Scuola di Specializzazione all’Insegnamento Secondario

Indirizzo Lingue Straniere – Inglese

Lingua cultura e istituzioni paesi di lingua inglese
Anno Accademico 2008/2009

Specializzando: Enrico Di Girolamo

Unità Didattica di Civiltà

PUB: A BRITISH INSTITUTION

Pub, an abbreviation for public house, is a typical British institution, only in England there
are more than 60.000 pubs. They are places where people go to meet friends, talk and
drink in a relaxed atmosphere. Children under fourteen are not allowed into a pub because
alcoholic drinks are served there.
Pubs are named after local coat of arms, famous people, traditions: “the Red Lion”, “Lord
Byron” or “the Blue Boar” are common pub names.
The manager of a pub is called landlord or publican; he stands behind the bar and
customers must buy their drinks from there because there are not any waiters serving at
the tables.
Beer is the main drink and is served in half-pint or pint glasses. There are many different
kinds of beer:
- “lager” is effervescent and light in colour;
- “bitter” is almost still and much flavoured with hops;
- “stout” is strong and dark in colour.
Spirits are also drunk; among them: scotch whisky, gin, vodka. Women prefer wine or
cider.
Pubs also serve light meals. The most common specialities are:
- fish and chips;
- steak pie;
- roast beef;
- cottage pie.
A pub is a very friendly place and often there is a lot of laughing and joking in the bar.
Typical pub past-times are darts and billiards, though in recent years karaoke and
watching football on tv have become very popular. Opening times are generally from 11
am until 3 pm and from 5:30 pm until 10:30 pm. Before closing time a bell rings for the last
orders. People go to pubs on foot or by taxi because they can be arrested for driving after
drinking alcohol.

The teaching unit I am going to present would be suitable for a third year of “Scuola Media”, at a
stage when the target students are “basic users” ( Level A1/A2 of the Common European
Framework of Reference). The main goal is to develop cultural awareness. Learners should be led
to acquire an understanding and appreciation for other cultures, avoiding any form of stereotypes
and comparing their lives with those of the people whose language is being studied. Moreover, a
positive attitude toward the culture does facilitate language acquisition. So achieving our cultural
goals will help fulfil our language ends.
In order to enhance communicative language competence, a Functional Notional Approach will be
used. I would need the following aids and material: textbook, CD and CD player, blackboard,
photocopies, authentic material, bilingual dictionary. Students’ progress would be assessed through
the various stages of the teaching unit.
Estimated time: 5 hours.

STAGE I
The aim is to motivate students toward the text. First, they are given pictures of bars, cafeterias,
restaurants, pubs, etc. and asked if they are aware of the differences among them. Then a
brainstorming can be useful to recall students’ previous knowledge. They will be encouraged to say
and, in turns, write on the blackboard words concerning the semantic field of drinks and food.
Furthermore, I can pre-teach a number of difficult lexical items (publican, bitter, lager, etc.) to make
sure the students have the tools to understand the text.

STAGE II
The first approach to the text would be a listening comprehension. Learners listen twice to my
reading (or preferably the CD player file) and answer a number of factual questions. It is important
to set the questions before listening so that students’ attention is focused on specific details, and
they can select and reject information while they are listening.
e.g.
- Listen and say whether the following sentences are true or false.
True False
a) In Britain, children under 14 cannot go into a pub.
b) Coca Cola is the main drink.
c) One of the typical British pub food is “Fish and Chips”.
d) People go to pubs by car

The written text is then provided, so that the students can check their comprehension. Next the
class is divided into pair groups to carry out the extensive reading, aimed at understanding the
content of the passage. The students divide it into paragraphs giving a title to each one. This activity
helps to develop important reading strategies such as the ability of going over a text to find out
where the main ideas are. Then students are required to answer some factual and inferential
questions. While they are working I move around the classroom, providing assistance and checking
that the task is carried out satisfactorily.

e.g.
Answer the following questions:
1) What does the word pub stand for ?
2) How many pubs are there in England ?
3) What do people do in a pub ?
4) Can children under fourteen go into a pub ?
5) Who is the manager of a pub ?
6) Why must customers buy their drinks from the bar ?
7) Is whisky the main pub drink ?
8) Is lager beer dark in colour ?
9) What do women prefer to drink?
10) Is roast beef a typical pub food ?
11) What are the most common food specialties ?
12) When is the closing time ?
13) Have you ever been to a pub ?
A general class discussion of results will follow. It could be linked to the issue of alcohol risks and
health education.

