Fast Food Grammar Lesson Agnieszka Rakowicz- English and Language Acquisition The following lesson focuses on helping

intermediate ESL students ad ance their knowledge of counta!le and uncounta!le nouns and their quantifiers" The thematic conte#t is ethnic food$ its sources and preparation" Goal% Re iew and of counta!le and uncounta!le noun and noun quantifiers Le el% &ntermediate to high-intermediate 'utline% (" The instructor !egins !) asking students to name their fa orite food *rice$ chicken$ milk$ !read$ chocolate$ eggs$ pizza$ fruit$ fish$ and !eans+" The words are recorded on the !oard$ and after a !rief discussion$ the) are categorized as counta!le or uncounta!le" ," Students are asked which quantifiers can !e used to modif) counta!le and uncounta!le nouns" To elicit the forms arious questions can !e used$ for e#ample -ow much water do )ou drink. -ow many glasses of water do )ou drink. -ow many slices of pizza did )ou eat last night. /These e#amples are also helpful in discussing the difference !etween amount and number" 0" Students are in ited to discuss some of the more pro!lematic quantifiers$ such as the difference !etween 1a few1 and 1few1$ 1a little1 and 1little$1 and quantifiers that can !e used to indicate positi e and negati e meaning$ for instance & ha e a little food in the refrigerator" & ha e little food in the refrigerator" /The instructor discusses often confused$ comparati e and superlati e forms of these quantifiers" Less is used with uncounta!le nouns$ such as ice cream and fewer is used with counta!le plural nouns$ such as cookies" Less is the comparati e form of little, and fewer is the comparati e form of few"

Least is the superlati e form of little/not much and fewest is the superlati e forms of few/not many" &t is useful to mention here frequentl) confused the least *2the minimum+ and at least *2as a minimum requirement 3 not less than+"
4ote% The quantifiers appear to !e quite simple grammatical structures$ !ut the) are confusing for man) non-nati e speakers of English" This confusion ma) !e caused !) hearing nati e speakers5 6irregular7 usage of the quantifiers"

8" Students are asked to comment on the following cartoon%

9hile discussing the cartoon and$ ine ita!l)$ supermarkets$ the following questions can !e asked% 9here do people in )our countr) do their food shopping. 9hat is a t)pical food that people eat in )our countr). 9hat is a t)pical menu from )our countr). &nclude food for !reakfast lunch and dinner" 9ho is responsi!le for cooking food. :" Each student is asked to choose his3her fa orite famil) recipe and to generate a list of ingredients the recipe calls for"

;" &n groups students discuss and e#plain what their ingredients are and how the) are o!tained *from the supermarket$ farmer5s market$ from one5s garden+" /The ingredients are recorded on the !oard in either counta!le or uncounta!le column" <" Finall)$ students are in ited to write their fa orite famil) recipe" The) are asked to include% 4ame of recipe% From the kitchen of *first name$ geographic area+% 9e make this for% =) famil) likes it !ecause% &ngredients% >irections% /The instructor can create a class recipe !ooklet$ include information on when the recipe is made *e#% an)time$ for !irthda)s$ a certain holida)+ and wh) the famil) likes it" ?rinted copies can !e distri!uted to the class" Follow-up% For the ne#t se eral da)s$ students are asked to pa) attention to what the) eat$ perhaps keep a food @ournal" The) can also !e encouraged to notice to what people the) encounter in their neigh!orhood$ school or work$ eat" The noted food items can !e categorized% counta!le or uncounta!le nouns" The gathered information can also !e used during the following session$ which ma) !e spent on essa) writing" Students can compare and contrast diets of the Anited States and their nati e countr) in terms of taste and preparations$ or in terms of the amount of consumed food$ or a aila!ilit) of fast food and3or snacks"
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