Overtourism: Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival Says “Enough”
Lesson plan overview
This spring ESL lesson explores overtourism focusing on the cancellation of a famous Japanese cherry blossom festival near Mount Fuji. Students learn vocabulary related to tourism, crowds, and safety, practice listening and speaking skills through real-world examples, and reflect on the impact of tourism on local communities. The lesson encourages critical thinking and discussion about balancing tourism with environmental and social responsibility. Other lessons you might like are: “Overtourism,” “Tourist traps”, as well as spring topics like “Celebrating the arrival of spring” and “The beauty of spring flower gardens“
Activities Overview:
Speaking: Students discuss a few questions to activate prior knowledge about Japanese cherry blossom festivals.
Vocabulary: Learners match key terms such as overcrowding, traffic congestion, trespassing, litter, breaking point, and influx with their definitions. They then practice replacing words in sentences to reinforce correct usage and build confidence in discussing tourism issues. Then, they are asked to pradict how these words are related to the video they are going to watch.
Listening: Students watch a video titled “Japan cancels cherry blossom festival near Mount Fuji” and determine if statements are true or false. Learners watch the video a second time, taking notes on tourists’ behavior, safety concerns, and local responses to overtourism. Comprehension questions explore the causes of rising visitor numbers, the city’s measures to manage crowds, and the effects on residents. This segment encourages analytical thinking and understanding of cause-and-effect relationships.
Speaking – Instagram vs Reality: Students discuss how social media shapes perceptions of tourist destinations. Using guided sentence frames, learners compare Instagram images with real-life experiences, speculate about hidden challenges, and reflect on the influence of online trends on travel decisions.
For more speaking practice, you can use the printable conversaiton cards.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
Pre-class activities
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In-class activities
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Additional resources
Each video-based lesson plan includes links to additional resources (videos and articles), which are FREE can be found online (in the pre-class activities page. These links aim to extend the learning experience, enabling students to connect classroom knowledge with real-world applications.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
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