern Airlines, which bought five of the aircraft. COMAC (10) ____________________ 150 planes each year for the next five years. A spokesperson said there were (11) ____________________ than 1,000 C919s from different Chinese airlines. He hopes airlines from other countries will soon start making orders. He added that the plane was an "important (12) ____________________ aircraft industry.

Comprehension questions

From where in China did the first China-made airliner take off?
Where in China did the first China-made airliner land?
How many passengers were on the plane?
Who called the C919 airplane a "triumph of Chinese innovation"?
Who will remember the flight "for some time to come"?
Who does COMAC want to compete with?
When did production of the C919 begin?
Who was COMAC's first customer?
For how many years will COMAC make 150 planes?
What did a spokesperson say was an important milestone?

Multiple choice quiz

1) From where in China did the first China-made airliner take off?
a) Beijing
b) Chengdu
c) Shanghai
d) Tianjin
2) Where in China did the first China-made airliner land?
a) Beijing
b) Tianjin
c) Shanghai
d) Chengdu
3) How many passengers were on the plane?
a) 125
b) 126
c) 127
d) 128
4) Who called the C919 airplane a "triumph of Chinese innovation"?
a) the CEO of Airbus
b) China's President Xi Jinping
c) the CEO of Boeing
d) a passenger
5) Who will remember the flight "for some time to come"?
a) the CEO of Airbus
b) the CEO of Boeing
c) a passenger
d) China's President Xi Jinping

6) Who does COMAC want to compete with?
a) Piper and Bombardier
b) Lockheed and Cessna
c) Tupolev and Sukhoi
d) Boeing and Airbus
7) When did production of the C919 begin?
a) mid 2011
b) late 2011
c) early 2011
d) early-to-mid 2011
8) Who was COMAC's first customer?
a) China Western Airlines
b) China Southern Airlines
c) China Northern Airlines
d) China Eastern Airlines
9) For how many years will COMAC make 150 planes?
a) 5
b) 6
c) 7
d) 8
10) What did a spokesperson say was an important milestone?
a) air travel
b) aviation
c) passengers
d) the plane

Role play

Role A – Airlines
You think airlines is the thing a country can be most proud of. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't such a great source of pride. Also, tell the others which of these is the least worthy of pride (and why): food, sports teams or history.

Role B – Food
You think food is the thing a country can be most proud of. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't such a great source of pride. Also, tell the others which of these is the least worthy of pride (and why): airlines, sports teams or history.

Role C – Sports Teams
You think sports teams is the thing a country can be most proud of. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't such a great source of pride. Also, tell the others which of these is the least worthy of pride (and why): food, airlines or history.

Role D – History
You think history is the thing a country can be most proud of. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't such a great source of pride. Also, tell the others which of these is the least worthy of pride (and why): food, sports teams or airlines.

After reading / listening

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

'airplane'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

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:

business

landed

shortened

hailed

pride

time

major

giants

passed

five

different

important

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 - Airplanes

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

What did you think when you read the headline?
What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'airliner'?
What do you think of airplanes?
What do you know about airplane companies?
What do you think of flying?
What do you think of China making airliners?
How could we make airplanes better?
What is your country's biggest symbol?
What is your country's greatest symbol of pride?
What will you remember 'fondly for some time to come'?

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

Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
What do you think of when you hear the word 'flight'?
What do you think about what you read?
What do you know about Boeing and Airbus?
What do you think of your country's airlines?
Do you think COMAC will become a major player?
Would you like to work on an airplane?
What will airplanes of the future be like?
What important milestones have there been in your life?
What questions would you like to ask COMAC?

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)

China has entered the business (1) ____ making airplanes. The first Chinese-made commercial aircraft took off from Shanghai on Sunday and landed (2) ____ Beijing Airport. The narrow-bodied C919 plane had 128 passengers on (3) ____. The company that made the plane is the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. This is (4) ____ to "COMAC". China's President Xi Jinping hailed the C919 aircraft as a "triumph of Chinese innovation". Newspapers in China called the C919 "a symbol of industrial prowess and national (5) ____ ". A passenger on the flight was impressed with the plane. He said: "The flight was extremely smooth, comfortable and memorable. I'll remember this (6) ____ for some time to come."

COMAC hopes to be a major player (7) ____ the commercial airplane market. It hopes to compete with industry (8) ____ such as Boeing and Airbus. COMAC started developing the C919 in 2008. Production began in late 2011. In September 2022, it passed the standards to fly commercially in China. COMAC's first (9) ____ was China Eastern Airlines, which bought five of the aircraft. COMAC plans to build 150 planes each year for the next five years. A spokesperson said there were (10) ____ for more than 1,000 C919s from different Chinese airlines. He hopes airlines from (11) ____ countries will soon start making orders. He added that the plane was an "important milestone" for China's aircraft (12) ____.

