The Reading / Listening - Breakfast Tea - Level 3

British people are big tea drinkers. It is a tradition in Britain to drink tea for different occasions and reasons. People have it for breakfast, for when guests visit, and for tea breaks at work. People even "have a cuppa" when they talk about their personal problems. However, research from The Tea Group shows that herbal, fruit and other teas have become more popular than traditional English breakfast tea. Researchers conducted a survey of more than 2,000 tea lovers. Over half of people said their favourite tea was not the traditional variety. Over a fifth of people chose green tea as their favourite brew. Just over 20 per cent said Earl Grey was their number one.

Sales of traditional tea in the U.K. have been declining. Three years ago, a survey found that 54 per cent of Britons preferred English breakfast tea. The new research shows that breakfast tea is likely to continue to decline in popularity. The researchers found many other things about tea-drinking habits in the U.K. The biggest reason for drinking tea was to relax. A quarter of Britons drink up to 10 cups a day. Brits seem to love milky and sugary tea. Around 85 per cent of people who drink Earl Grey and English breakfast put milk in it. Nearly 45 per cent of people sweeten their tea with sugar. Amazingly, people with a sweet tooth put three teaspoons of sugar in their cup.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Breakfast Tea - Level 0,  Breakfast Tea - Level 1   or  Breakfast Tea - Level 2

Sources
  • https://yougov.co.uk/topics/consumer/articles-reports/2020/11/24/how-do-british-tea-drinking-habits-compare
  • https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/herbal-tea-english-breakfast-brew-b2324130.html
  • https://retailtimes.co.uk/over-half-of-brits-move-away-from-traditional-english-breakfast-tea-as-their-preferred-blend-research-finds/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. TEA: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about tea. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       British people / tea / tradition / breakfast / personal problems / survey / number one /
       research / three years ago / popularity / habits / cups / milk / sugar / sweet tooth
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. COFFEE: Students A strongly believe coffee is better than tea; Students B strongly believe tea is best. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. TEAS: What do you know about these different varieties of tea? What do you want to know? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. DRINK: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "drink". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. DRINKS: Rank these with your partner. Put the best drinks at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • English tea
  • Coffee
  • Milk
  • Water
  • Orange juice
  • Cola
  • Green tea
  • Red Bull

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. tradition a. A person who is invited to visit someone's home or attend a particular social event.
      2. occasion b. Something to find out the opinions or experience of a group of people, based on a series of questions.
      3. guest c. An old custom or belief that has been passed down from one family to the next.
      4. visit d. A particular event, or the time at which it takes place.
      5. popular e. Go to see and spend time with someone.
      6. survey f. Liked by many people.
      7. variety g. A kind or type of something.

    Paragraph 2

      8. sales h. 1/4
      9. declining i. The number of things sold.
      10. preferred j. An action or routine that someone does time after time (and can be difficult to stop).
      11. habit k. Make or become sweet or sweeter, especially in taste.
      12. quarter l. Becoming smaller, fewer, or less; decreasing.
      13. sweeten m. A great liking for sweet-tasting food.
      14. sweet tooth n. Liked one thing or person better than another or others.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. British people drink tea when they talk about their problems.     T / F
  2. Researchers interviewed over 2,000 people who love tea.     T / F
  3. The most popular tea in the UK is green tea.     T / F
  4. A fifth of people in a survey said Earl Grey was their favourite tea.     T / F
  5. Sales of traditional tea have been going down in the UK.     T / F
  6. Research shows English tea will become more popular from now.     T / F
  7. Half of people in the UK drink 10 cups of tea a day.     T / F
  8. Some people in the UK have three tablespoons of sugar in their tea.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. tradition
  2. visit
  3. popular
  4. conducted
  5. variety
  6. declining
  7. likely
  8. reason
  9. seem
  10. around
  1. probable
  2. carried out
  3. explanation
  4. stop by
  5. roughly
  6. kind
  7. custom
  8. falling
  9. well liked
  10. appear

