In the Lost Tourist ESL activity, students role-play a conversation between a lost tourist and a helpful local.
Setup
Divide the class into two groups.
Activity
- Half the students play the role of lost tourists, the other half busy locals. Students stand up, mingle and interact with each other in these roles.
- The tourists have to get the attention of a local and ask them politely for information, using the target language. This information is usually directions, but could also include opening hours and cost as follow up questions.
- The locals have to reply by giving that information. You could also encourage them to give recommendations or to be less helpful if the tourist isn’t polite.
- After the students have interacted with a few different partners, they swap roles and repeat.
Target Language
The Lost Tourist ESL activity is great because it models a real-life situation students might find themselves in. The main focus of the activity is using indirect questions to be polite, suited to intermediate level students.
However, you could also use it to practise giving directions. Students should choose different places that they want to go to (the train station, park etc.) and invent directions to those places.
As the name suggests, this activity fits well with the topic of travel. It is often incorporated into the fun extended activity Class Trip, in which you guide your students through a series of related tasks.
For more role play practice, try our interactive Role Play Generator.
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