A Restaurant Meal (Novice-Intermediate)

Practice on Your Own

Imagine you are studying abroad in a country where the language is spoken. Some friends have invited you to go out to dinner with them. Plan what you will eat and drink.

• Plan ahead for the types of food and drinks you will have in the language you are learning. Make sure you bring enough money with you.
• You have an idea about some restaurants but you are not quite sure. Prepare questions for your conversation partner about the best restaurant to have your meal.
• Practice for a conversation between you and a waiter at the restaurant. How will you greet the person? How will you ask for your food? Do you place an order and then food will be prepared, or is it already prepared? When do you pay for food, before or after eating? In turn, the waiter will ask you how much food you want (full or half plate)? What would you like to drink?
• Listen to audio recordings and practice pronunciation. Also read the material available to you on the topic. If your textbook doesn’t have much information, you can look for more online.
• Practice how to tell your conversation partner and fellow students what you intend to eat and drink at the restaurant.

Practice in Conversation Session

• Be prepared to tell your conversation partner and fellow students what you will eat and drink at the restaurant. They may follow up with questions about the kinds of restaurants found in the country, the drinks available and if there is any foreign food.
• Find out from your conversation partner about the best restaurants to eat at and the drinks to have.
• Be prepared to role play situations in which your conversation partner plays the role of a waiter and you interact with the person. After greeting the person in a culturally appropriate way, ask for the menu. As you tell the waiter what you want, you are told that some of the things you want are not available but you are given alternatives. You ask for a beer and you are told that alcoholic beverages are not served but tea, coffee, soda and water are served. The waiter tells you that the food will be prepared after placing your order and will take about twenty minutes to half an hour to be ready. Role play the conversation. Switch roles and repeat the conversation.
• After the role plays discuss the differences in the ways that restaurants serve food in your country and in the country/ies where the language you are learning is spoken. Are there any similarities? Which kinds of food do think you will enjoy in the host country and why?