STAGE III
This is the intensive reading stage, whose aim is to train learners on lexical and structural
difficulties. Working in pairs, they focus on vocabulary. The first task consists in drawing a spider-
gram about pub food or drinks. E.g.:

rossa, amara, quasi ferma = BITTER REAL ALE = scura, forte, ferma
R
BEE
bionda, effervescente = LAGER
UK STOUT = scura, maltata, ferma

birra mista a limonata = SHANDY PORTER = marrone, affumicata

Then, students are asked to circle all the passive forms in the text, to write them on a grid, drawn on
the blackboard together with the relative base form and to find a synonym on the dictionary. E.g.

PASSIVE FORM BASE FORM SYNONYM

Under 14 are not allowed into a pub To allow To admit
Alcoholic drinks are served there To serve To present drinks
Pubs are named after local coat of arms……… To name To call
The manager of a pub is called landlord To call To name
Spirits are also drunk To drink To swallow liquid
They can be arrested To arrest To detain

Finally a “fill in the gaps” exercise would be useful to reinforce language awareness as well as to
activate new vocabulary.
e.g.:
- Fill in the gaps using the appropriate passive form.

1. Beer is (to drink)…………..in pint/half pint glasses.

2. An effervescent and light in colour beer is (to know)……………..as lager.
3. Darts and billiards are (to play)…………….in most pubs.
4. Pubs are (to close)…………… from 3pm to 5:30pm.

They may also write sentences about themselves.

e.g.
- Complete the following sentences about yourself.

I) My favourite bar is (to call) ……..………

II) It is (to locate)………….… in …………….
III) Ice creams are (to sell) ………. in the summer/all year round.
IV) Tables are (to situate)…………….outdoor/indoor.
STAGE IV
This stage is concerned with discussion of results. Learners are encouraged to express themselves
on the subject, and to link the cultural topic to their own experience. Divided in small groups of four
or five students, they interview each other, using a number of questions written on the blackboard.
e.g.
1. Do you often go to a bar?
2. What do you usually have?
3. Do you like bar food?
4. What do you usually have for a snack?
5. What do you generally drink with a snack?
6. What time do you usually have a snack?
7. Have you ever eaten in a bar-restaurant?
8. Do you like fried fish and chips?

Working in groups increases motivation by allowing students to exchange ideas and help each
other. Results will be then recorded on a chart and developed into statistics during a general class
discussion.

GOING TO A BAR +++ ++ +

Bar frequency 15 Often 5 Sometimes 5 Seldom
Consumption 10 food 10 drinks 5 both
Bar food quality 5 good 12 average 8 poor
Favourite snack 12 ice cream 9 sandwich 4 pizza
Favourite drink 19 coke 5 fruit juice 1 cold tea
Snack time 18 mid afternoon 6 early evening 1 late evening
Bar-restaurant frequency 5 often 15 sometimes 5 seldom
Possibility to eat fish and chips 6 like 10 don’t know 9 dislike

Finally a table about similarities and differences between British and Italian pubs/bars can be drawn
on the blackboard.

ITALIAN BAR vs. BRITISH PUB

SIMILARITIES
Both sell alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks
Both can sell food
All sorts of people attend them
Both open all week long
Both can have indoor/outdoor tables
DIFFERENCES
Beer is the main pub drink. Bar has no main drink
Pub food can be elaborate. Bar food is mainly snacks
Under 14 cannot go into a pub
Bar has longer opening hours
Pubs have no waiters

STAGE V
The aim of the final stage is to give the students the opportunity to “experience” the British culture
and use the language for doing something. The last two hours will be spent in the kitchen of the
school canteen. The students, working in groups, will try out some traditional pub recipes taken
from their textbook and/or authentic material such as recipe books, magazines etc. (see enclosed).
This teaching unit on British pubs may be followed by another teaching unit dealing with healthy
drinks/food and junk drinks/food.