Summary
This B2-level lesson provides an engaging exploration of the off-price retail model, specifically how stores like TJ Maxx achieve success. Students will develop their understanding of business strategies, consumer psychology, and the vocabulary used in the retail sector. Through targeted exercises focusing on comparatives and the first conditional, alongside video comprehension and vocabulary tasks, learners will enhance their ability to discuss business concepts and analyze shopping behavior effectively.
Activities
Students reflect on their own shopping habits, discussing bargain hunting, impulse buying, and what makes a shopping experience enjoyable, setting the stage for understanding consumer behavior.
Learners watch a video detailing TJ Maxx's business model, answering comprehension questions to grasp how they source discounted merchandise and create the exciting "treasure hunt" atmosphere.
Vocabulary related to discount retail, such as off-price retailer, excess merchandise, and the anchoring effect, is practiced through contextual guessing, matching, and gap-fill exercises.
Grammar skills are honed by using comparative adjectives to contrast TJ Maxx with traditional department stores and by forming first conditional sentences to discuss shopping scenarios and business strategies.
The lesson culminates with students analyzing cause-and-effect relationships in TJ Maxx's success, and then creatively designing their own unique retail store concept.
Vocabulary focus
This lesson introduces key terms essential for discussing retail business models and consumer behavior. Focus vocabulary includes off-price retailer, excess merchandise, anchoring effect, impulse buying, bargain-conscious, supply chain, and the "treasure hunt" concept, enabling students to analyze and describe discount shopping strategies.
Grammar focus
The lesson emphasizes two key grammatical areas: comparative adjectives for contrasting different retail models (e.g., "prices are lower than") and the first conditional (e.g., "If a customer sees something, they will buy it") to discuss potential outcomes of business strategies and consumer actions, enhancing descriptive and predictive language skills.
