A2 PPP 60 min Adults In Person

Ordering food at a restaurant

Order food in a restaurant politely and recover from a misunderstanding using 'would' and 'could' requests

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Pedagogical approach

Why this lesson works

PPP suits A2 adults because the target modal 'would' for polite requests demands explicit form-meaning-use modeling before learners can produce it independently (Skehan 1998 on cognitive load). The restaurant context activates schema knowledge most adult learners share globally, providing strong contextual support for new lexis (Nation 2013). The Free Production stage uses a Harvard-style case brief (Christensen 1991) — 'The Allergic Diner' — to push beyond transactional ordering into pragmatic negotiation under stakes, applying Lewis (1993) Lexical Approach: language-as-resource for real meaning. Wrap-up uses delayed correction so production fluency is not interrupted (Willis 1996).

Methodology PPP▾ Teacher introduces target language explicitly, learners drill it in controlled settings, then use it freely in...

Teacher introduces target language explicitly, learners drill it in controlled settings, then use it freely in semi-open production.

Best for: A1–B1 grammar and function lessons where structures are new.

Source · Cambridge TKT; Harmer (2007).

Theory Constructivism (Vygotsky) with Lexical Approach (Lewis) and Comprehensible…▾ Learners build knowledge by connecting new input to prior schema; meaning is constructed, not transmitted.

Theory: Constructivism (Vygotsky) with Lexical Approach (Lewis) and Comprehensible Input (Krashen)

Learners build knowledge by connecting new input to prior schema; meaning is constructed, not transmitted.

Best for: Inquiry-led lessons, problem solving, project work.

Source · Piaget (1936); Bruner (1966).

Lesson type Speaking Focus▾ Primary outcome is oral production; activities maximise student talk time.

Primary outcome is oral production; activities maximise student talk time.

Best for: Fluency stages; oral exam prep.

Source · Thornbury (2005) — How to Teach Speaking.

Framework CEFR Companion Volume 2020 — A2 spoken interaction descriptor▾ Common European Framework of Reference: six-level scale (A1–C2) describing what learners can DO with the language.

Common European Framework of Reference: six-level scale (A1–C2) describing what learners can DO with the language.

Best for: Any course needing standardised level descriptors and can-do statements.

Source · Council of Europe (2001, Companion Volume 2020).

Student profile General English▾ Mixed-purpose adult/teen learners studying English for broad personal or professional use.

Mixed-purpose adult/teen learners studying English for broad personal or professional use.

Best for: Open-curriculum courses with balanced four-skills.

Source · Course-design convention.

Modality In Person▾ Same physical room; full bandwidth of paralinguistic cues; easy pair/group setup.

Same physical room; full bandwidth of paralinguistic cues; easy pair/group setup.

Best for: Speaking-heavy lessons; young learners; rapport building.

Source · Pedagogical convention.

Skill emphasis
speaking listening reading writing
Pedagogical sources
Cambridge TKT; Harmer (2007). · Piaget (1936); Bruner (1966). · Council of Europe (2001, Companion Volume 2020).
Lesson objectives · Bloom-mapped

By the end, students will…

◆
Communicative
Order food in a restaurant politely and recover from a...
Order food in a restaurant politely and recover from a misunderstanding using 'would' and 'could' requests
apply
A2

Observable success — a teacher or peer can confidently tick "yes" against this, verified by behaviour, not self-report.

A2 · Waystage — can communicate in simple, routine exchanges on familiar topics.

▲
Grammatical
Use the modal verb 'would' in polite requests and 'could' in...
Use the modal verb 'would' in polite requests and 'could' in tentative questions; contrast with bare 'want' / 'will'
apply
A2

Observable success — a teacher or peer can confidently tick "yes" against this, verified by behaviour, not self-report.

A2 · Waystage — can communicate in simple, routine exchanges on familiar topics.

●
Lexical
Restaurant lexical set: menu, waiter, bill, starter, main...
Restaurant lexical set: menu, waiter, bill, starter, main course, dessert — recognised receptively and produced in 4+ utterances
remember
A2

Observable success — a teacher or peer can confidently tick "yes" against this, verified by behaviour, not self-report.