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. British people are big
  2. a tradition in Britain to drink tea for
  3. tea breaks
  4. conducted a survey of more than 2,000 tea
  5. people chose green tea as
  6. Sales of traditional tea
  7. continue to decline
  8. Brits seem to love milky
  9. people sweeten
  10. people with a
  1. and sugary tea
  2. at work
  3. their favourite brew
  4. sweet tooth
  5. different occasions
  6. their tea with sugar
  7. tea drinkers
  8. in the U.K.
  9. lovers
  10. in popularity

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
problems
survey
number
big
fifth
popular
visit
variety

British people are (1) _____________________ tea drinkers. It is a tradition in Britain to drink tea for different occasions and reasons. People have it for breakfast, for when guests (2) _____________________, and for tea breaks at work. People even "have a cuppa" when they talk about their personal (3) _____________________. However, research from The Tea Group shows that herbal, fruit and other teas have become more (4) _____________________ than traditional English breakfast tea. Researchers conducted a (5) _____________________ of more than 2,000 tea lovers. Over half of people said their favourite tea was not the traditional (6) _____________________. Over a (7) _____________________ of people chose green tea as their favourite brew. Just over 20 per cent said Earl Grey was their (8) _____________________ one.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
sweeten
likely
relax
declining
tooth
habits
milky
survey

Sales of traditional tea in the U.K. have been (9) ____________________. Three years ago, a (10) _____________________ found that 54 per cent of Britons preferred English breakfast tea. The new research shows that breakfast tea is (11) _____________________ to continue to decline in popularity. The researchers found many other things about tea-drinking (12) _____________________ in the U.K. The biggest reason for drinking tea was to (13) _____________________. A quarter of Britons drink up to 10 cups a day. Brits seem to love (14) _____________________ and sugary tea. Around 85 per cent of people who drink Earl Grey and English breakfast put milk in it. Nearly 45 per cent of people (15) _____________________ their tea with sugar. Amazingly, people with a sweet (16) _____________________ put three teaspoons of sugar in their cup.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) It is a tradition in Britain to drink tea ______
     a.  for different occasion
     b.  for difference occasions
     c.  for different occasions
     d.  for different occasionally
2)  herbal, fruit and other teas have ______
     a.  become more populate
     b.  become more popular
     c.  become more popularity
     d.  become more poplar
3)  Over half of people said their favourite tea was not ______
     a.  the traditionally variety
     b.  the tradition variety
     c.  the traditional variety
     d.  the traditions variety
4)  Over a fifth of people chose green tea as ______
     a.  their favourite blew
     b.  their favourite brew
     c.  their favourite blue
     d.  their favourite brow
5)  Just over 20 per cent said Earl Grey was ______
     a.  their number one
     b.  their numeral one
     c.  their numb are one
     d.  their numb bar one

6)  Sales of traditional tea in the U.K. ______
     a.  have been decline in
     b.  have been declining
     c.  have been reclining
     d.  have been recline in
7)  research shows that breakfast tea is likely to continue to ______
     a.  decline on popularity
     b.  decline in popularity
     c.  decline at popularity
     d.  decline of popularity
8)  The researchers found many other things about ______
     a.  tea-drink in habits
     b.  tea-drinker habits
     c.  tea-drinking habits
     d.  tea-dinking habits
9)  Nearly 25 per cent of people ______
     a.  sweeter their tea
     b.  sweeten their tea
     c.  sweet in their tea
     d.  sweeting their tea
10)  people with a sweet tooth put three teaspoons of sugar ______
     a.  in that cup
     b.  in their cup
     c.  in them cup
     d.  in there cup

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

British people are (1) ____________________. It is a tradition in Britain to drink tea for different occasions and reasons. People have it for breakfast, for when guests visit, and (2) ____________________ at work. People even "have a cuppa" when they talk about their personal problems. However, research from The Tea Group shows that herbal, (3) ____________________ teas have become more popular than traditional English breakfast tea. Researchers conducted (4) ____________________ more than 2,000 tea lovers. Over half of people said their favourite tea was not (5) ____________________. Over a fifth of people chose green tea as their favourite brew. Just over 20 per cent said Earl Grey was (6) ____________________.

