A cheap flying company is very popular on a video app because it makes funny videos. It has more people watching its videos than other flying companies. The people who make the videos for the company can do what they want. They make jokes to show that the company is about saving people money on flying. The company wants people to know that they don’t have to spend a lot of money to go places.

Some people don’t like the company’s videos because they think they are not nice. But other people say it’s okay and they like the funny videos. The company doesn’t talk about helping the Earth or being good to people on the video app. Some people who know a lot about companies say it’s important to talk about these things. They think that if the company has a big problem, the funny videos might not help.

Original news source: Ryanair: How a budget airline took off on TikTok (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Write down words or phrases related to flying or humor (e.g., airplane, pilot, joke, laugh, ticket, budget travel). Students take turns acting out these words without speaking, while others guess the word or phrase.

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Students pair up and one takes on the role of a news reporter while the other is a representative from the flying company. The reporter asks questions about the company’s strategy for using funny videos to attract customers, and the representative answers, using vocabulary from the article.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a list of statements about the flying company’s marketing strategy, such as “Funny videos are good for business” or “Companies should talk about environmental responsibility.” Students walk around the class and ask their peers whether they agree or disagree, tallying up the results to discuss as a class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary from the article on slips of paper (e.g., company, popular, video, save, money, fly). Students take turns drawing the words for their team to guess, without speaking or writing letters or numbers.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Students think of catchy headlines for a news article about the flying company’s use of funny videos. Encourage creativity and the use of adjectives and action verbs, then have students share their headlines with the class and vote for the most engaging one.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What does the flying company make that is very popular?
2. Where do people watch the flying company’s funny videos?
3. What do the people who make the videos for the flying company like to do in the videos?
4. Why does the flying company make jokes in their videos?
5. What does the flying company want people to know about flying?
6. Why do some people not like the flying company’s videos?
7. What do some people who know about companies think the flying company should talk about in their videos?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A cheap flying company is very popular on a video app because it (1)______ funny videos. It has more (2)______ watching its videos than other flying companies. The people who make the videos for the company can do what they want. They (3)______ jokes to show that the company is about (4)______ people money on flying. The company wants people to know that they don’t have to spend a lot of money to go places.

Some people don’t like the company’s videos because they think they are not nice. But other people say it’s (5)______ and they like the funny videos. The company doesn’t talk about helping the (6)______ or being good to people on the video app. Some people who know a lot about companies say it’s important to (7)______ about these things. They (8)______ that if the company has a big problem, the funny videos might not help.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a funny video?
2. Do you like to watch funny videos? Why or why not?
3. How do you feel when you see a funny video?
4. What is a flying company?
5. Do you think flying should be cheap? Why?
6. Do you like to save money? Why do you like it?
7. How would you feel if a company made jokes? Would it make you happy or not?
8. Do you think it’s important for companies to talk about helping the Earth?
9. Can you tell me about a time you saw something funny on a phone or computer?
10. Do you think being funny is good for a company? Why or why not?
11. What is something important a company should do?
12. If you had a company, would you make funny videos? Why would you make them or not make them?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. cheap
2. flying
3. popular
4. videos
5. jokes
6. saving
7. money
8. company

Meanings:
(a) A group of people who work together
(b) Not spending all of your money
(c) Moving through the air
(d) Coins and paper that you use to buy things
(e) Liked by many people
(f) Not expensive
(g) Short movies that you watch on the internet
(h) Funny things that make you laugh
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why is the cheap flying company popular on the video app?
(a) Because it makes funny videos
(b) Because it has a lot of money
(c) Because it flies to many countries
(d) Because it has a big building

2. What do the people who make the videos for the company do?
(a) They have to follow strict rules
(b) They have to wear special clothes
(c) They have to be quiet
(d) They can do what they want

3. What do the videos show about the company?
(a) That it saves people money on flying
(b) That it has the most expensive flights
(c) That it only flies to one place
(d) That it is a dangerous company

4. Why do some people not like the company’s videos?
(a) Because they are too long
(b) Because they are too serious
(c) Because they think they are not nice
(d) Because they are too expensive

