Speaking Boost · A2 · Lesson 8 of 50
Speaking Boost A2 · Block 2: Home and Town

The hardest test for taxi drivers in the world

London taxi drivers learn 25,000 streets, and it changes their brains! Learn to ask for and give directions, find places on a town map, and help a lost tourist.

1

Warm-up

5 min
1.1

Finding your way

Answer each question with 2–3 sentences.

  1. Do you often get lost?
  2. Do you use paper maps or maps on your phone?
  3. How do you get from your home to work?
  4. Do you ask strangers for directions when you travel?
  5. Are you good at giving directions?
  6. What is the most confusing city you know?
2

Words and phrases

12 min
2.1

New words

Read each word and the example. Then use it to describe the way from your home to a shop.

2.2

Which word?

Choose the word that fits.

  1. at the bank, then go straight on.
  2. Don't turn. Just for two blocks.
  3. Be careful when you the street.
  4. the school and the café is on your right.
  5. Stop at the red light. The are on the corner.
  6. The pharmacy is on the of Main Street and Church Street.
  7. The bank is the park, on the other side of the street.
  8. I don't know this city. I always here!
2.3

Directions

Choose the right answer, then press Check answers.

  1. ← = turn
  2. → = turn
  3. ↑ = go straight
  4. to walk near something = to go
  5. to go to the other side = to
    the street
  6. It's easy to find. You can't
    it.
2.4

Useful phrases

Use these phrases to ask for and give directions.

  • Excuse me, how do I get to...?Перепрошую, як мені дістатися до...?Excuse me, how do I get to the train station?
  • Is it far from here?Це далеко звідси?Is the museum far from here?
  • Go straight on until...Йдіть прямо, поки не...Go straight on until you see the traffic lights.
  • Take the first / second turning on the left.Поверніть на першому / другому повороті ліворуч.Take the second turning on the left.
  • It's on your left / right.Це буде ліворуч / праворуч від вас.The hotel is on your right.
  • It takes about... minutes.Це приблизно ... хвилин.It takes about ten minutes on foot.
  • Sorry, I'm not from here.Вибачте, я не місцевий.Sorry, I'm not from here. Ask in the shop.
  • Could you show me on the map?Чи не могли б ви показати на карті?Could you show me on the map, please?
3

Read and react

8 min
3.1

The Knowledge

Read the text. Hover over the dotted words for help.

The hardest test for taxi drivers in the world

In London, if you want to drive a famous black taxi, you have to pass a very difficult test. It's called "The Knowledge".

Taxi drivers have to learn about 25,000 streets in the centre of London, and thousands of places: hotels, hospitals, theatres, restaurants and stations. They can't use a map or GPS in the test. An examiner says two places, and the driver has to say the best way from one to the other, street by street.

Many people study for three or four years! They drive around London on small motorbikes in the rain and snow to learn every street. Many people give up before they pass.

Scientists from University College London studied the brains of these taxi drivers. They found that one part of the brain, the hippocampus, which helps us remember places, was bigger in experienced taxi drivers. Learning all those streets really changed their brains!

Today most people use maps on their phones. But London taxi drivers still learn The Knowledge, and they are very proud of it.

3.2

True or false?

  1. "The Knowledge" is a test for London taxi drivers.
  2. Drivers can use GPS in the test.
  3. Many people study for three or four years.
  4. Everyone who starts passes the test.
  5. Learning the streets changed the drivers' brains.
3.3

What do you think?

  1. Could you pass "The Knowledge" for your city?
  2. Do you think GPS makes us worse at finding our way?
  3. Do you know your city well? Which part do you know best?
  4. Would you like to be a taxi driver? Why?
4

Grammar for speaking

10 min
4.1

Grammar for speaking

Imperatives

Giving directions and instructions: use the verb without "to".

Turn left. Go straight on. Cross the street. Don't turn right.

Polite questions

Asking for directions.

Excuse me, where is the bank? Can you tell me the way to the station? How do I get to...?

Prepositions of place

Where something is.

on the left / right, opposite, next to, between, on the corner, at the end of

More polite: Could you tell me where... is? Notice the word order: Where is the bank? → Could you tell me where the bank is? Careful: ✗ Could you tell me where is the bank?

4.2

Choose the right form

  1. left at the traffic lights.
  2. right here.
  3. Could you tell me where the station
    ?
  4. to the museum?
  5. The café is
    the corner.
  6. Go straight on
    you see a church.
  7. The bank is
    the park.
  8. Take the second turning
    the right.
4.3

Fix the mistake

Each sentence has one mistake. Type the correct words.

