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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?

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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

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?

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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-man’s arm”
as it was steamed in a shirt sleeve!

This dish has a particularly unappetising name, actually it’s 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 couldn’t 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).

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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.

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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.

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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 don’t give these pictures to the students, unless you
are adapting the lesson, of course.

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Teacher Notes
Level: Intermediate/upper-intermediate (CEFR B1/B2)

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 it’s made of…”,
“I think it has…in it”, “I think it’s 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 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

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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.

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