Restaurant

Level: Intermediate Skill: Reading, Speaking Area: Comprehension, Discussion, Grammar, Roleplay, Vocabulary Theme: food, restaurant Theme: 30-60 mins A comprehensive lesson plan to cover vocabulary and commonly used words and expressions for going to the restaurant. It also gives practice in dealing with bad waiters/waitresses or bad customers. Can be followed up by talking about food or common polite constructions like, would you like? Note that while this lesson plan can be easily adapted to beginners, and textbooks provide plenty of resources for easy dialogues ordering food, I have written this lesson plan for intermediate and advanced students. Materials At the Restaurant Sample Dialogue and Vocab Menus Waiter Sheet Role Cards This is a full lesson plan that takes about 1.5 hours with a small class. It could be broken into two sessions, with the sample dialogue and vocab for the first lesson and roleplay in the second lesson. Warm Up Hand out At the Restaurant Sample Dialogue and Vocab. Have students discuss the questions under Warm Up. Or you could do it as an all-class discussion. The question about restaurants in the West may prompt no response from students so you might have to prompt them: Well, does the waiter ask if you want smoking or non-smoking? Does your waiter seat you, or do you seat yourself? It will depend on their host culture. Then get the students to go over every step they can think of when you go to the restaurant. This is a good time to teach vocab like maitre d entree and so on. Problems with going out may come up. Students may say, The waiter will be rude! or, Then the table next to you will be drunk. Feel free to go into that without pre-empting the discussion later. Then have students act out the sample dialogue. You may want to substitute different food items. Then go over the comprehension questions to focus attention on what the waiter says, what language is used to say what you want to eat, recommending food, the tone of politeness. You might want to go over other moments in dining out and what people say to: give the bill, pay, order desert, complain and so on. Now go over the problems people may have eating out. Ask about typical problems. For more advanced students or if the class seems to like it, you could get into a discussion about customer service, the restaurant business and how hard it is, waiting tables, reasons for these problems Role Plays

Now break students into groups of 3-4, and pick one student to play the waiter. Hand the waiter the Waiter Sheet and a Menus and the customers also get Menus. Or cut and paste them to Word and change them as you see fit. Dont forget to adjust the waiter sheet which has information customers may ask, such as what kind of juice is available or what chicken cordon blue is. Have the students act out going out to eat. You probably want to start it with the customers arriving and the waiter greeting them and seating them, but you could just start it with the students sitting down. Students will probably take a long time at first to read the menu entirely. If you need to step into explain things, try to act like a manager or administrator as it keeps students in the mood. You will also want to decide if you want students to just order, or if you want to have them act out the whole meal including desert, paying, leaving a tip. Once theyve gone through it once, put students in new groups and hand out Role Cards. There are some for waiters and some for customers. These introduce problems into the roleplay like a rude waiter or a customer trying to get a discount/. To debrief, you could review key phrases again: Ill have or Id like or you could go over some food idioms. English Club has a good worksheet on food sayings. For another lesson plan on food, check out Talking About Food where students discuss food and food-related holidays. A fun and easy topic for students of all levels and it has a great cultural aspect to it, too. You Might Also Like:? 1. At the Restaurant 2. Ordering at a Restaurant for Beginners 3. Mystery Unit 4. Restaurant Role Cards 5. Newspaper

MATERIALS :
1. At the Restaurant Sample Dialogue and Vocab
At the Restaurant Warm Up 1. Discuss the following questions: o How often do you go to a restaurant? o Do you like eating out or at home? What is your favorite restaurant? o What is your favorite food to order there? o When was the last time you went to a restaurant? o Is there any difference between a restaurant, caf, bar, pub, cafeteria? o Have you ever been to a Western restaurant (i.e. in the US or Europe)? Were there any differences in customs between your country and the West?

Brainstorm what happens when you go to a restaurant. For example, First, the waiter says, Hello. How many people in your party? Then they seat you Useful Vocab maitre d waiter customer smoking section to seat someone to take an order to give an order starters appetizers entre desert side dish Sample Dialogue Dave and Sarah decide to visit an American restaurant. Waiter Dave : Waiter Sarah : Waiter : Good afternoon. Table for two? Yes, please. : Smoking or non-smoking? Non-smoking. : Right this way.

They walk to a table. Dave and Sarah sit down and the waiter gives them menus. Waiter : Ill be back in a few minutes to take your order.

