Tourist traps

Lesson plan overview

This ESL lesson is dedicated to the topic of tourist traps and destinations that are overrated. Students will learn advanced vocabulary to talk about tourist traps and to give warnings, will watch a short video about tourist traps in London, and will discuss their own experiences. You can combine this lesson with “Travel destinations”, “Dark tourism”, “Phrasal verbs: travel”, “Idioms: holidays”, and “Idioms: summer”.

Speaking: Students are given photos of 9 popular places people like to visit and they share their knowledge and experiences about each place.

Vocabulary: Students read 10 reviews of different places and match the words in bold (overpriced, overrated, tourist trap, live up to, rip-off) to their definitions. Then they go back to the previous activity and discuss why these places might be considered tourist traps. To practise, students write 5 short reviews about different places they’ve been to and discuss 3 questions given.

Listening: Students watch a video “The worst tourist traps in London” and fill a table with the required information. Then they discuss whether or not they agree with the speaker and how tourist traps can be avoided.

Vocabulary: Students learn verbs and expressions used to give cautions and warnings. First, they complete the sentences given with the correct preposition. To practise, they complete 8 sentences with the correct verb.

Speaking: Finally, students use all the vocabulary seen in this lesson to create a brochure warning travellers about tourist traps in their city.

For more speaking practice, use the conversation cards.

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Teacher’s lesson plan

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Student’s worksheet

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Student’s interactive PDF

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Conversation cards PDF

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Pre-class activities

To send the pre-class activities to your students, copy the link below.

https://theenglishflows.com/lesson-plans/tourist-traps/pre-class-activities/

Vocabulary matching

Pronunciation

The first time you watch the video, pay special attention to the correct pronunciation of the following words:

If you’re not sure, it’s the church on top of the island that when the water comes in and goes out becomes an island and then goes away. It’s gorgeous to look at it.
They’re kind of overpriced, overhyped, overdone, and for a traveler, you might not get as much bang for your buck, you definitely won’t get as much bang for your buck, they’re a lot more expensive.
Don’t just be in the hustle bustle of the Mona Lisa and get smooshed around and moved around and pushed around and people trying to get through there.