2017, Sasha FA Levy-Andersson, www.tealetips.

com

British Food

This is the famous British Sunday roast, including roast meat, mashed potatoes,
yorkshire puddings and other vegetables.

A) Today we will talk about British food. First, talk to a partner

and ask them what they think of when you say British food.
What kind of adjectives do you think of? Do you know any
dishes? Have you eaten any British food and did you like it?

B) Many traditional English dishes have very strange names.

Look at the names below, guess what their ingredients might be
and how they might taste, then discuss them with a partner and
the class.

1. Toad in the hole, 2. Bubble and squeak, 3. Spotted dick, 4. Welsh

rarebit (sometimes pronounced rabbit), 5. Cullen skink, 6. Stargazey
pie, 7. Jam roley-poley
2017, Sasha FA Levy-Andersson, www.tealetips.com

C) Now walk around the class look at the pictures on the wall.
These are pictures of the dishes above. Try to decide which
picture is of which dish, giving reasons and discussing with the
students you meet on your journey through the world of British
food.
When you are walking around you could also think about these
questions:
i) What do you think they taste of?
ii) What do you think they contain (what are the ingredients?)
iii) Is there anything like them in your country?

D) Now match each of these descriptions below with the names

in part C.

7. This is a dessert that is normally made of rolled sponge pudding,

although it used to be made of suet and was nicknamed dead-mans arm
as it was steamed in a shirt sleeve!

This dish has a particularly unappetising name, actually its just a few
sausages that are baked in batter.

This dish comes from Wales and is basically just cheese on toast, but was
nicknamed rabbit. Welsh people ate it because during the 18th century
they couldnt even afford a cheap meat like rabbit.

This is a thick soup made of haddock, potatoes and onions. Nobody really
knows where the name comes from, although some people claim it is from
the Scottish word skink, which means shin of beef.

This is a dish of fried cabbage, potatoes and whatever other leftovers you
might have in the pantry (or fridge, these days).

This dish gets its name from the fish, who look like they are looking up at
the sky, peering at the stars.

This dish has a strange name that sounds a bit like a swear word, but
dick is actually from an Old English word meaning pudding (this is one
theory).
2017, Sasha FA Levy-Andersson, www.tealetips.com

E) Look at the words in bold in part D. Work with a partner and try
to guess what they mean, then check with the teacher to see if you are
correct.

Sponge pudding - a kind of dessert that is made of a sweet dough.

Steamed - Pantry -

Unappetising - Peer -

Batter - Swear word -

Haddock - Leftovers -

Shin of beef -
F) Which one of these dishes would you most or least like to try?
Why? Please decide, then in groups try to make a tasting menu of
British food. Please include 3-4 dishes, you make choose one or two
that are not on the list.

G) Now, watch this video and think about these questions: Has
British cuisine changed? Is it more or less international? Does it
sound better or worse than before? How about in your country?
Discuss these points and anything else that you think is interesting.
You can find the video at this website:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/word-street/food-britain

H) Homework!
Please think about some dishes you like, they could be from your country
or other countries. Do some research and find out about them. Prepare a
presentation for next week.

Some ideas: You could find out about the history of the dishes, what they
taste like, how you cook them, etc.
2017, Sasha FA Levy-Andersson, www.tealetips.com

Pictures
The pictures are in this order: bubble and squeak; Cullen skink; jam roley-poley; spotted dick;
stargazey pie; toad in the hole; Welsh rarebit.
Remember, these are for a wall crawl, so dont give these pictures to the students, unless you
are adapting the lesson, of course.
2017, Sasha FA Levy-Andersson, www.tealetips.com
2017, Sasha FA Levy-Andersson, www.tealetips.com
2017, Sasha FA Levy-Andersson, www.tealetips.com
2017, Sasha FA Levy-Andersson, www.tealetips.com

Teacher Notes
Level: Intermediate/upper-intermediate (CEFR B1/B2)
2017, Sasha FA Levy-Andersson, www.tealetips.com

Timing: 60-120 minutes (depending on which ideas are used)

Aims: to learn about traditional British dishes; to discuss British food and
express opinions; to develop vocabulary skills by defining lexis; to make a
tasting menu for a British restaurant; to understand and discuss a video
about how British food has changed.

Style: This is primarily a discussion/conversation lesson with a task-based

learning element.

Teaching suggestions:

Preparation: remember to stick up the pictures around the class and

number them if necessary (see below in part D).
!!!WARNING!!! The dish known as spotted dick should be removed from
this lesson if it is deemed inappropriate for the age group or learner
profiles of your group, but it is genuinely the name of a traditional pudding
that is often served under this name in British schools.

A Using the picture as a starting point, have Ss brainstorm adjectives to

do with British food. This could be done as a competition to see which
group can think of most adjectives or as a class activity making a mind-
map on the board. Have Ss discuss the questions.

B Have Ss discuss what they think the dishes contain from some of the
names. For example, they could guess from jam what jam roley-poley
contains and that it is a dessert. For classes with lower fluency the teacher
can put up some useful phrases such as I think its made of, I think it
hasin it, I think its a dessert/hot dish/cold dish/etc. because, etc.

C Have Ss walk around the class looking at the pictures and discussing
the questions. For less confident classes put one on the projector/print a
large copy out and elicit answers from Ss, then have them complete the
task as explained.

D Drill the vocabulary in bold and do some basic concept checking

(E.G.: does peer mean look or listen? Is it a verb or noun?, etc.). Have Ss
work in pairs groups to try to guess which dishes go with descriptions by
adding in the relevant numbers. Sometimes Ss find this guessing difficult,
in this case the teacher can number the pictures in advance according to
the list in part B. This can be conducted as a competitive quiz, or more
collaboratively by having students change groups and discuss their ideas
with reasons, which gives a good chance to negotiate for meaning and
2017, Sasha FA Levy-Andersson, www.tealetips.com

give opinions with justifications. These are both skills to be developed at

B1 and B2 levels.

E Have Ss look at the example definition, then have them try to create
their own, reminding them that this is an excellent way to remember new
words and ensure they fully understand lexis.

F Ask if Ss have ever heard of tasting menus, if not explain that they are
menus including several small dishes to allow people to taste a variety of
things, they are very popular in expensive restaurants at the moment.
Explain the aim of the activity (to make a British tasting menu in order to
practise explaining preferences), also encourage them to make
descriptions of their dishes as on a menu to practise the skill of defining
words, then have them do the activity in groups. They could then present
their ideas and be judged or voted on by the rest of the class, perhaps the
winning group could be given a small food-related prize, such as a snack.
Complete general error correction, remembering that the aim here is
fluency, so do this after the activity.

G This can be treated as an extension activity. This website includes an

online preparation activity for the video, which can also be printed as a
worksheet. Have Ss watch it, introducing the questions in advance. Have
them discuss the questions. Remember to prepare some concept checking
questions about the video appropriate to your learners.

H Introduce the homework, perhaps eliciting or giving some ideas.