The jar of marmalade Today was shopping day. We had our list and we had our bags, so off we went Did you remember to lock the front door? Misa asked. Of course I did. And have you got your purse? Yes, yes. I wouldn t forget that, would I? It was a ten minute walk to the supermarket. There were not many people as it was still early. Misa and Paul walked down one aisle of the supermarket and up another until they had collected everything on their list. They then went to the checkout. Would you like some bags? The pleasant girl at the checkout asked. No, we are OK, Misa replied. That s 21.10. Here you are, 22. Thank you. Your receipt, and your change, 90p. Paul and Misa walked back home slowly as the bags were rather heavy. Soon they had put everything away and were sitting down at the table to have breakfast. Could you pass the butter please? Paul asked, and did we buy a jar of marmalade? Yes, we did. Here you are. So Paul and Misa talked about their plan for the day, but as Paul was eating his second piece of toast suddenly he jumped up. Ouch! What is that? There is something sharp on my toast! What is it? Oh dear, you have blood on your tongue. There is something in the marmalade. Let me see. Oh my God! There are small pieces of glass. Paul and Misa examined the marmalade and indeed there were small pieces of glass in it. We must tell the supermarket, Misa said. Indeed, we should, Paul replied. Hello, is that the supermarket? Yes Sir, this is ACE Supermarket. Can I help you?
Yes, I have something to report. This morning my wife and I bought a jar of marmalade at your store. I put it on my toast, and as I was eating the toast my teeth bit something very sharp. When we looked at the marmalade we saw small pieces of glass in it. Oh! I am very sorry to hear that. I will report it to the manager. Paul gave his address and telephone number to the lady and then the two of them set about cleaning up the house. It was about 30 minutes later when there was a knock on the door. Paul opened the door and there standing in the entrance was a girl from the supermarket holding a bunch of flowers and also the manager with a box of chocolates. I heard about the glass in the marmalade and we have come to apologise for the problem. I hope you will accept our apologies and here are some flowers and chocolates and a gift card, the manager announced. Paul and Misa were quite surprised. Not only did the manager from the supermarket take the time to come to their house to personally apologise but he also had gifts. Well thank you very much. It is greatly appreciated. No problem. Again we are very sorry for the trouble. We hope you have a nice day and will continue to use our supermarket. Comprehension 1. About how far is the house from the supermarket? 2. Do you think Paul sometimes forgets things? 3. How much did the shopping cost? 4. Why did Misa and Paul walk slowly back to their home? 5. When you want somebody to pass something to you what do you say? 6. What do you think about the manager of the supermarket? 7. If you found some glass in a jar of marmalade which you bought from your local store what do you think your store would do?
Countable objects We talk about a jar of marmalade and a box of chocolates. Look at the objects below and choose the correct word from this list: Bottle, jar, bag, packet, box, tube, can, carton. a of wine a of sweets a of chocolate a of toothpaste a of cola a of seeds a of nuts a of jam a milk a of crayons a of soap a of water
Verbs PAST SIMPLE and PAST CONTINUOUS --------Look at these sentences: Paul walked down. This is the PAST SIMPLE. Paul was walking down. This is the PAST CONTINUOUS. PC or PS? 1. Paul gave his address and phone number to the lady. 2. They were sitting at the table. 3. Today was a shopping day. 4. They were cleaning the house. 5. Paul opened the door. -------Look at this sentence: (The past simple is used together with the past continuous) As Paul was eating his piece of toast, he jumped up. Write a sentences using the PAST CONTINUOUS and PAST SIMPLE together: 1. (as) 2. (when) 3. (while)
WOULD --------Look at this sentence: I wouldn t forget that, would I? We use WOULD when we imagine something. Write sentences about yourself. Imagine things you would like or wouldn t like. 1. (a place you would love to live) 2. (something you would like to have) 3. (a job you would like to do) 4. (a town you would like to go to) 5. (something you would love to do) ---------Look at this sentence: Would you like some bags? We use WOULD when we offer something. Write sentences offering something 1. (watch television) 2. (Go to Spain for a holiday) 3. (sit in the front of the car) 4. (play tennis) 5. (to have a hamburger and French fries
At the fashion shop Baseball cap ( ) Trainers ( ) Jeans ( ) T-shirt ( ) ( ) Assistant: May I help you? Customer: Yes, can I try this on? Assistant: Yes certainly. The changing rooms are over there. (The customer walks over to the changing room and tries it on) Customer: It is a little small do you have a larger one? (smaller one, blue one) (Customer goes over to the changing room again and tries it on) Customer: It is nice. I ll take it Assistant: That s 19.50 Customer: Here you are 20 Assistant: Thank you. Your receipt, and you change -50 pence. Customer: Thank you. Goodbye. Assistant: Goodbye
Apologising When we apologise we have to use polite language. Write down the words used in the story to apologise and the answer given. Problems Oh dear! Look what s happened. In your group act out the following: 1. You bought a bag of apples. When you got home you found that someone seems to have taken a bite out of one of the apples. You go back to the shop. What do you say? What does the assistant say? Does he call the manager? 2. You have been saving up your money. You bought that new mobile phone that you wanted for so long. The trouble is that when you got home and opened the box, there was nothing inside it. You go back to the shop and show it to the assistant. What do you say? 3. You have finished shopping. A very helpful young boy served you. The problem was that his hands were very dirty. You feel that you should tell someone. Suddenly, you see the manager. What do you say? 4. You have bought a pair of trainers. They looked so nice, but when you got home you see that there is a hole in the bottom of one of the trainers. You take them back to the shop and show them to the assistant. What do you say? 5. You bought a pair of jeans. But after you tried them on at home they seem too small. You take them back to the shop. Unfortunately, the shop does not have a larger size.