A2 · Waystage — can communicate in simple, routine exchanges on familiar topics.

■
Phonetic
Produce the weak form /wəd/ in 'would' in connected speech,...
Produce the weak form /wəd/ in 'would' in connected speech, distinguishing from strong /wʊd/ in citation form
apply
A2

Observable success — a teacher or peer can confidently tick "yes" against this, verified by behaviour, not self-report.

A2 · Waystage — can communicate in simple, routine exchanges on familiar topics.

Bloom focus
Apply & above
Objectives operate at Bloom's "apply" or higher — learners use the language in novel contexts (Anderson & Krathwohl 2001).
Measured across
5 stages
Each objective is checked against the 5 criteria on the assessment slide.
Success target
≥ 70% criteria met
Observable across the assessment criteria; the 70% threshold passes the lesson.
Anticipated problems · severity-tagged

Things to watch for

Common error patterns. high blocks communication · medium causes confusion · low is local accuracy. Click any card for the planned solution.

high Students drop softeners ('please', 'excuse me'), producing transactionally correct but pragmatically blunt utterances. pragmatic +

Solution · Teach 'please' and 'excuse me' as obligatory pair words in restaurant requests during Presentation. Add them to the board with the modal structures. CCQ: 'Is it polite without please?' Severity inferred from error_type pragmatic.

medium Students confuse 'would' (polite request) with 'will' (future), producing 'I will have the chicken' when politeness is the target. grammatical +

Solution · Drill the explicit contrast in Presentation: 'I will have' (statement of fact) vs 'I would like' (polite request). Use a meaning continuum on the board: direct → polite. Severity inferred from error_type grammatical.

medium Students use 'appetizer' (US English, A1-A2) instead of 'starter' (UK English, A2), or vice versa, and are confused when the menu uses the other term. lexical regional +

Solution · Acknowledge both in the Cultural notes branch of the mind map. Make the choice explicit: 'In the UK, the menu says starter. In the US, it says appetizer. They mean the same.' Avoids the trap of treating one as 'wrong'. Severity inferred from error_type lexical_regional.

medium Students avoid tipping references because of anxiety about doing it wrong — they freeze at the bill stage. sociocultural +

Solution · Address tipping explicitly in the Cultural notes branch of the mind map: '10-15% in UK/US, often included in European bills'. Frame as 'check before adding' rather than 'always tip'. Removes the cognitive load from the language task. Severity inferred from error_type sociocultural.

medium In pair work, one student monopolises the speaking turn and the other becomes passive, especially when proficiency is uneven. interactional +

Solution · Enforce role swap at the 5-minute mark in Controlled Practice (loud signal, e.g., a bell or clap). Re-pair stronger-with-stronger if monitoring reveals chronic imbalance (Willis 1996 on task structure). Severity inferred from error_type interactional.

low Students pronounce 'would' as strong /wʊd/ in connected speech, producing unnatural 'I /wʊd/ like'. phonological +

Solution · Model the weak form /wəd/ explicitly in the Presentation stage. Drill the contracted 'I'd' /aɪd/ — students who use the contraction sidestep the weak-form problem entirely (Underhill 2005 on stress and weak forms). Severity inferred from error_type phonological.

Assessment · Formative

How we'll measure success

Formative assessment — ongoing, low-stakes, used to inform teaching (Black & Wiliam 1998). 5 observable criteria.

Assessment type Formative ▾

Ongoing assessment during learning to inform teaching and learner action; low stakes.

Best for: Day-to-day classroom monitoring; feedback loops.

Source · Black & Wiliam (1998).

✓ Produces 'I'd like' OR 'Could I have' in ≥4 ordering utterances during Controlled Practice and Production combined. high obs. ▾

Success looks like — a student demonstrates this spontaneously, without prompting from the teacher.

"high observability" = how directly a non-expert observer could tick this off; observable verbs (use, produce, respond) score higher than internal-state verbs (understand, know).

✓ Maintains polite intonation (rising pitch on requests; no abrupt falling stress on 'menu' or 'bill'). medium obs. ▾

Success looks like — a student demonstrates this spontaneously, without prompting from the teacher.

"medium observability" = how directly a non-expert observer could tick this off; observable verbs (use, produce, respond) score higher than internal-state verbs (understand, know).

