ESL WORKSHEET - Food, Drink and Culture

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

DISCUSSING OPINIONS*

LinguaHouse
Dec. 26, 2022

Level: Upper-Intermediate (B2-C1)
Type of English: General English
Tags: Food and Drink; American Culture; British Culture; Giving Opinions; Agreeing and Disagreeing; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old; Situation Based
Publication date: 12/26/2022

* This lesson has been updated

This lesson looks at the language around giving opinions, specifically around food and drink. Students will listen to a podcast with an American and a British person discussing their opinions and then read the second part of the discussion. Exercises focus on related vocabulary, reading and listening skills and offer students the opportunity to debate the topic (by Joe Wilson).

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audios (Am/Br English).

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Host: Welcome back to the podcast everyone. Now we’re moving on to the part of the show that we call ‘Explain yourself!’. This is where our guests talk about a topic and say what they think and why. Listeners, you can tell us who was the most convincing. So we’ve got Jake with us, Jake is from New York in the United States. Then we’ve got Andrew who’s from York in the UK.
Andrew: The original York before the Americans made a worse one.
Jake: No one knows where York is, or cares.
Host: Whoa! We’ve started already. Don’t worry, Jake, Andrew’s just trying to provoke you. This could be an interesting discussion! And today’s topic is Food and Drink. Which is better: American or British?
Jake: Well, this is going to be a short discussion. It’s American food and drink. It’s definitely the most well-known food around the world. What’s the next topic?
Andrew: Just because American food is the most well-known, which it is, it doesn’t mean it’s good. I think most of it is really unhealthy. Yes, he’s definitely an American male. Do all of you just sit watching games on TV that no other countries are interested in, drinking ice cold beer-flavored water and shouting (mimics) ‘We’re the best at everything! USA!’
Jake: Oh, you’re talking to me about beer? Good luck with tempting people to come to your barbecue on a hot day with a nice glass of warm beer. Not that you have barbecues because it’s always raining. You just sit inside with your warm beer and your fish and chips feeling sad.
Andrew: (laughs) I’m not going to apologize for enjoying beer that is slightly warmer than ice. There are things that are more important than how cold it is, you know? Like, oh I don't know - taste?
Host: Beer wars! Are we going to be able to resolve this difference at all, gentlemen?
Andrew: Obviously, I’m a little more favorable towards British beer, but Jake has a point about the weather. It doesn’t actually rain all the time, but it’s not usually as hot as it gets in most places in the US. If it is hot, I like a cold beer as much as he does. You'll be unlikely to convert me to drinking American beer all the time, but I’ve had some really great ones. California wines are really decent too.
Jake: I actually love British beer (laughs).
Host: Yeah, I should point out for those of you who don’t know, Andrew and Jake are friends and have been for a long time.
Jake: Yeah, to completely contradict what I said earlier, I much prefer British beer over classic American beer. But there are a lot of good ones. I think the best area for beer in the States is the North East. There’s a beer in Vermont called Heady Topper that you can only buy in small quantities because they only make small amounts and it’s so popular. It is rated as one of the best beers in the world. It’s hard to buy outside of Vermont.
Host: So we might be able to compromise here?
Andrew: I’ve actually had Heady Topper with Jake and it was amazing. There’s so much choice in both places now, it would be hard to say which place is better. It just depends on what you like, but personally, I’d go for British beer.
Jake: I agree, I can always find a great beer in either country, but the British have been making it for longer.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/discussing-opinions. Accessed on September 14, 2023. © 2008–2023 LinguaHouse.com. All rights reserved.