Travel experiences.
Not where students want to go — where they have already been, and what it actually taught them.
Warm-up · ask three
- Where was the last place you traveled to?
- What is the one thing you always pack, no matter what?
- Would you rather return somewhere you love or risk somewhere new?
02
B2 course unit 2
Travel Experiences
These prompts reuse the travel and culture vocabulary from Unit 2, so students meet the same ten items in the reading, the workbook and here.
Let’s talk
Discussion questions
Project the generator and let it cold-call a question. Filter by level, then give a student 60 seconds to answer without stopping. Browse the full decks below.
Random question generator
Press “New question” to put one on the board.
Deck 1
Trips you have taken
- Describe the best trip you have ever taken. What made it work?B2
- Have you ever been somewhere that was nothing like you expected?B2
- What is the longest journey you have ever made?B2
- Tell us about a trip where something went badly wrong.B2
- Which trip changed how you see your own country?C1
Deck 2
Planning and packing
- Do you build a detailed itinerary or work it out as you go?B2
- Are you a light packer, or do you take everything?B2
- How much research do you do before you arrive somewhere?B2
- What is the best travel advice anyone has given you?B2
- Does planning a trip carefully protect the experience or ruin it?C1
Deck 3
Culture and difference
- Have you ever experienced culture shock? What caused it?B2
- What surprises visitors most about your country?B2
- How important is it to learn a few words of the local language?B2
- What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten while traveling?B2
- Can you ever really understand a place as a visitor?C1
Deck 4
Tourists and locals
- How can you tell a tourist trap before you walk into it?B2
- Is it better to visit famous landmarks or go off the beaten path?B2
- Have you ever felt like a tourist in your own city?B2
- Should popular cities limit the number of visitors they allow?C1
- Who should tourism actually benefit — visitors, businesses, or residents?C1
Deck 5
The bigger picture
- Does travel really broaden the mind, or does it just move you?C1
- Is a weekend getaway worth the environmental cost of the flight?C1
- Would you travel somewhere completely alone? Why or why not?B2
- Has social media changed the way people travel?B2
- What is the difference between a tourist and a traveler — or is there one?C1
Talk for longer
Useful language
The words students need to tell a travel story and give a real recommendation. Pre-teach a handful, then challenge them to slip three into the discussion or the debate.
Sentence starters
Scaffolding for B2 — finish the sentence about you.
Telling a travel story
Comparing places
Recommending
Reacting
Words & phrases
The unit’s target vocabulary — the same ten items as the workbook.
a detailed plan of a trip
“Our itinerary included three cities.”
a famous building or place
“The tower is a famous landmark.”
to visit interesting places as a tourist
“We went sightseeing all day.”
away from popular tourist places
“We found a village off the beaten path.”
to start a journey
“Let’s hit the road early tomorrow.”
the surprise of a very different culture
“I felt culture shock at first.”
the traditional food of a place
“I love trying the local cuisine.”
a short vacation
“We booked a weekend getaway.”
to relax and enjoy the feeling of a place
“We soaked up the atmosphere in the square.”
a place that overcharges tourists
“That restaurant is a tourist trap.”
Describing-a-place word bank
Quick words for the debate and the discussion.
Classroom debate
Trip Showdown
Two very different trips go head-to-head. Vote, watch the split — then make one student sell the winner and another rescue the loser.
Which trip would you choose?
Round 1
How to play: Read both trips, take a vote and tap the totals in. Then one student defends the more popular choice, and another argues why the loser is actually the better trip. Every argument needs a target phrase.
Model dialogue
Petra & Marco compare trips
Read it together, notice the underlined phrases, then act it out — and finally take on the roles below.
A shared kitchen, the week after the summer break. Two friends are swapping photos.
So how was Portugal? Your photos looked unreal.
Honestly, it was the best trip in years. We barely used the itinerary.
That surprises me. You normally plan everything to the minute.
I know. This time we just hit the road and decided each morning.
Did you do the famous places?
Some. But the small towns off the beaten path were the real thing.
And the food?
Incredible. We ate the local cuisine every night and never repeated a dish.
I am jealous. Our week was one long tourist trap — crowded, expensive, exhausting.
That is what happens when you only visit the landmarks.
Next time I want to sit in a square and just soak up the atmosphere.
Then come with us in spring. Same plan: no plan.
Now plan a trip together
Student A - the culture seeker
You want to understand a place
Museums, markets, language, food, conversations with locals. A trip is wasted if you leave knowing nothing new about how people actually live.
Student B - the switch-off traveler
You want to rest
You work hard all year and a trip is for recovering. Sun, good food, a book, and nothing on the schedule before noon.
Your mission
- Agree on one destination you both genuinely want to visit.
- Decide how you will travel there and where you will stay.
- Each choose one thing the other must do, and defend it.
- Present your trip to the class in 60 seconds — use at least three phrases from the Useful language section.
Wind down & write
Choose your writing task
Pick one task to finish in class or as homework. Every option pushes the unit vocabulary into writing.
01
Describe the most memorable trip you have taken and explain what it taught you.
02
Write a review of a place you have visited for a travel website — be honest.
03
Some cities want to limit tourist numbers. Write an opinion piece arguing for or against.
04
Write an email advising a friend who is visiting your country for the first time.
05
Is mass tourism worth its cost to local communities? Write an essay giving your view.
Exit ticket · 60 seconds
Before you leave
Quick round-the-room close: each student answers in one sentence. A fast way to check the target language landed.
“Name one place you have added to your list today — and one word you will use to describe it.”