ESL Shopping Listening

On this ESL shopping listening page there are examples of spoken English using shopping vocabulary so that you can listen to the words being used in naturally spoken passages.

You will need to be able to have conversations in English about shopping if you ever go to an English speaking country, and this page will help you get used to listening to the shopping vocabulary. The ESL shopping vocabulary page has a list of useful vocabulary, which has also been spoken by a native speaker and recorded so you can listen to the pronunciation. If you need to, go to the vocabulary page and listen to the spoken vocabulary list first, before doing the following shopping listening exercises.

This page has the following exercises for you to do:

• Identification of spoken word order.
• Identification of spoken definition.
• Listening comprehension.
• Dictation.

ESL Shopping Listening Exercises

Exercise 1 – Identification of Spoken Word Order

The first ESL shopping listening exercise is one where you need to listen to some groups of words that have been recorded and then decide which option (A-D) in each question has them listed in the same order. Listen to the recording and then select which option is correct in each of the 5 questions. When you have finished click the get score button to see how well you did.

ESL Shopping Identification of Spoken Word Order

Listen to the recording of the five groups of five words each given above and decide which option (A-D) in the five questions in this test has the correct order.

1) Which is the correct order for group of words one?

    A) Queue, Barcode, Shopper, Label, Fitting cubicle
    B) Shopper, Fitting cubicle, Label, Barcode, Queue
    C) Shopper, Queue, Barcode, Fitting cubicle, Label
    D) Shopper, Barcode, Label, Fitting cubicle, Queue

2) Which is the correct order for group of words two?

    A) Change, Queue, Gift voucher, Shop, Butchers
    B) Gift voucher, Butchers , Shop, Queue, Change
    C) Gift voucher, Change, Queue, Butchers , Shop
    D) Gift voucher, Queue, Shop, Butchers , Change

3) Which is the correct order for group of words three?

    A) Stock, Window shopping, Card machine, Baggy, Butchers
    B) Card machine, Butchers, Baggy, Window shopping, Stock
    C) Card machine, Stock, Window shopping, Butchers , Baggy
    D) Card machine, Window shopping, Baggy, Butchers , Stock

4) Which is the correct order for group of words four?

    A) Sales assistant, Coin, Travel agent, Clearance, Baggy
    B) Travel agent, Baggy, Clearance, Coin, Sales assistant
    C) Travel agent, Sales assistant, Coin, Baggy, Clearance
    D) Travel agent, Coin, Clearance, Baggy, Sales assistant

5) Which is the correct order for group of words five?

    A) Luxury items, Fitting cubicle, Expensive, Queue, Change
    B) Expensive, Change, Queue, Fitting cubicle, Luxury items
    C) Expensive, Luxury items, Fitting cubicle, Change, Queue
    D) Expensive, Fitting cubicle, Queue, Change, Luxury items

Score =

Correct answers:

Exercise 2 – Identify Meaning of Spoken Definition

In this exercise you need to listen to the recording of five definitions of words. Then choose the option (A-D) in each question that has the word with the same meaning as the definition.

ESL Shopping Listening Identification of Vocabulary Meaning

Listen to the recording of the meanings of the five vocabulary words given above and decide which word out of the options (A-D) in each question matches the meaning.

1) What is the meaning of the first definition in the recording?

    A) Luxury items
    B) Expensive
    C) Fitting cubicle
    D) Queue

2) What is the meaning of the second definition in the recording?

    A) Bag
    B) Fitting cubicle
    C) Change
    D) Scales

3) What is the meaning of the third definition in the recording?

    A) Label
    B) Convenience store
    C) Open
    D) Hanger

4) What is the meaning of the fourth definition in the recording?

    A) Shelf
    B) Customer
    C) Loyalty card
    D) Cheque

5) What is the meaning of the fifth definition in the recording?

    A) Receipt
    B) Baggy
    C) Afford
    D) Bag

Score =

Correct answers:

Exercise 3 – Listening Comprehension

This ESL shopping listening exercise has a recording of a passage about shopping that you need to listen to and then 5 questions for you to answer. You should listen to the passage first, then look at and read the questions before listening to the passage again and answering the questions. Click the get score button when you have finished to see how well you did.

At the end of this page there is a link for you to click that will show you the text of the passage so you can check your understanding of it.

ESL Shopping Listening Comprehension

Listen to the recording of the passage about shopping above and answer the following five questions.

1) Where is it best to buy fresh food, and why?

    A) The supermarket because it is cheaper and fresher.
    B) The market stalls because it is more expensive.
    C) The florist because it is cheaper.
    D) The market stalls because it is cheaper and fresher.

2) Why might people visit many different shops?

    A) They often sell the same item for a different price.
    B) They often sell items at the same price.
    C) To look for something exciting.
    D) They have lots of money to spend.

3) What should you do if you cannot find the item you need?

    A) Come back on the weekend.
    B) Buy a similar item.
    C) Choose another department.
    D) Ask a sales assistant

4) Where should you go to buy fresh flowers?

    A) Estate agents
    B) Florist
    C) Chemist
    D) Butchers

5) When is shopping not exciting?

    A) When booking a holiday abroad.
    B) When buying a new car.
    C) When buying medication.
    D) When buying beautiful flowers.

Score =

Correct answers:

Exercise 4 – Dictation

This exercise is a dictation activity. You need to listen to the following recording of the spoken passage and write it down. The passage has been read two times in the recording. The first is at a slow reading speed, and the second has pauses after every few words and the punctuation has been spoken as well. Listen to the recording several times if you need to.

Again there is a link at the end of the page to click that will show the passage so you can check your answer with the original.

Listening Comprehension Passage
Show Passage »


Dictation Passage
Show Passage »

ESL 4u home › Listening › Shopping