I love talking about food in my classes. I find that students do too. After all, who doesn’t like thinking about all the delicious delicacies awaiting us in our fridges at home, whether it’s a home-cooked meal or a nice cold beer. For Trinity ISE I, health and fitness is one of their chosen topics for the conversation task and there’s every chance of it popping up in a reading, writing or listening also. So here we’ve got some materials that look at the ISE I health and fitness topic with a focus on food. In this case, the Mediterranean diet and its benefits.
Contents
The Mediterranean Diet
Why is the Mediterranean diet so good for you? Here’s the text about the Mediterranean diet as it appears in the materials:
How healthy is your diet? Do you get all your servings of fruit and vegetables every day? The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the healthiest diets in the world. It’s defined as the diet followed by people living in countries that border the Mediterranean sea. This includes Spain, Italy, Greece and parts of France. The cuisine in each country is very different, but all of them have one thing in common, the Mediterranean diet.
Although the definition of the Mediterranean diet can vary from region to region, the most important factor is that it has a high content of fruit, vegetables, fish and unsaturated fat like olive oil. Red meat and dairy is consumed sparingly. There is even an allowance for moderate consumption of red wine in the diet.
The Mediterranean diet has been linked to improved health. Research has shown that it reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer. People also have better life expectancy with this diet. So what are you waiting for? Make the change and start following the Mediterranean diet today!
The Materials
This lesson focuses on vocabulary, reading and speaking skills. Students are challenged to remember vocabulary they know about food, before reading a text about the Mediterranean diet. They then take on a True / False ISE I reading task before taking a closer look at new vocabulary. There are also conversation questions for your students to discuss that are similar to those that you might see if thy have to discuss the ISE I health and fitness topic in their speaking exam.
The main exam focus is the reading task and the conversation questions which emulate Part 3 of the ISE I Speaking exam, but there’s no reason that you can’t use these materials in other classes.
EXAM PART: Reading, Speaking
EXAM SKILLS: Reading for specific information, using a range of lexis appropriate to the level (B1), maintaining a conversation
TOPIC: Health and Fitness
TIME: 45-60 minutes
PREPARATION: One copy of the worksheet per student
