Upper Intermediate Level >> Flashcards and Role Play Materials >> A role play is set up in which local residents and businesspeople have to decide whether to construct a new supermarket or not.

New Supermarket: Role Play

Upper Intermediate

The local council has decided to call a public meeting to discuss the proposal to build a new hyper-market on the outskirts of the historical town of Bratton View.

Divide the class into 10 and give each student/group one of the following cards.

You are a local resident who thinks that this will be exactly the boost that the local economy needs. People will come to Bratton View from outside and bring money in. You will not have to travel 16 miles to Oakville just to see a supermarket. This will be the pride of Bratton View!! You are the town's local politician and you think this is a great idea. Jobs will be created both during its construction and its running and tax revenue will increase. Shoppers will have a far better choice when they go shopping and Bratton View will gain a high local profile from this.
You are the local police officer. Your experience tells you that these supermarkets always attract groups of young people with nothing to do and you are worried about a possible rise in crime. You are a writer from New York who moved here for peace and quiet and don't want a huge supermarket less than 100 metres from your door. This is an historical town and the soul will be torn from it by this store.
You are the head of Super Foods Company, the organisation that will build this supermarket. It will bring jobs to the town and extra money because people will come to Bratton View from other nearby towns to use the supermarket. You are a local schoolteacher who has campaigned against this proposal for over two years. The supermarket will be built on marshland which is the last safe habitat of the rare Bratton Duck. Do we destroy that for cheaper tomatoes?
You are an 18 year old who has just left school but can't find a job. This new supermarket will be the perfect opportunity for Bratton View to have new jobs available. They are speaking about 70 new jobs which will be great for the local economy. You have lived in Bratton View for all your life and can't see the attraction of this planned supermarket. You prefer to do all your shopping in the small shops locally. The quality will be worse in the supermarket.
You are a local housewife who is sick and tired of paying high prices in the small shops locally. It is about time they had some competition and this may make them reduce their criminally high prices. You own a small baker's shop in the centre of Bratton View and have worked in it for over twenty years. What will happen to you when this supermarket opens? Once you are out of business, the quality of the bread will fall and the price rise.

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