The Reading / Listening - Electric Salt Spoon - Level 3

A battery-powered spoon that makes food taste saltier is now in stores in Japan. It is called the Electric Salt Spoon. It was created by researchers from Tokyo's Meiji University and the Japanese drinks company Kirin. They hope their spoon will help people to cut down on the amount of salt they eat. The spoon sends a weak electric current to the tongue. The current is too weak to be felt. However, it makes salt taste up to one and a half times stronger. This means we can eat food with less salt, but still sense a salty taste. Researcher Ai Sato said: "Japan has a food culture that tends to favour salty tastes. People need to reduce the amount of salt in their food." However, she added that food with no salt is bland and tasteless.

Salt is important for our health. However, too much of it can cause cardiovascular diseases, like high blood pressure, strokes, and heart problems. These are the leading causes of death globally. The World Health Organization recommends a daily salt intake of less than 5 grams. In Japan, the average person has around 10.1g of salt a day. That's higher than the average of 8.5g for Americans. In many countries, around 75 per cent of salt in the diet comes from processed foods, and from things like soy sauce. The Electric Salt Spoon costs 19,800 yen (around $99). Kirin hopes to sell a million of them over the next five years. The spoon's developer has also created electric chopsticks. These will go on sale next year.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Electric Salt Spoon - Level 0,  Electric Salt Spoon - Level 1   or  Electric Salt Spoon - Level 2

Sources
  • https://news.sky.com/story/electric-spoon-that-enhances-salty-taste-of-food-and-promotes-healthier-eating-launched-in-japan-13146505
  • https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/electric-spoons-chopsticks-may-help-cut-salt/7622248.html
  • https://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/3082


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. SALT: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about salt. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       battery / salty / drinks / spoon / electric current / tongue / food culture / tasteless /
       health / cardiovascular diseases / blood pressure / processed food / chopsticks / sale
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. SALT: Students A strongly believe salt should have a health warning on its packaging; Students B strongly believe not. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. GOOD AND BAD: What are the good and bad things about these things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Good Things

Bad Things

Salt

 

 

Garlic

 

 

White bread

 

 

Energy drinks

 

 

Orange juice

 

 

Chocolate

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. TONGUE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "tongue". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. TASTES: Rank these with your partner. Put the best tastes at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Salty
  • Fishy
  • Lemony
  • Chocolatey
  • Spicy
  • Meaty
  • Nutty
  • Sugary

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. battery a. Not having much taste or flavour.
      2. created b. A small thing that gives power to devices like toys or phones.
      3. cut down on c. The flow of electricity, water or air in a certain direction.
      4. amount d. Made something new.
      5. current (noun) e. How much there is of something.
      6. tongue f. Use or do less of something.
      7. bland g. The big thing inside your mouth that helps you taste and talk.

    Paragraph 2

      8. cardiovascular h. Related to the heart and blood.
      9. stroke i. Two long thin things used to eat food, especially in Asia.
      10. leading j. A serious medical problem when blood can't reach the brain.
      11. recommend k. The types of food that a person eats.
      12. average l. Most important; biggest.
      13. diet m. To say something is good and suggest someone use or do it.
      14. chopsticks n. The usual amount or number.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. A battery in a new spoon is full of never-ending salt.     T / F
  2. The new electric spoon was jointly created by a drinks company.     T / F
  3. The spoon sends an electric current to a person's tongue.     T / F
  4. A researcher said food with just a little salt is bland and tasteless.     T / F
  5. The article says salt can lead to people having strokes.     T / F
  6. On average, people in Japan consume less than 5 grams of salt a day.     T / F
  7. The article says that processed foods are 75% salt.     T / F
  8. The man who helped make the spoon has also made electric chopsticks.  T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. created
  2. cut down on
  3. weak
  4. favour
  5. bland
  6. cause
  7. leading
  8. globally
  9. like
  10. recommends
  1. prefer
  2. top
  3. tasteless
  4. such as
  5. suggests
  6. reduce
  7. worldwide
  8. made
  9. faint
  10. lead to

