Business travel: planning your first trip

Summary

This 90-minute ESL lesson for A2 learners explores Business travel: planning your first trip through a real article. Across 10 interactive exercises, you'll develop reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, practical communication, speaking skills — all built around authentic English content.

What you'll practise:

• 5 key vocabulary items with definitions and usage notes
• Grammar focus: Future simple with 'will' with examples and practice
• Real-world phrases for checking in at a hotel
• Gap-fill and cloze exercises to test vocabulary in context
• Matching exercise to connect terms with their meanings

Lesson activities (10 exercises)

Each exercise builds on the previous one. Work through them in order for the best learning experience.

1. Warm-up — Discussion questions to activate what you already know about the topic.
2. Comprehension — Answer questions to check your understanding of the main ideas and supporting details.
3. Vocabulary — Learn key words and expressions from the article, with definitions and usage notes.
4. Matching — Connect words, phrases, or concepts to their correct counterparts.
5. Grammar — Study Future simple with 'will' — explanation, examples, and key rules.
6. Fill the gaps — Complete sentences with the correct vocabulary. Drag and drop or type your answers.
7. Practical English — Learn phrases for checking in at a hotel — ready to use in real conversations.
8. Cloze passage — Fill in blanks within a connected text to practise vocabulary in context.
9. Discussion — Reflect on the topic and share your opinions using the language you've learned.

Vocabulary

This lesson introduces 5 key terms drawn directly from the article:

• Make a reservation — to book a room, a flight, or a table for a future time.
• Boarding pass — the special ticket you need to get on a plane.
• Attend a meeting — to go to a business event to talk with colleagues or clients.
• Pack a suitcase — to put your clothes and other items into a bag for travel.
• Travel itinerary — a plan of your journey, including your flight times and hotel details.

Grammar

This lesson focuses on Future simple with 'will'.

We use 'will' to talk about future events and schedules. It's very useful for discussing travel plans and itineraries for a business trip.

Examples from the lesson:

• The taxi will arrive at 6 AM to take us to the airport. — We use 'will' + the base form of the verb (e.g., will arrive, will go, will meet).
• She will not have time for lunch. She won't have time for lunch. — The negative form is 'will not'. We often use the short form 'won't' when speaking.
• Will the presentation be in the morning? — To make a question, we put 'will' before the subject.

Key rules:

• Use 'will' + base verb for all subjects (I, you, he, she, we, they).
• The short form for 'will not' is 'won't'.
• This tense is great for talking about a schedule or itinerary.

Practical English

Checking in at a hotel

When you arrive at your hotel, you need to go to the reception desk to get your room key. Here are some simple and polite phrases to help you check in smoothly.

Phrases you'll learn:

• "'Hello, I'd like to check in, please.'" — Use this to start the conversation.
• "'I have a reservation under the name [Your Name].'" — Use this to give your name.
• "'What time is breakfast?'" — Use this to ask about meal times.
• "'What's the Wi-Fi password?'" — Use this to ask for internet access.
• "'Could I have my room key, please?'" — Use this to ask for your key after you give your details.