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) to (b) on (c) of (d) at 2.
(a) at (b) on (c) over (d) to 3.
(a) board (b) bored (c) bard (d) bared 4.
(a) shortened (b) shorter (c) short (d) shorts 5.
(a) prime (b) pride (c) price (d) prize 6.
(a) fonder (b) fondest (c) fond (d) fondly 7.
(a) on (b) as (c) in (d) to 8.
(a) elves (b) angels (c) goblins (d) giants 9.
(a) consumer (b) customer (c) carer (d) creator 10.
(a) demands (b) orders (c) tells (d) asks 11.
(a) otherly (b) other (c) another (d) others 12.
(a) industrial (b) industrialize (c) industry (d) industrialization

Spelling

Paragraph 1

128 gsarnesspe on board
a triumph of Chinese invoatonni
permessdi with the plane
The flight was eryxtemel smooth
comfortable and eeoambmrl
I'll remember this dlnyfo

Paragraph 2

taigns such as Boeing and Airbus
it passed the sandrdsat to fly
COMAC's first ucsetmor
bought five of the cfriatar
the plane was an important mloneseit
China's aircraft dnrsuyit

Put the text back together

(...) in late 2011. In September 2022, it passed the standards to fly commercially in China. COMAC's first customer
(...) for more than 1,000 C919s from different Chinese airlines. He hopes airlines from other countries will soon
(...) was China Eastern Airlines, which bought five of the aircraft. COMAC plans to build
(...) passengers on board. The company that made the plane is the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. This is
(...) off from Shanghai on Sunday and landed at Beijing Airport. The narrow-bodied C919 plane had 128
(...) was extremely smooth, comfortable and memorable. I'll remember this fondly for some time to come."
(...) shortened to "COMAC". China's President Xi Jinping hailed the C919 aircraft as a "triumph
(...) 150 planes each year for the next five years. A spokesperson said there were orders
(...) COMAC hopes to be a major player in the commercial airplane market. It hopes to compete
(...) of Chinese innovation". Newspapers in China called the C919 "a symbol of industrial prowess and
( 1 ) China has entered the business of making airplanes. The first Chinese-made commercial aircraft took
(...) national pride". A passenger on the flight was impressed with the plane. He said: "The flight
(...) with industry giants such as Boeing and Airbus. COMAC started developing the C919 in 2008. Production began
(...) start making orders. He added that the plane was an "important milestone" for China's aircraft industry.

Put the words in the right order

has entered making business of China the airplanes .
first The off . aircraft commercial Chinese-made took
made that the The company COMAC . is plane
A was the passenger impressed . on flight
I'll for fondly remember this some time .
market . major airplane commercial player the A in
with hopes to giants . It compete industry
fly to It commercially . passed standards the
1,000 for were orders There C919s . than more
He the an milestone . plane was important said

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

China has entered / entry the business of making airplanes. The first Chinese-made commercial aircraft took on / off from Shanghai on Sunday and landed at / on Beijing Airport. The narrow-bodied C919 plane had 128 passengers in / on board. The company that made / making the plane is the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. This is shortened / short to "COMAC". China's President Xi Jinping rained / hailed the C919 aircraft as a "triumph of Chinese innovation". Newspapers in China called the C919 "a symbol of industrial prowess and national prided / pride". A passenger on the flight was impressed with the plane. He said: "The flight was extremely / extreme smooth, comfortable and memorable. I'll remember this fondly for some time to go / come."

COMAC hopes to be a majors / major player in the commercial airplane market. It hopes to compete / complete with industry giants such was / as Boeing and Airbus. COMAC started developing the C919 in 2008. Production begun / began in late 2011. In September 2022, it passed the standards to fly commercially in China. COMAC's first customer / consumer was China Eastern Airlines, which bought / brought five of the aircraft. COMAC plans to build 150 planes each year for / four the next five years. A spokesperson said there were orders for more than 1,000 C919s from difference / different Chinese airlines. He hopes airlines from other countries will early / soon start making orders. He added that the plane was an "important milestone" for China's aircraft industry / industrial.

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

Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

Ch_n_ h_s _nt_r_d th_ b_s_n_ss _f m_k_ng __rpl_n_s. Th_ f_rst Ch_n_s_-m_d_ c_mm_rc__l __rcr_ft t__k _ff fr_m Sh_ngh__ _n S_nd_y _nd l_nd_d _t B__j_ng __rp_rt. Th_ n_rr_w-b_d__d C919 pl_n_ h_d 128 p_ss_ng_rs _n b__rd. Th_ c_mp_ny th_t m_d_ th_ pl_n_ _s th_ C_mm_rc__l __rcr_ft C_rp_r_t__n _f Ch_n_ Ltd. Th_s _s sh_rt_n_d t_ "C_M_C". Ch_n_'s Pr_s_d_nt X_ J_np_ng h__l_d th_ C919 __rcr_ft _s _ "tr__mph _f Ch_n_s_ _nn_v_t__n". N_wsp_p_rs _n Ch_n_ c_ll_d th_ C919 "_ symb_l _f _nd_str__l pr_w_ss _nd n_t__n_l pr_d_". _ p_ss_ng_r _n th_ fl_ght w_s _mpr_ss_d w_th th_ pl_n_. H_ s__d: "Th_ fl_ght w_s _xtr_m_ly sm__th, c_mf_rt_bl_ _nd m_m_r_bl_. _'ll r_m_mb_r th_s f_ndly f_r s_m_ t_m_ t_ c_m_."

