Fruit Restaurant Talk

Overview

A 45-minute Mandarin lesson for 25 Year 4 students, building on familiar fruit and describing words. Students practise expressing preferences and making simple requests through a “水果餐厅” role-play, with heritage speakers extending their responses by giving reasons.

Learning intentions

• WALT use 喜欢, 不喜欢, 想 and 吃 to talk about fruit.
• WALT ask for and respond to a classmate’s fruit choices.
• WALT recognise and say familiar fruit and describing words.
• WALT extend a sentence with 因为……很甜/酸/好吃 or a reason for not liking 生水果.

Success criteria

• I can say “我喜欢/不喜欢吃……” about a fruit.
• I can say “我想吃……” to order fruit.
• I can listen and respond appropriately to a partner.
• I can give a reason for my preference, if I am ready.

Curriculum links

• Listening and responding: understand familiar words, short phrases and simple classroom interactions.
• Speaking: use rehearsed language to communicate personal information and preferences.
• Interaction: take turns, ask for information and respond to others in a familiar context.
• Language awareness: notice how word order and tones help convey meaning in Mandarin.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Welcome and fruit hook Open with the fruit restaurant introduction. Show a colourful fruit stall image and ask in English, “What might you order?” Briefly revisit the known words 苹果, 西瓜, 草莓, 橙, 甜, 酸, 好吃 and 生 through images and teacher modelling. Students repeat only the words they remember.

2. 5–12 minutes – Teach the sentence patterns Display and model, using gestures and picture prompts:

• 我喜欢吃苹果。I like eating apples.
• 我不喜欢吃生的西瓜。I do not like eating raw watermelon.
• 我想吃草莓。I want to eat strawberries.
• 你喜欢吃什么？What do you like eating?
• 我喜欢/不喜欢吃…… Clarify that Mandarin word order places the person first, followed by the preference and action. Students echo, then practise with actions: thumbs up for 喜欢, thumbs down for 不喜欢, and a pretend order for 想吃.

3. 12–18 minutes – Guided partner rehearsal Distribute the fruit preference and sentence-frame sheet to pairs. Students point to fruit pictures and take turns asking 你喜欢吃什么？ Partners answer using a sentence frame. Encourage accurate tones rather than speed. Heritage speakers may add 因为很甜、因为很酸 or 因为很好吃; they may also explain 不喜欢生水果.

4. 18–30 minutes – Prepare the fruit restaurant Explain the role-play with the restaurant instructions and model dialogue. In groups of three, students rotate through customer, restaurant worker and observer. Give each pair or group selected the Conversation Role-play Cards to prompt situations and turn-taking. Model:

• Worker: 你好！你想吃什么？
• Customer: 我想吃苹果。
• Worker: 你喜欢吃苹果吗？
• Customer: 我喜欢吃苹果，因为很甜。
• Worker: 好的，请给你！ The observer listens for one preference and one polite response, then roles change.

5. 30–38 minutes – Fruit restaurant rotations Groups conduct two or three short exchanges. Customers choose different fruits and may say 我喜欢吃…… or 我不喜欢吃…… before ordering. Restaurant workers respond with 好的 or 你还想吃什么？ Circulate, quietly recast errors, and support students with pointing, gestures and the worksheet. Heritage speakers should aim to justify at least two choices, including a reason connected to sweet, sour, tasty or raw fruit.

6. 38–43 minutes – Record a partner’s choices Students complete the final section of the fruit preference and sentence-frame sheet by recording one classmate’s name, chosen fruit and preference. Pair examples: 小明喜欢吃西瓜。小丽想吃草莓。 Invite students to read one sentence to another pair. Students should record what they heard, not their own choice.

7. 43–45 minutes – Share and assess Use the sharing and review slides to revisit the sentence patterns. Invite three or four students to share a partner’s choice. Finish with a quick oral response: teacher says a fruit, students choose and say 喜欢吃 or 不喜欢吃. Celebrate clear communication, listening and kind turn-taking.

Resources

• the fruit restaurant teaching deck
• the fruit preference and sentence-frame sheet
• the Conversation Role-play Cards
• Fruit picture cards or real fruit
• Board and markers
• Optional toy plates, baskets or menus
• Pencils and coloured pencils
• A visible seating plan for groups of three

Assessment

• Listen during rehearsal and role-play for understandable pronunciation, use of 喜欢/不喜欢/想/吃, and accurate fruit vocabulary.
• Check the worksheet for a correctly recorded partner choice and an appropriate sentence.
• Note students who can independently ask, answer and extend with 因为; use this to plan the next speaking lesson.

Differentiation

• Provide picture-word prompts, gestures, choral rehearsal and sentence frames for students needing support. Allow students to point to a fruit before speaking.
• Pair confident speakers with supportive partners and reduce the number of required fruit choices for students who need a lighter cognitive load.
• For EAL learners, model each phrase slowly, use English meaning briefly, and maintain consistent visual cues and repetition.
• Heritage speakers can use full sentences with 因为……很甜/酸/好吃, explain why they do not like 生水果, and ask a follow-up question such as 你呢？