Month: April 2019

Transportation and Getting Around Exercises and Worksheets

This page focuses on transportation-related communication skills for English as a second language (ESL) learners. Here, we explore important topics such as understanding diverse types of transportation, giving and receiving directions, and navigating the practical language associated with getting around in English-speaking environments.

The resources, tailored to maximize student engagement and learning, include:

1. Downloadable PDF Exercises: Printable exercises offering targeted practice on various collocations, phrasal verbs, and expressions, offering a deep-dive into the language used in the context of transportation and directions.
2. Listening and Video Exercises: Interactive multimedia resources featuring real-world scenarios, designed to promote active listening skills and better comprehension of transportation-related conversations.
3. Speaking Exercises Using Maps and Pictures: Interactive tasks using visuals of maps and people utilizing transportation, encouraging students to articulate directions and narrate situations in English.

Learning about transportation and the art of giving directions is pivotal for ESL students for several reasons:

1. Independence: It fosters independence, as students will be able to navigate English-speaking cities or countries on their own.
2. Practical Communication: These are practical communication skills that students will often use in real life. Being proficient in these can make travels and daily commuting in English-speaking locations more convenient.
3. Cultural Understanding: It provides insight into cultural nuances, enhancing the student’s overall understanding of English-speaking societies.
4. Vocabulary Expansion: It aids in expanding students’ vocabulary and understanding of idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs, crucial elements of fluent and natural English communication.

We hope these resources aid your ESL students in gaining confidence and proficiency in using English for transportation, direction-giving, and general navigation. Happy teaching!

1 Giving directions – walking

This is an elementary listening/speaking exercise for giving directions to someone who is walking to a destination. This exercise will help students navigate new environments and communicate effectively with native speakers.

(download PDF)

See the video on YouTube

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7 Giving directions  (elementary with answers)

This exercise uses illustrations, each one corresponding to a phrase. The students’ task is to match these images to the related phrases, thereby reinforcing their understanding of vocabulary in an engaging and visual way. This worksheet encourages students to become familiar with key phrases used in everyday scenarios, making them comfortable and confident when communicating directions in English.

The phrases covered in this worksheet are:

• Go this way
• Cross the road
• Take the lift (elevator)
• Take the bus
• Take an umbrella
• Open the door
• Enter the building
• Turn right
• Stop at the red light
• Wait at the lights
• Go upstairs
• Go downstairs
• Turn left
• Go straight ahead (go along this road)

Designed to be both educational and enjoyable, this worksheet is an excellent tool for teachers to immerse their students in the practical applications of English, empowering them to navigate their way through an English-speaking environment with ease.

Giving directions (PDF)

2 Kinds of transportation (with answers)

The central activity here requires students to match pictures with the corresponding vocabulary terms, enhancing their recognition and understanding of thirteen different types of transportation. These include automobiles, cable cars, caravans, cruise ships, ferries, helicopters, light rails, limousines, camper vans, ultralights, speedboats, off-road vehicles, and hovercrafts.

Furthermore, the worksheet includes a conversational question-and-answer section at the end to facilitate practical language usage. Students are prompted to discuss their favorite transportation methods, experiences with specific types of transportation, and thoughts on topics like the future of automobiles and the experience of traveling in a caravan. These questions serve to further immerse students in the topic, enabling them to apply their newfound vocabulary in meaningful conversation.

This educational tool is well-suited for students at an intermediate language proficiency level, aiming to expand their English vocabulary related to transportation. It can be used as an individual activity or as part of a cooperative learning session, supporting learners in their journey to English fluency.

Kinds of transportation (PDF)

3 Elements of traveling (with answers)

This more elementary worksheet can be used to help students learn language for traveling around. 

Elements of traveling (PDF)

 4 Phrasal verbs for  transport & getting around (with audio and answers)

This English language speaking worksheet can be used to help students learn basic  language for transportation and traveling around.

Transport & getting around phrasal verbs (PDF)

 5 Using transportation (with answers)

Using transportation vocabulary & speaking exercise for English language learners and others who need to get around the city and communicate in English.

Using transportation (PDF)

6 Getting around (with answers)

This is another elementary worksheet to help students learn language for giving directions and getting around a city. 

