ESL Adults Speaking Activities: 5 Mixed Shopping Role-plays for Teens and Adults
Here are 5 quick shopping role-play situations which teen and adult ESL students can do in pairs. Have your students spend a few minutes writing their dialogues and then practicing them in pairs. These are sharp and snappy activities for freer speaking practice. Your English students will benefit a lot from these ESL adult speaking games.
#1 - Short-Changed
Customer: You've been short-changed and you reckon it wasn't an accident. Try to get your money back.
Shopkeeper: You just served a 'difficult' customer. You want to get rid of him/her as soon as you can. You think most of these 'difficult' customers invent excuses to be annoying.
#2 - Faulty Goods
Customer: You bought an iron ten days ago and it didn't get hot when you tried to use it. Talk to the shopkeeper who sold it to you and get your money back.
Shopkeeper: You don't accept any refunds or exchanges a week after selling an item.
#3 - Pesky Questions
Customer: You are trying to find out some more information about a TV that you want to buy - the different makes, sizes, functions etc. Ask the shopkeeper. You really want the TV.
Shopkeeper: You feel it is your job to sell electronic goods but not inform the customers. You feel they should decide what they are going to buy before they come into the shop.
#4 - Falsely Accused
Customer: You are looking around a clothes shop that you come to regularly. You are actually wearing a shirt that you bought here last week.
Shopkeeper: You work in a clothes shop and you see a customer in one of your shirts. You think that s/he must have taken the shirt to the changing rooms to try on and came out wearing it as if it were his/hers. You think s/he is trying to steal it. Talk to him/her.
#5 - Ethical Shopper
Customer: You are very concerned about green issues. You are in a shop that imports goods from developing countries that pays the workers who make the goods next to nothing. Try to convince the manager that s/he shouldn't be selling these goods.
Shop manager: You sell a variety of goods from all over the world and business has known better times. You don't really care about people who don't make enough, they should have worked harder at school.
Have fun!
by Stuart Allen