Cooking is an unique activity to humans, and some scientists believe that it plays an important role in human evolution. Most anthropologists believe that some important facts as agriculture and commerce in some areas could be conditioned by the gastronomy itself, and some new inventions as pottery could be developed in order to satisfy some culinary needs.
So, cooking is surely a reflection of culture and, because of that it is so important. But lately, a huge problem has appeared, obesity. The problem of childhood obesity has grown considerably in recent years. So, because of that, the UK government seeks to introduce compulsory cooking lessons for teenagers at schools. And this could be a great idea. Furthermore, it is a solution to the main problem in Spain, English.
Some experts believe that cooking is the perfect method to learn a foreign language and it could be a way to educate children to improve their eating habits. Cooking is a good way to learn English because:
1. Recipes follow pretty much the same format and the instructions are short, logical and sequential, so it is easy to understand and memorize for a child.
2. Children will be using all five senses: touch, sight, taste, smell and hearing. This enhances the experience and they will remember it better. Instead of studying words in a language students are creating an experience in the language.
3. They become familiar with some verbs normally used in cooking fields (such as roasting, baking, boiling, frying…) and they can learn how the metric system works.
Otherwise, cooking in a foreign language is especially helpful in fostering self-esteem, because to be succeeding in a cooking experience could help a child to be more self-confident.
But that’s not all, part of learning a language is experiencing another culture, and food is a big part of any culture. Students need to learn the tastes, smells and names of native foods. It will improve their social abilities. So they will have fun too.
Cooking at school would be a perfect opportunity to teach children a new language in a new better way, besides they could learn how to eat healthy food and they could discover a tasty new world, full of flavors.
It's true! Your post is really original and the idea is so good! I think it's very important to learn how to eat in order to avoid health problems in the future. It provides benefits to children in every way; teaching them to cook and eat well, and helping them to learn about new cultures.
ResponderEliminarIt's a good way to have fun and learn while!