Getting around (PDF)

Related Resources:

7 Exercises for Talking about Cities

6 Complaints and Everyday Annoyances Exercises

Related Resources:

11 Elementary Exercises for Houses and Housing

Prepositions of Location Exercises

6 ESL Exercises and Worksheets for Talking about Cities

8 Business English vocabulary exercises

5 Cool Advertising & Branding Vocabulary & Language Exercises

 5 Describing Graphs  Language Exercises

8 Giving directions to a city location (with answers)

This is a writing exercise for students to demonstrate that they have the language skills to describe how to get to a location in the city.

Giving directions to a city location (PDF)

9 How many questions ….(with answers)

This is an English language exercise helping students to practice frequently asked travel and transport questions. Students try to write suitable questions for  the various parts of a train and a plane ticket.

How many questions… (PDF)

9 Giving directions (expanded)

More “giving directions” vocabulary & expressions exercises including dictation and sentence re-ordering.

Giving directions exercises (PDF)

Other Resources

Body language and gestures quizzes and exercises

Comparative adjective worksheets

English language exercises for the medical sciences

Fears and phobias

Terrific Travel and Tourism Language and Vocabulary Lessons

1 Talking about travel and culture speaking lesson

This is an ESL speaking and writing lesson for practicing basic language for talking about travel and culture. First, students complete the sentences with the vocabulary at the bottom of the page. Then they give their own opinions about what they like and dislike about traveling. 

Travel and culture vocabulary (PDF)

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2 Tourism & travel ranking/rating vocabulary and discussion lesson (with answers) 

This is an ESL speaking for discussing travel. Students match the vocabulary to the pictures. Then they rank their preferences for the various types of travel experience. Finally, they discuss their preferences.

Rating different kinds of travel (PDF)

3 Brainstorming the pros/cons of
traveling alone or traveling in groups

This is an exercise for discussing the advantages/disadvantages of traveling alone or traveling in groups . Students look at the pictures and then try to write down their ideas. Then, on the third page of the PDF, they can organize their ideas for a discussion or an essay.

Travel alone or in groups (PDF)

Related Resources for the Hospitality Industry

5 Complaints and Annoyances Speaking and Language Exercises

Food, Restaurants and Cooking Home

10 Food, Eating and Restaurant Vocabulary and Speaking Exercises

8  Hotel Vocabulary and Speaking Skills Exercises

5  Airport and Airline Vocabulary and Language Skills Exercises with Answers

5 Intercultural Communication Language Exercises and Worksheets

5 Cool Advertising & Branding Vocabulary & Language Exercises

Related Cultural Resources:

Celebrations and festivals lesson

Body language and gestures vocabulary exercises

US vs UK vocabulary

Tourism home

4 Speaking skills worksheet: travel situations (with answers)

This is an English language exercise exploring language commonly used in various traveling situations.  Students try to imagine what is being said in each situation and fill in the speech bubbles. Then listen to the audio.

Travel situations speaking skills (PDF)

5 Tourism & travel survey and speaking lesson

This is an ESL speaking and writing lesson for giving opinions about tourism and travel. First, students write five survey questions about advertising. There are some examples of questions at the top of the first page of the PDF.  When they have written five questions, they can walk around the class asking classmates their questions and noting down their answers on the worksheet. Finally, they write a short report from their survey question answers. This is a fun communicative exercise that allows students to mix freely.

Tourism/travel classroom survey (PDF)

Public Health and Safety Vocabulary Exercises

Public health and safety vocabulary and literacy exercises focusing on language used to talk about common public health situations and vocabulary for protective and safety equipment used to maintain health standards.

1 Elements of Public Health vocabulary worksheets (with answers)

This is an  English  language  exercise  introducing  vocabulary commonly used in public health. Students try to match the vocabulary with the appropriate pictures.

Elements of Public Health  (PDF)

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Subscribe to get full access to the latest and best resources from eslflow.com. There are no ads in the newsletter and you will receive entertaining, high quality, and up-to-date teaching resources regularly. And, if you subscribe, you will be supporting the eslflow website.

 

2 Safety in the lab (health and safety equipment) vocabulary worksheet (with answers)

 This is an  English  language  exercise  introducing  vocabulary commonly used  to talk about health and safety equipment. 

Safety in the lab  (PDF)

Related Resources:

Coronavirus vocabulary and questions

Health and Body Lessons Home

Body parts vocabulary exercises

Public Health and Safety Lessons

7  health problems, symptoms and illnesses vocabulary exercises

10 helpful health and medical sciences vocabulary and language exercises

 

3 Poisons and toxins vocabulary worksheet (with answers)

This is an  English  language  exercise  to practice  vocabulary commonly used  to talk about poisons and toxins. Students try to match the vocabulary with the appropriate pictures.