Sales of traditional tea in the U.K. (7) ____________________. Three years ago, a survey found that 54 per cent of Britons preferred English breakfast tea. The new research shows that breakfast tea is (8) ____________________ to decline in popularity. The researchers found many other things about tea-drinking habits in the U.K. The biggest reason for drinking tea (9) ____________________. A quarter of Britons drink up to 10 cups a day. Brits seem to love (10) ____________________ tea. Around 85 per cent of people who drink Earl Grey and English breakfast put (11) ____________________. Nearly 45 per cent of people sweeten their tea with sugar. Amazingly, people with (12) ____________________ put three teaspoons of sugar in their cup.

Comprehension questions

  1. Who does the article say are big tea drinkers?
  2. What do British people talk about over a "cuppa"?
  3. How many tea lovers were questioned in a survey?
  4. What did a fifth of people say was their favourite brew?
  5. What percentage of people in a survey preferred Earl Grey tea?
  6. When did 54% of Britons prefer English breakfast tea?
  7. What is the biggest reason for British people to drink tea?
  8. How many cups of tea do 45% of Brits drink each day?
  9. What do nearly 45% of Brits sweeten their tea with?
  10. Who might put three teaspoons of sugar in their tea?

Multiple choice quiz

1) Who does the article say are big tea drinkers?
a) Americans
b) British people
c) children
d) coffee lovers
2) What do British people talk about over a "cuppa"?
a) work
b) the weather
c) sport
d) their personal problems
3) How many tea lovers were questioned in a survey?
a) just under 2,000
b) exactly 2,000
c) more than 2,000
d) roughly 2,000
4) What did a fifth of people say was their favourite brew?
a) green tea
b) milk tea
c) chai
d) coffee
5) What percentage of people in a survey preferred Earl Grey tea?
a) 10%
b) 20%
c) 50%
d) 40%

6) When did 54% of Britons prefer English breakfast tea?
a) three years ago
b) four years ago
c) five years ago
d) six years ago
7) What is the biggest reason for British people to drink tea?
a) to socialize
b) to stop being thirsty
c) to relax
d) to stay healthy
8) How many cups of tea do 45% of Brits drink each day?
a) up to 10
b) six
c) 12
d) two or three
9) What do nearly 45% of Brits sweeten their tea with?
a) honey
b) artificial sweetener
c) syrup
d) sugar
10) Who might put three teaspoons of sugar in their tea?
a) old people
b) children
c) people with a sweet tooth
d) people who exercise

Role play

Role  A – Tea
You think tea is the best drink. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their drinks. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): milk, water or cola.

Role  B – Milk
You think milk is the best drink. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their drinks. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): tea, water or cola.

Role  C – Water
You think water is the best drink. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their drinks. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): milk, tea or cola.

Role  D – Cola
You think cola is the best drink. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their drinks. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): milk, water or tea.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'English'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'tea'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • big
    • work
    • talk
    • fruit
    • half
    • chose
    • sales
    • 54
    • continue
    • biggest
    • 10
    • sweet

    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 - Breakfast Tea

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'tea'?
    3. What do you think of tea?
    4. Are you a big tea drinker?
    5. What do you prefer to drink for breakfast?
    6. What drink do you serve your guests?
    7. What's the best kind of tea?
    8. What do you think of green tea?
    9. Which is better, tea or coffee?
    10. What are the health benefits of tea?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'British'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. How important is tea in your life?
    5. Is hot or iced tea best?
    6. Is it OK to put milk and sugar in tea?
    7. What's the best way to make a cup of tea?
    8. How many cups of tea or coffee do you drink a day?
    9. How much of a sweet tooth do you have?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the researchers?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    British people are big tea (1) ____. It is a tradition in Britain to drink tea for different occasions and reasons. People have it for breakfast, for when (2) ____ visit, and for tea (3) ____ at work. People even "have a cuppa" when they talk about their personal problems. However, research from The Tea Group shows that herbal, fruit and other teas have become more (4) ____ than traditional English breakfast tea. Researchers conducted a survey of more than 2,000 tea lovers. Over half (5) ____ people said their favourite tea was not the traditional variety. Over a fifth of people chose green tea as their favourite (6) ____. Just over 20 per cent said Earl Grey was their number one.

