Giving Directions

Last Tuesday night, the Neighborhood House intermediate ESL class I teach worked on giving directions. We did a variety of activities, including a map information gap, role plays giving directions to a partner and writing about the various places in and around learners' hometowns. It was interesting to note what landmarks and surrounding cities they chose to feature in their paragraphs.

My favorite thing we tried was this puzzle activity from MLC's Reading for Life - it's on pages 10 - 11; sorry about the huge document! I enjoyed this creative way to get learners thinking about directions (north, south, east and west) while employing critical / analytical skills. All sixteen learners were absorbed in solving the puzzle. It was a good reminder that adults enjoy brainteasers as much as children.