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. A battery-powered spoon that makes
  2. help people cut down on the amount
  3. it makes salt taste up to one and
  4. a food culture that tends to favour
  5. food with no salt
  6. too much of it can cause cardiovascular
  7. high blood
  8. a daily salt intake of
  9. processed
  10. sell a million of them
  1. diseases
  2. less than 5 grams
  3. is bland
  4. of salt they eat
  5. over the next five years
  6. food taste saltier
  7. foods
  8. salty tastes
  9. pressure
  10. a half times stronger

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
times
amount
bland
taste
tends
felt
created
sense

A battery-powered spoon that makes food (1) _____________________ saltier is now in stores in Japan. It is called the Electric Salt Spoon. It was (2) _____________________ by researchers from Tokyo's Meiji University and the Japanese drinks company Kirin. The researchers hope their spoon will help people cut down on the (3) _____________________ of salt they eat. The spoon sends a weak electric current to the tongue. The current is too weak to be (4) _____________________. However, it makes salt taste up to one and a half (5) _____________________ stronger. This means we can eat food with less salt, but still (6) _____________________ a salty taste. Researcher Ai Sato said: "Japan has a food culture that (7) _____________________ to favour salty tastes. People need to reduce the amount of salt in their food." However, she added that food with no salt is (8) _____________________ and tasteless.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
average
chopsticks
sauce
go
blood
globally
million
processed

Salt is important for our health. However, too much of it can cause cardiovascular diseases, like high (9) _____________________ pressure, strokes, and heart problems. These are the leading causes of death (10) _____________________. The World Health Organization recommends a daily salt intake of less than 5 grams. In Japan, the (11) _____________________ person has around 10.1g of salt a day. That's higher than the average of 8.5g for Americans. In many countries, around 75 per cent of salt in the diet comes from (12) _____________________ foods, and from things like soy (13) _____________________. The Electric Salt Spoon costs 19,800 yen (around $99). Kirin hopes to sell a (14) _____________________ of them over the next five years. The spoon's developer has also created electric (15) _____________________. These will (16) _____________________ on sale next year.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) A battery-powered spoon that makes food taste saltier is now in ______
     a.  stores on Japan
     b.  stalls on Japan
     c.  stores in Japan
     d.  stored in Japan
2)  a weak electric current to the tongue. The current is too weak ______
     a.  to be pelt
     b.  to be dealt
     c.  to be melt
     d.  to be felt
3)  This means we can eat food with less salt, but still sense ______
     a.  a salty taste
     b.  a salt tea taste
     c.  a salt to taste
     d.  a salty tasty
4)  People need to reduce the ______
     a.  amount off salt
     b.  amount oft salt
     c.  amount asphalt
     d.  amount of salt
5)  However, she added that food with no ______
     a.  salt is brand
     b.  salt is bland
     c.  salt is blend
     d.  salt is bound

6)  Salt is important for our health. However, too much of it can ______
     a.  cause cardiovascular disease
     b.  cause cardiovascular diseased
     c.  cause cardiovascular diseases
     d.  cause cardiovascular disease is
7)  These are the leading causes ______
     a.  of death globe ally
     b.  of death globalize
     c.  of death global
     d.  of death globally
8)  In Japan, the average person has around 10.1g of ______
     a.  saly a day
     b.  salt the day
     c.  salt a day
     d.  salter day
9)  In many countries, around 75 per cent of salt in the diet comes ______
     a.  from processor food
     b.  from process foods
     c.  from processed foods
     d.  from protected foods
10)  The spoon's developer has also ______
     a.  created eclectic chopsticks
     b.  created electric chopsticks
     c.  created elected chopsticks
     d.  created erratic chopsticks

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A battery-powered spoon that makes food taste (1) ____________________ in stores in Japan. It is called the Electric Salt Spoon. It was created by researchers from Tokyo's Meiji University and the Japanese drinks company Kirin. The researchers hope their spoon will help people cut down on the amount of salt they eat. The spoon sends a (2) ____________________ to the tongue. The current is too weak to be felt. However, it makes salt taste up to one and a (3) ____________________. This means we can eat food with less salt, but still sense (4) ____________________. Researcher Ai Sato said: "Japan has a food culture that tends to favour salty tastes. People need to (5) ____________________ of salt in their food." However, she added that food with no salt is (6) ____________________.

