Mime one of the sentences below. You can’t speak, but you can make noises if you need to. Can your partner guess which one you are miming?
You are chewing a piece of gum
You are putting a napkin on your lap
You are tucking a napkin into the top of your shirt.
You are wiping your mouth with a napkin
You are eating with your fingers
You are eating with your left hand
You are eating with chopsticks
You are putting some extra salt and pepper on your food.
You are praying before you start to eat.
You are eating spicy food
You are eating pork chops.
You are eating cheese
You are eating snails
You are slurping your soup
You are burping
You are giving a bottle of wine to your hosts
You are complaining to a waiter about your food
You are leaving some food on the edge of your plate
You are lifting your plate or bowl off the table to eat
You are covering your cup with your hand to refuse more drink
You are talking with your mouth full
You are chewing your food with your mouth open
You are resting your elbows on the table
You are blowing your nose
You are breaking your bread with your hands
You are pouring a drink for yourself
You are cleaning your teeth with a food pick
You are mixing your food together on your plate
You are mopping up your food with a piece of bread
Continue the game, but with your partner guessing without looking at their sheet.
How often do you do the things above?
What things do you think might be different in different countries?
How might that make it difficult to plan a meal with people of different cultures?
How could you politely tell someone from another country that they are doing something that is not considered good manners in your country? How can you respond?
Decide if the phrases below are used to give advice (GA) or respond to advice (RA).
Useful language:
Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I had no idea.
Is that right? I will try to remember that in the future.
(John), can I just mention something?
Do you mind if I give you a little cultural tip?
You surprise me. In my country it’s the opposite.
Ah, yes, I’d heard that before. Let me try it your way.
Whoops.
(Mary), you might not know this, but…
This isn’t such a big thing, but you might want to know that…
Really? I must remember that.
Do the mimes again, but politely telling your partner what they could be doing wrong.
Choose one foreign country and describe what the table manners and other food and drink customs are in that country. Can your partner guess which country you are talking about?
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PDF for easy saving and printing: Food drink cultural differences mimes present simple continuous
Related pages
Present Simple and Continuous page
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