Let's Take the Subway

Elementary (A1-A2) 20 minutes
ESL Subway Travel Activity preview for Elementary (A1-A2) with pair work and information gap speaking using a subway map

ESL Subway Travel Activity - Speaking: Information Gap, Communicative Practice - Pair Work

In this free subway travel activity, students practice asking for and giving directions using a subway system map to help them learn language for getting around on a train or subway. In pairs, students...

ESL Subway Travel Activity - Speaking: Information Gap, Communicative Practice - Pair Work In this free subway travel activity, students practice asking for and giving directions using a subway system map to help them learn language for getting around on a train or subway. In pairs, students take turns asking for and giving directions from one subway station to another using a subway system map and language from a box. Students listen to their partner's directions, follow them, and write the destination station name on their map. Afterwards, students check their answers by comparing maps with their partner.
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Madrid to Barcelona

Pre-intermediate (A2) 25 minutes
ESL Train Travel Role-Play preview for Pre-intermediate (A2) with pair work, booking tickets, and communicative practice

ESL Train Travel Role-Play - Speaking Activity: Asking and Answering Questions, Sentence Completion, Communicative Practice - Pair Work

In this engaging train travel role-play activity, students ask and answer questions about rail travel information and practice booking train tickets. In pairs, one student...

ESL Train Travel Role-Play - Speaking Activity: Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Sentence Completion, Communicative Practice - Pair Work In this engaging train travel role-play activity, students ask and answer questions about rail travel information and practice booking train tickets. In pairs, one student takes on the role of a traveller going on a train journey with a friend. Their task is to find out train travel information and book tickets. The other student is a train station ticket agent. Their task is to answer questions and help book tickets. The traveller explains to the ticket agent which train they want to catch, when, and for how many people, and asks for information to complete sentences on their worksheet and book the tickets. The ticket agent uses the information on their worksheet to tell the traveller about the various train times, platform numbers and ticket prices. When the role-play has been completed, the two students swap roles, giving both students a chance to use the language for each role and to confirm the answers. Lastly, pairs role-play the situation in front of the class.
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Could you slow down, please?

Intermediate (B1) 25 minutes
ESL Taxi Language Game preview for Intermediate (B1) with pair work and matching taxi situations to vocabulary

ESL Taxi Language Game - Vocabulary: Matching - Pair Work

In this useful taxi language game, students race to match language with taxi-related situations. In pairs, students take turns turning over a situation card and reading out the taxi-related situation. Both students then race to find the appropriate taxi...

ESL Taxi Language Game - Vocabulary: Matching - Pair Work In this useful taxi language game, students race to match language with taxi-related situations. In pairs, students take turns turning over a situation card and reading out the taxi-related situation. Both students then race to find the appropriate taxi language card that corresponds to the situation. The first student to find the card, say the sentence, and place it on top of the situation card wins and keeps the cards. The student with the most pairs of cards at the end of the game wins.
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Getting Around Questionnaire

Intermediate (B1) 25 minutes
ESL Travel Questions Activity preview for Intermediate (B1) with group and pair work, unscrambling and asking questions

ESL Travel Questions Activity - Speaking: Unscrambling, Asking and Answering Questions - Group and Pair Work

In this insightful travel questionnaire activity, students form travel questions about different forms of local transport and then ask and answer the questions with a partner. First, in two groups, students put...

ESL Travel Questions Activity - Speaking: Unscrambling, Asking and Answering Questions - Group and Pair Work In this insightful travel questionnaire activity, students form travel questions about different forms of local transport and then ask and answer the questions with a partner. First, in two groups, students put words in the correct order to form questions about getting around by taxi and train or car and bus. Next, students read the travel questions and write down their answers. Students then pair up with someone from the other group and take turns asking their partner the questions, noting down their answers, and asking follow-up questions to gain more information. Finally, students tell the class what they found out about their partner.
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Taxi for Two

Intermediate (B1) 25 minutes
ESL Taxi Vocabulary Game preview for Intermediate (B1) with matching, forming sentences and communicative practice

ESL Taxi Vocabulary Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Matching, Forming Sentences, Communicative Practice - Pair work

In this creative taxi vocabulary game, students match words related to travelling by taxi with their definitions and then try to make a sentence a passenger or taxi driver would say using the word. In pairs...

