TALKING ABOUT TRAVELLING

1. How often do you travel?

2. Have you ever been abroad? Where have you been?
3. Are you planning to go anywhere for your next holiday?
If so: - Where? - With whom? - How long will you stay?
4. What was your best trip? Describe it.
5. What was your worst trip? Describe it.
6. Do you plan your holidays yourself?
7. Do you use travel agency services?
8. What is your favourite means of transport?
9. Do you feel seasick when you are on board a ship?
10. Do you have a driver’s license? If so, do you like to travel with your own car?
11. Have you ever been on a plane?
- How many times? - What airlines have you flown with?
12. Have you ever hitchhiked?
13. Do you prefer to travel alone or in a group? Are you afraid of going afraid
alone? Do you like to travel with children?
14. Have you ever been alone to a foreign country?
15. Have you ever got lost while on a travel?
16. Do you prefer summer holidays or winter holidays?
17. Do you like visiting big cities?
18. Do you like spending your holidays in a village?
19. Do you prefer to spend your holidays in the mountains or at the seaside?
20. Do you like sightseeing?
21. Do you try to get to know to local people while on a travel? Describe the most
interesting person you met on one of your travels.
22. Are local people usually friendly while you are on a travel?
23. Have you ever experienced hostility from local people while on a travel?
24. Do you always try local cuisine while on a travel?
25. Have you ever eaten something unusual while on a travel?
26. Could you live in another country to the end of your life?
27. What countries would you most like to visit? Why?
28. What countries would you not like to visit? Why?
29. If you had 10,000 euro to spend on holidays, where would you go? How about
1,000 euro?
30. What are the possible dangers of travelling?
31. Have you ever faced any danger while on a travel?
32. Do you travel in business?
If so, how often? If not: - Would you like to travel a lot in business? Why?
Why not?
33. How do you feel when you come back home after a long journey?

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION

 USEFUL VOCABULARY CONNECTED WITH TRAVEL

abroad: in a foreign country.

trip: a journey, usually short, in which you go to a particular place and come back home
again.
service: the act of providing customers with goods or taking their orders for a particular
amount of money.
travel agency: a company that arranges travels for people.
favourite: best liked.
means of transport: a way of travelling (by car, ship, plane, train, bus, ferry, bike, etc.)
ferry: a large boat or ship that takes passengers and their vehicles across an area of water,
e.g. to an island.
seasick: feeling sick because of the movement of the ship.
board: on a boat, train or plane.
driver’s license: official permission to drive a car that you get after passing a driving test;
also a document that showing that you have passed this test.
plane: a vehicle with wings, designed to travel by air.
airline: a business established to carry passengers by plane.
hitchhike: to travel by someone else’s vehicles for free.
foreign: related to a country which is not your own.
sightseeing: visiting interesting places, usually by tourists on holiday.
mountains: a group of large hills.
seaside: the area close to the sea where many tourists spend their holiday.
experience: to feel something that happens to you.
hostility: unfriendliness, because somebody doesn’t agree with or like somebody/something.
cuisine: a particular style of cooking typical for a country or a region.
unusual: different from somebody or something in an interesting way.
journey: travelling from one place to another.
voyage: a long journey, especially by ship.

Nouns Adjectives Verbs

Accommodation Adventurous Sightsee
Attraction Budget Relax
Destination Breath-taking Rest
Eco-tourism Coastal Stroll
Facilities Cosmopolitan Tour
Itinerary Luxurious Visit
Journey Mountainous
Luggage Peaceful
Tourism Picturesque
Tourist Remote
Trip Scenic
Traditional

IDIOMS CONNECTED WITH TRAVEL

Travel broadens the mind: when you travel a lot you expand your knowledge (about
cultures, people, languages etc.)
Travel light: to bring very few things with you when you on a trip
Off the beaten track/path: located far from crowded places where someone could rest far

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION

from the noise of big cities.
There is no place like home: home is the best place of all.
Travel bug: the urge to travel.
Bright and early: very early in the morning.

