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May 22, 2017
shopping activities efl lesson ideas

Shopping Activities [EFL Lesson Ideas]

shopping activities efl lesson ideas

 

In this post we are sharing one of our all time favorite EFL activities! Shopping activities are a staple in the EFL classroom. Whether you’re learning food vocabulary or count/non count nouns, this type of role-play can prove invaluable. 

 

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Who doesn’t love shopping? Well, maybe some people, but with this activity, everyone will have a great time.

 

Here at TEFLPros we know that fun, productive speaking activities can take a long time to refine. So, from time-to-time, we will share with you some of our favorite EFL activities from our TEFLPros Activity Book. We encourage you to adapt these activities to fit with your own lesson plans.

 

The following is a shopping role-play. You can use it at the end of a speaking lesson on clothing vocabulary, food vocabulary or even a lesson on negotiating and bargaining. We encourage you to make it your own 🙂

 

“Going to the Market”

 

To Begin

The teacher divides the class into pairs and tells them that they will be opening their own market shop for the day. The teacher should bring in photos of different vocabulary the students have studied. We think clothing or accessories are a good choice.

 

Then each pair can choose four items for their shop. One student from the pair takes the appropriate photos and brings them back to their desks.

 

Next, the teacher hands out a piece of paper to each pair. They must fold it in half and create a name tag that will be the sign for their shop.

 

Pair Work

The pairs then get to work. They must think of a shop name and choose prices for their goods. You could even ask your students to develop a brief strategy for selling their products if they are of a higher level of proficiency.

 

Once their time is up, the teacher models the speaking assignment with a strong student. One person is the customer and the other is the shop owner. The teacher demonstrates how the shop owner can promote their products and how the customer can negotiate for a better price.

 

Time to Speak

Scripting can be placed on the whiteboard for a few minutes as the activity begins. This is a good technique to use if extra support is needed.

 

Once the class is ready to start the activity, the teacher explains that half the shops are closed, and that those shop owners are now customers. The customers will go to each store that is open and negotiate to buy the things that they like. When a customer buys a product, they make a note of it and the shop must make a note of it also.

 

After the time limit for shopping is up, the shops that were closed will open for business and the other half of the class will become customers and go shopping. The winner is the store with the most items sold!

 

We hope you try out this going to the market activity in your EFL classroom!  

 

As Always,

Happy Teaching 🙂

 

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