Shops and Shopping

SHOPPING: SHOP TILL YOU DROP!

For some people shopping is something you do for fun, it’s a recreational activity, a type of hobby.  However, for others like me who can’t stand shopping it’s ‘a complete pain in the backside’ it’s ‘a nightmare come true’. If it is possible to buy something online, then I buy it online.  

Online shopping is usually cheaper, more convenient and very relaxing; you can shop at midnight and shop while drinking a beer, a glass of wine, or perhaps something a little stronger.  In addition, you can even do some chair dancing to your favourite tunes and check out the reviews from other buyers. Online shopping is great!! Moreover, going shopping is a nightmare: firstly you have to walk, secondly, you have to queue, a lot, thirdly you can only do this at certain times of the day and finally, you have to carry everything you have bought. It’s boring, it’s expensive, and it’s exhausting!

Do you love or hate shopping? Is shopping your cup of tea, or would you rather have root canal?

VOCABULARY

The 3 minute Word Gym Technique:

What words do you think of when you hear the word SHOPPING?

1. You have one minute to write as many words as possible.  Go……….
2. Now, connect any nouns to verbs.  You should have more words.
3. Look at a photograph of some shops; can you think of any more words? Or, think about the last thing you bought. Have you thought of any more words?

 Remember:  improve your vocabulary by connecting words to SITUATIONS.  Lists of words are easy to write, but very difficult to remember.

VOCABULARY CHALLENGE: SO MANY THINGS, SO MANY SHOPS


VOCABULARY CHALLENGE: WHERE AM I SHOPPING?
In which shops might you say the following phrases?

1. I would like to buy some cough medicine please?
2. I want to replace my left contact lens please?
3. How much?! That’s daylight robbery!
4. Does my bum look big in this?
5. How much is a return flight to London Gatwick please?
6. 2 large granary baps and a French loaf?
7. I’d like to rent a small flat in the heart of the center.
8. Can you repair this zipper?
9. Do you have these high heels in a smaller size?
10. Welcome to the house of fun!

VOCABULARY CHALLENGE: WHAT DID I BUY?
Although going shopping brings me out in a rash, I have used my credit card a lot recently. What things did I buy?

READING CHALLENGE: THE BUTCHERS, THE BAKERS, THE CANDELSTICK MAKERS
When I was a child, there were loads of specialized shops; grocery shopping with my mother meant a trip to the butchers, the bakers, the greengrocers, the frozen food shop and the newsagents.

My mother used to drag my siblings and I around the shops looking for the cheapest baked beans and the best offers. Thank goodness, nowadays, you can nip to the supermarket, push your very large trolley from aisle to aisle and buy everything you want, from frozen peas to a television, in one go. Despite the controversial disadvantages, i.e. they are bad for the local economy and they are very impersonal, as a busy woman with a hatred for shopping, I’m really keen on supermarkets.

When you were a child what was different about shopping and shops? Is it better now or worse?

READING CHALLENGE: SELF CHECK OUT
In England, self service check outs have become common place in most supermarkets. So, what is a self service check out? Well, it means YOU can scan and pack your purchases, YOU can insert your credit card into a little machine and YOU can leave without speaking a word to anyone.

In my book, that’s pure heaven! But, what do you think? Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?

READING CHALLENGE: BUY NOTHING DAY
It is said that buying ‘stuff’ not only has a huge impact on your bank balance but, more worryingly, it has a massive impact on the environment. The Buy Nothing Day website says:

It’s time to lock up your wallets and purses, cut up your credit cards and dump the love of your life – shopping.

Saturday November 29th 2014 is Buy Nothing Day (UK). It’s a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from shopping and tune into life. The rules are simple, for 24 hours you will detox from shopping and anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending!

Everything we buy has an impact on the environment; Buy Nothing Day highlights the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism. The developed countries – only 20% of the world population are consuming over 80% of the earth’s natural resources, causing a disproportionate level of environmental damage, and an unfair distribution of wealth. Read more

LISTENING CHALLENGE: TOP 5 PLACES TO SHOP IN LONDON

The girls say the following sentences about places to shop in London, but which places are they talking about? Listen to this video to find out

LISTENING CHALLENGE: 5 EASY STEPS TO LONDON SHOPPING

Step 1: High-Street Shopping: Oxford Street

Step 2: Luxury Shopping: Knightsbridge

Step 3: Alternative Shopping: Camden Town

Step 4: Food Shopping: Borough Market

Step 5: Antiques Shopping: Portobello Road

OMG, this video is ‘vocabulary central’. If you would like to review adjectives, idioms and expressions, then this is the video for you. It’s fantastic! Click, click, click

LISTENING CHALLENGE: SHOPPING WITH CHILDREN

This is the reason you don’t go supermarket shopping with young kids. I WANT THOSE SWEETIES

Or, perhaps, it’s the reason you wouldn’t go shopping with Janette, EVER. Did I say, EVER!

SPEAKING CHALLENGE: WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?
If you want to have fun, or at the very least, a stress-free time while
shopping, you need to know what to say in different situations. So, what are
they saying? Perhaps, the following suggestions:?!

SPEAKING: GROUPON BEST DEALS OF THE DAY
Seriously, who hasn’t, at one point, been addicted to GROUPON?!

Last year I received more emails from Groupon than any other company or person. I used to waste hours and hours checking out the daily offers and reading product descriptions of completely useless things like this man’s backstrap! What the hell is that?

Your speaking challenge is to tell me about 3 things that you have bought through GROUPON. And, don’t tell me you haven’t bought anything, because your nose will grow to the size of Pinocchio’s. I want to know about: the most exciting thing, the most useless thing and the most expensive thing.

SPEAKING CHALLENGE: SHOPPING PRESENTATION

WRITING CHALLENGE: TOP TIPS ON MALAGA’S HOTTEST SHOPPING SPOTS

Your local lifestyle magazine has asked you to put pen to paper in order to describe the best places in Málaga to go shopping.

In your article you must give your opinion on the top places to: