There will also of course be students who don’t need English for their trip because it is in a country where the students know the language, because local people speak your students’ language, or because everything is organised for them. Even in these situations, however, there will still be plenty of English around that they can learn a lot from if they are properly prepared and pay attention while they are travelling. You can also use the topic of travel to practise the language in the textbook.
The tips below are about teaching people who are going to be travelling, but as there is a focus on understanding the people they meet and the speaking activities all involve taking on other roles most of the ideas should also be useful for people in the travel and tourism industry. They should also be relevant for people who are already in another country, e.g. people in the UK on short courses.
What students need to understand and do to use English while travelling
Perhaps the easiest way of analysing what students need to do is to think first about where they are most likely to need English and who they will most probably be communicating with. The list below is arranged in approximate order of how likely I think my students are to need English in those situations:
- Hotel/ B&B/ Youth hostel/ Other accommodation (host family, bellboy, maid, reception staff)
- Restaurant/ Café/ Pub (barman, waiter)
- Shop (shop assistant)
- Airport (check in staff, immigration, customs, security, people meeting them there, lost luggage desk staff, shop and restaurant staff)
- Aeroplane (fellow passengers, cabin staff)
- Bus station/ Coach station/ Train station/ Underground station (ticket counter staff, fellow passengers, ticket barrier staff, information desk staff)
- Taxi and taxi rank (driver, other people waiting)
- Museum/ Art gallery/ Tourist site (tour guide, ticket office staff)
- The street (passerby, police officer)
- Bus/ Coach (fellow passengers, driver, bus conductor)
- Language school (receptionist, accommodation staff, manager, classmates)
- Tourist information
- Car rental
- Train (fellow passengers, ticket inspector)
- Lost luggage
- Police station
- Petrol station/ Motorway service station
Students will also probably need to understand notices, signs and announcements, and they might also want to use English language guidebooks and recorded museum guides.
Things that students are most likely to have to say in the circumstances above include:
- Asking for information (e.g. directions, prices and times)
- Requesting
- Checking comprehension and asking for clarification
- Thanking
- Responding to offers
- Complaining
- Greeting
- Responding to apologies
- Responding to suggestions
