Food in Britain Today

This lesson plan for teachers of teenage and adult students at intermediate level is about changing attitudes to food in the UK. Students will take part in a discussion about their own preferences and attitudes towards food and restaurants.

Author

Kate Joyce

Introduction

This lesson consists of a series of activities to help students talk about food.

The main focus of the lesson is a text based on a recent survey in the UK indicating that British people are becoming more adventurous and experimental in their cooking and eating habits due to the growing popularity of cooking programmes. This lesson should challenge stereotypes of British food and encourage students to discuss their own preferences and attitudes towards food and restaurants.

Topic

Modern British food and restaurants

Age and Level

Aged 13-17 and Adults (CEFR B1+)

Time

95- 115 mins depending on the selected activities. This material could be done over multiple lessons

Learning outcomes

Study vocabulary relating to food, restaurants, tastes and textures
Develop reading for gist and reading for specific information skills
Develop speaking skills by discussing preferences and attitudes towards food and restaurants
Practise writing short, descriptive texts

Materials

Lesson plan
Worksheet - lead in to reading tasks
Reading option 1 (article about food)
Reading option 2 (restaurant reviews)

For more information about this topic you can visit these BBC sites:

Downloads

Lesson plan214.07 KB

Worksheet143.21 KB

Reading - Option 1143.8 KB

Reading - Option 2152.27 KB

Language Level

Intermediate: B1

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Comments

English

That's great! i thing this lesson plan will be useful for me and i find it so interesting information for my students ! i see good activities and Brainstorming exercises! Well done!

Food Quiz question 14

Hi, Great set of activities, I will be using these in my 2nd year Japanese High School classes. One thing I noticed: question 14 in the food quiz. 14. What is the difference between these things? a. ‘chips’ and ‘French fries’ b. ‘crisps’ and ‘chips’ c. ‘fizzy drink’ and ‘soda’ It doesn't really make sense. The other questions are multiple choice but this one is asking students to identify the difference between each pair of words. There isn't a "right" answer here. The answer for all of them is that the first word is British English and the second is American English. Also, as the question implies that students have to find the difference between each pair, it shouldn't be in the multiple choice format. A better format would be either 14. Which pair is different? a. ‘chips’ and ‘French fries’ b. ‘crisps’ and ‘chips’ c. ‘fizzy drink’ and ‘pop’ Where the answer is c. because "fizzy drink" and "pop" are both used in British English; or, 14. What is the difference between ‘chips’ and ‘French fries’, ‘crisps’ and ‘chips’ and ‘fizzy drink’ and ‘soda’? a. One word is British English and one word is American English b. They are made differently c. One word is old-fashioned English and one word is modern English Anyway, thanks for this resource! Joe

Food Quiz question 14

Hi Joe, Thanks for your comment and we're happy to hear you'll be using this with your classes - hope it works well! That's a very good point about question 14 and we'll look into changing that the next time we're able to update this resource. Rachael TeachingEnglish team

Food Quiz question #14 ... 2017 to 2022

Agreed. The question is worded poorly, and the file has not been updated. It is now 2022, and I'm not going to hold my breath for an update as promised in December of 2017. I'm hoping for a Christmas miracle in 2022; please kindly update this?

Worksheet updated

Hi Alice M

Thanks for your comment - the worksheet has now been updated with a differently worded question 14 - Hope you and your students enjoy the lesson!

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Hot & Spicy: any difference?

Hi, I stumbled upon this lesson plan about food and I find it very interesting for my business students. Yet, in worksheet B I seem to have great difficulty seeing the difference between "hot" and "spicy". Perhaps an example could help clear things. Cheers!

Hi Valaki,

Hi Valaki, Hot and spicy can be used to mean the same thing (as in, with lots of spices). 'Hot' can also be used to describe temperature (as in, 'not cold'). "Hot and spicy'' is an example of collocation as the two words often go together - as in 'I really love a hot and spicy curry'. Hope that clears things up! Cath TE Team