    (7) ____ of traditional tea in the U.K. have been declining. Three years ago, a survey found that 54 per cent of Britons preferred English breakfast tea. The new research shows that breakfast tea is (8) ____ to continue to decline in popularity. The researchers found many other things about tea-drinking (9) ____ in the U.K. The biggest reason for drinking tea was to relax. A quarter of Britons drink up (10) ____ 10 cups a day. Brits seem to love milky and (11) ____ tea. Around 85 per cent of people who drink Earl Grey and English breakfast put milk in it. Nearly 45 per cent of people sweeten their tea with sugar. Amazingly, people with a sweet (12) ____ put three teaspoons of sugar in their cup.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    (a)     drinks     (b)     drinking     (c)     drinkers     (d)     drunkards    
    (a)     guests     (b)     guts     (c)     gests     (d)     gusts    
    (a)     breaks     (b)     rests     (c)     holidays     (d)     intervals    
    (a)     popular     (b)     populate     (c)     popularity     (d)     polar    
    (a)     at     (b)     to     (c)     on     (d)     of    
    (a)     clue     (b)     grew     (c)     crew     (d)     brew    
    (a)     Seals     (b)     Sails     (c)     Sells     (d)     Sales    
    (a)     likes     (b)     liked     (c)     likelihood     (d)     likely    
    (a)     habits     (b)     veils     (c)     gowns     (d)     dresses    
    (a)     by     (b)     to     (c)     on     (d)     at    
    (a)     sugars     (b)     sugary     (c)     sugar     (d)     surgery    
    (a)     tooth     (b)     lip     (c)     tongue     (d)     gum

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. drink tea for different ocsainsco
    2. for when sutegs visit
    3. talk about their neplsaro problems
    4. Researchers conducted a vsruey
    5. the traditional ivryate
    6. their favourite brew

    Paragraph 2

    1. Britons feeeprrdr English breakfast tea
    2. llekyi to continue
    3. decline in olutypraip
    4. tea-drinking bashti
    5. A qrutrea of Britons
    6. people wnsetee their tea with sugar

    Put the text back together

    (...)   day. Brits seem to love milky and sugary tea. Around 85 per cent of people who drink
    (...)   occasions and reasons. People have it for breakfast, for when guests visit, and for tea
    (...)   Sales of traditional tea in the U.K. have been declining. Three years ago, a survey found
    (...)   habits in the U.K. The biggest reason for drinking tea was to relax. A quarter of Britons drink up to 10 cups a
    (...)   problems. However, research from The Tea Group shows that herbal, fruit and other teas have become more
    (...)   breaks at work. People even "have a cuppa" when they talk about their personal
    (...)   fifth of people chose green tea as their favourite brew. Just over 20 per cent said Earl Grey was their number one.
    (...)   continue to decline in popularity. The researchers found many other things about tea-drinking
    (...)   Earl Grey and English breakfast put milk in it. Nearly 45 per cent of people sweeten
    (  1  ) British people are big tea drinkers. It is a tradition in Britain to drink tea for different
    (...)   that 54 per cent of Britons preferred English breakfast tea. The new research shows that breakfast tea is likely to
    (...)   their tea with sugar. Amazingly, people with a sweet tooth put three teaspoons of sugar in their cup.
    (...)   survey of more than 2,000 tea lovers. Over half of people said their favourite tea was not the traditional variety. Over a
    (...)   popular than traditional English breakfast tea. Researchers conducted a