✓ Recovers from at least one misunderstanding using 'Sorry, can you repeat?' or 'Excuse me, could you ___?' high obs. ▾

Success looks like — a student demonstrates this spontaneously, without prompting from the teacher.

"high observability" = how directly a non-expert observer could tick this off; observable verbs (use, produce, respond) score higher than internal-state verbs (understand, know).

✓ In the Allergic Diner scenario, responds with at least 2 of: alerting the waiter politely, reassuring Tomás without exposing him, proposing an alternative dish. high obs. ▾

Success looks like — a student demonstrates this spontaneously, without prompting from the teacher.

"high observability" = how directly a non-expert observer could tick this off; observable verbs (use, produce, respond) score higher than internal-state verbs (understand, know).

✓ Self-corrects at least one error in the wrap-up stage when the error is shown on the board. medium obs. ▾

Success looks like — a student demonstrates this spontaneously, without prompting from the teacher.

"medium observability" = how directly a non-expert observer could tick this off; observable verbs (use, produce, respond) score higher than internal-state verbs (understand, know).

Evidence to look for

Teacher's anonymous error log captured during Controlled Practice and Production stages. Student performance during the Allergic Diner role-play observed against the four scenario criteria above. Self-evaluation sentence at wrap-up indicates metacognitive awareness of the learning. Evidence is observable in real time, not retrospective.

Lesson at a glance · 60 min

60-minute roadmap

5 stages, proportional. Click any block to jump straight to that stage.

60 MINUTES
Target language

Communicative functions & structures

Functions · click to expand
Ordering Food

The 'ordering food' move — speakers use this to achieve a communicative goal within ordering food at a restaurant.

e.g. I'd like a menu, please.

Requesting Politely

The 'requesting politely' move — speakers use this to achieve a communicative goal within ordering food at a restaurant.

e.g. I'd like a menu, please.

Asking For Information

The 'asking for information' move — speakers use this to achieve a communicative goal within ordering food at a restaurant.

e.g. I'd like a menu, please.

Clarifying A Misunderstanding

The 'clarifying a misunderstanding' move — speakers use this to achieve a communicative goal within ordering food at a restaurant.

e.g. I'd like a menu, please.

Key structures · click for use
I'd like ___, please.

Drill the form first, then anchor in meaning — ask students when they would say this and to whom.

Could I have ___, please?

Drill the form first, then anchor in meaning — ask students when they would say this and to whom.

What do you recommend?

Drill the form first, then anchor in meaning — ask students when they would say this and to whom.

Excuse me, could you ___?

Drill the form first, then anchor in meaning — ask students when they would say this and to whom.

Sorry, there's been a mix-up.

Drill the form first, then anchor in meaning — ask students when they would say this and to whom.

Vocabulary · 6 items · click any card

Key vocabulary

menu OFF

"I'd like a menu, please."

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

waiter OFF

"I'd like a waiter, please."

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

bill OFF

"I'd like a bill, please."

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

starter OFF

"I'd like a starter, please."

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

main course OFF

"I'd like a main course, please."

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

dessert OFF

"I'd like a dessert, please."

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

CEFR distribution6 items total
banded for A2
OFF
6 · 100%
Off-list
Concept network · tap a branch to expand

Restaurant English

Restaurant English
1 Vocabulary 6
  • menu
  • waiter
  • bill
  • starter
  • main course
  • dessert
2 Functions 4
  • ordering food
  • requesting politely
  • asking about the menu
  • paying the bill
3 Structures 4
  • I'd like ___, please.
  • Could I have ___, please?
  • What do you recommend?
  • Excuse me, could you ___?
4 Cultural notes 4
  • UK: starter = first course (US: appetizer)
  • Tipping: 10–15% in UK/US, often included in European bills
  • Check the bill for 'service charge' before adding a tip
  • Calling 'waiter!' is impolite in the UK — make eye contact instead
Case method · negotiate a real dilemma

The Allergic Diner

The dilemma

How does Maya stop the order quickly, politely, and without making Tomás feel exposed in front of his colleagues?

