Buying and selling things is the way people in most cultures get what they need to live. Learning how to talk about this could turn into several lessons or units. For each thing you buy there are a different set of vocabulary and questions.

Beginning Learners:

You might start by learning how to buy things at the market.

Suggested Activities:

At the Market:

Activity 1: Review money and numbers, using Look and Listen and Do. You could use real money or pretend money. Practice writing down large numbers as your LH says them, so you get used to processing numbers quickly.

Activity 2: Review things you buy in the market. Use real items or pictures, and combine them with weights and measures and quantities, such as 1 kilo of rice, 2 bunches of bananas, a dozen (or kilo) of eggs, etc.

Activity 3: Learn Useful Phrases to use at the market, such as “How much does 1K.of X cost?” or “I’ll have _______________ please.”

In a Grocery store or shop

Activity 4: Learn vocabulary for things sold there: Milk, canned goods, juices, coffee, tea, sweets, or whatever.

In a Clothing Store:

Activity 5: Learn words for sizes, colors, sale, cotton, silk, names of specific things you want to buy. See also LL9 on clothing.

Intermediate Learners:

Activity 1: Get someone to talk about if and when items are on sale or cheaper. When are some fruits in season, for example. Or are there special occasions when things are more plentiful or when you can buy special items. Record these descriptions and add them to your Listening Library.

Activity 2: Role Play buying things in different kinds of shops.