The Reading / Listening - Starbucks Cafes - Level 2

Starbucks has a new policy about who can use its cafes. CEO Howard Schultz has announced that anyone can enter a Starbucks in the USA without making a purchase. That means people can sit down or use the restrooms. Mr Schulz told all Starbucks staff to treat everyone in the cafe as a customer. He said: "Any person who enters our spaces, including...restrooms, regardless of whether they make a purchase, is considered a customer." People can use Starbucks to sit down, relax and use the Internet. The new policy is for more than 8,000 cafes in the United States.

The new policy will make it easier for cafe managers to do their job. There have been recent cases of managers asking customers to leave a cafe or telling them not to use the bathroom. In April, two black men were led out of a cafe in handcuffs for waiting for a friend to arrive before they ordered. A week later, another black man was told he could not use the bathroom. He posted a video online of a white man using the bathroom without buying anything. Mr Schultz said he didn't want to make Starbucks a public bathroom, but the new policy was "the right thing" to do.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Starbucks Cafes - Level 0 Starbucks Cafes - Level 1   or  Starbucks Cafes - Level 3

Sources
  • https://mashable.com/2018/05/19/new-starbucks-policy-buy-something-sit-bathroom/
  • https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/you-can-now-officially-sit-in-any-starbucks-and-use-the-bathroom-without-buying-anything.html
  • https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/11/610337214/starbucks-will-give-people-the-key-to-restroom-regardless-of-purchase-ceo-says


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Starbucks has a
  2. anyone can enter
  3. use
  4. treat everyone in the cafe
  5. regardless of whether they
  6. People can use Starbucks
  7. use the
  8. The new policy is for more
  1. the restrooms
  2. Internet
  3. new policy
  4. to sit down
  5. than 8,000 cafes
  6. as a customer
  7. a Starbucks
  8. make a purchase

Paragraph 2

  1. make it easier
  2. recent
  3. led out of a cafe
  4. waiting for a friend to
  5. He posted a video
  6. without buying
  7. make Starbucks a public
  8. the right
  1. bathroom
  2. arrive
  3. thing to do
  4. for cafe managers
  5. in handcuffs
  6. online
  7. cases
  8. anything

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Starbucks (1) ___________________ policy about who can use its cafes. CEO Howard Schultz has announced that (2) ___________________ a Starbucks in the USA without making a purchase. That means people can (3) ___________________ use the restrooms. Mr Schulz told all Starbucks staff to treat everyone in (4) ___________________ a customer. He said: "Any person who enters our spaces, including...restrooms, regardless of whether they (5) ___________________, is considered a customer." People can use Starbucks to sit down, relax and use the Internet. The new policy (6) ___________________ than 8,000 cafes in the United States.

The new policy will (7) ___________________ for cafe managers to do their job. There (8) ___________________ cases of managers asking customers to leave a cafe or telling them not to use the bathroom. In April, two black men (9) ___________________ of a cafe in handcuffs for waiting for a friend (10) ___________________ they ordered. A week later, another black man was told he could (11) ___________________ bathroom. He posted a video online of a white man using the bathroom without buying anything. Mr Schultz said he didn't want to make Starbucks a public bathroom, but the new policy was "(12) ___________________" to do.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Starbuckshasanewpolicyaboutwhocanuseitscafes.CEOHowardSchu
ltzhasannouncedthatanyonecanenteraStarbucksintheUSAwithout
makingapurchase.Thatmeanspeoplecansitdownorusetherestrooms
.MrSchulztoldallStarbucksstafftotreateveryoneinthecafeasacustom
er.Hesaid:"Anypersonwhoentersourspaces,including...restrooms,r
egardlessofwhethertheymakeapurchase,isconsideredacustomer."P
eoplecanuseStarbuckstositdown,relaxandusetheInternet.Thenewp
olicyisformorethan8,000cafesintheUnitedStates.Thenewpolicywill
makeiteasierforcafemanagerstodotheirjob.Therehavebeenrecentca
sesofmanagersaskingcustomerstoleaveacafeortellingthemnotuset
hebathroom.InApril,twoblackmenwereledoutofacafeinhandcuffsfor
waitingforafriendtoarrivebeforetheyordered.Aweeklater,anotherbl
ackmanwastoldhecouldnotusethebathroom.Hepostedavideoonline
ofawhitemanusingthebathroomwithoutbuyinganything.MrSchultzs
aidhedidn'twanttomakeStarbucksapublicbathroom,butthenewpolic
ywas"therightthing"todo.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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