Background

Maya is having lunch with three colleagues at a new restaurant she chose. Halfway through ordering, she notices Tomás has just asked for the chicken satay — a dish with peanuts. Tomás has a severe peanut allergy and has not realised the dish contains them. The waiter has already written the order down and is two tables away taking another order. Maya does not want to embarrass Tomás in front of the colleagues.

Discussion prompts · click for the pedagogical intent
  • What would you say to the waiter to stop the order, and why?
  • How would you alert Tomás without naming the allergy aloud at the table?
  • If the kitchen says the dish is already being prepared, what is your fallback?
  • What language would you use to thank the waiter and re-order without making the moment awkward?
Target language to deploy
Excuse me, could you ___? Sorry, there's been a mix-up. Would it be possible to ___? I'd like to change my order, please. I'm sorry, the chicken won't work for us.
1 Stage 1 of 5 T-S · 5 min
Stage 1 · Discussion

Warm-up — eliciting the schema

Discussion ▾

Open-ended group talk on a topic; minimal teacher intervention beyond opening prompt and topic-shift management. Practices fluency, turn-taking, and topic development.

Best for: Wrap-up, schema activation, B1+ where lexical inventory supports topic depth.

Source: Bygate 1987 (Speaking).

5:00

Teacher checklist

  • 1Show a photo of a restaurant table on the board
  • 2Ask: 'When did you last eat out?
  • 3What did you order?' Elicit 3-4 dishes onto the board
  • 4Do NOT correct vocabulary at this stage — fluency before accuracy
Teacher language
When did you last go to a restaurant? What did you eat? Was it good?

Students do

Students share recent restaurant experiences in open class, naming dishes they remember.

  • Mboard
  • Mphoto of restaurant table
Talk balanceT-S
Teacher Students Solo
Concept-checking questions 3
When did you go?
What did you eat?
Did you like it?
What if? · activity menu

No activity menu authored. Default rescue triggers per stage:

  • What if no one talks?
  • What if they finish too fast?
  • What if they don't understand the target?
2 Stage 2 of 5 T-S · 15 min
Stage 2 · Modeled Dialogue

Presentation — modelling 'would' and 'could'

Modeled Dialogue ▾

Teacher presents a target dialogue with deliberate prosody, then learners chorally/individually repeat slices before producing their own.

Best for: Presentation stage; introducing fixed exchanges; lower CEFR levels (A1-B1).

Source: Krashen 1985 (comprehensible input) + audio-lingual heritage.

15:00

Teacher checklist

  • 1Play (or model) a 90-second waiter/customer dialogue twice
  • 2First listen: students raise hand when they hear 'would' or 'could'
  • 3Second listen: students count the polite requests
  • 4Elicit the target structures onto the board, then drill chorally (3x) and individually (rows)
  • 5Highlight the weak form /wəd/ — model strong vs weak: 'I would like' /aɪ wʊd laɪk/ → /aɪ wəd laɪk/
Teacher language
Listen carefully. How does the customer ask for things? Is it polite or direct? Repeat after me — 'I'd like'.

Students do

Students listen, identify target structures, drill chorally and individually, and notice the weak form.

  • Mboard
  • Maudio file or scripted dialogue
  • Mmenu visual
Talk balanceT-S
Teacher Students Solo
Concept-checking questions 4
Is 'would' polite or direct?
Is 'could' a question or a statement?
Why is 'I would like' more polite than 'I want'?
Where is the stress in 'I'd like'?
What if? · activity menu

No activity menu authored. Default rescue triggers per stage:

  • What if no one talks?
  • What if they finish too fast?
  • What if they don't understand the target?
3 Stage 3 of 5 S-S · 15 min
Stage 3 · Pair Work

Controlled Practice — menu role-play

Pair Work ▾

Students practice in pairs while teacher monitors. Maximises student talking time (STT); shifts teacher from input source to facilitator.

Best for: Any stage where individual practice quota matters; CLT cornerstone.

Source: Brown 2007 (Teaching by Principles); Long 1996 (Interaction Hypothesis).