ESL Taxi Vocabulary Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Matching, Forming Sentences from Prompts, Communicative Practice - Pair work In this creative taxi vocabulary game, students match words related to travelling by taxi with their definitions and then try to make a sentence a passenger or taxi driver would say using the word. In pairs, students take turns turning over one taxi-related word card and one definition card and reading them aloud. If the word or phrase matches with the definition, the student keeps the two cards and scores a point. The student then tries to make a sentence a passenger or taxi driver would say using the word or phrase on the card for an extra point. If the student is able to do this, they have another turn. If the cards don't match, the student turns them back over. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins.
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The Bus Stop

Intermediate (B1) 25 minutes
ESL Bus Travel Activity preview for Intermediate (B1) with pair work, question unscrambling, and matching

ESL Bus Travel Activity - Speaking: Unscrambling, Asking and Answering Questions, Matching - Pair Work

In this free bus travel activity, students practice asking and answering questions related to taking the bus. First, in two groups, students unscramble words to form bus travel questions. Next, students...

ESL Bus Travel Activity - Speaking: Unscrambling, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Matching - Pair Work In this free bus travel activity, students practice asking and answering questions related to taking the bus. First, in two groups, students unscramble words to form bus travel questions. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group. Students then take turns asking the bus travel questions to their partner, who responds with an appropriate answer from their worksheet, writing the corresponding question number next to the reply. Finally, check the correct answers with the class. As an extension, students use the questions to create a bus travel dialogue that they present to the class.
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Bus and Train Board Game

Upper-intermediate (B2) 25 minutes
ESL Bus and Train Travel Board Game preview for Upper-intermediate (B2) with group work, multiple choice, and guessing vocabulary

ESL Bus and Train Travel Board Game - Vocabulary: Multiple Choice, Guessing - Group Work

In this productive bus and train board game, students practice vocabulary related to bus and train travel. In groups, students take turns picking up a card and asking the player to their right a bus or train...

ESL Bus and Train Travel Board Game - Vocabulary: Multiple Choice, Guessing - Group Work In this productive bus and train board game, students practice vocabulary related to bus and train travel. In groups, students take turns picking up a card and asking the player to their right a bus or train-related multiple-choice question. The player then guesses which of the three answers is correct. If the player's guess is correct, they roll the dice and move their counter along the board. If not, the player doesn't roll the dice. The first player to reach the finish wins the game.
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On the Road

Upper-intermediate (B2) 30 minutes
ESL Driving Vocabulary Games preview for Upper-intermediate (B2) with matching, pelmanism, sentence building, and pair work

ESL Driving Vocabulary Games - Vocabulary and Speaking: Matching, Pelmanism, Forming Sentences, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work

Here are two useful driving vocabulary games that help students practice words related to driving. Students begin by playing a pelmanism game to practice...

ESL Driving Vocabulary Games - Vocabulary and Speaking: Matching, Pelmanism, Forming Sentences from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work Here are two useful driving vocabulary games that help students practice words related to driving. Students begin by playing a pelmanism game to practice the driving vocabulary. In pairs, students take turns turning over one gap-fill sentence card and one driving word card. If the driving word completes the sentence, the student reads the sentence aloud, keeps the two cards, and plays again. If the driving word and sentence don't match, the student turns the two cards back over. The student with the most pairs of cards at the end of the game wins. After that, students play a game in which they make sentences using the driving vocabulary. Students take turns picking up a vocabulary card and reading the driving word to their partner, who has 20 seconds to make a meaningful sentence with the word. If the student is able to make a sentence, they win and keep the card. If not, the card is placed at the bottom of the pile. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
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Right on Track

Upper-intermediate (B2) 20 minutes
ESL Train Travel Game preview for Upper-intermediate (B2) with pair work, matching, and sentence formation

ESL Train Travel Game - Vocabulary: Matching, Forming Sentences - Pair Work

Here is a fast-paced train travel vocabulary game to help students practice language related to travelling by train. In pairs, students race to line up sentence beginning cards and match each one with a suitable ending card. When pairs have lined...

ESL Train Travel Game - Vocabulary: Matching, Forming Sentences - Pair Work Here is a fast-paced train travel vocabulary game to help students practice language related to travelling by train. In pairs, students race to line up sentence beginning cards and match each one with a suitable ending card. When pairs have lined up all their sentences, they complete the sentences by joining the sentence halves together with train travel word cards. The first pair to correctly complete all their sentences wins the game.
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Using Travel and Transport Phrases

Travel and transport phrases are the words and expressions English speakers use to navigate real-world travel situations, whether that means buying a train ticket, hailing a taxi, or asking which bus to take. Students who lack this language can find themselves silent or guessing in situations where they need to act fast, so it is one of the most practical areas of functional English to teach.