Salt is important for our health. However, too much of it can cause cardiovascular diseases, like (7) ____________________, strokes, and heart problems. These are the leading causes (8) ____________________. The World Health Organization recommends a (9) ____________________ of less than 5 grams. In Japan, the average person has around 10.1g of salt a day. That's higher than the average of 8.5g for Americans. In many countries, around 75 per cent of salt in (10) ____________________ from processed foods, and from things like soy sauce. The Electric Salt Spoon costs 19,800 yen (around $99). Kirin hopes to sell a million of them (11) ____________________ five years. The spoon's developer has also created electric chopsticks. These will (12) ____________________ next year.

Comprehension questions

  1. Where is the Electric Salt Spoon now on sale?
  2. Who helped to develop the spoon besides Tokyo's Meiji University?
  3. What does the spoon send to the tongue?
  4. How much saltier does the spoon make salt?
  5. What does Japanese cuisine tend to favour?
  6. What diseases were mentioned besides strokes and heart problems?
  7. What is the recommended WHO limit on daily salt intake?
  8. How much salt comes from processed foods in many countries?
  9. How many spoons does Kirin hope to sell in the next five years?
  10. What new product will go on sale next year?

Multiple choice quiz

1) Where is the Electric Salt Spoon now on sale?
a) at popup stores
b) on the Internet
c) in stores in Japan
d) convenience stores
2) Who helped to develop the spoon besides Tokyo's Meiji University?
a) a drinks company
b) a salt company
c) a spoon company
d) a battery company
3) What does the spoon send to the tongue?
a) salt water
b) an electric current
c) extreme taste
d) salt waves
4) How much saltier does the spoon make salt?
a)  4½ times
b)  3½ times
c)  2½ times
d)  1½ times
5) What does Japanese cuisine tend to favour?
a) sushi
b) forks
c) salty tastes
d) sauce

6) What diseases were mentioned besides strokes and heart problems?
a) cancer
b) high blood pressure
c) hepatitis
d) sciatica
7) What is the recommended WHO limit on daily salt intake?
a) three grams
b) eight grams
c) ten grams
d) five grams
8) How much salt comes from processed foods in many countries?
a) 85%
b) 75%
c) 65%
d) 55%
9) How many spoons does Kirin hope to sell in the next five years?
a) half a million
b) one million
c) three million
d) five million
10) What new product will go on sale next year?
a) electric chopsticks
b) no sodium salt
c) an electric sugar spoon
d) an electric soy sauce spoon

Role play

Role  A – Salty
You think a salty taste is best. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their tastes. Also, tell the others which is the least tasty of these (and why): sugary, nutty or chocolatey.

Role  B – Sugary
You think a sugary taste is best. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their tastes. Also, tell the others which is the least tasty of these (and why): salty, nutty or chocolatey.

Role  C – Nutty
You think a nutty taste is best. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their tastes. Also, tell the others which is the least tasty of these (and why): sugary, salty or chocolatey.

Role  D – Chocolatey
You think a chocolatey taste is best. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their tastes. Also, tell the others which is the least tasty of these (and why): sugary, nutty or salty.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'salt'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'spoon'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • battery
    • drinks
    • help
    • weak
    • less
    • tasteless
    • diseases
    • death
    • person
    • diet
    • hopes
    • go

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Electric Salt Spoon

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'salt'?
    3. What do you think of salt?
    4. How important is salt in food?
    5. What do you think of the Electric Salt Spoon?
    6. Do you need to cut down on salt?
    7. What do you think of your country's food culture?
    8. Is a spoon or a fork better?
    9. Which taste do you prefer - salty, sweet, sour or spicy?
    10. What are your favourite salty foods?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'spoon'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What would eating be like if food had no salt?
    5. Would you like an Electric Salt Spoon?
    6. What other things do we need salt for?
    7. Do you worry about cardiovascular diseases?
    8. What do you think of processed foods?
    9. What do you think of an electric sugar spoon?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the spoon's designer?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    A battery-powered spoon that makes food taste saltier is now (1) ____ stores in Japan. It is called the Electric Salt Spoon. It was created by researchers from Tokyo's Meiji University and the Japanese (2) ____ company Kirin. The researchers hope their spoon will help people cut down on (3) ____ amount of salt they eat. The spoon sends a weak electric current to the (4) ____. The current is too weak to be felt. However, it makes salt taste up to one and a half times stronger. This means we can eat food with (5) ____ salt, but still sense a salty taste. Researcher Ai Sato said: "Japan has a food culture that tends to favour salty tastes. People need to reduce the amount of salt in their food." However, she added that food with no salt is (6) ____ and tasteless.

