Money and finance vocabulary and speaking worksheets

Money and Financial Vocabulary and Speaking Worksheets

21st June 2025

Money and finances might seem like a boring teaching topic. However, it can be more made more interesting and extremely relevant with the aid of video, images, conversations and audio. Below are some examples of some new exercises with improved audio, visuals and critical thinking exercises. For the complete financial literacy collection, subscribe at eslflow’s Substack.

Elementary Money and Finances Conversation

Young people today face more financial decisions than ever – from managing first paychecks to navigating digital payments and rising costs. This content provides essential vocabulary for the money conversations students have daily, whether they’re discussing spending habits with friends, talking about savings goals, or communicating about finances in workplace settings. The material covers real scenarios ESL learners encounter, from budgeting decisions to payment methods they’ll use throughout their personal and professional lives.

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Inflation conversation

Everyone feels the squeeze when prices go up. This conversation gets students talking about something they all understand – trying to make their money last when everything costs more. Charlie and Felicity discuss the same money worries your students face: higher grocery bills, expensive gas, and wondering if their income can keep up. Students practice real phrases people actually use when talking about financial stress, from “making ends meet” to “stretching the dollar.”

Extract from Inflation PDF lesson

Cost of living lesson

Where you live changes what you pay. This lesson teaches students how to talk about the money side of living in different places. Amy in New York and Steffan in Boston compare their monthly costs – rent, food, eating out, utilities. Students learn the vocabulary they need when discussing living expenses, whether they’re choosing where to study, comparing job offers in different cities, or just understanding why some places cost more than others.

(lesson extract download PDF)

Financial crisis vocabulary

From bubbles that burst to bears that attack markets, economic language is surprisingly visual and dramatic. This matching exercise transforms intimidating financial jargon into memorable images that tell the story of economic boom and bust. Students discover how a simple house auction photo captures “foreclosure,” while scissors cutting costs illustrates “austerity” – making complex economic concepts as clear as the pictures that represent them.

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Making Ends Meet

Students analyze financial choices and defend their reasoning. Each decision requires critical evaluation of priorities, reliability, and consequences. Analytical thinking meets practical money management vocabulary.

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Money and Finances Collocations

Words have best friends in English – and money vocabulary is no exception. Students become linguistic matchmakers, pairing verbs with their perfect financial partners while rejecting awkward combinations. Through error correction, unscrambling, and question formation, they discover the hidden logic behind why “earn money” sounds right but “do money” sounds wrong, building intuitive language skills for authentic financial communication.

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Bargaining

This conversational exercise helps students practice the language of bargaining.

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Elements of money and finances vocabulary and expressions (with audio and answers)

This is a business English ESL listening/speaking exercise introducing and exploring financial vocabulary. Students try to match the vocabulary with the appropriate pictures. Then they ask and answer the questions.

Elements of money and finances vocabulary (PDF)

Elements of money and finances audio

Talking about money (with audio and answers)

This is an elementary ESL listening/speaking exercise for talking about money. First, students try to match the vocabulary at the bottom of the page to the pictures. They can then listen and write notes below the pictures. They can also also ask/answer the questions as a speaking activity.

Talking about money (PDF)

Talking about money audio

Parts of speech for money and finances vocabulary (with answers)

This is a sorting exercise exploring the grammar of financial vocabulary. Students try to sort the words into the appropriate columns. Then they use the words in sentences.

Parts of speech money and finances vocabulary (PDF)

8 Basic financial vocabulary

This is a business English ESL exercise introducing and exploring basic financial vocabulary. Students try to complete the sentences by looking at the pictures. This exercise works well as an icebreaker at the beginning of a lesson.

Basic financial vocabulary (PDF)