Michigan State University - maflt.cal.msu.

edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching
¡Busca Ofertas!
[Looking for Deals!]
Adapted from 11.5 Shopping Lists
in Corbett (2010) Intercultural Language Activities

Presenter: Patricia Wyza

FLT 815 Culture ~ Dr. Sommer-Farias
03/23/2022

Template created Spring 2019 ~ Dr. Amanda Lanier 1

Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
2

University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Activity Overview
 University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
Overview
Description: This activity focuses on shopping at the grocery store in the United States and
in other Spanish-speaking countries. This activity has students looking at grocery store ads
to buy food to prepare a meal. In the previous lesson, students simply searched for food from
their vocabulary in these ads and were able to reflect on the products

Context: This activity is designed for Novice Low-Mid 4th grade elementary students. My
specific target audience are private school students in Michigan ages 9-10.

Class Time: Three 40-minute class periods.

3

Objectives
• Students will be able make a list of food
to buy at the grocery store based on the
MiPlato food categories.
• Students will be able to use their
grocery list and find these food items in
grocery store ads from Spanish-
speaking countries
• Students will think critically and
compare food choices in the United
States to food choices in Spanish-
speaking countries.
University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
Rationale
This activity is utilized during my
students’ economy unit in their core
classroom where we focus on shopping in
grocery stores and money from Spanish-
speaking countries. I chose grocery store
ads from Argentina, Nicaragua, and
Guatemala because they are authentic
resources and used by consumers in those
countries. Shopping for food is a skill they
will need to utilize in the future,
especially if they are visiting a Spanish-
speaking country.
Through this activity, students will be
able to interpret various foods and
products in the ads and discover new and
familiar food items to shop for. Students
will use the target language to
communicate what they want to buy and
how much things cost. Students will also
compare the products and prices between
the Spanish-speaking country and the
U.S.
4
 University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
Materials and
Preparation iPad
Make sure digital ads are accessible to
students (using direct links, QR codes,
posted on the school learning site, etc.). Worksheet
You will also need to make sure students
have a device such as an iPad or
computer.
Writing materials

Digital grocery store ads

Blooket/Quizlet Live (optional)

5

Procedure
Day 1
Task 1 (10 minutes)
• Review initial findings in Spanish-
speaking ads
• Discuss what foods the wanted to try and
what looked interesting
Task 2 (30 minutes)
• Work on “Prepara la cena” worksheet with
a partner
– Students will look for foods from each
category of the MiPlato to create a meal
– Students will then compare the two prices
between the Spanish-speaking country and a
U.S. Brand grocery store
University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
Day 2
Task 2 (40 minutes)
• Students will finish “Prepara la cena” with
their partner and create a mini-
presentation to share with the class the
next day describing what they bought and
how much things cost
Day 3
Task 3 (40 minutes)
• Students will share their meals and
findings with other students.
6
 University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
Recommendations/Variations
Shop for ingredients for a recipe

Class Discussion – Interpersonal communication without

needing a pre-planned script

Give students a budget

Instructions and questions all in the target language

7
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
8

University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Activity Demonstration
 University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
Día 1: Day 1 - ¿Qué encontraste?
[What did you find?]

Review what foods were found in the ad

in Spanish.
Hold a quick discussion in English talking
about what students found unique or
interesting about the ads.

9
 University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
Prepara la cena WS

This is activity I will distribute to the

students. The next slide will be what I’m
showing the students.

10
 11

Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State

University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Día 1 & 2: Day 1 & 2 – Prepara la cena
[Prepare dinner]
 University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
Día 3: Day 3– Conversar y compartir
[Discuss & share]
¿Qué compraste?
What did you buy?

¿Qué quieres probar?

What do you want to try?

¿Por qué?
Why?

¿Cuánto cuesta(n) ______?

How much does ______ cost?

12
 University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
Día 3: Day 3– Conversar y compartir
[Discuss & share]

What was the differences between the prices?

What products were cheaper in the Spanish-speaking country? In the

U.S.?

Why do you think some prices were cheaper than others?

What food would you normally buy when you go to the grocery store?
Could you buy those in the Spanish-speaking country’s ad?

Was there anything different or unique about the food you saw in the
ads?

13
 University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
Conclusion
• I created this activity as part of the economy unit in their core classroom. This
activity is designed for students to think critically about what products are
available in other countries compared to what we have, and to critically think
about how the prices differ in each country. Students also needed to reflect on
what was available there
• This activity was meant to mimic a real-life situation they may find themselves
in. Shopping for food is something they will need to do do if they visit a Spanish-
speaking country and while some products are the same, most are not, and
students will need to think about this critically. The use of the target language
matches the level of the students I teach. Most discussion is planned and
memorized phrases.
• This activity can be modified or changed for more advanced language speakers.
This activity requires a lot of time for students to explore the ads and look for
foods they’re interested in. Given the advancements in technology, students may
even be able to visit the website of these grocery stores and put food in an actual
“cart” and shop online (without actually purchasing anything of course!)

14
 University - maflt.cal.msu.edu
Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching Michigan State
References & Resources
Corbett, J. (2010). Intercultural Language Activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Coto. (2022, March 23). Revista Seminal de Ofertas

[Advertisement]. https://www.coto.com.ar/catalogos/semanal210322/ie.html

Holliday, A., Hyde, M., & Kullman, J. (2016). Intercultural communication: An advanced
resource book (3rd edition). New York: Routledge.

Mi Plato [In English: My Plate]. (2017). Retrieved from

https://www.choosemyplate.gov/multilanguage-spanish

Liddicoat, A. J., & Scarino, A. (2013). Intercultural language teaching and learning. Malden,
MA: Wiley.

15