One of the goals in a person’s life should be to be a lifelong learner. This is easy for most educators because we constantly take classes to improve our curriculum and instruction. However, as educators, we should also strive to motivate our students to want to have this same goal… to be lifelong learners. One way we can ensure that our students will become lifelong learners is to teach them topics that will help them be successful and allow them to be able to use the materialsthey learn in the classroom in the future. A person is more apt to remember a new skill if he/she can see its future use.

One way that we can ensure students are becoming lifelong learners is through the extended class. The extended class can be difficult to teach because there are many items to address and it is necessary to find a way to motivate our students. One way that teachers are able to motivate students is by linking what the students have learned, what the students are learning with the Chinese teacher, and items that will help the student to be successful in a realistic way.

Last year in grade 4, the students at Jiang Gong Elementary School learned about prices of different food items. The students were able to make connections with the English language by making a menu to ask the questions of “What do you want?” and “How much is it?” The students were allowed to choose some of their favorite foods to work on this concept. It was a great extension activity for what was being taught that allowed the students to see how it could work in a real life situation. By personalizing the activity, the students could really understand and learn a skill that can be used throughout their future. Since this was covered in grade 4, it was necessary to keep building on the skills they had learned. Therefore, the grade 5 students needed an extension on this.

This year in grade 5, the students were learning about different types of foods in the plural form. Plural words can be very difficult for a non-native learner. Students decided on an item of food, but had to figure out how to pronounce the plural form of the word. We found that the easiest way to extend on this topic was to teach about restaurant etiquette which links the items that are learnedin a more realistic way. It is common practice that the students can understand what it is like to go to a restaurant in Chinese, but not in English. The end goal of teaching this lesson is to have students present as if they are either calling in an order or being a waiter or waitress at a restaurant. An example of this would be a student modeling calling a restaurant and ordering four pizzas and two large bottles of soda or three hamburgers, three fries, and three milk shakes. Another example would be a student modeling as a waiter or waitress and asking another student how many pizzas and bottles of soda they need or how many hamburgers, fries, and milk shakes they need for their party.

The grade 5 worksheet to explain the different delivery options.

Many times students that are in the process of learning English will talk about how they travelled overseas and had difficulty ordering at a fast food restaurant. The native English speaker will talk too fast and it will be very difficult to understand what is said. When students are being taught English in the classroom, the teacher often speaks slower than a native speaker so the language is easier to understand. To help with this, one week of class the focus of the lesson was on just understanding the question “Would you like this for here or to go?” The students had a listening exercise where they were able to listen for the different answers. The students even got to listen to a whole restaurant ordering conversation and answer the questions. This real life experience allowed the students to listen to speakers as they would talk in an actual restaurant overseas.

The grade 5 worksheet to explain what is said when a student enters a sit down restaurant.

Another difficulty in travelling overseas is when a non-native speaker walks into a restaurant and is greeted by a person that speaks fluent English. Many questions are asked and it can be very overwhelming. It can be overwhelming for anyone to enter a restaurant that is not in their own native language. To extend on the lessons learned in the previous weeks, other possible questions were practiced. The questions that were covered for this week were “How many in your party?” and “Do you want a table or a booth?” The students got to practice this skill with their peers by asking and answering each of the questions.

The presentation page to help students write their reader’s theatre script.

The students now have the tools to, hopefully go to an English restaurant to order from a restaurant menu, as well as answer other questions that are typically asked during ordering. The best way I have found to help to ensure true understanding of the topic is to have the students practice these skills in a reader’s theatre setting. The students will pick a partner and have to present the different questions to the class. The students can personalize the project by being allowed to pick the name of their restaurant together and decide what items to order. There will be additional points given to those students that are more creative by adding props.

The extended class can be taught in many different ways. It is important to allow students several opportunities to learn the new skills that are presented. It is helpful to have a project that will link the two classes together by giving every student the opportunity to present information and provide practice in real life situations. When the students present information, they are more likely to remember the information which will provide them with confidence. This confidence will be beneficial to the student and allow him/her to be successful in an English setting, especially those involving ordering at a restaurant.

If you would like to see the presentations from the different classes, please email me at jzuiderh@yahoo.com to see them.

Students presenting by ordering food by calling in an order.	Students presenting by ordering food by going to a restaurant.