1. Learn new Vocabulary & review English Grammar from food packaging.
2. 10 useful words & phrases to add to your vocabulary list:
Word / Parts of Speech
1. authentic (adj.)
2. pure (adj.)
3. individually wrapped (adv./adj.)
4. mini (adj.)
5. powdered sugar (n.)
6. dunk (v.)
7. store (v.)
8. fill (v.)
9. storage (n.)
10. dust (v.)
Parts of Speech:
(adj.) = adjective
(adv.) = adverb
(n.) = noun
(v.) = verb
What you'll learn:
i. some new English words & phrases in context
ii. how to use them in your spoken English
from real-world materials
iii. plus review your spoken grammar
English Self-Study Tip!
Take notes and practise. Use them to help improve your English speaking skills.
3. Introduction
a) Take a look at this bag of Madeleines below.
b)
i) Can you spot any new words or phrases?
ii) Any idea what they mean?
iii) Can you guess?
iv) How to use them in your English speaking?
4. Vocabulary and reading
(*Don't worry about the meaning or pronunciation at this point if you're not sure.)
1. Authentic
2. Mini cakes made with pure butter
3. 10 Individually wrapped madeleines
5. Spoken Vocabulary & Grammar Practice
Let's go through the list of words and phrases no. 1 to 3 with their meanings explained:
i. Authentic = real, not false, genuine
So, here it means > Real French Butter Madeleines
Translation of "authentic" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary,Cambridge University Press,
Accessed 14 January 2021. Used by permission.
ii. Mini cakes made with pure butter.
- Mini = small
Here, it means "small cakes".
iii. Pure = not mixed with anything else, only
- So, here it means 100% butter.
Translation of "pure" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press ,https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/pure Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
Conversation A
Two colleagues are making lunch plans...
i. (authentic)
Tammy: Hey, what's for lunch today?
May: How about Indian food?
Tammy: Great idea. Let's go to *Little India. We can have authentic Indian curry with rice.
May: How much time have we got before the next meeting?
Tammy: (Looking at her watch)
About 2 hours before the next meeting.
May: Cool. If we leave now, we may even have time for some shopping!
Tammy: Come on, get your bag... The next train's leaving in 3 minutes time.
*Little India is a vibrant historic district in Singapore. Do visit the Indian Heritage Centre if you plan to go. Join the museum guided tour in English. A fantastic way to practise your English listening!
i. (authentic)
In a museum:
e.g. The landscape painting sold at the auction recently is an authentic Monet.
More grammar practice:
Conversation B
ii) mini
May and Lynn are at the company's product launch party...
May: Let's have some more of those mini burgers. I'm so hungry.
Lynn: Did you eat lunch earlier? I heard you had curry with Tammy...
May: No, we went to the spa instead.
Lynn: Oh? But... why?
May: (laughs) There was a "2 for 1" lunch-break promotion, so we went for it.
Lynn: Wow, that's cheap!
May: The massage was amazing..
But our lunch was just lemon grass tea!
You can go here to learn more about >> Past Simple vs Present Simple tense
Conversation C
ii) mini
(brand name of car)
A: My sister loves driving her new Mini Cooper.
B: I'm not surprised. I think it's a really cute car.
C: Yeah. Her husband bought it for her birthday.
A: That's so sweet ...
Conversation D
Mia and Carrey are chatting in the living room...
Mia: Would you like some fruit juice?
Carrey: No, thanks. I'm trying to cut down on sugary drinks...
Mia: Oh, don't worry. It's pure grapefruit juice. I'll get you some.
Carrey: Ok then. Thanks.
Mia: No problem. I'll be right back.
Vocabulary Check!
cut down - (phrasal verb) = to do less of something
Grammar Point!
- I am trying (Present Continuous tense)
- I will be (Future tense)
Review Your Tenses:
Go to >> Present Simple vs Present Continuous
iii. (10 Individually wrapped madeleines)
- individual (adjective), individually (adverb)
= separate from others
Translation of "individual" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press ,https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/individual Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
Grammar Point!
wrap (verb), wrapped (past tense, past participle form)
= to cover with paper or cloth
e.g. Each Madeleine is wrapped separately.
e.g. Handmade pottery and tableware are individually wrapped for easy transportation.
Translation of "wrap" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/wrap Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
English Self-Study Tip!
Say out the sentences a few times.
Cover the text.
Repeat.
6. PART 2
A. Read the words and phrases no. 1 to 7 out loud.
*Don't worry about the meaning or pronunciation at this point if you're not sure.