    Salt is important for our (7) ____. However, too much of it can cause cardiovascular diseases, like high blood pressure, strokes, and heart problems. These are the (8) ____ causes of death globally. The World Health Organization recommends a daily salt intake of less than 5 grams. In Japan, the average person has around 10.1g of salt (9) ____ day. That's higher than the average of 8.5g for Americans. In many countries, around 75 per cent of salt in the diet comes from processed foods, and from things (10) ____ soy sauce. The Electric Salt Spoon costs 19,800 yen (around $99). Kirin hopes to sell a million of them (11) ____ the next five years. The spoon's developer has also created electric chopsticks. These will (12) ____ on sale next year.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     to     (b)     of     (c)     in     (d)     of    
    2. (a)     drinks     (b)     drinking     (c)     drinker     (d)     drinkers    
    3. (a)     an     (b)     the     (c)     a     (d)     all    
    4. (a)     forehead     (b)     toes     (c)     heart     (d)     tongue    
    5. (a)     small     (b)     fewer     (c)     less     (d)     not    
    6. (a)     band     (b)     bland     (c)     brand     (d)     bendy    
    7. (a)     health     (b)     healthful     (c)     healthy     (d)     hearth    
    8. (a)     reading     (b)     bleeding     (c)     loading     (d)     leading    
    9. (a)     the     (b)     whole     (c)     a     (d)     to    
    10. (a)     at     (b)     salty     (c)     such     (d)     like    
    11. (a)     under     (b)     over     (c)     about     (d)     at    
    12. (a)     go     (b)     reach     (c)     up     (d)     get

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. A atybetr-powered spoon
    2. created by rercasrhese from Tokyo's Meiji University
    3. cut down on the monatu of salt
    4. a weak electric current to the tnegou
    5. a food culture that tends to favour alyst tastes
    6. food with no salt is nbadl

    Paragraph 2

    1. cardiovascular sieaesds
    2. high blood rureseps
    3. smdmcereon a daily salt intake
    4. the geavaer of 8.5g for Americans
    5. seorpdces foods
    6. The spoon's rvdleepoe

    Put the text back together

    (...)  pressure, strokes, and heart problems. These are the leading causes of death globally. The World Health
    (...)  day. That's higher than the average of 8.5g for Americans. In many countries, around 75 per cent of salt
    (...)  Electric Salt Spoon. It was created by researchers from Tokyo's Meiji University and the Japanese drinks
    (...)  taste up to one and a half times stronger. This means we can eat food with less salt, but still sense
    (...)  a salty taste. Researcher Ai Sato said: "Japan has a food culture that tends to favour salty tastes. People need
    (...)  costs 19,800 yen (around $99). Kirin hopes to sell a million of them over the next
    (...)  Organization recommends a daily salt intake of less than 5 grams. In Japan, the average person has around 10.1g of salt a
    (  1  ) A battery-powered spoon that makes food taste saltier is now in stores in Japan. It is called the
    (...)  Salt is important for our health. However, too much of it can cause cardiovascular diseases, like high blood
    (...)  company Kirin. The researchers hope their spoon will help people cut down on the amount of salt
    (...)  in the diet comes from processed foods, and from things like soy sauce. The Electric Salt Spoon
    (...)  to reduce the amount of salt in their food." However, she added that food with no salt is bland and tasteless.
    (...)  they eat. The spoon sends a weak electric current to the tongue. The current is too weak to be felt. However, it makes salt
    (...)  five years. The spoon's developer has also created electric chopsticks. These will go on sale next year.

