Going shopping

You are inside a store, wanting to ask the salesperson whether the t-shirt is available in a bigger size or whether the shoes are available in a smaller size. How do you do that in English again? How do you ask for a specific size? The following example sentences will help you to find the right words when going shopping.

 

PHRASES FOR THE START OF A CONVERSATION

Salesperson

 

[-]  [+]
May I help you?/ Can I help you?
Are you looking for something in particular?
How can I help you?
Is someone looking after you?

Customer

To politely ask something, the customer can start his or her question with "Excuse me, …".

 

 

[-]  [+]
I am looking for a pair of trousers, sport shoes, a DVD…
Do you have any…?
Do you have these in a size smaller/ bigger, too?
Could you tell me where the … is /are?
Where can I find the…?
Do you sell…?
I need …
I’d like a bottle of milk, please.
Have you got any cheese?
Where can I buy a newspaper?
Where can I find some vegetables?
Do you work here?
Could you help me?
Could I ask you something?

PHRASES FOR A CONSULTING SERVICE

Salesperson

 

 

[-]  [+]
They are over there.
What size are you?
How about one of these?
Here you are.
It’s on sale.
Buy two for the price of one.
How much / many would you like?
What size do you take?
Sorry, we are out of …
Would another colour do?
Would you like to try it on?
The fitting rooms are over there.
The T- Shirt suits you very well.

 

 

Customer

 

 

[-]  [+]
I’ll take it.
It’s not quite what I wanted.
How much is this sweater?
It doesn’t fit/ suit me.
I don’t like it.
It’s too small / big / wide / tight / expensive.
I’m size …
Have you got this in another size / colour?
May I try this on, please?
Where can I try this on, please?
How much is it?

 

 

PHRASES FOR THE MOMENT OF PAYMENT AND ENDING THE CONVERSATION

Salesperson

 

 

[-]  [+]
Shall I giftwrap it?
Would you like a bag?
That comes to…. .
Here you are. / Here you go.
You’re welcome.
That’s 15 $ altogether.
You don’t happen to have any change, do you?
Here’s your change.
Did you find everything you needed?
Did you find what you were looking for?
Did you find everything okay?
Will that be all (for today)?
Is that everything?
Anything else?
Did you want anything else?
Please pay at the check-out.
I’ll take this to the check-out for you.

 

 

Customer

 

 

[-]  [+]
That’s all for today. That’s it. Thanks.
Where is the check-out?
Could I have a receipt, please?
Could I have a (plastic) bag, please?
I’m afraid/ Sorry, I don’t have any change.
Do you accept credit cards?

 

 

Merry Christmas

5 Fun & Festive ESL Activities

Songs

So by now, you’ve untangled your lights, taken your baubles from storage, found Christmas decorations you’d forgotten you had and admired your Christmas tree from outside.  You’ve filled your trolley with festive goodies and sung along to Christmas tunes in the never-ending queues.

What else do you need to do?  It’s time to start thinking about that Christmas lesson to really get you and your students in the festive mood.

There are SO many fun and festive ESL activities you can do that students of all ages will love.  Why not try out some of these and let us know how they go…

1. Make Christmas Cards!

So you’re probably thinking ‘But I have adult students and this is more of a young learner / teenage activity’……try it with your adults! They’ll love it.

Bring in a few examples of different types of cards and get feedback on style, design, the type of person who would like this card, the poem on the inside etc.

After a short discussion on Christmas card traditions, put students into groups of 3, give them some coloured paper and markers and watch their imaginations take on a new lease of life in front of your very eyes.

They will first need to discuss their ideas, their design and concept and then write a Christmas poem for the inside of the card too.

When they’ve finished, they write their card for one of the other groups with a nice, festive feel-good message….

And to top it all off, you can then do some error corrections on the board J

2. Write a Christmas Song!

Write 10 common Christmas words on pieces of paper and stick them up around the room.  In pairs, ask your students to choose one of the words they both like and stand beside it.  E.g. ‘Mistletoe’.    If two pairs choose the same word, they will have to fight for it J

Now, each pair of students pairs up with another pair and discusses their word.  ‘We have mistletoe.  If you and another person stand under it, you have to kiss them.’ Students then discuss what kind of song they would like to write based around this word…… then write it!!  Da-dah!!  Festive fun, discussion and collaborative writing all in one Christmassy task!  Don’t forget to get them to sing it afterwards

3. Make Christmas Gifts for the Class!

Hand out blank pieces of paper and ask each student to write one gift that they would be surprised to get this Christmas.  Encourage your students to think big, e.g. A hot air balloon ride.  Now, with their partner, they have to discuss why they would be surprised and how they would react if they received this gift.

Once all students have written one gift, collect the pieces of paper, shuffle them and get each student to take one of the pieces of paper (without seeing what’s written on it).  Now, ask students to discuss their gifts with their partners.  Would they like to receive this gift?

Get feedback and write each gift on the whiteboard.  Now in small groups, ask your students to decide on one of the gifts for each student in the class and explain their choice.

4. The Christmas Mime

Add a Christmas theme to the popular mime game.  Prepare slips of paper with Christmas activities on them.  E.gswrapping a present, opening a present, building a snowman, pulling a cracker, eating Christmas dinner, meeting the family etc.  Ask a volunteer to come forward to choose a slip of paper and do the first mime for the class.  With each correct answer (full sentence if practicing present continuous) you get another student to come forward.

You could also do this in groups of four students, giving the group a set of mime cards and in turn, they mime the action for the group.  Why not make it competitive too, awarding points for each correct guess?

5. Hi Santa!

Explain to students that they are going to Interview a very famous person today and they should be very excited.  Ask one of your more outgoing students to step outside the class so that he/she doesn’t realise what character they are about to play.  Inform the rest of the class that in a couple of minutes, Santa is going to walk in and they should ask him some questions about Christmas.   Introduce ‘Santa’ to the class when the student returns.  Now, students get to ask 3 questions and the student must try to use their imagination to answer.  If you’d rather not put one student on the spot, you could try this in small groups, assigning one ‘Santa’ to each group and then after 5 minutes, change the character!  The next character could be ‘Rudolph’ and the next ‘a snowman’.  The students will have great fun and it’s great for reviewing question forms.

If you have any other ideas for festive ESL activities, please share them below.  We’d love to hear what you are doing in your classrooms this Christmas…