1) What images spring to mind when you hear the word ‘tourism’?

2) How important is tourism to your country?

3) Would you like to work in tourism?

4) What are the good and bad things about tourism?

5) What do you think tourism will be like in the future?

6) What are the major tourist attractions in your country?

7) What do you think of the idea of space tourism?

8) How does tourism change lives?

9) What is eco-tourism? Do you think it’s a good idea?

10) Is there a difference between a tourist and a backpacker ?

1) Do you think tourism helps people in the world understand each other?

2) Is tourism something that only rich people take part in?

3) What do you think of sex tourism? Do you think it’ll ever disappear?

4) What factors affect tourism?

5) Do tourists really get to see the real countries they visit?

6) Do you think tourism is bad for the planet?

7) Are tourists in your country funny?

8) How has tourism changed over the past few decades?

9) Are you a good ambassador for your country’s tourism industry?

10) What is tourism?

Useful Vocabulary

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION

Positive aspects of holidays (personal)
 chance to unwind

 spend quality time with family / friends

 get away from work / stressful environment

 have a change of routine / scenery

 visit new places / experience new things / cultures

 broaden your horizons

 visit family or friends abroad

Positive aspects of holidays (commercial)

 creates new jobs in tourist industry

 attracts media attention to the resort

 ensures good level of infrastructure

 improves services for local residents

 provides revenue to protect /maintain local heritage

Negative aspects of holidays (personal)

 loss of earnings (if self-employed)

 can be stressful (to be out of your comfort zone)

 can be difficult to cope in foreign country / unfamiliar place

 may encounter travel problems (plane/train delays / traffic jams)

 may not have access to health facilities

 may lose your luggage

 may not be able to speak the local language

Negative aspects of holidays (commercial)

 can cause overcrowding

 tourists may not respect local customs/traditions

 can cause excess of litter / noise

 may cause damage to local environment

 area becomes too built-up due to increase of hotels/shops etc

 may cause increase in prices of local services and goods

ASKING FOR AND GIVING DIRECTIONS

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION

 How to Ask for
How to Give Directions How to Locate Places
Directions
Go straight on...
___ is next to the ___
Turn left / Turn right
How can I get to...?
___ is in front of the ___
Take the second corner on the right / left.
Where is _______?
___ is opposite of the ___
Walk three blocks / Cross the street
Is there a ____ near
___ is on the corner of __
here? The ________ will be on your right/ left
___ is at the back of ___
Take _______ street

English Expressions- Giving Directions

Expression: Could you tell me how to get to ( …the library)? Response: Go to the next
light and turn right. Go two blocks, it’s on the left.
Expression: How do I find ( … city hall)? Response: Just go straight, it’s on this street,
on the right, about a mile and a half.
Expression: Which way do I go to get to ( … the post office)? Response: Drive to
Jackson Street and turn right. The post office is in the middle of the block, across from
the park.
Expression: Pardon me, I’m lost, how do I get to the ( … museum)? Response: Go to the
second light and turn left. Then go the third stop sign. The museum is on that corner.
Expression: Could you direct me to ( … I-10)? Response: Take Pinal Avenue north about 8
miles You’ll run into it.
Expression: Which is the best route to ( …the stadium)? Response: Take Washington
Street north to the Papago freeway and Head west. You can’t miss it.
Suggestions for giving directions
Giving street directions is really very easy when you remember to follow these points.
When giving directions you are actually giving two sets of instructions.
In the first set- “Go To” – you are telling the listener what street to go to or how far to
go.
In the second set- “Then”, you are telling the listener what to do when they get there.
(turn right/left, go straight, on the left, etc.)
Giving even very complicated directions is just a repetition of these two basic steps.
Another good idea is to use easily identifiable landmarks; instead of the amount of time
to get someplace (time is relative, after all). Easily identifiable landmarks are street
lights, stop signs, parks, tall building standing alone, etc.

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION