Travel destinations

This intermediate lesson plan is dedicated to the topic of travelling and travel destinations. It is packed with useful vocabulary and speaking activities and is sure to get your students talking! You can combine this lesson with “Phrasal verbs: travel”, “idioms: holidays”, “Dark tourism”, “Accessible tourism“, “Unusual hotels“, “Winter festivals“, “Solar eclipses and other natural phenomena“,  and “Tourist traps”

Speaking: the lesson starts with a few conversation questions about travelling, which students dicuss in pairs or small groups.

Vocabulary: The next few activities introduce useful vocabulary. First, students learn a few advanced adjectives and collocations used to describe places (rich history, breathtaking views, bustling city). There are photos provided to make it easier to complete the activity. Next, students take a look at a few photos of different typical holiday activities (sightseeing, scuba diving, chilling out, hiking etc.) and they match the activities to the definitions given. To practise the target vocabulary, students complete a gap-fill exercise. Then students give examples of different places that correspond to the descriptions given (e.g. a place where you are expected to haggle).

Functional language: Students learn phrases that are used when evaluating our experiences (e.g. “I had a blast”, “it sucked”, “It didn’t live up to my expectations”). Students need to place each phrase on a line depending on whether it is positive or negative. Then they practise asking each other about different experiences and responding with a phrase they have just learned.

Video: Students watch a promotional video: “3 incredible places to visit in 2022”. First, then match a few characteristics given to one of the 3 locations and then they watch the video to check their answers. The second task is a gap fill exercise, introducing 7 travel phrasal verbs. After completing the activity, students match the phrasal verbs to their definitions. The listening part of the lesson concludes with a short discussion about the places shown in the video.

Speaking: The last activity is a speaking activity: Students are asked to create a promotional campaign for their town/city, similar to what they watched. They are encouraged to use and practise the vocabulary from this lesson.

The printable conversation cards could be used for additional speaking practise either in the same class or in the next class, to revise the target vocabulary or to replace an activity from the worksheet. This lesson works well in combination with the lesson plans “Should you take a gap year” (FREE) as well as  “Idioms: the summer“.