  1. Could you tell me where is the hotel? →
  2. Turning right at the bank. →
  3. Not cross the street here. →
  4. The shop is in the corner. →
  5. How I get to the station? →
  6. The hotel is opposite of the bank. →
4.4

Talk about it

Answer in detail. Use imperatives and prepositions.

  1. Explain how to get from your home to your favourite café.
  2. Explain how to get from the metro or bus stop to your home.
  3. Explain how to get from your work to the nearest pharmacy.
  4. Tell about a time you got lost. What happened?
  5. Describe where things are in your town centre.
  6. What do you do when you get lost in a new city?
5

Town map

8 min
5.1

Give directions

Use the map.

Main StreetPark Road Church StreetStation Road Bank Museum Train station Café Pharmacy Park Hotel School Supermarket Post office You are here

Start at "You are here" (bottom left, on Park Road). Give directions to: 1) the museum, 2) the post office, 3) the hotel, 4) the pharmacy. Then your teacher gives you directions, and you say where you are!

5.2

Describe the map

Answer using prepositions.

  1. What is opposite the park?
  2. What is between the school and the post office?
  3. What is on the corner of Main Street and Station Road?
  4. Which building is next to the café?
6

Personal questions

10 min
6.1

Part I: Me

  1. How do you usually get to work or school?
  2. Do you use a GPS app? Which one?
  3. Do you sometimes get lost in your own city?
  4. Do tourists often ask you for directions?
  5. Do you prefer walking, cycling or driving in your city?
  6. What is the most beautiful street in your town?
  7. Is it easy to find your way in your city?
  8. Do you have a good sense of direction?
6.2

Part II: Other people

  1. Who in your family has the best sense of direction?
  2. Who always gets lost?
  3. Do taxi drivers in your city know the streets well?
  4. How do older people find their way without phones?
  5. Which city did your friends find confusing?
  6. Do people in your city help tourists?
6.3

Part III: A bit deeper

  1. Are we worse at finding our way because of GPS?
  2. Should children learn to read paper maps?
  3. Is it better to ask people or use an app?
  4. What makes a city easy to visit?
  5. Should all street signs have English too?
7

Roleplay

12 min
7.1

The lost tourist

You

Local person

A tourist (your teacher) stops you in the street in your city (or on the map above). Help them:
  • ask where they want to go
  • give clear directions step by step
  • tell them how long it takes
  • recommend something to see on the way
Speak for at least 2 minutes in total. Use imperatives and prepositions.
Your teacher

Lost tourist

Asks, for example:
  1. Excuse me, how do I get to the museum?
  2. Is it far?
  3. Can I walk there?
  4. Where can I buy a ticket?
7.2

Lost in a new city

You

Tourist

Now YOU are lost in a new city (choose one: Rome, London, Tokyo). Call your friend (your teacher) who knows the city:
  • say where you are and what you can see around you
  • say where you want to go
  • listen and repeat the directions
  • check that you understood correctly
You do most of the talking. Use: I'm next to... · I can see... · So I turn left at...? · Is it far?
Your teacher

Friend on the phone

Asks and helps, for example:
  1. What can you see?
  2. Is there a big church near you?
  3. OK, go straight on and...
  4. Did you find it?
8

Homework

at home

Your homework score

Do all four exercises, then press Check all homework. Correct answers will appear next to your mistakes.

– / 30
H1

Complete with a word

turn leftstraight oncrossgo pasttraffic lightscorneroppositemap
  1. Please at the bank.
  2. Go for 100 metres.
  3. Be careful when you the road.
  4. You will a big church.
  5. Stop at the .
  6. The bakery is on the .
  7. The hotel is the station.
  8. Let's look at the on my phone.
H2

Imperatives, questions and prepositions

  1. right at the corner.
  2. here.
  3. Could you tell me where the bank ?
  4. to the park?
  5. The café is the corner.
  6. The bank is the park.
  7. Go straight on the roundabout.
  8. It's your left.
H3

Correct or incorrect?

Decide if each sentence is grammatically correct.

  1. Turn left at the traffic lights.
  2. Could you tell me where is the station?
  3. Don't turn right.
  4. The pharmacy is in the corner.
  5. How do I get to the museum?
  6. The bank is opposite of the park.
  7. Go past the school and turn right.
H4

Match the two halves

  1. Excuse me,
  2. Is the museum
  3. Go straight on until
  4. Take the second turning
  5. The hotel is
  6. Sorry, I'm not from here.
  7. Could you show me

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© Yevheniia Kolesnykova, Academy of Languages. All rights reserved. No copying or reuse without written permission.