Should I use north and south in everyday directions?

Use directions the listener understands. This map uses north to make the starting position explicit. In a real conversation, a visible landmark can establish which way to face.

Does reaching the correct place mean my English was perfect?

No. It means the route worked in this exercise. Your partner may have understood an imperfect sentence or guessed a missing detail. Ask which instruction needed clarification.

Can I do the exercise alone?

Record a route, then follow the recording later using the arrow. Because you may remember the destination, this is rehearsal rather than an independent test of how another listener would understand you.

Yapr journalpractice giving directions in english with

Practice giving directions in English with a small map

Use three short routes to check starting direction, left and right turns, and whether your listener reaches the intended place.

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Ideas become conversation

Every language starts as a collection of sounds, then slowly begins to feel like instinct.

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In this article

Before giving a route, agree where the listener starts and which way they are facing. "Turn left" can send two people in opposite directions if they start facing different ways. Use the imaginary map below for a short speaking exercise. Each line connects two neighboring places. Travel only along those lines, and treat each place as a stopping point. This is a practice map, not directions to real streets.

The approach

Copy this map for both speakers

The top of the map is north. Give each person a copy so the listener can trace the route without seeing the speaker's finger.

                    NORTH
                      ^

Library -------- Park -------- Cinema
   |               |              |
   |               |              |
Bakery -------- Fountain ----- Museum
   |               |              |
   |               |              |
Station -------- Cafe -------- Market

For the first route, start at the Station facing north, toward the Bakery. Tell your partner the starting place and direction before giving any turns.

The BBC Skillswise map exercise asks learners to choose a start and finish and write instructions using commands. The map and routes here are original examples for speaking practice; they are not the BBC worksheet or a tested training program.

The approach

Give one short route without naming its destination

Privately choose the Museum as your destination. Ask your partner to trace these instructions while you read them aloud:

"Start at the Station, facing the Bakery. Go straight to the Bakery. Turn right and go to the Fountain. Keep going straight to the next place. Stop there."

Ask your partner where they stopped before revealing the answer. The answer is Museum. If they stopped at the Park, ask them to show where the route changed. At the Bakery, someone facing north turns east when turning right. From there, going straight through the Fountain continues east.

Try the route again in your own words. Naming a visible landmark can help specify when to turn, but keep the destination hidden for this exercise so the listener has to follow the route.

Pixel art conversation partners practicing together in a warm evening cafe — Real fluency grows in the pauses, reactions, and small moments that make a conversation feel alive.

The approach

Turn from the traveler's point of view

A map has a fixed top and bottom. A traveler changes direction. Use a small arrow drawn on scrap paper to represent the traveler and rotate it after each turn.

For example, at the Fountain facing the Museum, your traveler is facing east. Turning left points toward the Park. Turning right points toward the Cafe.

Say the instructions aloud as you rotate the arrow. You can pause between steps while learning. There is no time limit in this activity.

Avoid describing a turn from where you happen to be sitting across the table. The arrow represents the person following the route, even when their left is different from yours.

The approach

Try two more routes, then check the answers

Read each route to a partner who has not read the answer. Use a fresh starting position each time.

Route	Starting position	Instructions
A	Market, facing the Museum	Go straight to the Museum. Turn left and go to the Fountain. Turn right and go to the next place.
B	Library, facing the Park	Go straight to the Park. Turn right and go to the Fountain. Keep going to the next place. Turn left and go to the next place.

Route A ends at the Park: north to the Museum, west to the Fountain, then north. Route B ends at the Market: east to the Park, south through the Fountain to the Cafe, then east.

If you arrive elsewhere, compare one step at a time. First check the starting direction, then the place at which each turn happened. This separates a wrong turn from a missed landmark.

The approach

Let the listener interrupt

Once the basic routes work, let your partner ask questions whenever an instruction is unclear. "Do I turn at the Fountain?" is useful if they heard the turn but missed where it happens.

Answer the question before adding another step. If the listener is already at the wrong place, establish their current location and direction before continuing. Repeating instructions from the original starting point may not help them recover.

For a final round, make your own route with two turns. Write its answer before speaking, then check your partner's endpoint against it. Change roles so both people practice giving and following directions.

Explore Yapr for speaking practice. For an actual journey, check the route and current access conditions using reliable local information.

Quick answers

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