Domino’s Out! – Junk Food ESL Reading & Speaking Lesson Plan

For Teachers: Domino’s Out!

Here is a nice little reading / vocabulary / speaking lesson for you and your student on Domino’s Pizza and junk food. This was designed for a one-to-one lesson, but it can easily be adapted for pairs or small groups. The article was written with an intermediate (B1–B2) student in mind.

The main objective of the lesson is to drive conversation on the topic, with an interesting article added to the lesson. As the focus is speaking, feel free to go off-topic and down different avenues if it happens naturally.

Pre-lesson Questions

Use these questions to warm up and connect the topic to your student’s life:

1. How often do you eat junk food?
2. What places in your hometown have the best burgers / kebabs / chips / pizza?
3. When was the last time you had pizza? What is your favourite type of pizza?
4. Have you ever been to Italy and had pizza there? Was it as good as everyone says?

Tell your student they are going to read a short article called “Domino’s Out” and then brainstorm some ideas about what could be behind the title. Encourage more details in their suggestions, even if they aren’t correct.

Reading: Domino’s Out

As you can see, key words have been highlighted under each paragraph. You can get your student to read aloud and then go over the words together if needed after each paragraph.

Domino’s Out

Domino’s Pizza is without doubt one of the biggest pizza brands in the world, but while many people do enjoy a slice of Domino’s every now and then, the home of pizza, Italy, has said “arrivederci” to Domino’s as they close their final store.

• To be without (a) doubt – to say something that you believe is definitely true.
• The home of – the place where something was first invented or is most famous.

Domino’s arrived in Italy in 2015 with an arsenal of more than 12,000 stores worldwide. It set up its first operation in Milan and then expanded into Rome, Bologna and Turin. The plan to win over the pizza-loving Italians was to use only authentic Italian products. The company had ambitious plans – it expected to open hundreds of stores nationwide by 2030 – but then COVID struck.

• An arsenal – a large number of things (often weapons) which make you powerful or a danger.
• To strike – when something (often bad) happens suddenly and unexpectedly.

As COVID hit Italy and stopped many people from dining out, local pizzerias who were also struggling turned to online delivery platforms. The competition for pizza delivery became too great for Domino’s as most people opted for traditional family-run pizzerias. As a result, Domino’s started closing stores and had to admit defeat when trying to take on the home of pizza.

• Online delivery platforms – apps and websites like Uber Eats, Glovo, Deliveroo etc.
• Opted for – chose one option instead of another (quite formal).
• Admit defeat – to say you can’t continue after trying and accept that you have lost.

Many people believe it was doomed to fail before it started, and Domino’s should never have gone into Italy. One Milan resident said, “The Americans don’t know jack about pizza and should stick to burgers,” while another said, “I’m happy it’s gone. I tried it once and it was revolting. If you want good pizza, you go to an Italian.”

• To fail before it starts – when there is no real chance of something being successful.
• Don’t know jack – an informal way to say you don’t know anything about something.
• Stick to (something) – to only focus on or do one thing.
• Revolting – something that tastes or looks very bad; disgusting.