Finding Places and Giving Directions in Town.

Moving around a town or city in another country can be stressful, so this lesson gives you the English you need to feel more confident. You look at simple maps, street photos and signs and learn common place names such as bank, post office, chemists, station and high street. You listen to people asking for and giving directions and notice key phrases like go straight on, turn left, opposite and next to. You practise using prepositions of place such as in front of, behind and between to describe exactly where things are. Short role plays help you ask for help politely and respond when someone asks you. By the end of the lesson you can ask for and follow basic directions, describe your neighbourhood and help visitors find important places.

1. Arriving in town and learning place names.

Imagine you arrive in a new English town. You come out of the station with your suitcase. You are a bit tired, a bit excited, and you want to find important places. Maybe you need a bank, a cash machine, a chemist, a supermarket or the bus station. In this block we will focus on the basic words you need for places in town, so that signs and simple maps start to make sense. I will show you a short description of a town centre with common places and you will read it carefully. Then you will answer a few questions in your own words. Do not worry about perfect grammar. The most important thing is that you understand the vocabulary and can write simple sentences. As you read, try to picture the town in your mind. Look for words you already know and connect new words with the situation. This will help you remember them when you travel.

A first walk around an English town.

You have just arrived in a small English town called Greenfield. You walk out of the station and look around. In front of you there is the High Street. On the High Street there are many useful places.

On the left, there is a big supermarket. Next to the supermarket there is a small café and a bakery. On the right, opposite the supermarket, there is a bank with a cash machine. Beside the bank there is the post office.

If you go straight on, you see the bus station at the end of the road. Behind the bus station there is a small park. In the park there is a playground for children and a bench where you can sit. Near the park there is a chemist and a newsagent.

These are all very common places in a British town or city. When you travel, you often need to find them quickly. It is useful to know the English words, so that you can understand signs and ask people for help.

Here are some key words from the text above:

• station
• High Street
• supermarket
• bank / cash machine
• post office
• bus station
• park
• chemist

Read the short description again and imagine you are standing outside the station, looking at the High Street.

Mini-task.

Now you will read a short text about Greenfield again in the activity and answer some simple questions. Use the town picture in your head to help you.

Practice & Feedback

Read the short text about Greenfield town centre in the box carefully. Then answer these three questions in full sentences:

1. Where is the bank in Greenfield?
2. What is next to the supermarket?
3. What can you find behind the bus station?

Write your answers as 3–5 clear sentences. Try to use the words next to, opposite, in front of or behind where possible. Do not worry if you are not sure; guess from the context. After you write, check basic things: capital letter at the start of a sentence and a full stop at the end. Clara will check if you understood the text and will help you correct or improve your sentences.

2. Asking for directions politely in the street.

Now that you know some common places in town, let us focus on how to **ask for directions** politely. When you are lost, the first words are very important. In English, we almost always start with something like, "Excuse me" to sound friendly. Then we ask a simple question, for example, "Excuse me, where is the station?" or "Excuse me, how do I get to the museum?". In this block you will listen to a short conversation in the street between a tourist and a local person. The tourist wants to find the museum. While you listen, do not worry about every word. Listen for the main question and for place words like station, bus stop or traffic lights. After that, you will see some support on the screen and then answer a few questions about what you heard. This will help you notice polite phrases and typical questions that you can recycle when you travel.

Key phrases for asking directions.

When you want to ask someone in the street, it is important to be polite. Start with a small polite phrase, then your question.

Useful polite starts:

• Excuse me, …
• Sorry, could you help me …?

Then add your question. Here are some very common patterns:

• Excuse me, where is the station?
• Excuse me, is there a cash machine near here?
• Sorry, how do I get to the museum?
• Excuse me, can you show me on the map?

You can also add please at the end to sound extra polite:

• Excuse me, where is the bus station, please?

In the audio for this activity, you will hear a tourist use some of these phrases. Try to notice:

1. The first polite word or phrase.
2. The question they use to ask the way.
3. Any place words you recognise.

Quick listening strategy.

Before you listen, read the questions in the activity below. This will tell you what information to listen for. During the first listen, just try to understand the situation: Who is speaking? Where are they? What place do they want to find? If you like, you can listen a second time to catch more detail.

You do not need to write long answers. Short, clear sentences are perfect at this level.

Practice & Feedback

First, listen to the short street conversation in the audio box. You will hear a tourist and a local person near Greenfield station. Then answer these questions in 3–5 short sentences:

1. What place does the tourist want to find?
2. What is the first polite phrase the tourist uses?
3. What question do they ask to get directions?

