Ordering the meal in a restaurant

Listening and writing activities:

- Listen to this video, at least, twice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y04i0QuHwW8

- Improve your pronuntiation by repeating the sentences in the last part.

- Write the conversation.

Listening and reading activities

- Listen, read and complete:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/multimedia/london/unit6/listen2.shtml

- Read the text and don't worry if you don't understand every single word, just try to understand on the whole, then answer the questions:

Eating out in Brick Lane in east London
		There is a large Bangladeshi community in East London and many restaurants with an Indian theme. Read more about the ethnic mix of people in east London and the area around Brick Lane.

London's ethnic populations are not a new phenomenon. London has seen wave after wave of successive migrant populations arrive in the capital and settle in one area, thus creating a mini-homeland. You can see the culture reflected in the shops, you can hear it in the voices of the people on the street and you can taste it in the food.

One such area that has seen different peoples come and go is Brick Lane in east London, an area which gets its name from, you guessed it - making bricks! Situated in one of the poorest boroughs it is a densely populated area that was first established by immigrants, usually escaping something in the country they had left behind.

In the early 1700s French Huguenots established themselves in Spitalfields, the area that now contains Brick Lane. They were very successful in establishing a silk industry and made the area very prosperous indeed. Jews followed in the early part of the 20th century as they fled Russia, and again during the Second World War as they left other parts of Eastern Europe. But it was more recently that Brick Lane acquired its current inhabitants as later, in the 1960s and 1970s, a large influx of immigrants from Bangladesh established the current 'Banglatown'.

In Tower Hamlets (the London Borough containing Brick Lane), 37% of the population is Bengali, that's about 123 000 people. In April 2002, the borough decided to rename the electoral ward 'Spitalfields / Banglatown', many street lamps were erected in a South Asian style and painted in bright red and green, these are the colours of the Bangladeshi flag.

In Brick Lane now, you will find shops selling sari material, and dozens of 'Indian' restaurants. Of course these restaurants are not Indian at all. It is Bangladeshis who run them, the customers either do not know, or do not care that the food is not authentic. According to the Curry Club of Great Britain there are 8500 Indian restaurants in the UK, and of these, more than 8 out of 10 are owned by Bangladeshis.

So, with this huge Bengali community, it must be a good place to get a curry? You might think so, but in fact, these restaurants offer huge menus. The sauces are often bought in large catering packs, they are made for Western tastes. A dish in one restaurant may taste exactly the same as the same dish in a restaurant down the street. If you want to find more authentic food, look for the restaurants that are not full of people in suits drinking pints of lager with their dinner. Look for the places with the small menus, where there are more Islamic customers than Western. In your search for a more authentic curry, you could try areas such as Wembley in the north, or Southall in the west.

Who will be the immigrants of the future? As different cultures throughout the world continue to be displaced, we find more and more of a diverse mix in a truly cosmopolitan city.

Language tips - vocabulary

phenomenon - something that occurs or exists migrant - a person who moves from one place to another immigrant - a person who comes to live in a country from another country

1.  Which is the best title for the article? Banglatown's food In search of a good curry Cosmopolitan London 2.  According to the article, why did early immigrants come to London? They wanted to run away from something in their countries They wanted to set up business here They heard London was a great city 3.  How did the Huguenots make their money? Bricks French food Silk 4.  Why did the borough choose red and green to paint the lampposts? It looked nice The Bengali people chose it Red and green are the colours of the Bangladeshi flag 5.  Why is the curry on Brick Lane not authentic? It is Indian not Bangladeshi The food is made to suit Western tastes It doesn't taste good with lager 6.  Which of the following is NOT good advice for finding an authentic curry? Look for fewer Westerners Look for smaller menus Look for people wearing suits and drinking lager

Listening and speaking activities:

- Work in pairs and try to tell the meaning of the following words to your partner so that he/she guesses them, don´t forget to tell him/her if it is a verb, a noun or and adjective before starting.

Student A: chef, wine list, to cook, menu, rare, aperitif, vase, starter, tea spoon, sparkling.

Student B: sommelier, table-cloth, to book, dessert, appetizer, candle, well done, main course, bill, still

- Role play: work in small groups of three. First, prepare a conversation to order a meal and then act it out. You need a waiter/waitress and two customers. (I'll record your voices in order to post an audio here)