Lesson goal: Students can talk about travel experiences and plans that changed, discuss the impact of mass tourism and use future-in-the-past forms such as was going to, was about to and would.
Add the lesson to get your own copies of the word set and exercises; the lesson opens in the builder, where you can adjust the steps and teach it.
Lesson plan
- 1
Warm-up
Questions to get the student talking and lead into the topic.
- What's the best trip you've ever been on, and what made it special?
- Do you prefer to plan every detail of a trip or decide as you go?
- What's at the top of your travel bucket list?
- Have you ever had a trip go completely wrong?
- 2
New words
Meet the words and practise them in games.
UnjumbleWhack-a-molewanderlust · overtourism · breathtaking · unspoilt · tourist trap · stopover · jet lag · backpacking · eco-tourism · get away from it all · travel light · picturesque · peak season · all-inclusive · bucket list
All words in the set - 3
Exercises
The lesson's words in context. Only you see the answers.
- Fill the gap
I always ___ light: one small backpack is enough for a fortnight.
Answer: travel - Fill the gap
The café opposite the cathedral charges €9 for a coffee — it's a real tourist ___.
Answer: trap - Fill the gap
We ___ about to board the plane when they announced that the flight had been cancelled.
Answer: were - Fill the gap
I had no idea at the time that this trip ___ change my life.
Answer: would / was going to / was to - Multiple choice
Which word describes a place that hasn't been damaged by development or mass tourism?
unspoiltpicturesqueall-inclusivebreathtaking - Multiple choice
We ___ go to Barcelona, but in the end we chose Lisbon because it was cheaper.
were going towouldwillare going to - Multiple choice
Why do people get jet lag?
Their body clock is disrupted by crossing time zones.They eat unfamiliar food on long flights.They spend too long waiting in airports.They travel during peak season. - True / false
Read: "One summer, the small coastal town received more visitors than it had in the previous decade. Locals, who had welcomed the first tourists warmly, soon found they could no longer afford to rent flats in the old town. The council has since limited the number of cruise ships that may dock each day." The council has banned cruise ships completely.
Answer: False - True / false
Read the text again. At first, local people were happy to see tourists.
Answer: True - Discussion question
Tell the story of a trip that didn't go to plan. Use at least three of: was going to, was about to, was supposed to, would.
Sample answer: We were supposed to fly to Rome on a Friday morning, and I was going to spend the weekend exploring the Forum. We were just about to leave for the airport when the airline texted to say the flight had been cancelled. At the time I was furious, but I didn't know that the replacement trip, by train through the Alps, would turn out to be far more memorable.
- Fill the gap
- 4
Speaking
The student answers using the new words.
- Is overtourism the fault of tourists, governments or the travel industry?
- Should popular cities charge visitors an entry fee?
- Is eco-tourism genuinely green, or just a marketing label?
- Backpacking or an all-inclusive resort: which shows you more of a country?
- Where would you go to get away from it all, and why?
- 5
Review
A quiz on the lesson's words. With a student, it's homework on their link.
Quiz