15:00

Teacher checklist

  • 1Distribute menu cards (one per pair)
  • 2Assign roles: Student A = customer, Student B = waiter
  • 3Pairs perform the dialogue using ONLY 'I'd like' and 'Could I have'
  • 4After 5 minutes, students swap roles and repeat with a different menu
  • 5Monitor and note 2-3 recurring errors silently — do NOT correct on the fly; save for wrap-up
Teacher language
Work in pairs. One person is the waiter, one is the customer. Use 'I'd like' and 'Could I have'. Swap after five minutes.

Students do

Students role-play ordering in pairs, using menu cards. They swap roles after 5 minutes and repeat with a different menu.

  • Mmenu cards (6 different menus)
  • Mrole cards
Talk balanceS-S
Teacher Students Solo
Concept-checking questions 4
Who is the customer?
Who is the waiter?
Which two structures must you use?
When do you swap roles?
What if? · activity menu

No activity menu authored. Default rescue triggers per stage:

  • What if no one talks?
  • What if they finish too fast?
  • What if they don't understand the target?
4 Stage 4 of 5 S-S · 20 min
Stage 4 · Case Brief Role Play

Production — 'The Allergic Diner' case brief

Case Brief Role Play ▾

Harvard-style case brief (background + dilemma + stakes) embedded in a role-play. Learners must solve a concrete situation using the target language under realistic constraints; richer than vanilla role-play because the case carries pedagogical weight in itself.

Best for: Production stage at B1+ (or A2 with heavy scaffolding); pragmatic / sociocultural objectives.

Source: Christensen 1991 (Education for Judgment) + Bonk & Smith 1998 (ESL case adaptation).

20:00

Teacher checklist

  • 1Hand out the case brief 'The Allergic Diner'
  • 2Give students 3 minutes to read silently and underline target language they will use
  • 3In groups of three (Maya, Tomás, Waiter), students plan and perform the scene
  • 4One pair volunteers to perform for the class
  • 5Capture 2-3 emergent errors and 1 'good model' utterance on the board for the wrap-up
Teacher language
Read the case carefully. Who are the people? What is the problem? Plan together. Use the target language. You have 12 minutes — then one group performs.

Students do

Students read the case brief, plan in groups of three, and perform 'The Allergic Diner' scenario. One group performs for the class.

  • Mcase brief handout (1 per group)
  • Mhighlighters
Talk balanceS-S
Teacher Students Solo
Concept-checking questions 4
Who is allergic?
What did the waiter do?
Is there a single correct answer?
What words will you use to be polite?
What if? · activity menu

No activity menu authored. Default rescue triggers per stage:

  • What if no one talks?
  • What if they finish too fast?
  • What if they don't understand the target?
5 Stage 5 of 5 T-S · 5 min
Stage 5 · Delayed Correction

Wrap-up — delayed correction and reflection

Delayed Correction ▾

Teacher withholds correction during fluency activity to preserve flow, captures errors on the board, processes them collectively after the task.

Best for: Production / Wrap-up stages; preserving learner risk-taking in CLT and TBLT.

Source: Willis 1996 (A Framework for Task-Based Learning).

5:00

Teacher checklist

  • 1Write the 2-3 emergent errors on the board WITHOUT identifying who said them
  • 2Elicit corrections from the class
  • 3Highlight the 'good model' utterance and ask why it worked
  • 4Close with a one-sentence self-evaluation: students complete 'Today I learned to ___'
Teacher language
Look at the board. Which sentence is correct? Why? What did you learn today? Finish: 'Today I learned to ___'.

Students do

Students self-correct the board errors, identify why the 'good model' worked, and complete a one-sentence self-evaluation aloud or in their notebook.

  • Mboard
Talk balanceT-S
Teacher Students Solo
Concept-checking questions 3
What was the error?
How do we say it correctly?
What was the most useful new phrase for you?
What if? · activity menu

No activity menu authored. Default rescue triggers per stage:

  • What if no one talks?
  • What if they finish too fast?
  • What if they don't understand the target?
Differentiation · concrete moves

Adapting on the fly

Pre-planned moves for both ends of the room. Scan for who needs which during monitoring.