Write full sentences, for example, The tourist wants to find… or The tourist says "Excuse me". If you do not understand every word, just write what you think you heard. After you write, read your answers again and check basic spelling. Clara will tell you if you understood the main ideas and will help you correct your English politely.

3. Giving simple directions with clear steps.

You have now heard how to ask for directions politely. The next step is to give clear, simple directions when someone asks **you** for help. For this, we normally use very clear step by step language in the imperative, for example, "Go straight on", "Turn left" or "Take the second right". We also use landmarks, such as the bank, the post office, or the park, to make the route easier to follow. In this block, you will look at a small map and some model directions from the station to the museum. I will highlight the most useful chunks for giving directions. Then you will write your own short set of directions from one place to another, using phrases like "Go straight on", "Turn right at the lights" and "It is on the corner". Focus on being clear and logical, not on long sentences.

Useful chunks for giving directions.

When someone asks you, "How do I get to the museum?" you can answer with a small sequence of steps.

Common chunks:

• Go straight on.
• Go straight on along the High Street.
• Turn left at the lights.
• Turn right at the crossroads.
• Take the second right.
• It is on the corner.
• It is opposite the bank.
• It is next to the chemist.
• It is about ten minutes on foot.

We often connect steps with then and after that:

> Go straight on, then turn left at the traffic lights. After that, take the second right. The museum is on the corner, opposite the park.

A small town map (imagine it).

Imagine this simple map of Greenfield:

• You are at the station.
• In front of you is the High Street.
• On the High Street, first you pass the bank and the post office on your right.
• At the traffic lights, there is a crossroads.
• The museum is on the left corner at the crossroads, opposite the park.

Model directions from the station to the museum:

> Go straight on along the High Street. Walk past the bank and the post office. At the traffic lights, turn left. The museum is on the corner, opposite the park. It is about ten minutes on foot.

Notice how the directions use:

• clear steps,
• landmarks (bank, post office, park),
• and position words (on the corner, opposite).

In the activity, you will write similar directions for a different route.

Practice & Feedback

Use the information from the model on the screen and in the text box. Imagine a friend is at the bus station in Greenfield and wants to go to the chemist on the High Street.

Write a short set of directions (3–5 sentences) from the bus station to the chemist. Use at least three of these chunks: Go straight on; Turn left; Turn right; Take the second right; It is on the corner; It is next to…. Try to include one landmark, for example the park or the supermarket, to make your directions clearer.

Do not worry if your map in your head is not perfect. Focus on clear English and logical order: first, then, after that, finally. Clara will check that your directions are easy to follow and will suggest small corrections to help you sound more natural.

4. Describing exact locations with prepositions.

To give good directions, it is not enough to say only left or right. You also need to describe exactly **where** a place is. For this, we use common prepositions of place such as *next to*, *between*, *opposite*, *in front of* and *behind*. These small words are very powerful, because they help people imagine the map in their head. In this block, we will focus on these prepositions. You will read a short description of some buildings in Greenfield town centre, and then you will write a few sentences about where things are. This is very similar to what you do in real life when you tell a friend, "The cash machine is next to the bank" or "The bus stop is in front of the hotel". Try to picture the street and really see the buildings and signs as you read.

Prepositions of place in town.

Here are some very useful prepositions of place:

• next to – very close, on one side
• between – in the middle of two things
• opposite – in front of, on the other side of the street
• in front of – before something, not behind it
• behind – at the back of something
• on the corner – at the place where two streets meet

Now look at some example sentences about a typical town:

• The chemist is next to the café.
• The post office is between the bank and the newsagent.
• The park is opposite the museum.
• The bus stop is in front of the hotel.
• The car park is behind the supermarket.
• The pub is on the corner of King Street and High Street.

Notice that these prepositions usually come after the verb to be:

> The museum is opposite the park.

In the activity, you will read a short text describing a street, then write your own sentences to show that you can use these prepositions correctly.

Small tip.

When you learn a new preposition, always learn it inside a sentence, not alone. For example, remember "It is next to the bank" instead of just "next to". This makes it much easier to use the word in real conversations.

Practice & Feedback

Read the description of King Street carefully. Then write 4–6 sentences describing where different places are. Use at least four of these prepositions: next to, between, opposite, in front of, behind, on the corner.

For example, you can write sentences such as The bank is opposite the park. or The café is between the chemist and the bookshop. Try to be accurate and imagine the street when you write. Start each sentence with a capital letter and end with a full stop. Clara will check if you are using the prepositions correctly and will help you improve any strange or unclear sentences.

