Warm-up
Answer a few quick questions before today’s lesson about shopping.
Listening
Listen to the recording and answer the questions in each part. You can replay the audio as many times as you need — click anywhere on the progress bar to jump to a specific moment. Read the questions in each part first, then submit when you are ready; your answers will be marked together at the end of each part.
Listening — Is Shopping a Hobby? A Chat with Consumer Psychologist Dr. Priya
This listening task is split into parts. The audio player stays at the top of the page so you can replay it freely — click anywhere on the progress bar to jump to a specific moment. For each part, read the questions first, then listen and answer. You can change your answers until you click Submit; feedback appears once you submit each part.
Reading
Read the passage on the left, then work through the questions on the right.
Reading — Is Shopping a Hobby or Just a Need?
Read the passage on the left, then answer the questions one by one.
Is Shopping a Hobby or Just a Need?
Shopping is a popular activity around the world, but is it really a hobby? For many people, shopping is necessary — they buy food, clothes, and other items they need. However, some people enjoy shopping so much that they do it in their free time, even when they don’t need anything.
There are different types of shoppers. Some people shop online every day and love finding new products. Others prefer going to shopping malls and markets because they enjoy the experience and the social aspect. Young people often shop for fashion and technology, while older adults usually shop for household items and groceries.
Experts say that shopping can be a hobby if it makes you happy and you do it regularly. Many people spend their weekends shopping with friends and family. They enjoy browsing in stores and discovering new things. For these people, shopping is definitely a leisure activity, not just a chore. So yes, for millions of people worldwide, shopping is much more than a need — it is a genuine hobby.
Vocabulary Practice
Practise the 12 key vocabulary items from this lesson through three exercises.
Vocabulary Practice — Unit 5: Is shopping a hobby?
Work through all three parts. Each part uses the same vocabulary in a different way.
Writing Task
Your English class is creating a guide for international visitors. Your teacher asks you to write a short review of a shopping centre you know well. The review will be published in the school’s English blog. You should say what the centre is like overall, then discuss what is good and what is not so good about shopping there.
You should address:
- Name the shopping centre and say if it is good or not
- Describe one strength (e.g. shops, prices, atmosphere, location)
- Describe one weakness (e.g. crowded, expensive, boring, small)
Plan:
Introduction: Name the shopping centre and give your overall impression (is it good, disappointing, engaging, etc.).
Strength paragraph: Explain what you like about shopping there. Use a specific example.
Weakness paragraph: Explain what is not so good. Say why it is disappointing or underwhelming.
Conclusion: Recommend it or not. Say who should (or should not) shop there and why.
Speaking
Speaking task. Read the instructions, then complete the task.
Useful sentence starters:
- In my opinion…
- Personally, I think…
- One reason is…
- I believe…
- The difference is…
- I would say…
After the Lesson
Reflect on what you learned and how confident you feel now.
Teacher Guide
Practise with
- availableadjective
free to use or able to be bought
- bookstorenoun
a shop that sells books
- checkoutnoun
the place in a shop where customers pay for goods before leaving
- couponnoun
A piece of paper that gives you a discount when you buy something.
- customernoun
a person who buys goods or services from a business
- for saleprepositional phrase
available to be bought
- packetnoun
a small container made of paper or card
- parcelnoun
a package or package of goods wrapped and prepared to be sent by post
- pursenoun
a small bag for carrying money
- salenoun
a time when a store sells things at lower prices than usual
- shop assistantcompound noun
a person who helps customers in a shop
- take backphrasal verb
to return something to a shop or person