If learners struggle
  1. Provide L-shape sentence frames on cue cards ('I'd like ___, please' with the slot visually highlighted)
  2. Pair a weaker student with a stronger one for the case brief — the stronger student takes the more demanding role (Waiter, who must improvise)
  3. Allow a 30-second 'rehearsal' before performing
If learners need a challenge
  1. Remove sentence frames
  2. Add a complication to the case brief: 'The waiter does not speak English well — you must repeat using different words.' Require students to self-correct one of their own errors before performing for the class
Homework · Creative Writing

For next time

Write a 10-line dialogue for a restaurant scenario of your choice. Constraint: you must use 'I'd like', 'Could I have', AND respond to at least one unexpected event (no dish available / wrong order / allergy). Bring it to the next class — we will perform two of them.
Next lesson · preview

Next class: 'Complaining politely in a restaurant' — extends the same modal request frames into a more confrontational pragmatic context. Same target structures, higher pragmatic difficulty (Brown & Levinson on face-threatening acts).

Student Worksheet · Printable

Ordering food at a restaurant — Student Worksheet

Order food in a restaurant politely and recover from a misunderstanding using 'would' and 'could' requests.

A2 Adults ~25 min 4 sections
matching exercise

Section 1 — Match the restaurant word

Match each restaurant word (1-6) with its correct definition (a-f). Write the letter next to each number.

  • 1. menu
  • 2. waiter
  • 3. bill
  • 4. starter
  • 5. main course
  • 6. dessert
  • a. The big plate of food after the small one. Usually meat, fish, or pasta.
  • b. The piece of paper at the end of the meal showing what you have to pay.
  • c. The small first plate. Often soup or salad.
  • d. The book or card with all the food you can order.
  • e. The sweet food at the end of the meal — cake, ice cream, fruit.
  • f. The person who brings you the food and takes your order.
gap fill

Section 2 — Fill in the polite request

Complete each sentence with 'would' or 'could'. Both can be polite, but use 'would' for I'd like ___ and 'could' for Could you/I ___. Write the missing word in the blank.

  • 1. I _____ like a coffee, please.
  • 2. _____ I have the bill, please?
  • 3. Excuse me, _____ you bring some water?
  • 4. I _____ like to start with the soup.
  • 5. _____ you recommend a dessert?
  • 6. We _____ like the menu, please.
dialogue completion

Section 3 — Complete the waiter dialogue

You are the customer. The waiter's lines are written. Complete YOUR lines politely using the structures from the lesson. Use 'I'd like', 'Could I have', 'Excuse me, could you', or 'Sorry, there's been a mix-up'.

  • Waiter: Good evening. Are you ready to order?
  • You: ______________________________________________
  • Waiter: Excellent choice. And for the main course?
  • You: ______________________________________________
  • Waiter: Sorry, we don't have steak today. Would you like the chicken instead?
  • You: ______________________________________________
  • Waiter (later, bringing a fish dish): Here is your fish.
  • You: ______________________________________________ I ordered the chicken.
  • Waiter: I'm very sorry. Let me bring the chicken right away.
  • You: ______________________________________________
sentence ordering

Section 4 — Reorder the polite request

The words in each request are scrambled. Reorder them to make a correct polite request. Write the full sentence.

  • 1. like / I'd / please / pasta / the
  • 2. have / Could / bill / I / the / please / ?
  • 3. you / could / Excuse me / bring / fork / a / ?
  • 4. recommend / What / you / do / ?
  • 5. there's / Sorry / mix-up / been / a
Answer key (teacher reference)
Section 1 Matching
1=d, 2=f, 3=b, 4=c, 5=a, 6=e
Section 2 Gap Fill
1=would, 2=Could, 3=could, 4=would, 5=Could, 6=would
Section 3 Dialogue Completion
Multiple valid answers. Sample: (1) I'd like the tomato soup, please. (2) Could I have the steak? (3) I'd like the chicken then, please. / Could I have the chicken instead? (4) Excuse me, sorry, there's been a mix-up. (5) Thank you very much. — Teacher accepts any polite request using would/could.
Section 4 Sentence Ordering
1=I'd like the pasta, please. 2=Could I have the bill, please? 3=Excuse me, could you bring a fork? 4=What do you recommend? 5=Sorry, there's been a mix-up.
End of lesson

Thank you

Ordering food at a restaurant · A2 · 60 min

PPP 5 stages 6 vocab items
Teacher's notes
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