C_M_C h_p_s t_ b_ _ m_j_r pl_y_r _n th_ c_mm_rc__l __rpl_n_ m_rk_t. _t h_p_s t_ c_mp_t_ w_th _nd_stry g__nts s_ch _s B___ng _nd __rb_s. C_M_C st_rt_d d_v_l_p_ng th_ C919 _n 2008. Pr_d_ct__n b_g_n _n l_t_ 2011. _n S_pt_mb_r 2022, _t p_ss_d th_ st_nd_rds t_ fly c_mm_rc__lly _n Ch_n_. C_M_C's f_rst c_st_m_r w_s Ch_n_ __st_rn __rl_n_s, wh_ch b__ght f_v_ _f th_ __rcr_ft. C_M_C pl_ns t_ b__ld 150 pl_n_s __ch y__r f_r th_ n_xt f_v_ y__rs. _ sp_k_sp_rs_n s__d th_r_ w_r_ _rd_rs f_r m_r_ th_n 1,000 C919s fr_m d_ff_r_nt Ch_n_s_ __rl_n_s. H_ h_p_s __rl_n_s fr_m _th_r c__ntr__s w_ll s__n st_rt m_k_ng _rd_rs. H_ _dd_d th_t th_ pl_n_ w_s _n "_mp_rt_nt m_l_st_n_" f_r Ch_n_'s __rcr_ft _nd_stry.

Punctuate the text and add capitals

china has entered the business of making airplanes the first chinesemade commercial aircraft took off from shanghai on sunday and landed at beijing airport the narrowbodied c919 plane had 128 passengers on board the company that made the plane is the commercial aircraft Corporation of china ltd this is shortened to comac chinas president xi jinping hailed the c919 aircraft as a triumph of chinese innovation newspapers in china called the c919 a symbol of industrial prowess and national pride a passenger on the flight was impressed with the plane he said the flight was extremely smooth comfortable and memorable ill remember this fondly for some time to come

comac hopes to be a major player in the commercial airplane market it hopes to compete with industry giants such as boeing and airbus comac started developing the c919 in 2008 production began in late 2011 in september 2022 it passed the standards to fly commercially in china comacs first customer was china eastern airlines which bought five of the aircraft comac plans to build 150 planes each year for the next five years a spokesperson said there were orders for more than 1000 c919s from different chinese airlines he hopes airlines from other countries will soon start making orders he added that the plane was an important milestone for chinas aircraft industry

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Chinahasenteredthebusinessofmakingairplanes.ThefirstChinese-
madecommercialaircrafttookofffromShanghaionSundayandlanded
atBeijingAirport.Thenarrow-bodiedC919planehad128passengerso
nboard.ThecompanythatmadetheplaneistheCommercialAircraftCor
porationofChinaLtd.Thisisshortenedto"COMAC".China'sPresidentXi
JinpinghailedtheC919aircraftasa"triumphofChineseinnovation".Ne
wspapersinChinacalledtheC919"asymbolofindustrialprowessandna
tionalpride".Apassengerontheflightwasimpressedwiththeplane.Hes
aid:"Theflightwasextremelysmooth,comfortableandmemorable.I'llr
ememberthisfondlyforsometimetocome."COMAChopestobeamajor
playerinthecommercialairplanemarket.Ithopestocompetewithindus
trygiantssuchasBoeingandAirbus.COMACstarteddevelopingtheC91
9in2008.Productionbeganinlate2011.InSeptember2022,itpassedth
estandardstoflycommerciallyinChina.COMAC'sfirstcustomerwasChi
naEasternAirlines,whichboughtfiveoftheaircraft.COMACplanstobuil
d150planeseachyearforthenextfiveyears.Aspokespersonsaidthere
wereordersformorethan1,000C919sfromdifferentChineseairlines.H
ehopesairlinesfromothercountrieswillsoonstartmakingorders.Head
dedthattheplanewasan"importantmilestone"forChina'saircraftindus
try.

Free writing

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

Flying is the best way to travel. 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 this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. AIRPLANES: Make a poster about airplanes. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. ECONOMY CLASS ONLY: Write a magazine article about making all airplanes economy class only. 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 an expert on airplanes. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions on airplanes. 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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