Poisons vocabulary  (PDF)

6 Cracking Complaints and Annoyances Language and Speaking Activities

 1 Calling to complain (gap fill and answers)

       This is a “calling to complain”telephoning language exercise  to help English language learners practice expressions and phrases used in everyday phone conversations. Students can try and complete the dialogues and then listen to the audio to check/compare their answers.

(download PDF)

(Calling to complain YouTube video)

2 Complaints brainstorm

This is a useful icebreaker for talking about complaints with questions and answers.

(download PDF)

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3 More everyday annoyances

This  speaking activity for English language students aims to encourage them to freely express their feelings and opinions.

More everyday annoyances (PDF)

4 Everyday annoyances (with answers)

This is an ESL speaking exercise for discussing everyday complaints and  annoyances . Students match vocabulary to the pictures. Then they can ask each other the the questions at the bottom of the page.

Everyday annoyances (PDF)

Related Speaking Skills Resources

Dealing With Complaints for ESL Customer Service Reps

10 listening/speaking exercises for invitations and requests

Socializing Speaking Lessons Home

10 Role Play Speaking Activities

11 Classroom Debate and Discussion Language Activities

12 Brilliant Business English Speaking Skills  Activities

ESL listening and speaking activities for all levels

5 Talking about annoyances

This is a second ESL speaking exercise for talking about everyday annoyances. Students match the phrases on the left to the appropriate pictures. Finally they can have a conversation using the questions at the bottom of the page as a guide. 

Talking about annoyances (PDF)

6 Complaints, annoyances and responses (with answers)

Students write the problem and solution/advice for each picture.They may try to use modals and the passive tense.

Complaints, annoyances and solutions (PDF)

 7 Housing complaints, annoyances and problems (vocabulary and speaking with answers)

“Housing complaints’ is a slightly more advanced activity for talking about housing . Students match vocabulary to the pictures. Then they can ask each other the the questions at the bottom of the page.

Elements of housing complaints (PDF)

8 Urban complaints speaking activity

An elementary  brainstorming and speaking activity to help students discuss cities and urban areas.

Urban complaints (PDF)

 

9  Consumer complaint menu role play lesson

Consumer Complaint Menu Role Play Lesson (PDF)   

ELICIT
  As a class elicit a few problems you can have with these companies and any others you can think of:
  Home improvement company
  Mobile phone service
  Mail order company
  Travel service
  Car dealer
  Bank
  STEP 1
  On the board write “MAIL ORDER COMPLAINT MENU” then ask around the class for sample complaints. Write them on the board. The board might look like this:
  MAIL ORDER COMPLAINT MENU
shipment never came
got the wrong order
goods were broken
expensive delivery charges
bad customer service
not the same as in the ad
no instruction manual etc….etc
  STEP 2
  Put students in groups of 3 and have ready an A4 sheet of paper for each group. Each sheet of paper has a heading similar to the following:
  MAIL ORDER COMPLAINT MENU
  HOME IMPROVEMENT COMPLAINT MENU
  MOBILE PHONE SERVICE COMPLAINT MENU
  etc…etc
  Each group of students then chooses one of the complaints topics and begins to write complaints as you modeled on the board.
  STEP 3
  Rotate the complaint menus every 3 or 4 minutes so each group gets to work on each menu. In this way they get a feel for the different kind of complaints.
  STEP 4
  Once the menus have rotated right round the class or the sheets of paper are full of complaints tell the students to stop writing and model the final part of the activity – the roleplay. Pick up one menu (Travel Service Complaint Menu) and address a pair of students saying………
  STUDENT A(CUSTOMER COMPLAINER): Good day, may I see the complaints menu…..
  STUDENT B(TRAVEL SERVICE): Certainly here you are……….
  STUDENT A (CUSTOMER COMPLAINER): Yes, well first I’d like to complain about your guide…..he was very impolite……
  STUDENT B(TRAVEL SERVICE): Well,…..I’m sorry but he is new…..
  STUDENT A(CUSTOMER COMPLAINER): Secondly, I’d like to complain about the bus..it was too old………
  STUDENT B(TRAVEL SERVICE): Yes..but you chose the cheap tour…etc.
  STEP 5
  Finally, select one student out of each group to be the complainer. Give this student one of the complaint menus. The students then begin to role play. An excellent way to get students to rotate to other groups is to play the “Scissors, paper, rock” game. The loser moves to another group.  

Personal Complaint Menu Lesson