The English teacher’s main
goal is to get the students speaking the language. It’s good to
try and vary the ways we can stimulate conversation in the classroom.
We already spoke
about the use of Magazine photos, and various activities, (Ask someone
a question about…, Let’s talk about……Conversation Starters…etc)
I’d like to add the
following activity. The teacher (later on even the students)
can prepare the necessary materials. The title is:
In My Shopping Cart
Make a list of items
people can buy in a supermarket or shopping center. Then the students
have to be intuitive and talk about the “shopper”, using as clues
what’s in the shopping cart.
Ex. 3 cans of dog food >>>
you own a dog.
Diet cookies
>>> you are probably watching your weight.
A travel magazine >>>
you are interested in travelling.
Here are some sample Shopping
Carts:
In My Shopping Cart:
a sports magazine
a can of cat food
3 packages of tea
a Chinese food cookbook
6 bottles of diet Coke
2 packs of diet cookies
a set of watercolours
2 pairs of socks, size extra large
a children’s storybook
a novel by Dan Brown
In My Shopping Cart:
a 6-pack of beer
3 bags of potato chips
a box of diapers
4 jars of baby food
a box of dog biscuits
an anti-allergic Shaving cream
an eyeglass case
a hair dye- dark brown
a suntan oil
a Mexican food cookbook.
Another activity
for the class. Have the students write a list for their personal
Shopping Cart. These lists can be used for future conversation
practice.
Ex. I see you like chocolate cookies. You
bought 5 boxes!
You want to learn how to cook Mexican dishes.
You have a cat.
You get to know a
lot about people from seeing what they buy. This can be a fun activity
and it wouldn’t hurt to have a few supermarket and shopping center
ads on hand to help stimulate the “shoppers”. The more they
buy, the more we can find out about them.
A Nice Thought
“We are what we repeatedly do”
Aristotle