    Put the words in the right order

    1. Britain   drink   It's   tradition   in   to   a   tea   .
    2. more   popular   .   have   other   Fruit   and   teas   become
    3. A   of   more   2,000   survey   tea   than   lovers   .
    4. tea   Their   was   not   the   favourite   traditional   variety   .
    5. chose   tea   People   their   as   green   favourite   brew   .
    6. tea   to   likely   is   continue   Breakfast   to   decline   .
    7. to   up   Britons   10   drink   a   cups   day   .
    8. to   Brits   milky   love   seem   and   sugary   tea   .
    9. 45   per   of   Nearly   sweeten   people   cent   their   tea   .
    10. of   teaspoons   Put   sugar   three   their   in   cup   .

     

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    British people are big tea drinks / drinkers. It is a tradition in Britain to drink tea for different occasion / occasions and reasons. People have it for breakfast, for when guests visit, and for tea breaks at / on work. People even "have a cuppa" when they talk about their personal problem / problems. However, research from The Tea Group shows that herbal, fruit and other teas have become more / much popular than traditional English breakfast tea. Researchers conducted the / a survey of more than 2,000 tea lovers / loves. Over half on / of people said their favourite tea was not the traditional variety. Over a fifth / five of people chose green tea as their favourite brew. Just over 20 per cent said Earl Grey was their number once / one.

    Sales of traditional tea in / at the U.K. have been declining. Three years ago, a survey found that 54 per cent of Britons preference / preferred English breakfast tea. The new research shows that breakfast tea is likely / likeable to continue to decline in / on popularity. The researchers found many other / another things about tea-drinking habits in the U.K. The biggest reason for drinking tea was / takes to relax. A quarter of Britons drink up to 10 cups a / the day. Brits seem to love milky and sugary tea. Around 85 per cent of people who drink Earl Grey and English breakfast put milk on / in it. Nearly 45 per cent of people sweeten / sweet their tea with sugar. Amazingly, people with a sweet / sour tooth put three teaspoons of sugar in their cup.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    Br_t_sh  p__pl_  _r_  b_g  t__  dr_nk_rs.  _t  _s  _  tr_d_t__n  _n  Br_t__n  t_  dr_nk  t__  f_r  d_ff_r_nt  _cc_s__ns  _nd  r__s_ns.  P__pl_  h_v_ _t  f_r  br__kf_st,  f_r  wh_n  g__sts  v_s_t,  _nd  f_r  t__  br__ks  _t  w_rk.  P__pl_  _v_n  "h_v_  _  c_pp_"  wh_n  th_y  t_lk  _b__t  th__r  p_rs_n_l  pr_bl_ms.  H_w_v_r,  r_s__rch  fr_m  Th_  T__  Gr__p  sh_ws  th_t  h_rb_l,  fr__t  _nd  _th_r  t__s  h_v_  b_c_m_  m_r_  p_p_l_r  th_n  tr_d_t__n_l  _ngl_sh  br__kf_st  t__.  R_s__rch_rs  c_nd_ct_d  _  s_rv_y  _f  m_r_  th_n  2,000  t__  l_v_rs.  _v_r  h_lf  _f  p__pl_  s__d  th__r  f_v__r_t_  t__  w_s  n_t  th_  tr_d_t__n_l  v_r__ty.  _v_r  _  f_fth  _f  p__pl_  ch_s_  gr__n  t__  _s  th__r  f_v__r_t_  br_w.  J_st  _v_r  20  p_r  c_nt  s__d  __rl  Gr_y  w_s  th__r  n_mb_r  _n_.