After 7 minutes, the waiter returns. Waiter : Are you ready to order? Dave : I think so, but can I ask? What is Beef Stroganoff? Waiter : Its beef cut into small pieces and served in a sour cream and white wine sauce. Dave : Ok, that sounds good. Ill have that. Waiter : Excellent. And that comes with your choice of French fries, fried mushrooms, or rice. Dave : Ill have rice. Waiter : Anything to start? Dave : Ill have the French Onion soup. Waiter : OK. And what can I get you? Sarah : Is the Spaghetti and Meatballs very large? Waiter : Yes, its a big portion. Sarah : Oh, Im not very hungry. Waiter : Then can I recommend the Chicken with Mushrooms? That comes with noodles, but its not too big. Sarah : Ok. Ill take Chicken and Mushrooms. And a salad to start. Waiter : Very good. And what can I get you to drink? Dave : A Coke, please. Sarah : Ill have orange juice. Waiter : Oh, Im afraid were out of orange juice. But we have pear, apple, grape, and kiwi-banana. Sarah : Kiwi-Banana? That sounds interesting. Ill try that. Waiter : Excellent. Ill be back with your drinks in a minute. Questions 1. What does the waiter ask before seating Dave and Sarah? 2. How do Dave and Sarah say what they want to eat? 3. What do Dave and Sarah order for starters? For their main meal? To drink? 4. How does the waiter suggest a meal for Sarah?

5. What problems do the diners have? 6. Is the conversation formal or informal? Discussion 1. What kinds of problems do you have when you go to the restaurant? 2. Can you think of a time when a restaurant ran out of something you ordered? 3. Have you ever had very bad customer service? 4. Has the waiter/waitress ever mixed up your order? 5. Overcharged you? 6. Been very rude? 7. Have you every complained to a manager about a waiter or waitress? 8. Have you ever refused to pay for your meal?

2. Menus
American Caf All your favorite food from home

Appetizers
Potato Skins French Fries Pork Ribs Onion soup Cup $7.00 $3.00 $5.00 $3.95 $2.56

Entrees
Hamburger Deluxe Cheeseburger Deluxe Steak Macaroni and Cheese With ham With vegetables With ham and vegetables $5.00 $7.00 $5.50 $7.50 $12.00 $8.00 $9.00 $8.75 $9.25

Chicken Cordon Bleu

$13.00

Drinks
Soft Drinks Juice Vodka Beer 0.5l 0.33l 0.75l 0.5l 10cl Cheese sauce Ketchup Steak sauce $1.50 $2.00 $6.75 $3.00 $1.00 Mustard

Extras
Sour cream

10% added for tip automatically to all bills

3. Waiter Sheet
Waiter Sheet Use this sheet to answer any questions your customers may have. Potato skins are potatoes that are baked and then have cheese and hamburger meat sprinkled on top Chicken Cordon Bleu is a chicken breast stuffed with ham and cheese The Soup comes in a large bowl. The cup is smaller and comes in a coffee mug. Hamburger is just meat on a bun Cheeseburger is a hamburger with cheese on top. Hamburger or Cheeseburger Deluxe means the burger comes with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and French fries on the side. If they order a steak, ask them how they want it cooked: Well-done, medium, medium-rare, rare. Well-done means very well cooked Medium means a little pink in the middle of the steak Medium-rare means very pink Rare means just barely cooked If they ask: The Pork Ribs are not very good. The Onion Soup is delicious. The Steak is best cooked medium-rare Drinks Soft drinks: Coke, Pepsi, Fanta, Sprite Juice: Apple, Pear, Apricot (you will have orange juice tomorrow) Vodka: Parliament, Stolichnaya, and Nemiroff Beer: Amstel, Derbes, Tian-Shien

4. Role Cards
Restaurant Role Cards For Customers You really want meat spaghetti with meat. You dont like your waiter or waitress. Keep complaining to him/her. You dont have much money. Try to get a discount on the bill. Keep changing what you want to eat. Your food is very good. Compliment the waiter or waitress. You do not eat pork for religious reasons. Find out which food items have pork in them. Role Cards for Waiters or Waitresses You are tired and keep forgetting what your customers want. Ask them to repeat everything. Try to overcharge the customers for their meal. You hate the customers. Ignore them as much as you can. You have a large party coming soon and you need free tables. Try to rush your customers. You are out of whatever they order. You want a big tip so be very nice to the customers.