English for Work - Working as a volunteer in a charity shop

‘Working as a Volunteer in a Charity Shop’  is a resource for learners between Entry 3 – L1/Intermediate 1 – 2.  It uses authentic sound recordings with ESOL learners who work in a charity shop as a springboard to practise all four skills within this context.  It is aimed at learners who are already working as volunteers in charity shops or who want to find out more about working in the sector. It will also be useful for any learners who might visit charity shops. 

There are 5 units in ‘Working in a charity shop’ which you can deliver sequentially or as standalone units.  In the first unit the subject and key vocabulary are introduced.

Timings are flexible since learners can work through at their own pace and you can adapt the resource to suit your learners and build in revision as required.

The teachers’ notes include suggestions on exploiting the materials, and teachers are encouraged to adapt them to meet group/individual needs.  You can download the worksheets and an answer key for this unit below.

Teacher notes – Unit 1

Aims:

• To establish the context for learning.
• To stimulate discussion about charity shops.
• To help the teacher establish which learners have experience of the area.
• To pre-teach key vocabulary.

Objectives:

All learners will be able to:

• Talk about their own experience of charity shops as a volunteer, customer or donor.
• Explain how the sector operates.
• Read, pronounce and hear key vocabulary.

Some learners will be able to:

• Discuss in more detail how charity shops operate, the kinds of goods they sell, etc.

Time: approximately 30 minutes

Copyright – please read

All the materials on these pages are free for you to download and copy for educational use only.