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Texas Adult Education Standards and Benchmarks
for ABE ASE and ESL Learners

esl LESSON PLANS

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Texas Adult Education Standards
Lesson Plan

Before you begin

Title: Ordering Food at a Restaurant

Setting: ESL

NRS Level(s):

Level 4: Low Intermediate
Level 5: High Intermediate

Open entry/exit: Yes

Context: Community

Standard(s): Speak So Others Can Understand

Benchmark(s): 1.4, 2.5, 3.4, 4.5

Objective: To converse with wait staff in a restaurant setting.

Materials: Handouts for sample menus and the role-playing activity script can be located at:
http://bogglesworldesl.com/survival_travel_english/restaurants.htm

Estimated time needed to prepare for this lesson plan: 30 minutes

Estimated time needed to complete this lesson plan: 4 hours

The Lesson Plan

Introduce the lesson:
Invite students to share restaurant dining experiences. Review terminology students might encounter when dining out in a restaurant. Examples: appetizer, entrée, poached eggs, medium rare, steak, easy ice, or other foods typically found on a menu.

Teach the lesson:
Discuss proper ways to address employees when dining out, including making requests or modifications to an order. This discussion should include proper ways of gaining a restaurant worker’s attention. Ask students to offer examples of how this is done in their native country. If differences are noticeable, explain the proper procedure in the U. S. Include past grammar lessons on tag questions, comparatives/superlatives, count/ non-count nouns, and using embedded questions to express politeness.

Practice the lesson:
For this lesson, simulate a restaurant setting by setting up a table with a chair at the front of the classroom. Each student should be provided with a copy of the handout from the above website. Have students choose a partner or assign students to work as a pair. Each pair will role play the activity in the handout in front of the whole class. The dialogue from the handout can be modified by the teacher to address situations such as “finicky customer”, “rude customer” “impatient worker,” etc. Students can also improvise their roles.

Assess the lesson:
Teacher facilitation of the activity provides opportunity for immediate feedback.

Apply the lesson to the real world:
Students should gain confidence in placing orders at a restaurant. The lesson can also be applied to students who are interested in working in a restaurant setting.

Submitted by: Elizabeth Moya

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