    S_l_s  _f  tr_d_t__n_l  t__  _n  th_  _.K.  h_v_  b__n  d_cl_n_ng.  Thr__  y__rs  _g_,  _  s_rv_y  f__nd  th_t  54  p_r  c_nt  _f  Br_t_ns  pr_f_rr_d  _ngl_sh  br__kf_st  t__.  Th_  n_w  r_s__rch  sh_ws  th_t  br__kf_st  t__  _s  l_k_ly  t_  c_nt_n__  t_  d_cl_n_  _n  p_p_l_r_ty.  Th_  r_s__rch_rs  f__nd  m_ny  _th_r  th_ngs  _b__t  t__-dr_nk_ng  h_b_ts  _n  th_  _.K.  Th_  b_gg_st  r__s_n  f_r  dr_nk_ng  t__  w_s  t_  r_l_x.  _  q__rt_r  _f  Br_t_ns  dr_nk  _p  t_  10  c_ps  _  d_y.  Br_ts  s__m  t_  l_v_  m_lky  _nd  s_g_ry  t__.  _r__nd  85  p_r  c_nt  _f  p__pl_  wh_  dr_nk  __rl  Gr_y  _nd  _ngl_sh  br__kf_st  p_t  m_lk  _n  _t.  N__rly  45  p_r  c_nt  _f  p__pl_  sw__t_n  th__r  t__  w_th  s_g_r.  _m_z_ngly,  p__pl_  w_th  _  sw__t  t__th  p_t  thr__  t__sp__ns  _f  s_g_r  _n  th__r  c_p.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    british people are big tea drinkers it is a tradition in britain to drink tea for different occasions and reasons People have it for breakfast for when guests visit and for tea breaks at work people even have a cuppa when they talk about their personal problems however research from the tea group shows that herbal fruit and other teas have become more popular than traditional english breakfast tea researchers conducted a survey of more than 2000 tea lovers over half of people said their favourite tea was not the traditional variety over a fifth of people chose green tea as their favourite brew just over 20 per cent said earl grey was their number one

    sales of traditional tea in the uk have been declining three years ago a survey found that 54 per cent of britons preferred english breakfast tea the new research shows that breakfast tea is likely to continue to decline in popularity the researchers found many other things about teadrinking habits in the uk the biggest reason for drinking tea was to relax a quarter of britons drink up to 10 cups a day brits seem to love milky and sugary tea around 85 per cent of people who drink earl grey and english breakfast put milk in it nearly 45 per cent of people sweeten their tea with sugar amazingly people with a sweet tooth put three teaspoons of sugar in their cup

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Britishpeoplearebigteadrinkers.ItisatraditioninBritaintodrinkteafor
    differentoccasionsandreasons.Peoplehaveitforbreakfast,forwhengu
    estsvisit,andforteabreaksatwork.Peopleeven"haveacuppa"whenthe
    ytalkabouttheirpersonalproblems.However,researchfromTheTeaGr
    oupshowsthatherbal,fruitandotherteashavebecomemorepopularth
    antraditionalEnglishbreakfasttea.Researchersconductedasurveyof
    morethan2,000tealovers.Overhalfofpeoplesaidtheirfavouriteteawa
    snotthetraditionalvariety.Overafifthofpeoplechosegreenteaastheirf
    avouritebrew.Justover20percentsaidEarlGreywastheirnumberone.
    SalesoftraditionalteaintheU.K.havebeendeclining.Threeyearsago,a
    surveyfoundthat54percentofBritonspreferredEnglishbreakfasttea.T
    henewresearchshowsthatbreakfastteaislikelytocontinuetodeclinein
    popularity.Theresearchersfoundmanyotherthingsabouttea-drinki
    nghabitsintheU.K.Thebiggestreasonfordrinkingteawastorelax.Aqua
    rterofBritonsdrinkupto10cupsaday.Britsseemtolovemilkyandsugar
    ytea.Around85percentofpeoplewhodrinkEarlGreyandEnglishbreakf
    astputmilkinit.Nearly45percentofpeoplesweetentheirteawithsugar.
    Amazingly,peoplewithasweettoothputthreeteaspoonsofsugarinthei
    rcup.

    Free writing

    Write about breakfast tea for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Tea is better than coffee.  Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. TEA: Make a poster about tea. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. TEA BREAKS: Write a magazine article about all companies having tea breaks so workers can relax. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on tea. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions of tea. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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