Teacher lesson planTeacher lesson plan
Travel English
Aims
- To clarify key travel vocabulary.
- To provide fluency practice in A/B role-plays.
Lesson information
- Level
- A2
- Learners
- Adults, 18 students
- Duration
- 60 minutes
- Lesson type
- Functional English
- Environment
- Face-to-face
- Skills
- Speaking, Listening, Reading
- Topic
- At the hotel and the airport
- Language focus
- Checking in, polite requests and explaining a simple problem
- Methodology
- Communicative Language Teaching
Learning objectives
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
- 1Use key travel words for hotels and airports (reservation, key card, boarding pass, gate, aisle seat).
- 2Check in at a hotel reception and an airport check-in desk using fixed phrases.
- 3Make polite requests with Could I have …, please? and Could you …, please?
- 4Explain a simple problem with a hotel room and ask for help.
- 5Respond to requests with Here you are, Yes, of course and I'm sorry about that in a role-play.
Success criteria
- Students can check in at a hotel with I have a reservation and Here you are, and at an airport desk with I'd like to check in, please and Here you are.
- Students can make at least two polite requests with Could I have …, please? or Could you …, please? instead of I want …
- Students can explain a problem with a hotel room (The … doesn't work. / My room is too …) and, as the receptionist, reply with I'm sorry about that.
- Students can do the role-play in round 3 with a new partner without reading the role card.
Target language
- Meaning
- Telling the hotel or airline that you have arrived and that you have a booking.
- Form
- I have a reservation. My name's …
- I'd like to check in, please.
- Here you are. (giving something)
- Pronunciation
- I'd like /aɪd laɪk/ — the d is very short. reservation /ˌrezəˈveɪʃn/ — stress on VAY.
- Examples
- I have a reservation. My name's Ana Costa.
- I'd like to check in, please.
- Meaning
- Asking for something or asking someone to help you in a friendly, polite way.
- Form
- Could I have + thing + please?
- Can I have + thing + please? (a little less polite)
- Could you + action + please?
- Pronunciation
- Could I /kʊdaɪ/ — link the two words. Friendly voice: start high and go down at the end on please.
- Use
- Used with hotel staff, airport staff, waiters and shop assistants. 'I want …' sounds rude.
- Examples
- Could I have a window seat, please?
- Can I have the Wi-Fi password, please?
- Could you call a taxi for me, please?
- Meaning
- Saying politely that something is wrong and asking for help.
- Form
- I'm sorry, but there's a problem with my room.
- The + thing + doesn't work.
- My room is too + noisy / cold / hot.
- There isn't any + hot water / soap.
- Pronunciation
- Stress the problem word: 'There's a problem with the SHOWER.' Say sorry /ˈsɒri/ with a falling, polite tone.
- Examples
- I'm sorry, but there's a problem with my room.
- The air conditioning doesn't work.
- My room is too noisy.
Materials
- Student lesson (one copy per student)
- Audio of the two dialogues, or the teacher and a strong student read them aloud
- Board and markers
- Role cards A and B (in the student lesson) — cut up or folded so students see only their card
- Optional realia: a key card, a boarding pass, a passport
Anticipated problems
- useProblemStudents say 'I want a window seat' instead of a polite request.SolutionWrite both on the board. Ask: 'Which is polite?' Cross out 'I want' and keep 'Could I have …, please?' visible during the role-play.
- pronunciationProblemStudents confuse aisle and window seats and pronounce aisle as /eɪsl/.SolutionDraw three seats on the board (window – middle – aisle). Drill aisle /aɪl/ — 'like I'll'.
- taskProblemStudents read their role cards aloud word for word.SolutionDemonstrate with a strong student: look at the card, then look up and speak. In round 3, students don't look at the card and use only memory.
- classroom managementProblemWith 18 students, the room is noisy and it is hard to monitor all pairs.SolutionArrange chairs as 'reception desks' facing each other. Walk around with a notebook and listen to each pair for at least 30 seconds.
- taskProblemWeaker students cannot think how to start the role-play.SolutionWrite the first line of each role-play on the board: 'Good evening. Welcome to …' / 'Good morning. Where are you flying to?'
