Aims: Offers and requests


Level: Elementary

Target Language:

Would you like a/some..., I’d like, Can I have...

Yes, please. No, thanks.


Analysis: Some nouns are countable, they can appear in singular or plural forms e.g. apple, apples. Others are not so simple e.g. coffee, bread, curry powder. These are mass nouns and we can’t normally say “a bread“ or “a curry powder“.

Unfortunately for teachers, you can say “a coffee“ but this is a different meaning from “some coffee” (i.e. a cup of…). To get around this it can be a good idea to teach accompanying phrases such as “a loaf of...” “a cup of...” etc.


Lead in

  1. Start by selecting about 12 items of food / drink, 6 countable and 6 mass.

  2. Use pictures, realia, mime etc to elicit these items

  3. Use board or other cues to allow students to sort out countable and mass nouns.

  4. Elicit measures of mass nouns e.g. loaf / loaves of

Presentation

  1. Elicit: I’d like a…/ some…, Can I have...?

  2. Model and drill this, at first from teacher’s model, then pointing at items on board, e.g. I’d like a pizza, please...some coffee, please...some apples please

  3. Elicit: Would you like a.../ some... Yes, please / No, thanks

  4. Drill

Controlled practice

  1. Teacher controlled Q & A. Get named students to offer and accept/refuse

  2. Write a gap fill of between 5 and 10 sentences, students need to place the target language into the gaps.

  3. Don’t forget to feedback

Free practice

  1. Tell students that you want to cook your favourite recipe this evening and elicit the ingredients. Pretend to be the shop keeper and get students to ask for the ingredients. Then put students into pairs SS and get them to discuss a favourite recipe for each of them and the ingredients involved. Pairs then take it in turns to be customer and shop keeper asking for ingredients for their recipe.

  2. Don’t forget to feedback.




© TEFL