This page covers English words and phrases for getting around across four levels from A1 to B2, with nine activities including information gap tasks, role-plays, vocabulary games, and a board game, with two free downloads.

The table below shows common travel and transport situations, the typical speaker, and an example phrase for each.

SituationTypical SpeakerExample Phrase
Asking for subway directions Traveller 'Excuse me, which line do I take to get to Central Station?'
Buying a train ticket Passenger 'I'd like two tickets to Barcelona, please. What time is the next train?'
Taking a taxi Passenger 'Could you take me to the airport? And could you slow down, please?'
Taking a bus Passenger 'Does this bus go to the city center? How much is the fare?'
Driving or road travel Driver or passenger 'Take the second turning on the left and stay on the main road.'
Dealing with a travel problem Traveller 'I think I got on the wrong train. How do I get back to the main station?'

How to Use Travel and Transport Phrases

Asking for Directions Clearly: State your destination first and then ask a specific question rather than a general one, since 'Excuse me, does this bus go to the city center?' gets a faster and more useful answer than 'Excuse me, can you help me?'

Explaining a Travel Problem: Describe what happened and then ask what to do next, keeping the message short and specific so the other person can help immediately, as in 'I think I got on the wrong train. How do I get back to the main station?'

Getting Information at a Ticket Office: Ask one question at a time and use indirect question forms to sound polite, as in 'Is there a direct train to the airport, or do I need to change?' rather than firing several questions at once.

3-Step Framework for Teaching Travel and Transport Phrases

1. Start With a Real Navigation Task: Begin with a map-based information gap activity where pairs take turns giving and following subway directions using a subway system map and language from a box. The listening student follows the directions on their map and writes the destination station name on their map. It is a low-pressure way to get students using travel language with a real purpose from the very first minute.

2. Build the Vocabulary Communicatively: Move to a vocabulary game that builds the words students need to talk about travelling by taxi. Students play a matching memory game with taxi-related word and definition cards, and every time they make a match they earn an extra point by making a sentence a passenger or taxi driver would say using that word. That production step is what pushes students from recognizing the vocabulary to actually using it.

3. Put It All Together in a Role-Play: Finish with a role-play that puts the language into a full real-world scenario. One student plays a traveller who needs to book train tickets and the other plays a ticket agent. The traveller explains which train they want to catch, when, and for how many people, then asks for information to complete sentences on their worksheet and book the tickets. Both students swap roles at the end so everyone gets practice on both sides of the conversation.

Common Mistakes with Travel and Transport Phrases

Using the Wrong Preposition for Transport: Students often use 'on' with all forms of transport, including cars and taxis, when English uses 'by' to describe the general means of travel and requires no article before the transport noun. Wrong: 'I came here on taxi.' Correct: 'I came here by taxi.'

Confusing Ticket Collocations: Students often say 'do a ticket' or 'make a ticket' when talking about purchasing one, transferring a general-purpose verb from their first language instead of using the correct English collocation. Wrong: 'I need to make a ticket to Madrid.' Correct: 'I need to buy a ticket to Madrid.'

Common Questions About Teaching Travel and Transport Phrases

What is a fun board game for practicing bus and train vocabulary?

The board game Bus and Train Board Game runs on a simple but competitive mechanic. In groups, students take turns asking the player to their right a multiple-choice question about bus or train vocabulary. A correct guess earns a dice roll and a move along the board. Get it wrong and you stay put. First to the finish wins.

What is an engaging game for teaching taxi phrases?

The game Could you slow down, please? is built around speed. Students take turns flipping a situation card and reading it aloud, then both race to grab the matching taxi language card. The first to find it, say the sentence, and place it on the situation card takes the pair. The student with the most pairs at the end wins.

What is a good speaking activity for bus travel English?

The free activity The Bus Stop starts with students unscrambling bus travel questions in groups, so every student arrives at the speaking stage knowing what the questions mean. They then pair up and take turns asking them, with each partner matching the question to the correct answer on their worksheet and writing the question number next to it.

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