Lesson procedure
60 / 60 min| Stage & aim | Time | Teacher | Students | Interaction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lead-in To get students talking about their own travel experiences and to introduce the topic of hotels and airports. | 3′ | Show a key card and a boarding pass (or pictures). Ask: 'Where do you get these? When did you last stay in a hotel or fly? Was there a problem?' Take 3–4 short answers. | Look at the objects and talk briefly about their own trips and any problems they had. | T-S, Whole class |
Vocabulary: hotel and airport words To pre-teach key travel words students need to understand the dialogues and do the role-play. | 7′ | Use the realia and quick board drawings to present the words in the vocabulary box. Draw three plane seats (window – middle – aisle). Drill words with difficult stress or sounds: reservation, reception, aisle /aɪl/. Students then test each other in pairs: one covers the words and says a meaning, the other says the word. Instructions: “Work in pairs. Student A covers the words and reads a meaning. Student B says the word. Then swap.” CCQs
ICQs
| Learn and repeat ten travel words, then test a partner using the meanings. ↳ Words for travel | T-S, Pairs |
Context: dialogues at the hotel and airport To give students a realistic model of checking in, making requests and solving a problem. | 7′ | Set the gist question: 'What is the problem in the hotel?' Play the audio (or read both dialogues with a strong student) while students listen with books closed. Check the gist answer (the air conditioning doesn't work). Then students read the dialogues and do the true/false exercise alone, and compare in pairs. Check answers. Instructions: “First, close your books and listen. What is the problem at the hotel? Then open your books, read and answer true or false.” ICQs
| Listen for the problem in the hotel, then read the dialogues, answer five true/false questions and compare with a partner. ↳ Exercise 1: True or false? | S, Pairs |
Language focus: requests and problems To clarify the meaning and use of phrases for checking in, polite requests and explaining a problem. | 8′ | Students underline the requests in the dialogues. Write 'I want a window seat.' and 'Could I have a window seat, please?' on the board and elicit which is more polite and why. Ask the CCQs. Go through the useful phrases table. Students then do the matching exercise in pairs and check answers as a class. Instructions: “Work with a partner. Match each question to the best answer.” CCQs
ICQs
Board: I want a window seat. ✗ → Could I have a window seat, please? ✓ / The … doesn't work. / My room is too … | Find the requests in the dialogues, answer questions about their meaning, study the phrases table and match questions to answers with a partner. ↳ Exercise 2: Questions and answers | T-S, Pairs |
Pronunciation practice: polite requests To help students sound friendly and polite when they make requests. | 3′ | Model 'Could I have a window seat, please?' twice: once flat, once friendly. Ask: 'Which sounds polite?' Back-chain: 'please' → 'a window seat, please' → 'Could I have a window seat, please?' Drill chorally, then individually. Repeat with 'I'm sorry, but there's a problem with my room.' Board: Could I /kʊdaɪ/ have a window seat, please? ↘ | Listen and repeat requests with friendly intonation, chorally and individually. | T-S, Whole class |
Controlled practice: gap-fill To give accurate written practice of the phrases for requests and problems. | 5′ | Students complete Exercise 3 alone. Monitor and help weaker students by pointing to the useful phrases table. Check answers as a class, asking students to read each full sentence aloud with friendly intonation. Instructions: “Complete the sentences with words from the box. Use each word once. Work alone.” ICQs
| Complete eight sentences with words from the box, then read the answers aloud. ↳ Exercise 3: Complete the sentences | S |
Controlled practice: reading the dialogue aloud To give spoken practice of the phrases in a supported, fixed context before the role-play. | 5′ | Pairs read the hotel dialogue aloud twice, swapping roles. The second time, they change the room number and the problem (e.g. the TV doesn't work, the room is too cold). Monitor and help with intonation. Instructions: “Read the hotel dialogue with your partner. Then swap roles. The second time, change the room number and the problem.” ICQs
| Read the hotel dialogue aloud with a partner, then repeat it with a different room number and problem. ↳ At the hotel | Pairs |
Role-play: at the hotel and the airport To give students fluent spoken practice of checking in, making requests and solving a problem in realistic situations. | 14′ | Put students in A/B pairs and arrange chairs like a reception desk. Set-up and demonstration (2 min): demonstrate the first lines of role-play 1 with a strong student. Round 1 (4 min): hotel — A is the guest, B is the receptionist. Round 2 (4 min): airport — A is the check-in assistant, B is the passenger. Round 3 (4 min): new partners; students choose the hotel or the airport and one problem from the board (the shower doesn't work / the room is too cold / the suitcase is too heavy), use their own name and a real place they want to visit, and don't look at the card. Monitor and note good language and errors. Instructions: “Read your role card. Don't show it to your partner. In role-play 1, A is the hotel guest and B is the receptionist. In role-play 2, you change. In role-play 3, find a new partner and don't look at the card.” ICQs
| Act out the hotel and airport conversations using the role cards, then repeat with a new partner using their own name and a real destination. Outcome: the receptionist or check-in agent must solve the guest's problem; in feedback, pairs say whether it was solved. ↳ Role card A | Pairs |
Feedback and error correction To praise good language and correct common errors from the role-play. | 6′ | Ask 2–3 pairs: 'Was the problem solved?' Then ask 2–3 students: 'What was the problem in your hotel? Did the receptionist help you?' Write 4–5 sentences you heard on the board, some correct and some with errors (e.g. *I want an aisle seat. *The shower not work. *Yes, you can — about the passport). Pairs correct them; elicit the corrections and drill the corrected versions once. Finish with the exit task: one polite request and one hotel problem on a slip of paper. Board: *I want an aisle seat. → Could I have an aisle seat, please? / *The shower not work. → The shower doesn't work. / *Yes, you can. → Here you are. (when asked for your passport) | Tell the class about their role-play and correct sentences from the board with a partner. | T-S, Pairs |
Homework To consolidate the language in a short written dialogue. | 2′ | Set the homework and show the success criteria: at least two requests and one problem. | Note the homework task. | T-S |
Support & challenge
Support
For learners who need more help
- Write the first line of each role-play on the board ('Good evening. Welcome to …' / 'Good morning. Where are you flying to?') and let weaker students keep the useful phrases table open in rounds 1 and 2.
- In Exercise 3, point weaker students to the right line of the useful phrases table instead of giving the answer.
- In round 1, give a weaker student role B (the receptionist), whose replies are mostly fixed phrases.
Challenge
For stronger learners and fast finishers
- Fast finishers in Exercise 3 write two more problems for a hotel room with 'The … doesn't work.'
- Stronger pairs add a second problem in the role-play, for example the hotel cannot find the booking.
- In round 3, stronger students add a request of their own, such as a late check-out or a taxi to the airport.
Checking learning
- Final check: say 'I want a window seat.' and ask a student to make it polite (Could I have a window seat, please?); then ask 'Can I see your passport?' and the class answers 'Here you are.'
- Exit task: on a slip of paper, students write one polite request and one hotel problem, e.g. 'Could I have an aisle seat, please?' / 'The TV doesn't work.'
Homework
Write a short dialogue (8–10 lines) at a hotel reception.
The guest checks in, makes two polite requests and explains one problem. Use phrases from the table.
Teacher notes
- If you have no audio, read the dialogues with a confident student; this also models the friendly intonation.
- Online adaptation: put pairs in breakout rooms and send role cards privately in the chat.