On a recent trip to Cuba, our family was surprised how difficult it was to spend money! We couldn't buy the foreign currency before we left, and we had to exchange our money at the airport. We thought we would mainly use our credit cards, but soon found out that many establishments near our hotel only accepted the tourist cash (CUC). Even though we were Canadian, my husband's credit card was not accepted because it was associated with a US bank. Using a debit card at a store or bank was not possible either. In a foreign country, there is a lot to learn about money and banking, including the language. At ESL Library, we have plenty of useful money & banking materials for teaching newcomers and travelers to English-speaking countries.

Flashcards

You'll find every word you need in our At the Bank flashcard set, including nouns like chip, client, and ATM and verbs like swipe, insert, and withdraw. If you want to change a word before you print the cards, simply edit the text (e.g., change "ATM" to "bank machine"). 

Word Bank

Try this ready-made lesson on Banking with your absolute beginners or literacy students. (Check out our NEW Assessment Tasks & Tools.)

Everyday English

This intermediate Going to the Bank lesson is useful for newcomers who want to open a bank account.

Listening Resource

This Banking resource includes three listening exercises and reviews common questions and responses that your students will hear and use at a bank in an English-speaking country.

Super Simple Questions

Money and banking leads to shopping! How Much Is It? is a beginner-level lesson that introduces English learners to dollars and cents (includes audio).

Discussion & Reading Lessons

If you're doing a unit on money & banking with higher-level learners, you might also want to cover some of these reading and discussion topics.

• Minimum Wage
• Debt
• Currencies
• Credit Cards, Loans & Debts

Lesson Collection

We've made it easy for you to find all of the materials and resources related to this teaching theme. Check out our Shopping & Money Lesson Collection. Spend, spend, spend! Not an Ellii member?  Subscribe today!