Giving Directions in British and American English
A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS
Easy and then more difficult practice of different directions language in the UK and US, including different names for places.
Lesson Plan Content:
Giving directions in British and American English
Match the directions on the left with the equivalents on the right.
- block of flats apartment
- car park apartment building
- chemist’s downtown
- cinema drugstore/ pharmacy
- city centre/ town centre first floor
- estate agent front yard
- first floor parking lot
- flat realtor
- front garden second floor
- ground floor theater/ movie theater
- high street across from the station
- ironmonger crosswalk
- junction expressway/ highway
- motorway gas station
- off license/ wine merchant hardware store
- opposite the station intersection
- pavement liquor store
- pedestrian crossing/ zebra crossing main street
- petrol station sidewalk
- phone box city hall
- post code streetcar/ trolley
- roundabout subway
- subway taxi stand
- taxi rank telephone booth
- town hall traffic circle/ rotary
- traffic lights traffic signals/ stoplights
- tram underpass
- underground (railway) zip code
There is always one British English version and one American English version in each pair above, so check that you have matched them that way.
Check your answers as a class or with the suggested answers below.
Suggested answers
- block of flats apartment building
- car park parking lot
- chemist’s drugstore/ pharmacy
- cinema theater/ movie theater
- city centre/ town centre downtown
- estate agent realtor
- first floor second floor
- flat apartment
- front garden front yard
- ground floor first floor
- high street main street
- ironmonger hardware store
- junction intersection
- motorway expressway/ highway
- off license/ wine merchant liquor store
- opposite the station across from the station
- pavement sidewalk
- pedestrian crossing/ zebra crossing crosswalk
- petrol station gas station
- phone box telephone booth
- post code zip code
- roundabout traffic circle/ rotary
- subway underpass
- taxi rank taxi stand
- town hall city hall
- traffic lights traffic signals/ stoplights
- tram streetcar/ trolley
- underground (railway) subway
Ask about any which you don’t understand, don’t know how to pronounce, think might have different meanings, etc.
Without looking above, write the British English of each American expression below.
- apartment building
- parking lot
- drugstore/ pharmacy
- theater/ movie theater
- downtown
- realtor
- second floor
- apartment
- front yard
- first floor
- main street
- hardware store
- intersection
- expressway/ highway
- liquor store
- across from the station
- sidewalk
- crosswalk
- gas station
- telephone booth
- zip code
- traffic circle/ rotary
- underpass
- taxi stand
- city hall
- traffic signals/ stoplights
- streetcar/ trolley
- subway
-----------------------------------cover, fold or cut--------------------------------------
Hint: The British versions should be in alphabetical order.
Key words
Use these key words to help with the brainstorm task above. Most need to be combined with other words.
agent block box estate garden
ground high iron- license motor-
off pedestrian post rank round-
street town under- zebra
Check above. Other versions are possible, so check if you wrote something different.
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