OBJECTIVES:
To revise vocabulary related to holiday types.
To present and practise the language of holiday activities.
To give the students speaking practice using travel and holidays as the theme.
To practise the language of persuading.
To practise the language needed to work in a travel agency.
STUDENT LINGUISTIC LEVEL: A2-B2
TIMING: 40-60 minutes (or 2 separate lessons where part A is done in the first and part B is done in the second. If the students are already familiar with travel agencies and the necessary language, then go straight to part B)
Background information for teachers
World Tourism Day is celebrated internationally as a day to consider how people can benefit from tourism. Both the tourist and the people who supply services to the tourist can benefit. The activities below are to give students speaking practice while discussing tours and travelling as well as giving them a chance to persuade others to choose their tour.
STEPS:
Part A
1) Discuss with the students the types of holidays they like, have been on, would like to go on.
2) Discuss going to a travel agent’s and what happens there.
3) Brainstorm questions asked in an travel agency: where would you like to go, how much would you like to spend, is it safe to go there, is everything included?, etc
4) If there is time, create a dialogue together with the students.
5) Go to Part B.
Part B
1) Divide the class into pairs. Half are going to be tourists, the other half travel agents.
2) Organise the class so that each travel agency is seated separately from the others all around the room.
3) Tell the agencies to invent a name for their company; tell the tourists to decide on a few factors: their relationship – friends, a couple, with children or without; their age, their holiday budget. Give them the part of TOURIST on Worksheet 1.
4) Give the travel agencies one of the tours on Worksheet 1. Tell them their job is to sell their tour.
5) Tell the ‘tourists’ that they must go to each agency (if time is limited then only 3 agencies) and find out about the different tours available. They are looking for a 2-week holiday.
6) Set a time limit for the ‘sales’, 7 to 10 minutes. (depending on level and class)
7) The Tourists then go from agency to agency and discuss the holiday on offer within the allocated time limit.
8) At the end of the lesson, ask the tourists which holiday they chose.
9) The ‘winner’ is the agency able to sell their tour the most.
Extras
See Flash on English for Tourism published by ELI 2011 (ISBN9788853607102) for extra activities and articles to do with your students.