    Put the words in the right order

    1. spoon   that   makes   saltier   .   taste   battery-powered   A   food
    2. down   .   Their   people   spoon   will   help   cut
    3. The   is   too   be   weak   felt   .   current   to
    4. in   the   of   their   salt   Reduce   food   .   amount
    5. with   salt   and   tasteless   .   is   bland   no   Food
    6. it   of   can   diseases   .   much   cause   cardiovascular   Too
    7. causes   are   These   of   the   globally   .   death   leading
    8. 10   .1g   around   average   of   salt   .   person   The   has
    9. hopes   Kirin   them   .   sell   to   of   a   million
    10. developer   The   spoon's   also   chopsticks   .   has   electric   created

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A battery-powered spoon that makes / bakes food taste saltier is now in stores in Japan. It is called the Electric Salt Spoon. It was created of / by researchers from Tokyo's Meiji University and the Japanese drinking / drinks company Kirin. The researchers hope their spoon will help people cut down / up on the amount of salt they eat. The spoon sends a weak / week electric current to the tongue. The current is too weak to be feel / felt. However, it makes salt taste up to one and a half times strength / stronger. This means we can eat food with least / less salt, but still sense a salty taste. Researcher Ai Sato said: "Japan has a food culture that trends / tends to favour salty tastes. People need to reduce the amount of salt in their food." However, she added that food with no salt is bland / brand and tasteless.

    Salt is important for our healthy / health. However, too much of it can cause cardiovascular diseases, like high bloody / blood pressure, strokes, and heart problems. These are the leading causes of dead / death globally. The World Health Organization recommends a daily salt intake / outtake of less than 5 grams. In Japan, the average person has around 10.1g of salt a day. That's higher that / than the average of 8.5g for Americans. In many countries, around 75 per cent of salt in / on the diet comes from processed foods, and from things like soy source / sauce. The Electric Salt Spoon costs 19,800 yen (around $99). Kirin hopes to sell a million / millions of them over the next / last five years. The spoon's developer has also created electric chopsticks. These will go on / in sale next year.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    _  b_tt_ry-p_w_r_d  sp__n  th_t  m_k_s  f__d  t_st_  s_lt__r  _s  n_w  _n  st_r_s  _n  J_p_n.  _t  _s  c_ll_d  th_  _l_ctr_c  S_lt  Sp__n.  _t  w_s  cr__t_d  by  r_s__rch_rs  fr_m  T_ky_'s  M__j_  Un_v_rs_ty  _nd  th_  J_p_n_s_  dr_nks  c_mp_ny  K_r_n.  Th_  r_s__rch_rs  h_p_  th__r  sp__n  w_ll  h_lp  p__pl_  cut  d_wn  _n  th_  _m_unt  _f  s_lt  th_y  __t.  Th_  sp__n  s_nds  _  w__k  _l_ctr_c  curr_nt  t_  th_  t_ngu_.  Th_  curr_nt  _s  t__  w__k  t_  b_  f_lt.  H_w_v_r,  _t  m_k_s  s_lt  t_st_  up  t_  _n_  _nd  _  h_lf  t_m_s  str_ng_r.  Th_s  m__ns  w_  c_n  __t  f__d  w_th  l_ss  s_lt,  but  st_ll  s_ns_  _  s_lty  t_st_.  R_s__rch_r  __  S_t_  s__d:  "J_p_n  h_s  _  f__d  cultur_  th_t  t_nds  t_  f_v_ur  s_lty  t_st_s.  P__pl_  n__d  t_  r_duc_  th_  _m_unt  _f  s_lt  _n  th__r  f__d."  H_w_v_r,  sh_  _dd_d  th_t  f__d  w_th  n_  s_lt  _s  bl_nd  _nd  t_st_l_ss.

