Your student will practice talking about food, prices, and favorite places while ordering and describing real Taiwanese night-market snacks. Here the student is the expert — your job is to be curious, ask questions, and let them teach you about Taiwan.
⏱ About 60 minutes🎯 All levels (questions are leveled)📋 No prep — tap 🔊 to hear any phrase
Before you start tutor prep
Take two minutes before your student joins. A calm, ready tutor helps a nervous student relax.
Test your camera and microphone in Google Meet.
Keep this page open in your browser — you will teach straight from it.
Have a glass of water nearby and smile when your student arrives.
Tap any 🔊 button to hear a word or phrase out loud — use it to model pronunciation.
Mindset: Don't over-correct. Let your student do about 70% of the talking. For this topic, your student is the expert on Taiwan and you are the curious guest — ask "Really? Tell me more!" far more often than you correct grammar.
1 · Warm-up 5 min
Start gently. Ask these out loud and react warmly to every answer.
Do you like night markets? Why or why not?
When did you last go to a night market? Who did you go with?
Which night market is closest to your home?
What is one food you always look for at a night market?
Tip: If your student gives a short answer, gently echo it back as a question — "Oh, you went with your family? That sounds fun. What did you eat?" This keeps them talking.
2 · Key words & phrases 8 min
Read each word together. Tap 🔊 to model it, then have your student repeat and use the example sentence.
night marketThe night market is busy on Saturday nights.
food stallThat food stall sells the best dumplings.
vendorThe vendor is cooking noodles right now.
fried chickenI always buy a piece of fried chicken first.
stinky tofuStinky tofu smells strong but tastes great.
oyster omeletMy favorite snack is the oyster omelet.
grilled skewerShe ordered three grilled skewers.
crispyThe chicken is hot and crispy.
spicyCan you make it a little spicy?
How much is it?How much is it for one cup?
I'd like ___, please / One ___, pleaseI'd like an oyster omelet, please. One bubble tea, please.
Tip: Ask your student which of these foods they actually like or dislike. Real opinions ("I love stinky tofu, but my friend hates it!") produce far more natural speaking than drills.
3 · Read & talk 8 min
Read this together. A is the customer, B is the vendor.
A:
Hi! What do you have here?
B:
We have fried chicken, grilled skewers, and oyster omelet.
A:
That smells great. How much is the fried chicken?
B:
It's sixty dollars for one piece.
A:
Okay, I'd like one piece, please. Can you make it spicy?
B:
Sure! A little spicy or very spicy?
A:
A little spicy, please. And one bubble tea.
B:
Great. That's ninety dollars all together.
A:
Here you go. Thank you so much!
B:
Enjoy your food! Please come again.
Tip: Read it through twice, then swap roles so your student practices both ordering and selling. Encourage them to change the food and prices to match a real stall they know.
4 · Let's talk 12 min
Now your student shares their own experiences. Choose the level that fits and let them lead.
BEGINNER
What is your favorite night-market food?
Do you like spicy food or not spicy food?
What do you usually drink at the night market?
INTERMEDIATE
Which night market do you like best, and why?
What do you usually order when you go? Walk me through it.
Who do you go to the night market with, and what do you do there?
ADVANCED
How have the night markets in your area changed over the years?
Is there a food that visitors find strange but you really love? Explain it to me.
If a night market and a restaurant cost the same, which would you choose, and why?
Tip: After every answer, ask "Why?" or "Tell me more." You are learning about Taiwan — show real interest and your student will open up.
5 · Going deeper 10 min
Push a little further. These questions ask your student to describe, explain, and recommend.
BEGINNER
Describe your favorite food. Is it hot, sweet, crispy, or spicy?
What color is it? How does it smell?
INTERMEDIATE
Are there any games at your night market, like ring toss or shooting balloons? How do you play?
Describe one dish step by step, as if I have never seen it before.
ADVANCED
A foreign friend is visiting Taiwan. What three foods would you tell them to try, and in what order?
What is one food you would warn a visitor about before they order it?
Tip: When your student describes a dish, repeat it back in clean English ("So it's a soft pancake with oysters and egg, and it's a little sticky — got it!"). This gives gentle modeling without stopping their flow.
6 · Activity — role-play the night market 10 min
Time to act it out. Your student becomes the vendor or the guide, and you are the visiting customer.
Your student picks a real night-market stall they know and decides what it sells.
You walk up as a curious foreign visitor and ask about the food.
Your student describes the dishes, gives prices, and takes your order.
Then switch: you become the vendor and your student is the visitor ordering.
Finish by having your student recommend one more thing for you to try.
Visitor: "Hi! What do you recommend here?"
Vendor: "You should try the ___. It's really ___."
Visitor: "How much is ___?"
Vendor: "It's ___ dollars. Would you like it spicy?"
Visitor: "Yes, please. I'd like ___, please."
Vendor: "Good choice! And you should also try ___ next time."
Tip: Stay in character and react like a real tourist — surprise, hunger, curiosity. The more fun you make it, the more your student forgets to be nervous.
7 · Wrap-up 5 min
Ask your student to name 2-3 foods they talked about today.
Give specific praise — for example, "You described the oyster omelet so clearly, I really want to try it!"
Let your student pick the topic for next time (festivals, school life, family food, travel).
Say a warm goodbye and thank them for teaching you about Taiwan.
Tip: End on a high note. The last thing your student feels should be that they did well and that you enjoyed learning from them.
🧭 Tutor notes
Use this to judge the level you saw and to plan next time.
BEGINNER
Answered in single words or short phrases ("fried chicken", "very spicy").
Next time: pre-teach 5 food words and practice "I'd like ___, please" until it's automatic.
INTERMEDIATE
Made full sentences and could order, give prices, and describe a favorite dish.
Next time: push longer answers — ask them to compare two night markets or explain a game.
ADVANCED
Told stories, gave opinions, and explained foods a visitor might find strange.
Next time: add follow-up "why" questions and discussion topics like food culture and change over time.
Most important: Write down your student's name, the foods they love, the night market near their home, and one thing they were proud to teach you. Bring it up next lesson — it shows you listened and builds real trust.
