Studying Abroad: Lesson 8 - ニック先生の英会話コースと教材

Lesson 8: Shopping

ESL Course: English for Studying Abroad

An ESL guide to prepare you for your homestay. This is lesson 8 of a 10 lesson course.

Introduction

Where do you like to go shopping? How do you get there?
What kind of things do you like to shop for?
How might shopping overseas be different from in Japan?

Vocabulary

to afford	an aisle	a barcode
‘best before', ‘use by'	a cashier	a clearance sale
coins, notes / bills	credit, debit card	faulty
a loyalty card	packaging	to queue, to line up
a receipt	a refund	sales assistant
stock	a till, cash register	a trolley, shopping cart
fitting cubicle, changing room	Enough for the whole week.	Can I try this on?
It fits (perfectly).	Don't tempt me!

Conversation

Helen:	Where are you off to, Maki?
Maki:	I'm going into town to meet Mi Sun. We're going shopping.
Helen:	Oh, I wonder if you could do me a favor and pick up a loaf of bread.
Maki:	Sure, I can do that. Leave it to me.
	...
Mi Sun:	Hiya Maki! Where shall we go first?
Maki:	Well, I need to buy a jumper, and Helen told me Debenhams was good.
Mi Sun:	Okay, let's go and see what they've got.
	...
Maki:	Excuse me, can I try this on?
Sales Assistant:	Of course. There's a fitting cubicle over there.
Maki:	It fits! Excuse me, how much is this?
Sales Assistant:	Hmm… Let me scan the barcode. Okay, it's £17.49.
Maki:	Okay. Can I use a Visa card here?
Sales Assistant:	Yes. Just sign here, please. Do you have a loyalty card?
Maki:	No, I don't.
Sales Assistant:	Would you like to sign up for one? You'll get 10% off your next purchase.
Maki:	No, I'm okay, thanks.
	...
Maki:	Hey Amelia! What a coincidence! What are you doing here?
Amelia:	Hi Maki! Hi Mi Sun! Haha, it looks like we've both bought the same jumper!
Maki:	Haha! We can be sisters! Come with us, Amelia, we're going to get some ice cream next.
Amelia:	Oh, don't tempt me! I'd love to, but I have to get back to my family.

What to Expect

When shopping overseas, it's easy to get confused by prices in a different currency, and also by different size measurements. For example, a ‘medium' in the UK might be a ‘large' in Japan. The US and UK (to a lesser extent) use imperial measurements.

Try googling these to see what they are in metric: a pint, 5 lbs 4 oz (5 pounds, 4 ounces), 2 miles, 400 yards, 6'12” (6 feet, 12 inches)

Next Lesson

English for Studying Abroad - Lesson 9