Teacher s notes This is a lower level story adapted from a longer piece which I wrote called, Life in Japan. We lived near to the store. (Actually, it was a department store) I can still see the smiling face of the store manager standing at my front door, humbly apologising. I have of course changed the currency from the Japanese yen to the British pound. Would the store manager come round to your house in your country to apologise? Read the story trying to give the different voices an identity. Act out the actions as you read. There may be some vocabulary that you will need to go over including: marmalade, aisle, compensate. Countable objects This may seem an easy exercise but you might be surprised at how many students get it wrong. Countable game: Place A4 sheet in four corners of the room with the following words written on them: BOTTLE, BOX, BAG, CAN. Then shout out a word. (Crisps, tomato sauce, chocolates, baked beans, cereal, water, etc) The students must run to the sheet which shows the correct qualifier. It should be fun. Then if you are brave you may like to demonstrate the difference between countable and noncountable nouns. Some things are countable for example, cups and pencils. Some are not. For example water and fire. You might ask if sugar and rice are countable. Countable, non-countable game: Place 2 A4 sheets in Two corners of the room with the following written on COUNTABLE, NON-COUNTABLE. You then say a word and the students must run to the correct corner. Words you could use: House, television, money, computer, electricity, moon, tea, computer, coins, homework, stone, book, love. Comprehension The answer to question 1 would be about half a kilometre because it took Paul and Misa ten minutes to get there. (Ten minutes is the wrong answer. Distance is asked for not time.) The answer to question 3 would be that they had to walk slowly because they had some heavy shopping. Question 4 involves the use of the word could. The answer is: Could you pass the butter. Verbs Examples of three sentences using the PAST CONTINUOUS and PAST SIMPLE together: As I was reading the book the light went off. While he was watching television she did her homework. When I arrived home my wife was washing the dishes.
At the fashion shop I have done this exercise many times. It usually works well. Start by asking if anyone knows the conversion rate between their currency and the pound. You can then check if they can give the approximate price for some things which they might buy, such as a bar of chocolate. They should draw the pictures and write in the price of the items. I have found it useful to give out imitation money to the students so that when they practise the conversation in their group they actually have to select the correct denomination. (see website for sheet of printable money) They pass the money and they give the change. I like to see the student give good eye contact as they say the words here you are. I have also found it is a good idea to have a pretend mirror in the dressing room. They must then look in it to see if the clothes they are buying fit alright. This can be fun. When they have practised the conversation in their group then ask one or two groups to demonstrate it in front of the class. You can make variations to the role play. For example, they could pay with a credit card. If you have extra time you might like to ask the students to draw their own shop. It could be a computer shop or it could be a cake shop. Get them to label the objects in the shop and price them. Then perhaps with a different partner they could practise it again. Apologising Students may be unaware of the polite language which is used when we apologise. They should have written the following from the story: I am very sorry to hear that. I hope you will accept our apologies. Thank you very much it is greatly appreciated. You may like to bring in other language used in apologising such as, We are very sorry. It won t happen again. and That s OK, don t worry about it. Problems Give each group one problem. Tell them that they will be acting out their role play in front of the class. Give the students about ten minutes to prepare the conversation. While they are preparing go round the class and make sure that their conversation is correct. Make sure the class applause after each demonstration. They should raise a few laughs.