Grocery Shopping Lesson Resources for ESL Teachers

Going grocery shopping is a necessary evil even for those of us who are native English speakers. If you speak another language, imagine how difficult it is to even identify what kind of food is in a can if you can't read what is on the label.

I tried grocery shopping in Estonia once. If there weren't pictures on labels, I'm not too sure what I would have done. For wives that do not speak English and that are generally isolated at home, grocery shopping can be a complete nightmare. Give your students the confidence they need to perform this task by spending some time doing a lesson (or a few) on grocery shopping.

This video incorporates a lesson using "do" and "does" with grocery shopping. It has received high ratings from viewers. The dialogue is easy to understand and is spoken slowly and clearly. It uses real people instead of only clip art Power Point slides, so it is definitely more engaging for ESL students.

In this listening exercise, students will be listening for specific answers to the questions listed below the clip. This is an interactive quiz where students can be scored upon completion of the listening exercise about shopping at a supermarket. The dialogue is rather quick, and it can be a good challenge for students.

This lesson plan about grocery shopping includes a grammar focus on words like "few, some, many." The activities include classmate interviewing exercises, and a short reading activity with questions to be answered at the end. Students can even write shopping lists to prepare for a couple of meals. This lesson plan is geared towards beginning-level English students.

ESL Flow's page on shopping, likes and dislikes has multiple resources for different aspects of grocery and other kinds of shopping to help ESL teachers create an engaging lesson plan. PDF documents and links to other grocery shopping resources will help you get a good idea of the variety of information that is out there for developing a grocery shopping lesson appropriate for your student(s).

Finally, taking your student or students on a trip to the grocery store where they have to do a scavenger hunt and find items from a list is a practical way to practice the vocabulary and grammar that they learn in the classroom. Have students ask a clerk for help to find something. Also, make sure that students don't gravitate toward a check out clerk that likely speaks the same native language as your student(s)!

After learning the vocabulary necessary for grocery shopping, learning about clipping coupons, how to ask for information at a store, how to compare prices on different brands, and even going grocery shopping with their teacher and classmates, students will be more confident in their ability to strike out on their own in their new communities, meet people, and accomplish their shopping errands.