5. What do some people think the company should talk about on the video app?
(a) Making more funny videos
(b) Talking about other companies
(c) Talking about their favorite food
(d) Helping the Earth and being good to people

6. What do some people think might happen if the company has a big problem?
(a) The funny videos might make it worse
(b) The funny videos might make people happy
(c) The funny videos might not help
(d) The funny videos might make people laugh

7. Who thinks it’s important for the company to talk about helping the Earth and being good to people?
(a) Some people who don’t know anything about companies
(b) Some people who know a lot about companies
(c) Some people who like funny videos
(d) Some people who don’t like funny videos

8. What does the company want people to know?
(a) That they have to spend a lot of money to go places
(b) That they don’t have to spend a lot of money to go places
(c) That they can’t go places at all
(d) That they have to watch the videos to go places

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Some people don’t like the videos because they think they are mean.
2. Other people think the videos are not okay and they dislike them because they are funny.
3. The videos make serious statements to show that the company helps people save money on flying.
4. Some people think it’s unimportant for the company to talk about these things, in case they have a big problem.
5. The company doesn’t talk about helping the Earth or being nice to people in the videos.
6. The people who make the videos can do whatever they want.
7. Few people watch the videos made by this flying company.
8. There is a flying company that makes funny videos on a video app.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What does the flying company make that is very funny?
2. Do more people watch this company’s videos or other companies’ videos?
3. What are the videos about?
4. Why do some people not like the videos?
5. What do some people think the company should also talk about in their videos?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What does the flying company make that is very popular?
The flying company makes funny videos that many people like.

2. Where do people watch the flying company’s funny videos?
People watch the funny videos on a video app.

3. What do the people who make the videos for the flying company like to do in the videos?
They like to make jokes and do whatever they want in the videos.

4. Why does the flying company make jokes in their videos?
The flying company makes jokes to show that they help people save money when they fly.

5. What does the flying company want people to know about flying?
The company wants people to know that flying doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.

6. Why do some people not like the flying company’s videos?
Some people think the videos are not nice.

7. What do some people who know about companies think the flying company should talk about in their videos?
They think the company should talk about helping the Earth and being good to people.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) makes
(2) people
(3) make
(4) saving
(5) okay
(6) Earth
(7) talk
(8) think
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. cheap
Answer: (f) Not expensive

2. flying
Answer: (c) Moving through the air

3. popular
Answer: (e) Liked by many people

4. videos
Answer: (g) Short movies that you watch on the internet

5. jokes
Answer: (h) Funny things that make you laugh

6. saving
Answer: (b) Not spending all of your money

7. money
Answer: (d) Coins and paper that you use to buy things

8. company
Answer: (a) A group of people who work together
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why is the cheap flying company popular on the video app?
Answer: (a) Because it makes funny videos

2. What do the people who make the videos for the company do?
Answer: (d) They can do what they want

3. What do the videos show about the company?
Answer: (a) That it saves people money on flying

4. Why do some people not like the company’s videos?
Answer: (c) Because they think they are not nice

5. What do some people think the company should talk about on the video app?
Answer: (d) Helping the Earth and being good to people

6. What do some people think might happen if the company has a big problem?
Answer: (c) The funny videos might not help

7. Who thinks it’s important for the company to talk about helping the Earth and being good to people?
Answer: (b) Some people who know a lot about companies

8. What does the company want people to know?
Answer: (b) That they don’t have to spend a lot of money to go places
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Some people don’t like the videos because they think they are mean. (Answer: True)
2. Other people think the videos are not okay and they dislike them because they are funny. (Answer: False)
3. The videos make serious statements to show that the company helps people save money on flying. (Answer: False)
4. Some people think it’s unimportant for the company to talk about these things, in case they have a big problem. (Answer: False)
5. The company doesn’t talk about helping the Earth or being nice to people in the videos. (Answer: True)
6. The people who make the videos can do whatever they want. (Answer: True)
7. Few people watch the videos made by this flying company. (Answer: False)
8. There is a flying company that makes funny videos on a video app. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