For our ninth meeting, we met at the supermarket. One of our learning goals was to learn everyday words and phrases in each other’s language, and grocery shopping is something you always do. The goal was to learn words and phrases related to shopping and practice them in a practical way. This time, we adjusted our method. Instead of learning the words and phrases theoretically, we applied them directly in practice by doing a role-play exercise.
We started by learning words related to different product groups, such as vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, and bread. We also focused on specific products, like patatas (potatoes), manzanas (apples), and pan (bread) in Spanish, and how to use them in sentences. Additionally, we practiced useful phrases, such as “Where can I find the bread?” or “Do you have oranges?” in Dutch and Spanish. I enjoyed noticing how similar some words are, like tomate (tomato). In my mind, Spanish often feels completely different from Dutch, but each meeting shows me that some words are surprisingly alike.
Although we briefly reviewed the grammar from last week, I found it more challenging to practice in the supermarket. The busy environment and lack of a quiet space made it harder to focus on grammar. Plus, we couldn’t sit down and use our laptops or notes, as that would have been quite impractical in a supermarket. Nonetheless, we tried to apply some basic rules to our questions and answers, like correctly using verb conjugations and articles. This didn’t always go smoothly, but we learned from it. We were patient and helped each other, allowing the person to think for a moment before providing assistance or giving the correct answer.
To make the meeting more interactive, we created a role-play exercise. I played the customer first, and Sandra acted as the employee, and then we switched roles. It was fun and very useful to ask and answer questions in the language we are learning. For example, I asked in Spanish: “¿Dónde puedo encontrar el pan?” (Where can I find the bread?), and Sandra responded that the bread was in the next aisle. Later, we also role-played at the cash register, where one of us acted as the cashier and the other as the customer. This allowed us to practice practical phrases like “How much does it cost?” and “Would you like to pay in cash or by card?” The cash register part was particularly enjoyable because it reminded me of the phrases we practiced during our meeting at the café. This brought previous material back into focus, reinforcing the content from an earlier meeting. You could tell that this part went more smoothly because we had already covered and studied these words and phrases.
What I appreciated most about this meeting was how practical it was. Grocery shopping provided a clear context, making the phrases and words feel immediately useful. Being in the supermarket helped me visualize and remember the words and their meanings better. I also noticed that I’m making steady progress in responding and speaking more quickly.
Looking back on this meeting, I think it would have been helpful to prepare a bit more for the setting. For example, we could have made a list of specific phrases to practice beforehand. However, I felt we improvised well and adapted flexibly to the situation, especially given the spontaneous and practical environment. On the other hand, this made the exercise feel more realistic, as if I were visiting Spain in the future and someone spontaneously asked me a question in the supermarket. This made it a great practice session.
Comments