Teaching students how to give and follow directions in English is a great way to practice practical vocabulary and communication skills. However, simply teaching words like left, right, straight, and corner doesn't always give students enough opportunity to actually use the language.
Students need chances to ask questions, listen to another speaker, explain where something is, and respond to realistic situations.
If you're looking for ESL giving directions activities, here are five simple ways to turn directions practice into meaningful speaking practice.
⭐ 1. Practice With Real-World Situations
One of the easiest ways to make giving directions more engaging is to give students a situation that feels realistic.
Instead of simply asking students to repeat:
“Go straight. Turn left.”
Give them a reason to communicate.
For example:
A tourist needs to find a hotel.
Someone is looking for a restaurant.
A visitor needs to find a train station.
Someone needs directions to a bank.
A person is trying to find a bus stop.
Students can work with a partner and take turns asking for and giving directions.
This gives students a clear communication goal instead of simply practicing vocabulary in isolation.
⭐ 2. Use Giving Directions Role Plays
Role play is a simple way to turn directions practice into a speaking activity.
Give students a situation and ask them to act it out with a partner.
One student can ask for help while the other student gives directions. Then students can switch roles and try another situation.
For example:
Student A: “Excuse me. Can you tell me how to get to the train station?”
Student B: “Sure. Go straight and turn left at the corner.”
You can make the activity easier by modeling a conversation first. For students who need additional support, provide sentence starters they can use during the role play.
⭐ 3. Try Pair Work
Pair work gives students an opportunity to speak without requiring the entire class to participate in one conversation.
Give each pair a situation or role play prompt.
Students take turns asking and answering questions. Encourage them to give complete answers and add details rather than stopping after a one-word response.
You can also have students switch partners after each round so they practice the same language with different classmates.
This works especially well when you want to increase the amount of speaking practice happening during a lesson.
⭐ 4. Turn Directions Practice Into a Group Activity
Giving directions doesn't have to be limited to pairs.
For a larger speaking activity, put students into small groups of 3–5.
Give each student a different situation. One student asks their question while another student responds. Then rotate so different students have opportunities to speak.
You can also create a conversation chain.
Students sit in a circle. The first student responds to a question and then asks their own question to the next student. The activity continues around the group.
This creates repeated speaking opportunities while keeping the structure simple.
⭐ 5. Use Speaking Cards for Quick Directions Practice
Speaking cards are useful when you want students to begin speaking quickly without spending a lot of time explaining the activity.
Each card can contain a short situation that students need to respond to.
For example:
You see someone lost. Give directions to the nearest bus stop.
Or:
A tourist needs help. Explain how to get to a hotel.
Students can draw a card, read the situation, and respond to their partner.
You can make the activity more challenging by asking students to add follow-up questions or provide longer explanations.
⭐ How to Support Different ESL Learners
Not every student will be comfortable with open-ended speaking activities.
For students who need additional support, try:
Providing sentence starters
Modeling a short conversation first
Pairing students with stronger speakers
Reviewing familiar vocabulary before beginning
Allowing students to use a small amount of preparation time
For students who are ready for more of a challenge, encourage them to give longer explanations, ask follow-up questions, or develop the situation into a longer role play.
The Giving Directions Role Play Cards resource includes suggestions for both lower-level and higher-level learners, making it possible to adjust the activity to your classroom.
⭐ Make Giving Directions More Engaging
Once students understand the basic language, you can introduce simple variations to keep the activity fresh.
Try a timed challenge where students respond to as many cards as possible within a set amount of time.
You can also place cards face down and have students take turns choosing one before responding.
For a writing extension, students can write a short dialogue based on one of their conversations after completing the speaking activity.
These small changes allow you to reuse the same basic speaking activity in different ways.
🎁 Get a Free Giving Directions Speaking Activity
Looking for a ready-to-use resource to try these ideas with your students?
I've created a FREE Giving Directions Role Play Cards resource with 8 printable speaking situations.
Students can practice giving directions to places such as a bus stop, hotel, restaurant, train station, park, store, house, and bank.
The cards can be used for:
✔ Pair work
✔ Small-group speaking
✔ Conversation practice
✔ Role plays
✔ Quick speaking activities
Enter your email below to get the free Giving Directions Role Play Cards and start using them in your ESL classroom.
Looking for more speaking resources? Visit my TPT store for additional ESL activities and classroom resources.
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