Class:

Advanced Beginners

Adult education evening class

50% of the Students are native Spanish speakers, the others include people from the Ukraine, China, Japan, India, and other countries.

From the previous lesson, the students learned these vocabulary words: cash, coins, bank, (bank) teller, bills, coins, checks, and deposit slips, savings withdrawal slip, debit card, credit card, less cash received, currency, PIN (personal identification number).

Topic:

Making monetary transactions at the bank or the store.

Objectives:

Students will learn the language skills needed to make simple monetary transactions at the bank or store. Specifically, they will learn how to deposit money into savings or checking and withdraw money from savings. They will learn how to cash a check and get change for a large bill. They will learn how to write a check.

Materials:

Pictures of vocabulary words, like "bank, bank teller, cash, checks, etc."

Money: bills and coins

Play Money (like Monopoly money)

Generic bank deposit slips, withdrawal slips, and checks

Short case scenarios for groups of three students

Introduction and Review:

1. Post pictures of a bank, a bank teller, bills, coins, checks, and deposit slips. With this visual stimulation, ask the students what they know about banks and words associated with money.

2. Brainstorm ideas and vocabulary on the board. Ask the students where they put their money. Do they use a bank, or do they keep money at home?

Why is a bank a good place to put your money? Do they like going to the bank?

This activates students' schemata. It also serves as an evaluation of their newly learned vocabulary English associated with banks and money.

3. To further review the vocabulary, the students play the matching game called "Memory." The goal is for students to match the cards-one card is the word while it's match is the picture of that word. The students are divided up into two teams.

Presentation:

Bring in 2 visitors to role play a scenario of a bank transaction for the students.

Have the students focus on listening for the transaction which takes place.

Having the students focus their attention on a particular element employs the "selective attention" strategy.

First Sample Dialogue:

Teller: Good Afternoon. How may I help you?

Patron: I would like to make a deposit please.

Teller: Okay, do you have a deposit slip filled out?

Patron: Yes, here it is with my pay check.

Teller: All right. (Teller types in numbers to computer) - There you go. Here is your receipt.

Patron: Thank you.

Teller: Have a nice day.

Pause here and ask questions about what happened.

"What transaction took place?" (a deposit) Write the word on the board.

"What was deposited?" (a pay check.) Write the word on the board.

Show the students a deposit slip and with student input fill it out for the amount of $253 on an overhead transparency.

Writing on the board reinforces the vocabulary for the students. Using the overhead, helps them to see what actually needs to be written on the form. And showing a physical exchange of the pay check to the teller, shows the students a concrete object being transferred. These scaffolding techniques are helpful in order to increase student comprehension.

Prep the students again to focus on what will be transacted.

Second sample dialogue:

Patron: I need change for this $100 bill, please.

Teller: Now, how would you like your money?

Patron: I would like three twenty dollar bills, one ten dollar bill, two fives, and the rest in quarters.

Teller: (Teller counts out the money into the person's hand.) Okay, here you have twenty, forty, sixty, seventy, seventy-five, eighty, and twenty dollars in quarters to make a total of one hundred dollars.

Patron: Thank you.

Teller: Have a nice day.

Ask the students, "What transaction took place?" (She got change for a 100 dollar bill.) "Did the patron need to fill out any forms?" (No)

Third sample dialogue:

Grocery Checker: How will you be paying-cash, check, or charge?

Customer: Check.

Checker: Okay, your total is $35.17.

Customer: Here you go.

Checker: Do you have ID?

Customer: Yes, I have ID.

Checker: Thank you, here is your receipt.

"What transaction took place?" (The customer bought groceries.)

"How did he pay?" (He wrote a check.)

"Do you know how to write a check?"

Put a check on an overhead transparency and fill it out with input from the students for the stated amount.

Practice:

… On the board, write possible transactions, like savings or checking deposits, a saving's withdrawal, cashing a check, getting change for a large bill, and writing checks. Work through one example of each transaction with the students. First, give them the information and the appropriate form. Let them work on it for a few moments, and then, ask for a volunteer to come fill out the form on the overhead transparency.

As a class review the form and make corrections as needed. Then move on to the next example.

Allowing the students to try working the problem out on their own first, develops their problem-solving (higher thinking) skills.

Having students volunteer as the examples is a great way for them to increase their confidence and practice their oral presentation skills.

… Give the students case scenarios to work with similar to the information they had on the board. Assign three people to a group: one observer, one teller, and one patron. After each turn, the students rotate roles. The students need to use the money to make the transactions and they need to fill out deposit or withdrawal slips when needed.

Hands on experience is crucial. By practicing these relevant skills, the students will be able to retain the information better.

… As a review, select a few students to role play a money transaction in the front of the class. Have them write the needed information (deposit slips, checks, etc.) on an overhead transparency.

… As a debriefing exercise, review the vocabulary by playing the Memory game again.

Evaluation:

The brainstorming activity from the "introduction and review" at the beginning of the lesson serves as an opportunity to evaluate the students' understanding of the previously learned vocabulary. The "Memory" game from that same section is another evaluation of the students' comprehension and connection of the words with the pictures.

Stopping after each role play in the "presentation" stage is a good time to see if the students understand the vocabulary when contextualized in a real-life situation. Asking comprehension questions can let you in on the students' thinking. Understanding their questions and uncertainties will allow you to clarify and emphasize difficult areas.

The conversation you have with the class about how they keep their money will help you assess their needs. You will find out if the American banking system is completely foreign to them, or if they are familiar with our methods of transacting money. You may discover that they do not understand the concept of a bank. Perhaps you will need to make a thorough explanation of that.