View Content #24606

By Zach Patrick-Riley, CASLS Fellow

Knowing how to navigate meal etiquette can be quite tricky, as behaving politely in these situations goes beyond knowing the food vocabulary and saying please and thank you. This activity aims to increase students’ awareness around being both verbally and non-verbally polite during mealtimes through the Observe >Act Model. This strategy will help students have positive interpersonal interactions and increase their pragmatic competence. 

Objectives: Learners will

• Increase their pragmatic competence as it relates to meal discourse.
• Describe why it is important to understand non-verbal communication.
• Use observed behavioral patterns as a model for how to act during a meal and, consequentially, other social situations. 

Mode: Interpersonal

Materials needed:

• LingroToGo: Health & Safety>Nutrition>Meal Discourse and Relationships>Video: Using Observed Behavioral Patterns as a Model
• Mr. Bean YouTube clip found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WvKJhwea1U,
• Observe > Act Model Sheet

Procedure:

1.  Students discuss the following question in pairs:

• Have you eaten a meal in an unfamiliar context (e.g., the home of someone you just met, a home in another country)? How was your experience?

2.  Point to the title of the video on the projector, “Using Observed Behavioral Patterns as a Model” and ask the class what they think the video will be about.

3.  Have students watch the video and check their predictions.

4. Have students watch the video again and write down two answers for the question “How does Ian know how to act?” (answers will vary but possibilities include: mimic patterns he observes, consider physical actions, observes the language that accompanies different behaviors). Students check answers in pairs, and the whole class discusses.

5. In pairs/trios, students discuss these questions:

• What else is important to consider during meals?
• Do you know of any other behavior patterns during meals across the world?
• What’s an interesting meal experience you’ve had?

6.  Hand out Observe Act Sheet to each student. Show Mr. Bean clip found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WvKJhwea1U. While watching students put each Mr. Bean action into one of the three columns: Action is following the Observe > Act Model, action is Not Following Observe > Act Model, or unclear. After video ends, students compare their answers with a partner and say why they put the action where they did. The whole class then discusses what students noticed.

7. Students discuss the following questions in pairs followed by whole class feedback.

• How was Mr. Bean following or not following the Observe > Act Model?
• How could Mr. Bean have been more polite?

8. To close, ask for volunteers to share something that they took away from the activity.

Notes/Modifications:

• A good website for meal etiquette tips for around the world is http://mashable.com/2016/01/12/interntational-table-etiquette/#eYY0Z5Io0Zq9. This site could inform an extension activity in which learners investigate meal etiquette in specific countries.