When you're lost in a new country and your phone is dead, the only thing standing between you and your destination is whether you can ask a stranger for help AND understand the answer. This Giving Directions role play pack gives adult ESL students the language and the confidence to handle those moments before they happen, not while they're standing on a street corner trying not to panic.

Asking for directions sounds simple. It isn't when you're still building your English, not when directions can come back fast and full of landmarks you don't recognize yet, and not when the person helping you is already walking away as they talk. For students who are new to the area and still working out how the streets, transit systems, and landmarks fit together, this is a skill they'll need the first week they arrive and all those weeks after. 

Getting lost and being unable to ask for help is one of the most isolating experiences a new arrival can have. This pack helps make sure your students are ready in case that moment comes.

WHAT'S INSIDE the 27-page ROLE PLAY PACK:

• ✅ Teacher pages — a full lesson plan covering goals, engagement strategies, study sections, previewing, and how to use scripts and scenario cards
• ✅ Anticipation page— statements related to the theme for students to reflect on and rate on a scale of 1–5, designed to spark discussion and get students thinking about their own experiences before the role play begins
• ✅ Idioms/expressions handout — common idioms and expressions related to giving directions, with brief definitions
• ✅ Essential vocabulary handout — relevant words and phrases for discussing the theme, reading scripts, creating role plays, and participating in discussion
• ✅ Conversation matching worksheet — students match scrambled lines to build a smooth, natural-sounding two-person dialogue; this is the easier version of the following
• ✅ Conversation numbering worksheet — students number scrambled lines to build a smooth, natural-sounding two-person dialogue; this is the harder version of the previous
• ✅ Dialogue prompts — structured prompts that give students ideas for what to say and when, without scripting the language for them; each prompt pair shares a half-page
• ✅ Scripts — 7 shorter scripts where memorization is possible; 7 long scripts for use as reader's theater or as models for student script writing
• ✅ Scenario cards — 4 sets of character cards for impromptu role plays or script writing

THIS IS DESIGNED FOR YOUR ADULT ESL STUDENTS

Every scenario, every script, and every conversation in this pack was written with adult students in mind. That means no childish situations. There are the real-life moments your students are already facing or will face soon, like getting lost on the way to a new job, asking for help inside a large building, and understanding directions given quickly by someone who assumes they already know the area.

This role play activity pack also works well with older secondary students in life skills classes who are building the same practical communication skills. If your students are mature enough to run up against these situations on their own in the real world, they're the right audience for this pack.

This is included in my Adult ESL Role Plays Bundle.