Many
students question the names of meals in the English language.
They can
tell you that the first thing you have in the morning is Breakfast.
Then they get confused using the words, Lunch, Dinner and Supper!
Basically the
difference is rather easy to explain. It all depends on how much
food you eat! For example, for Lunch you can have a sandwich or
something light, like a salad. Most working people have little time
for a daytime meal , so what they eat is called Lunch.
If these
people have lunch in the daytime, then they eat more in the evening
and so it's called Dinner.
If instead
they eat "light" in the evening, for example a plate of soup and
some vegetables, then it's called Supper. Remember this word
"supper" has its origins in the word "soup".
Dinner is
the term used for when a person has a complete meal, including meat,
vegetables, fruit, and dessert, so it doesn't depend on what time
it's eaten.
Now that we
cleared that up, let's add still another term, "Brunch" As you can
probably already guess, it's a combination of breakfast and lunch,
and it's usually had around 11 a.m. It's an abundant breakfast
that takes the place of a real Lunch.
It might be a
nice idea for the students to make up menus for each meal.
They will have
to take a look at lists of food to help them with this.
Now let's talk
about ordering food in a restaurant.
Very informal questions from a waiter, or waitress.
"Would you like to see a menu, or do you know already what you want
to order?
"What will you have?"
"Have you decided what you want to order?"
"Fine,
and to drink?"
Here's how
to order:
"I'd like the.....roast chicken, veal cutlets," etc.
"I have the.....fried fish with boiled potatoes."
"Can I have the menu for the day, but with fried potatoes instead of
a salad?"
"Can I ice cream instead of cake, for dessert?"
Of course,
there are many other questions that can be added.
Let's let the students "act out" being at a restaurant and ordering their dinner.
They can
write a dialogue first, if necessary. Let them work in small
groups and be available to help them and then "hear" them.
When the noise in
the classroom is due to students taking about their assignment, I
consider it "good noise". Let them try out what they
are learning and you'll be surprised at the results. Much of the
class enthusiasm comes from the creative and helpful
teacher.
A Nice Thought
"I love
sandwiches. Let's face it, life is better between two slices
of bread."