Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. inflation
    • ex. When there is high inflation, it becomes more expensive to buy items we need daily.
  2. fed up
    • ex. I was fed up with my noisy neighbors playing loud music late at night, so I reported them to the police.
  3. mindset
    • ex. He had a positive mindset throughout the game. He believed that he would win.
  4. pushback
    • ex. There was pushback from the workers when the new company policy reduced their benefits.
  5. sharply
    • ex. Sales of the new smartphone model increased sharply after positive reviews from tech experts.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Inflation has changed the shopping habits of Americans, and those changes are helping reduce inflation. People are fed up with prices still being 19% higher than before the pandemic. As a result, people avoid expensive brands, shop at discount stores, buy fewer luxury items, and choose used cars rather than new ones.

When high inflation continues, consumers often develop this mindset: buy things quickly before prices go up more, which can keep inflation going. However, that’s not how consumers reacted recently. Consumer Stuart Dryden has saved money by moving to a cheaper apartment and buying store-brand items. He said that they cost less but have the same quality as popular brands.

This growing consumer pushback has led big food companies to slow down their price increases recently. These smaller food price increases are expected to help lessen inflation, which has decreased sharply from 9.1% in 2022 to 3.1%. Samuel Rines, a financial expert, says that people don’t want to take higher prices anymore. And many big companies noticed this. For example, PepsiCo decided to focus on gaining more sales rather than increasing prices starting this year.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Growing Consumer Pushback

  • According to the article, many consumers are looking for ways to save money now because inflation is high. Why do you think there is a growing pushback among consumers recently? Discuss.
  • When inflation is high, the usual mindset is to buy things quickly before prices go up more. Do you think this is a good strategy? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Consumer Stuart Dryden moved to a cheaper apartment and bought cheaper alternatives. How do you think this decision will affect his future (ex. he will have more savings, he will feel less stress)? Discuss.

Shopping Habits

  • What shopping habits do you have (ex. I make a shopping list, I pay in cash)? Discuss.
  • What are some examples of good and bad shopping habits (ex. good: buying only what’s necessary, bad: buying items outside of your budget)? Discuss.
  • Which mindset is more important for you: saving money for the future or spending money for fun? Why? Discuss.