How do you ask for directions in English?

Start with a polite question, such as 'Excuse me, where is the library?' If the answer isn't clear, ask a follow-up like 'Could you say that again, please?' or 'Do I turn left or right?' to confirm the starting point and the turn.

What does 'go past' mean in English directions?

'Go past' means continue beyond a landmark without entering it. For example, 'go past the office' means you keep walking beyond the office door - you do not go inside.

How do you give clear directions in English?

Name the starting point and which way the person is facing, give one instruction at a time in order (go straight, turn left, turn right), and use a landmark to confirm they're on the right route.

What's the difference between 'next to' and 'opposite' in English?

'Next to' means two things are right beside each other, like two neighbouring doors. 'Opposite' means two things face each other across a space, like doors on either side of a corridor.

Lesson 16 Foreign Language · Communication · Spatial Literacy

Lost in the School: Asking for and Giving Directions

A visitor needs the library - which way? Discover how simple English words give someone a route they can actually follow, check an AI-suggested route against a real school plan, then create and share your own direction card.

🕐 ~45 min total

📋 11 activities

🧭 3 investigation groups

🏅 DigComp badge

✦ Start Task 1 ↓ See all tasks

Phases

Activities

~45m

Duration

Investigation Groups

DigComp competences

1.2 - Evaluating digital content 2.1 - Interacting through digital tech 2.4 - Collaborating through digital tech Badge: Intercultural Communication L1

Lesson overview

A visitor to the school asks for the library, and two helpers give conflicting directions. Students discover that a helpful direction needs a starting point, a shared viewpoint, and a landmark - then build their own vocabulary for giving and checking directions in English.

You'll compare direction phrases and polite clarifying questions, then split into three investigation groups - the School Plan Detectives (reading a real source of truth, School Plan M1), the AI Route Checkers (critically verifying an AI-suggested route against that plan), and the Visitor Guides (simplifying language, building a wordless visual route, and spotting cultural misunderstandings) - before reconvening to reflect on your own voice as a guide.

The lesson ends with a Visitor Direction Card you create and share, a collective Finding Our Way Wonder Map, and a closing Wonder Quiz with a personalised completion card.

Frequently asked questions

What does "go past the office" mean when giving directions?

It means continue beyond the office door without entering it - the office is a landmark you pass on the way, not your destination.

How do you ask for directions politely in English?

Use a clear, polite question such as "Where is the library, please?" or, if an instruction is unclear, "Where should I turn, please?" or "Could you say that again, please?"

What makes a set of directions easy for a visitor to follow?

Name the starting point, state which way the visitor is facing, use a clear landmark such as a junction or a named room, and invite a clarifying question if anything is unclear.

What is the difference between "next to" and "opposite" when giving directions?

"Next to" means directly beside something, while "opposite" means facing it from across a space, such as the other side of a corridor.

Your learning journey - 11 tasks across 5 phases

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Phase 1

Anticipation - One visitor, two conflicting directions

1 task

🧭

Task 1 · Phase 1

One Visitor, Two Directions

A visitor asks for the library. Two helpers give different directions. Pause, picture the scene, vote on a diagnostic poll, then journal your first thought.

📸

Phase 2

Encounter - The vocabulary of direction

2 tasks

🖼️

Task 2 · Phase 2

Words That Move Us

Reveal 12 direction phrases, earn the Direction Explorer badge, then explain one phrase in your own words and answer a quick check.

🔀

Task 3 · Phase 2

Which Direction Helps?

Compare a literal instruction, an AI response, a human clarifying question and a context-aware version - which one actually helps?

🔬

Phase 3

Investigation - 3 differentiated group investigations

3 tasks

🗺️

Task 4 · Phase 3

Group A - School Plan Detectives

Read School Plan M1, answer 3 questions about the route to the library, then post your 3-step protocol to the Discovery Wall.

🤖

Task 5 · Phase 3

Group B - AI Route Checker

Ask an AI chatbot for a route, then complete a mandatory AI verification record against School Plan M1 - accurate, incomplete, or misleading?

🧑‍🤝‍🧑

Task 6 · Phase 3

Group C - Guide a New Visitor

Simplify a formal message, build a wordless visual route with icons, then flag 3 ways directions can be misunderstood - and their solutions.

💭

Phase 4

Reflection - Your own voice as a guide

1 task

💭

Task 7 · Phase 4

My Voice as a Helpful Guide

A quiet pause, then complete "I can guide a visitor by… because…", save a phrase you now feel confident using, and self-assess.

📡

Phase 5

Creation & Sharing - Build, share, and the Wonder Quiz

4 tasks

🗺️

Task 8 · Phase 5

Create a Visitor Direction Card

Combine a confident phrase, a route symbol, and a full direction message into a card a new visitor could hold and follow.

📣

Task 9 · Phase 5

Share and Follow the Route

Present your direction card, then use the Wonder Feedback Protocol to respond to classmates' route cards with curiosity.

🗺️

Task 10 · Phase 5

Finding Our Way Wonder Map

Add one starting point, turn, landmark or question to the class Finding Our Way Wonder Map - what stayed with you today?

🏁

Task 11 · Phase 5

Wonder Quiz

A 5-question closing quiz on giving and checking directions, then your personalised completion card and DigComp badge.

Ready to help a visitor find their way?

Start Task 1 and work through the journey at your own pace. Each task unlocks the next - from a conflicting pair of directions to a visitor card you create and share.

🏅 Complete all 11 tasks to earn the Intercultural Communication & Digital Language Literacy - Level 1 DigComp badge

🧭 Start the journey