The ability to purchase food and eat in a restaurant is an essential skill for interacting in a foreign country. Beginner students of French will need to know the important phrases for ordering food politely and paying for it appropriately. In this activity, students will create a storyboard that practices dialogue various dining scenarios. The storyboards should include a character who orders food in a restaurant, interacts with a server politely, and asks the final price before leaving.
To encourage oral practice, conclude by having students present their scenes to the class, reading the French dialogue aloud. French pronunciation can be difficult for beginners, and this is a great way for students to take ownership of their practice.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard at least three cells long in which a character orders food, interacts with a server, and asks the price. Be prepared to read your scene aloud!
Set up a mock restaurant in your classroom using desks or tables as 'cafés' and assign roles such as server and customer. This makes French food ordering fun and practical for students learning new vocabulary.
Hand out simple, student-friendly French menus listing common foods and prices so students can practice authentic ordering. Menus help reinforce food vocabulary and polite phrases.
Coach students to use polite expressions like “Bonjour”, “S’il vous plaît”, and “Merci” in their role-plays. Politeness is central to real-life interactions and boosts cultural understanding.
Switch roles after each round so every student tries being both customer and server. This builds confidence and ensures all students participate actively.
Discuss what went well and highlight strong use of French. Offer encouragement and correct common mistakes gently so students feel supported and proud of their progress.
Common French phrases for ordering food include: Je voudrais... (I would like...), L’addition, s’il vous plaît (The bill, please), and Combien ça coûte? (How much does it cost?). Practicing these helps students interact politely in French dining settings.
Teachers can have students create storyboards featuring restaurant scenarios, assign roles as customers and servers, and encourage students to read their dialogues aloud for pronunciation practice and confidence building.
A great activity is to have students design and act out a storyboard where they order food, interact with a server, and ask for the price, then present their scenes to the class using French dialogue.
French pronunciation can be challenging for beginners. Practicing out loud helps build confidence, ensures correct communication, and makes real-life interactions in restaurants smoother.
A beginner French restaurant dialogue should include ordering food politely, exchanging pleasantries with the server, and asking for the price or the bill before leaving.