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I chose the text 5 Bad Habits to Kick Before You Travel because travel is a topic that

is likely to be of interest to many of the students and can be easily personalized in post-

reading speaking and writing tasks. It is appropriate to their level, introducing them to

some new, useful vocabulary, without overloading them too much with unfamiliar

words. At 550 words, it is a manageable length for B2 students, and the author writes in

a clear and engaging manner that will appeal to the students. Thus it is suitable in termsof the four key factors for selecting a piece of authentic material.1

I would begin the lesson by showing students the title of the text. After eliciting

synonyms for kick to check their understanding of the phrase, I would have them

predict with a partner what the five habits are going to be. The aim of this portion of the

lesson would be to activate students top-down thinking skills by having them do a task

that requires them to retrieve relevant vocabulary that they have already learnt. In

addition, it allows students to practice speaking as they prepare for the reading task.

During feedback, I would ask for one or two ideas from each pair until we had five up

on the board. This gives students an opportunity to share their ideas and take a look atnew words and phrases that might appear in their classmatespredictions.

Next, I would distribute the text and ask students to read through it quickly to

themselves, checking to see whether any of our five class predictions were correct.

Having a specific and easily achievable goal in mindchecking the predictionswill

keep students from getting hung up on unfamiliar words in the text and give them a

point of reference as they approach the text for the first time. As Scrivener notes, In

order to make students better readers, we need first of all to raise their awareness that

its not always essential to understand every word.2This initial task will encourage

them to read for a general understanding of the text, developing a reading useful sub-

skill.

As a class, we would then discuss which, if any, of our predictions were mentioned in

the text. The aim of this portion of feedback would be to check studentscomprehension

of the main ideas of the text, with the secondary aim of allowing them to continue

practicing expressing themselves orally.

Students would then have a look at a list of comprehension questions before reading

through the text again and responding to the questions. This task would require them to

practice the sub-skill of intensive reading, helping students to uncover and accurately

understand [the] details in [the] text.

3

Reading the questions beforehand again givesthem an anchor while reading. They will need to study the text more closely to find the

answers, but they have a concrete set of questions to respond to and use as a guide.

Next, I would have them compare their answers with a partner and monitor for any

particularly problematic questions. Using an image of the text projected onto the board,

I would address any issues by trying to elicit from students which language in the text

point us to the correct answer.

1

CELTA Unit 21: Using Authentic Materials2Jim Scrivener,Learning Teaching, (Oxford: Macmillan, 2011) 264.

3Ibid.

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Following the second reading task, I would ask students to discuss in groups which of

the five habits they thought were most and least important to kick before traveling and

why. In doing so, the students would be able to personalize the text, reflecting on and

sharing their own opinions on the topic. This will increase the likelihood that they will

remember any new language they have acquired from the reading and gives them

further speaking practice.

After this discussion, as a follow-up writing activity, I would have students create their

own shortened list of three habits, with one or two sentences each, that people should

kick before traveling to Spain. Students would then share their list with a partner. By

creating their own list that is specific to Spain, students would further personalize the

topic and have a chance to experiment with the language. While remaining relevant and

manageable, the task changes the topic slightly, providing students with an opportunity

to use the new language when speaking and writing to communicate in different

contexts.4Moreover, it provides them with a useful opportunity to practice writing,

using the original text as a model.

To finish up the lesson, during whole class feedback I would ask for some interesting or

funny habits that students heard from their classmates, and we would discuss them

together. This would give students a final opportunity to practice speaking about the

topic while exchanging ideas with their classmates.

4Ibid, 158.

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Detailed reading task:

1. What does the author suggest travelers do to avoid spending all their time on

social media?Plan times to take pictures and videos, and only upload them at

night or when youre back at your hotel.

2.

What two reasons does the author give for quitting smoking before traveling?

Its difficult to find places to smoke in public, and long flights may cause you

more stress if you want a cigarette.

3. According to the author, how might cursing impact the way people in the

country youre visiting see you? You could seem rude and/or uneducated.

4. What does the author offer as an alternative to biting your nails? Chewing gum.

5. What makes biting your nails a particularly unhealthy habit while traveling?

Because traveling exposes you to more people and more germs.

6. What does the author encourage readers to remember about the things that they

buy while traveling? That they will need to find a way to bring them back home.