2005: 185, 187; Watkins 2005: 58). I would have a picture of Richard Branson available to show the students during the task if they do not know who he is (figure 3). 4. By this stage of the lesson, the students have a general understanding of the content of the text. The text contains several words that will probably be new to them, so before setting a more detailed comprehension task it would be necessary to pre-teach some vocabulary. I would focus only on the key vocabulary the students require to fulfil the task, pre-teaching words such as maiden, sub-orbital, aerospace, hangar, mothership, hybrid rocket, thorough and excursion. It is possible to do more in-depth vocabulary tasks with this text. However, the next task focuses on comprehension. My second while-reading task is a Type 2 task, during which the students will answer questions aimed at developing the sub-skill of reading for detailed comprehension (Harmer 2007: 270). Students would be divided into A and B (two at each table), the two groups answering six questions individually. All of the A questions would be the same, and likewise for the B questions. The paragraphs in the text are numbered 1-6. The As would answer questions about paragraphs one, three and five, and the Bs paragraphs two, four and six, so that they are doing jigsaw reading. I would cut up the text and give students their paragraphs and questions on coloured pieces of paper (pink for A and green for B) in random order, thus making them read their paragraphs more closely in order to find the section of text containing each answer. This makes the task more interactive. The students would then compare answers with the same-lettered person at their table, allowing them to share knowledge and ideas, therefore consolidating their learning. Finally, the A students would exchange their answers with the B students in pairs. They could swap their sets of questions and ask each other for the answers, showing the other student where to find them in the text. This is a studentcentred way of completing the task, with the double advantage that the students are speaking and listening to each other whilst also learning about the text. 5. I would give the students a follow-up task focusing on the productive skill of speaking. I would move two students from each group to the next group, ensuring that everyone has the chance to work with different people. This livens up the atmosphere for speaking practice, which the students usually enjoy. The students would discuss their opinions about the article and space tourism in their groups. Each group would have four cards face down on their table with questions to prompt discussion. The students would pick up one card at a time and discuss each question for 2-3 minutes. The questions would focus on the students opinions on the article, whether they think that space travel will become popular in the future, possible tourist attractions in space, and whether they would like to go on holiday to space. The purpose of this follow-up task is to give students the opportunity for some communicative speaking practice and to encourage them to discuss their own thoughts and opinions about the text they have read. The lesson finishes with some personalisation and I think the students would enjoy giving their own opinions on this topic.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Harmer, J. (2007) The Practice of English Language Teaching 4th ed. Harlow: Pearson Longman. Scrivener, J. (2005) Learning Teaching 2nd ed. Oxford: Macmillan. Watkins, P. (2005) Learning to Teach English Surrey: Delta Publishing. Unknown Author (2008) Branson Unveils Space Tourism Jet at BBC News Website (Published 28/7/08, accessed at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/7529978.stm).