5. Helping a friend by chat with directions.

You will often give directions **by message**, not only face to face. For example, a friend might send you a text saying, "I am at the station. How do I get to your flat?" In this situation, we usually write several short messages, not one very long text. We can still use the same chunks you have learned: *Go straight on*, *Turn left*, *It is opposite the park*, and so on. In this block, you will see a model chat between two friends. One friend is visiting Greenfield and cannot find the flat. The other friend sends clear text messages with directions from the station. After reading the example, you will write your own short chat helping a different friend find a place in town. I will ask you to write in a chat style, with one or two sentences per line, so that it feels like a real conversation on your phone.

Directions in a chat conversation.

Look at this example WhatsApp-style chat between Sam and Alex:

> Sam: Hi, I am at the station. How do I get to your flat?

>

> Alex: Hi! No problem. Go straight on along the High Street.

>

> Alex: Walk past the bank and the post office.

>

> Alex: At the traffic lights, turn right into King Street.

>

> Alex: My flat is on the corner, opposite the park.

>

> Sam: OK, go straight, then turn right at the lights.

>

> Sam: Opposite the park?

>

> Alex: Yes, that is right. It is next to the café.

>

> Sam: Great, see you in a minute!

Notice some things:

• The messages are short and clear.
• Alex uses the same useful chunks you have learned: Go straight on; Walk past…; Turn right; on the corner; opposite the park; next to the café.
• Sam repeats part of the directions to check he understands.

When you write directions in a chat, you can send several small messages. This makes the steps easier to follow.

In the activity, you will imagine a similar chat and write your answers as if you are texting a friend.

Practice & Feedback

Imagine your friend Maria is visiting your town. She sends you this message: "Hi, I am at the bus station. How do I get to the museum?"

Write a short chat-style reply to Maria. Write as if you are on WhatsApp or another messaging app. Send your directions in 3–6 short messages, each on a new line. For example:

> Go straight on along the High Street.

>

> Walk past the bank.

Use at least three of these chunks: Go straight on; Turn left; Turn right; Take the second right; It is on the corner; It is opposite…; It is next to…. Try to be friendly and clear. Clara will answer you as Maria: she will follow your directions, say if she understands, and also correct your English gently so that your messages are natural.

6. Final task describing your area and giving directions.

You have practised place words, polite questions, simple directions and prepositions of place. Now it is time to put everything together in one final small task. In real life, you often need to do two things: describe your neighbourhood and explain how to get to an important place, for example your home, your hotel or your favourite café. In this block, you will write a short text in two parts. First, you will describe your own area using words like bank, park, chemist and so on, together with prepositions such as *next to* and *opposite*. Then, you will write clear directions from a transport point, such as the station or bus stop, to your home or another key place. Use the example on the screen as a model, but change the details to your real life. Do not worry if your town is small or if you only have a few places. Simple, real information is perfect. After you write, Clara will give you detailed feedback to help you sound confident and clear in English.

Bringing it all together.

You are now ready to describe a real place and give practical directions. Here is a short model text combining everything:

> I live in a quiet area near the city centre. There is a small park in front of my flat and a supermarket next to the park. Opposite the supermarket there is a bank with a cash machine. The bus stop is in front of the bank and there is a chemist on the corner of the street.

>

> From the station you can walk to my flat. Go straight on along the High Street. Walk past the post office and the church. At the traffic lights, turn right. Take the second left. My building is on the left, opposite a café. It is about ten minutes on foot.

This text has two parts:

1. Description of the area using prepositions of place.
2. Directions using clear steps and landmarks.

Your task.

You will now write your own version. Think of a real place in your life. It could be:

• your home,
• your workplace,
• your school,
• or a favourite café or park.

Then think of the nearest transport point, for example the station, the bus stop or the main road.

You will explain:

1. What is in your neighbourhood (places in town + prepositions of place).
2. How to get from the transport point to your special place (directions + landmarks).

Practice & Feedback

Write one short text in two parts:

1. Describe your neighbourhood in 3–5 sentences. Mention at least three places, for example, bank, park, supermarket, chemist, bus stop, station, café. Use prepositions of place like next to, opposite, in front of, behind, on the corner, between.
2. Give directions from the nearest station, bus stop or main road to your home, workplace or another important place. Write 3–6 sentences using chunks such as Go straight on, Turn left, Turn right, Take the second right, It is on the corner, It is next to the….

Try to make your writing clear and realistic. Imagine you are writing to a visitor who does not know your town. When you finish, read your text again and check for capital letters, full stops and basic spelling. Clara will give you detailed feedback and a more natural model using your ideas.