Language Learning

Top 10 Tips for language learning with Linguacuisine

Linguacuisine can help you learn a foreign language in a number of ways. In order to cook the recipe you will need to understand the instructions given in the videos. The app is designed to have a range of help options, and you can decide for yourself which ones to use.

  1. You can ask for help if you don’t understand the instructions. You can have the instructions repeated and can look at videos and photos which show you what to do. You can also choose ‘text’ so you can read as well as hear the instructions.
  2. The kitchen context is a great help to understanding what to do. When you start cooking, you will have a kitchen, food ingredients and cooking equipment around you. it is often possible to work out from this context what the video is telling you to do. It’s a good idea to say the new words as you go along, to help you memorise them – you can also write them down.
  3. Working with someone else in a pair can be a great help, so you can exchange ideas and solve problems together. Maybe one of you is netter at cooking and the other is better at the foreign language, so you can exchange skills and help each other. Try to speak to each other in the foreign language, if your level is high enough, and try to work out what the video instructions are asking you to do.
  4. For some recipes there is a preparation video which tells you the names of all the equipment and food in advance. You can check the equipment and food at any time in the recipe by choosing list all ingredients/utensils. This will show you a photo and you can hear the pronunciation and see the written word.
  5. Linguacuisine can be used by language learners at all levels, from beginner to advanced. Normally, beginners should make use of all the help facilities which are available. For example, before starting the English Scones recipe, you can play the whole video through with subtitles in English. This means that beginners can became familiar with the cooking actions, as well as with the language, before they start cooking.
  6. Some recipes (e.g. Involtini, English scones) have printable recipe cards written in the foreign language, to which you can refer when cooking.
  7.  You learn foreign words better when you are physically touching food and cooking utensils and using them to prepare food. When you are cooking, you involve all of your senses in the learning experience – touch, smell and taste as well as hearing and seeing, and this improves the learning experience. So learning languages in this way is a rich multi-modal and multi-sensory experience!
  8. When you’ve finished the recipe, you can taste the food! It’s also a good idea to go through all of the food and equipment items and see how many words you can remember – also try saying them. You can also comment on and rate the recipe on the online community and tell people which words you learnt and how the food tasted.
  9. The system is designed so you are in charge of your learning. You can try to work out for yourself how to cook the recipe and you can make guesses if you want – try things out and have fun!
  10. If you get really stuck with a foreign word, you can use Google Translate to find out what it means.

Learning about other cultures

Some recipes include information about the country, its culture, its food and its language. This may be helpful if you are planning a trip to the country or just want to know more about it. This information is in show extras.