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Role-play "Making money"
Aim: To practise using money verbs and financial vocabulary
Task: To roleplay a meeting between a client and a financial advisor
Time: 30 minutes
FOR STUDENTS:
Work with a partner. Check that you understand the meaning of the money verbs in bold. Then take turns to play the role of Mr/Ms Money and give financial advice to your client.
1 Buying a property
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Client
You earn ?35,000 a year. Last year your uncle died and you inherited ?12,000. You have made ?8,000 from share investments in the last two years. However, you owe ?4,000 to a friend and recently lost ?2,500 at a casino. You are now thinking of selling your shares and spending all your money and savings on a property in London. You would like to know what price of property you can afford and how much you can borrow from a bank. |
Mr/Ms Money
A bank will lend three and a half times a person’s salary to help him/her buy a property. A deposit of 5% of the value of the property is usually required by the bank. You believe that property prices in London are very high at the moment and that it’s not the best time to buy. You do, however, think that the stock market is a good place to invest money just now. |
2 Retirement and your pension
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Client
You are 62 years old and due to retire in three years. You are rather disappointed because your pension is not worth as much as you had anticipated. When you retire you want to be able to afford to go on a three-month holiday as well as buy a retirement home in the country. Over the last few years, you have saved ?10,000 which you could withdraw with three months’ notice. Your mother is 94 and lives in a house which you own. |
Mr/Ms Money
Your client’s priority is obviously to get enough money to live on when he/she retires. Interest rates are very low at the moment, so you might recommend that he/she invests his/her savings in the stock market instead of putting the savings into a building society. Remind him/her, however,
that the investment could go down as well as up. You could also (diplomatically!) suggest that when the client’s mother dies, he/she could use the money from the sale of the house to buy a retirement home. |
3 Ethical investments
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Client
You are interested in the idea of ethical investments but you are worried that the returns on your money might be lower than if you invested in companies which were not concerned about the issue of Third World exploitation, oppressive regimes, animal testing, etc. |
Mr/Ms Money
Reassure your client that over the last few years many ethical investments have performed much better than non-ethical investments. Talk to your client about his/her criterion for ethical investments, e.g. Is he/she happy to invest in companies producing alcohol – what about tobacco? What is his/her view on drugs being tested on animals? Is there a particular area which interests him/her – environmental, human rights, etc.? Then explain that you
will research companies which match his/her beliefs and arrange another meeting to discuss them in more detail. |
4 Setting up a business
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Client
You are 23 years old. You need to raise ?30,000 to spend on setting up a new business – an Internet cafe in the city centre. You have various options. You could borrow the money from a bank, and pay it back over a period of five, ten or fifteen years. Alternatively, you could ask your friends and family to lend it to you. As a last resort you could bet or gamble some money and hope to win enough to start the business! |
Mr/Ms Money
A bank loan is certainly a good way for your client to raise the money he/she needs. Suggest that your client writes a business plan and presents it to the bank. You’d recommend a ten-year repayment period. |
FOR TEACHERS:
Overview
Students work in pairs and take turns to play the part of Mr/Ms Money, a financial advisor, giving advice to different clients. Money verbs and financial vocabulary is practised.
Preparation
One copy of the worksheet for each student.
Procedure
1) Introduce the topic of money by asking students if they have ever had any advice from a financial advisor. Ask if the advice turned out to be good or bad. Have a brief class discussion.
2) Explain that students are going to be financial advisors and give advice to a variety of clients. Divide the class into pairs and give each student a copy of the worksheet.
Give students time to read the different situations and to check any unfamiliar vocabulary. Make sure students understand the meaning of the money verbs in bold.
(Explain that afford is usually used with can/could, e.g. They bought the flat because they couldn’t afford the house.)
3) Quickly brainstorm some language the students might find useful when they come to play the role of Mr/Ms Money, e.g. It’s a good idea to …, Have you thought about …, I’d recommend …, etc.
4) Ask students, in their pairs, to choose two of the situations on the worksheet and to prepare to act them out. Students should take the part of Mr/Ms Money in one roleplay and the client in the other.
5) When everybody is ready, students act out the conversations. Monitor the roleplays, helping with vocabulary as necessary.
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