Give Directions to Tourists in English: Landmarks and Clear Steps

Clarify the destination and need

Confirm which entrance or service the visitor wants. A route to the building may not answer an enquiry about a particular facility.

Verify current information

Opening hours, closures and access details can change. Say what needs checking rather than treating remembered information as current.

Use landmarks and sequence

Give a small number of clear steps. Avoid a long chain of left and right instructions without orientation.

Check the useful point

Ask whether the visitor knows the starting landmark or wants the route repeated. Do not test their English.

Work through an original example

Fictional map: reception faces a courtyard; the gallery entrance is beyond the fountain on the right.

Direction: “Cross the courtyard to the fountain. The gallery entrance is on your right just beyond it.”

Practise, check and try a changed task

Draw a fictional map with three destinations. Give one route while a partner traces it.

Change the starting point and repeat. Check access information separately instead of assuming the shortest route suits everyone.

• Check the meaning against the original task, rather than rewarding impressive wording alone.
• Keep one concrete observation and one next action; avoid treating a single attempt as a complete assessment.

Continue with focused practice

Use the exercise to identify the kind of feedback you need. The Hospitality and Tourism English programme page describes the current learning format and practice. Compare its syllabus with your own task, starting level and available time before choosing training. Course participation alone does not establish professional competence or guarantee an outcome.

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