1. Serving Suggestions
2. Madeleines can be enjoyed a variety of ways.
3. Simply dunk it in your coffee or tea.
4. Dip it in your favourite chocolate sauce.
5. Slice the Madeleine in half, fill it with fresh strawberries and garnish with whipped cream.
6. Dust with powdered sugar.
7. Storage
8. Store away from heat and moisture.
(Notice the verb tense in the start of each sentence. Here, we use the Imperative Form to give suggestions, instructions etc.)
B. Now we'll go through the list of words and phrases no. 1 to 7
Words / Meaning
1. Serving Suggestions
- serving = giving food or drink
- suggestions = ideas or plans
e.g.
i. Tim's serving coffee at table no. 3.
ii. Breakfast will be served at the terrace.
iii. Any suggestions for lunch?
Translation of "serving" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press,
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/serve?q=serving Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
Translation of "suggestion" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press ,https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/suggestion Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
2. Madeleines can be enjoyed a variety of ways.
- a variety of something (noun) = many different types
You can also say:
e.g. Madeleines can be enjoyed in many different ways.
Translation of "variety" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press ,https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/variety?q=a+variety+of+%2F Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
3. Simply dunk it in your coffee or tea.
i. simply (adverb)
= Here, it means "just, only"
Translation of "simply" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/simply Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
ii. dunk (verb) = to put in a piece of the cake, a piece of bread, etc. in coffee, tea or other liquid for a short time before eating it
e.g.
i. It tastes great if you dunk it in milk.
ii. My mum loves to dunk biscuits in her coffee.
Meaning of "dunk" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press ,https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dunk Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
4. Dip it in your favourite chocolate sauce.
- dip (verb) = to put something into a liquid to moisten; get some of the liquid on it
e.g.
i. The artist dips her brush in the paint.
ii. I love dipping fried chicken in chilli sauce.
Translation of "dip" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/dip Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
5. Slice the Madeleine in half, fill it with fresh strawberries and garnish with whipped cream.
- slice (verb) = Here, it means "to cut"
- in half (noun) = In 2 equal parts
e.g.
i. Slice the onion in half.
ii. Slice the tomatoes thinly and sprinkle a little salt.
Note:
- Slice is also used as noun. e.g. - lemon slice, cucumber slice
Translation of "slice" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press,https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/slice Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
Translation of "half" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge Press,https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/half?q=in+half Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
- fill (verb) it with fresh strawberries = make it full
e.g.
i. Margaret fills the jars with honey.
ii. Fill the kettle with water.
Translation of "fill" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/fill
Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission
- garnish (verb) with whipped cream
= to decorate the food with a little of some other food. (Here it's used as a verb).
e.g.
i. Garnish the ice cream with some mint.
ii. I love to garnish my dishes with parsley.
Translation of "garnish" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary,
Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission
6. Dust with powdered sugar.
- dust (verb)
= Here, it means "to sprinkle"
- powdered sugar (noun)
= icing sugar
So, you can also say:
i. Sprinkle the madeleines with icing sugar.
ii. My daughter loves to dust cookies with powdered sugar.
Translation of "dust" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press,
Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
7. Storage (noun) no plural
= a place to keep or put away something
e.g.
i. Mimi is putting away her toys into storage boxes.
Translation of "storage" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © CambridgeUniversityPress
Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
8. Store away from heat and moisture.
- store (verb) = keep it somewhere
- away (adverb) from
= a distance from some place, different place
Example Sentence:
i. Jane stores her kids' candies in glass jars.
ii. Meg stores away her children's old toys in the attic.
Translation of "store" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press,
Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
Translation of "away" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press,https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/away Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
- heat (noun) no plural
= hot, high temperature
e.g.
i. It's too hot to go out in this heat.
ii. Cook the vegetables on high heat.
Translation of "heat" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-japanese/heat Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
moisture (noun) no plural
= very small drops of water in the air
So, you can say:
i. Keep in a cool and dry place away from moisture.
Translation of "moisture" from the online Cambridge English–Japanese dictionary, © Cambridge University Press,
Accessed 14 Jan 2021. Used by permission.
Review
Let's recap the conversation phrases you've learned:
Complete the sentences.
Q. What are the variety of ways you can serve Madeleines?
1. Simply _ _ _ _ in coffee or tea.
2. _ _ _ it in chocolate sauce.
3. _ _ _ _ _ the Madeleine in _ _ _ _ , fill it with fresh _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ with whipped cream.
4. _ _ _ _ it with icing sugar.
5. _ _ _ _ _ it away from heat & moisture.
Tip For Better Speaking Skills!
Your English learning is personal to you. Think about situations in your life. The people you know. Your family and close friends. Or even celebrities and famous people. Talk about them in your conversation practice.
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