The world's weirdest food!

Introduction

Hello, boys and girls!

As you know, the topic of this class is... weird foods of the world! 



What's normal for us may be strange for someone else.  Because... if you were really hungry, would you be able to eat fried crickets or scorpions? Let's see what are you capable of. 

Task

Your tasks in this particular activity are as follows:

  • Doing the different pre-tasks shown below.
  • Reading the text and acquiring vocabulary and information about foods of the world.
  • Developing intercultural competence, so that you can understand that no culture is better than another. What is rare for us, for others is normal and vice versa.
  • Completing the activities of comprehension of the text after reading it. 

Process

Preparation and task 1 to 4 adapted from: https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/sites/teens/files/the_worlds_weirdest_food_-_exercises_1.pdf

Preparation. Debate in small groups:

 

  • Do you know any strange dish that hasn't been mentioned yet? If you have traveled to other countries... have you tasted any weird food from another culture?
  • If you had nothing else to eat, would you dare to eat crispy tarantulas?

 

Task 1. Match the unusual food with the country, and write a–f next to the numbers 1–6. If you don’t know, have a guess!

 

  1. …….. USA
  2. …….. Japan
  3. …….. The Philippines
  4. …….. Norway
  5. …….. Mongolia
  6. …….. Canada
  • a. Horse milk beer
  • b. Brain sandwiches
  • c. Jellied moose nose
  • d. Duck egg (with embryo inside)
  • e. Smoked sheep’s head
  • f. Tuna eyeball

Task 2. Let's read the text aloud. If you have any doubt feel free to ask!

Click on the following link to read the text:

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/upper-intermediate-b2-reading/worlds-weirdest-food

 

Task 3. Check your understanding! 

Read the questions and write the correct part of the world.

Scotland        USA          Japan             Italy

Iceland (x2)           Korea              Asia, Africa and South America

Which part of the world …

  1.  … has a dish which is not that tasty, but offers the diner a thrill of danger? _____________
  2.  … eats an animal which is cut up into pieces while still alive? _____________
  3.  … gets valuable nutrition from eating small creatures? _____________
  4.  … offers a dish that probably needs lots of ketchup? _____________
  5.  … eats a fish that has undergone a period of chemical change? _____________
  6.  … likes a dairy product that houses some baby insects? _____________
  7.  … doesn't waste much of the animal when they produce a well-known local dish? _____________
  8.  … eats chunks of food on small wooden sticks? _____________

 

Task 4. Check your vocabulary: gap fill

Complete the gaps with a verb from the box. jump mix slice

jump                   mix                     slice                    chew

wriggle            disturb                 choke                     boil

 

  1.  To make haggis, you ______________ the heart, lungs and liver with the other ingredients, put it inside a sheep’s stomach and ______________ it for three hours.
  2.  In Korea, they ______________ up the baby octopus and serve the tentacles as they continue to ______________ around.
  3. You have to be careful to ______________ the tentacles fully, to make sure they don’t stick in your throat and ______________ you.
  4. The tiny worms in Casu Marzu cheese can ______________ 15 cm if you ______________ them.

 

Final task. Let's fight! 

Search on the internet (in small groups of 3-4 people) for a weird and different food from another country. Prepare arguments to defend why it is the best food in the world and why they should visit your country and eat it.

Later, you will have to defend it in front of the class and we will vote together on which was the best presentation. 

 

Credits