Favourite meals

Colloquial English sections give you a break from the textbook classroom voice. You'll listen to people speaking at normal speed, using idioms, fillers and connected speech. Today's topic: three people describe the meal they love most — and why it matters.

Tick (✓) anything true for YOU. Then find a partner who has ticked the same box and ask: “Tell me about it!”

You'll hear three short interviews. Predict which of these words you'll probably hear and which you won't.

(Spoiler: spaceship, sushi and penguin are not mentioned — everything else is.)

Listen once for gist (general meaning), then again for the detail questions.

A. Listen for gist

1. Which speaker's favourite meal is most tied to FAMILY, and which one is most tied to a PLACE?Show answer
2. Rank the three meals from MOST comforting to MOST exciting, with one word of evidence each.Show answer
3. What EMOTION does each speaker associate with their meal? Give one word for each.Show answer
4. Which TWO speakers admit they can't fully recreate the meal themselves?Show answer
5. Each speaker uses a 'punchline' idiom or emphatic phrase. Identify one for each.Show answer

B. Listen for detail

1. Speaker 1: what exactly does her nan say when she calls after a bad week?Show answer
2. Speaker 1 names three specific elements of the roast. What are they?Show answer
3. Speaker 2: how are the tacos al pastor cooked, and what unusual ingredient sits on top?Show answer
4. Speaker 2 exaggerates how often he'd eat them. What is his joke?Show answer
5. Speaker 3: what THREE smells from the laksa trigger her memories?Show answer
6. Why can Speaker 3 never quite match her mum's recipe?Show answer
7. Identify ONE moment where a speaker uses self-repair or a filler (typical of natural speech).Show answer
8. What is the implied 'moral' running through all three stories?Show answer

Match each expression from the interview to its meaning. Tap to check.

• comfort foodShow answer
• the whole shebangShow answer
• (my) go-toShow answer
• to have a rotten weekShow answer
• proper (adj., informal BrE)Show answer
• loads of (sth)Show answer
• zero regretsShow answer
• to take sb back (to)Show answer
• it's never quite the sameShow answer
• phone sb upShow answer

Use it

Complete each sentence with one expression from the box.

1. After a really ___ week, I just want soup, blanket, film — nothing more.Show answer
2. My ___ Sunday breakfast is scrambled eggs on sourdough. Every single week.Show answer
3. We ordered starters, mains, desserts, coffees — ___ .Show answer
4. The smell of fresh bread ___ me right ___ to my grandad's bakery.Show answer
5. I ate the entire pizza on my own. ___ .Show answer

When people talk casually about food and plans, they squeeze words together. This is called connected speech. You don't need to copy it, but you DO need to recognise it in menus, cafés and TV shows.

Tip: NEVER write “gonna” or “gotta” in emails, essays or exams. They belong in speech, texts and fiction dialogue only.

Solo task — record a 90-second voice note describing your favourite meal. You MUST use at least FIVE expressions from section 4. Play it back and tick which ones you actually used.

Now imagine you're pitching this dish for a new restaurant menu. Record a 45-second pitch to convince a customer to order it. Use at least THREE expressions from section 4 and end with a one-line tagline (e.g. “Trust me — you'll come back for seconds.”).

Write a short piece for a food blog: describe ONE meal and the memory behind it. Start with a sensory hook (smell, sound, colour), use at least three colloquial expressions from section 4, and finish with a one-line 'why it matters'.