Food: Fuel or Pleasure
Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate, Prep Speaking level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide Ss with an opportunity for freer speaking practice on the subject of food and peoples' relationships with food (how they think about food, how they approach food, and their general eating habits).
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide Ss with an opportunity to practice their gist and detailed reading skills on the subject of peoples' relationships with food and some cultural differences related to approaches to food.
Procedure (91-107 minutes)
Write on the WB FOOD: FUEL OR PLEASURE. Write beneath the LP title the subheader TURKISH CUISINE. Elicit from the WC some of their favorite Turkish dishes. Guide the Ss to provide a detailed description of their favorite dish--i.e. what food groups are included; how it is prepared; does it taste delicious with a specific drink; how often does the Ss eat this dish; does a family member make it for the Ss; does the Ss know the exact recipe of this dish? Write some of the Ss' answers on the WB. [T's favorite Turkish dish: Hunkar begendi] Write beneath the LP title the subheader INTERNATIONAL CUISINE. Elicit from the WC any favorite dishes of theirs from other countries. Write on the WB some examples: UNITED STATES (T Answer: Burger and fries); CHINA (T Answer: Dumplings and Cashew chicken); FRANCE (T Answer: Any tartare [Tuna, Salmon, or Steak]); ITALY (T Answer: Pizza and risotto); JAPAN (T Answer: Sushi); MEXICO (T Answer: Tamales with chorizo) Elicit from the Ss their emotional responses to these delicious foods (both the Turkish and international cuisine). How do they feel when they eat them? "Why do you eat these delicious foods? What is the purpose? Do you eat your favorite dish because it pleases you or just because you are hungry and need energy?"
Refer Ss back to their previous discussion, from the 'Diet and Exercise' LP at the beginning of the semester. Inform the WC that they are going to share, in pairs, with their peers their daily eating habits. Divide the WC into groups and distribute the HO on 'Daily Eating Habits.' During PW discussion, write on the WB: CHORE/DUTY and PLEASURE. Following PW discussion, refer the WC to the WB and elicit their general thoughts on food and eating. "Based on your discussion concerning eating habits, would you say that you (and/or your partner) consider eating a chore [or a duty] or a pleasure (reference the WB)? Why?" Highlight the Ss' differences in their eating approaches to breakfast/lunch and dinner (if there are any). Try to elicit a reason for these differing approaches.
Elicit from the WC what they think might be some of the cultural differences among different countries, related to their approaches to food and eating. Reference the countries originally written on the WB (THE UNITED STATES; CHINA; FRANCE; ITALY; JAPAN; MEXICO). "Based on what you know about the beliefs and traditions of these countries, which of these cultures consider food and eating as a pleasurable experience and which of these cultures consider food and eating as a chore (or a duty that must be done to survive and give a person energy)?" Elicit a reason for 'why.' Try to guide the Ss to include tangible examples of how people eat, and consider food, from those countries (either from news sources, television series, movies, personal experiences and observations, etc.).
Inform the WC that they are going to read an article, from the British Press, that includes an interview, on food and eating, with two different women from two different cultures. "The interview asked these women a series of questions on food and their relationship with food. The participants included a lawyer from San Francisco, USA named Alice and an IT consultant from Lyons, France named Jacqueline. Based on their answers to the interview questions, I want you to decide with your partner which of the women eat for pleasure and which of the women eat just because they have to (for fuel/energy)?" Divide the WC into groups and distribute the interview HO ('Food: Fuel or Pleasure?'). Following GW discussion, bring the groups together for WC FB. Guide the Ss to use specific phrases and wording (from the interview answers) to support their argument for each woman. Elicit from the WC which approach to food they consider the best. "Based on their relationship with food, who do you think is the healthier individual--Alice or Jacqueline? Why?" "What type of relationship do you have with food? Is it closer to Alice's or Jacqueline's experience?"
Elicit from the WC the differences in their approach to food, compared to their grandparents' relationship with food. Is there a difference? Are their grandparents' relationship with food similar to Alice's or Jacqueline's? In what way? Inform the Ss that they are going to watch a short Coca-Cola advertisement. "This Coca-Cola advertisement is trying to highlight some differences between the American lifestyle of the 1960's and the American lifestyle of today. What are some of the differences that you see between both generations? What are the differences, specifically, of the eating habits and relationship with food between both generations?" Youtube: Coca-Cola Advert - Grandpa - Living a Healthy Lifestyle - Coca-Cola UK [1:00] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvsTjZko2gw Following a viewing of the video, bring the WC together for FB and a response to the 'before listening' questions. Elicit from the WC the following: "Do you agree with this Coca-Cola advertisement? Should we all live like grandpa?"
Inform the WC that they are going to complete a questionnaire on their eating habits. "This questionnaire will help define your relationship with food and what type of 'eater' you are." Inform the WC that each Ss has a statement from the questionnaire. "You must go to each classmate and have them read their statement to you. You will consider the statement, answer it based off of a score (write on the WB: 1=STRONGLY DISAGREE; 2=DISAGREE; 3=NEUTRAL; 4=AGREE; 5=STRONGLY AGREE), write your answer's score on your questionnaire form, and explain to your partner why you gave the answer that you did." Model an example of what's expected with one of the Ss. Emphasize that the Ss' answer, for each statement, should be written in the shaded box for the statement's row. Distribute the 'Food Questionnaire' HO and associated statements ('Food Questionnaire: Statements') to each Ss. Provide the WC 20-25 minutes to complete this activity. Hang the score results throughout the classroom while the Ss are interacting with each other and completing their questionnaires. When energy levels begin to die down, inform the WC on how to score their completed questionnaire and what the scores mean. Provide the Ss time to locate their score results and to read the associated eating pattern. Bring the WC together for FB. Ask some final, wrap-up questions. --"What do you think about this questionnaire? Do you think that your score results are accurate, concerning your relationship with food?" --"What did you learn about yourself from this questionnaire?" --"Were you surprised by your score results?"