    S_lt  _s  _mp_rt_nt  f_r  _ur  h__lth.  H_w_v_r,  t__  much  _f  _t  c_n  c_us_  c_rd__v_scul_r  d_s__s_s,  l_k_  h_gh  bl__d  pr_ssur_,  str_k_s,  _nd  h__rt  pr_bl_ms.  Th_s_  _r_  th_  l__d_ng  c_us_s  _f  d__th  gl_b_lly.  Th_  W_rld  H__lth  _rg_n_z_t__n  r_c_mm_nds  _  d__ly  s_lt  _nt_k_  _f  l_ss  th_n  5  gr_ms.  _n  J_p_n,  th_  _v_r_g_  p_rs_n  h_s  _r_und  10.1g  _f  s_lt  _  d_y.  Th_t's  h_gh_r  th_n  th_  _v_r_g_  _f  8.5g  f_r  _m_r_c_ns.  _n  m_ny  c_untr__s,  _r_und  75  p_r  c_nt  _f  s_lt  _n  th_  d__t  c_m_s  fr_m  pr_c_ss_d  f__ds,  _nd  fr_m  th_ngs  l_k_  s_y  s_uc_.  Th_  _l_ctr_c  S_lt  Sp__n  c_sts  19,800  y_n  (_r_und  $99).  K_r_n  h_p_s  t_  s_ll  _  m_ll__n  _f  th_m  _v_r  th_  n_xt  f_v_  y__rs.  Th_  sp__n's  d_v_l_p_r  h_s  _ls_  cr__t_d  _l_ctr_c  ch_pst_cks.  Th_s_  w_ll  g_  _n  s_l_  n_xt  y__r.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a batterypowered spoon that makes food taste saltier is now in stores in japan it is called the electric salt spoon it was created by researchers from tokyos meiji university and the japanese drinks company kirin the researchers hope their spoon will help people cut down on the amount of salt they eat the spoon sends a weak electric current to the tongue the current is too weak to be felt however it makes salt taste up to one and a half times stronger this means we can eat food with less salt but still sense a salty taste researcher ai sato said japan has a food culture that tends to favour salty tastes people need to reduce the amount of salt in their food however she added that food with no salt is bland and tasteless

    salt is important for our health however too much of it can cause cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure strokes and heart problems these are the leading causes of death globally the world health organization recommends a daily salt intake of less than 5 grams in japan the average person has around 101g of salt a day thats higher than the average of 85g for americans in many countries around 75 per cent of salt in the diet comes from processed foods and from things like soy sauce the electric salt spoon costs 19800 yen around 99 kirin hopes to sell a million of them over the next five years the spoons developer has also created electric chopsticks these will go on sale next year

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Abattery-poweredspoonthatmakesfoodtastesaltierisnowinstoresin
    Japan.ItiscalledtheElectricSaltSpoon.Itwascreatedbyresearchersfr
    omTokyo'sMeijiUniversityandtheJapanesedrinkscompanyKirin.Ther
    esearchershopetheirspoonwillhelppeoplecutdownontheamountofsa
    lttheyeat.Thespoonsendsaweakelectriccurrenttothetongue.Thecurr
    entistooweaktobefelt.However,itmakessalttasteuptooneandahalfti
    messtronger.Thismeanswecaneatfoodwithlesssalt,butstillsenseasa
    ltytaste.ResearcherAiSatosaid:"Japanhasafoodculturethattendstof
    avoursaltytastes.Peopleneedtoreducetheamountofsaltintheirfood."
    However,sheaddedthatfoodwithnosaltisblandandtasteless.Saltisim
    portantforourhealth.However,toomuchofitcancausecardiovascular
    diseases,likehighbloodpressure,strokes,andheartproblems.Thesea
    retheleadingcausesofdeathglobally.TheWorldHealthOrganizationre
    commendsadailysaltintakeoflessthan5grams.InJapan,theaveragep
    ersonhasaround10.1gofsaltaday.That'shigherthantheaverageof8.5
    gforAmericans.Inmanycountries,around75percentofsaltinthedietco
    mesfromprocessedfoods,andfromthingslikesoysauce.TheElectricSa
    ltSpooncosts19,800yen(around$99).Kirinhopestosellamillionofthe

    Free writing

    Write about Electric Salt Spoon for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    We need more education about salt and health. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. SALT: Make a poster about salt. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. SALT EDUCATION: Write a magazine article about the government educating us all more about salt. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on salt. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to cut down on salt. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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