Kids love getting messy and they love tasty treats, so why not combine the two and learn English along the way? Many of us already enjoy watching cooking programmes on TV with our children, so English recipe activities are a fun way to combine quality time with getting creative and being educational.
It’s time to bring your very own Master Chef Junior competition into your own home. Here’s how!
Prepare your cooking classroom
Good chefs know there’s an art to cooking. It is the same with learning English. Before you get started, prepare a few things to ensure you get the best results:
· Remember to keep the recipe short and simple.
Ask your child(ren) what they’d like to cook. Then consider what ingredients you need, how long it will take to make and if you have the right equipment to make it.
Keep in mind you also want them to practise English, so pick a recipe that uses English words that match their level of proficiency.
· Check your kitchen kit.
Check you have all the tools and ingredients you need to make your masterpiece. Along the way, use sticky notes to label each item in English, for example ‘bowl’, ‘spoon’, ‘sieve’. You could also make a chef’s hat and apron so your little cooks look the part and learn clothing words in English.
· Make an ingredients list.
Together, write a list in English of all the recipe items you’ll need. This is a good moment for children to learn new words, and show what they already know. You can also practise numbers for the amount of each ingredient they’ll need, like “1 cup” or ‘2 teaspoons’.
· Clarify instructions in English.
It’s a good idea to practise basic cooking words with your kids before you get started, so you can use English during the whole activity.
Sequence words like ‘first’, ‘next’ and ‘then’ are useful, as are verbs like ‘mix’, ‘add’ and ‘pour’. Verbs are especially important as children learn well in context, so they’ll associate the word with the action they’re doing.
TIP: If you’re looking for English classes for your children, look for classes that include a range of activities to make learning English fun. We have great classes for kids near you.
Welcome a wooden spoon helper
To make your recipe lesson fun,.try using a wooden spoon helper (who only speaks English) to assist you in your cooking journey.
This interactive helper can be the ‘teacher’ and they can make it easier for kids to speak and listen in English (especially if they normally speak with you in another language).
The wooden spoon helper can be dressed, named and speak however you and the kids want. Have fun with it! For example the spoon could be an English exchange student who is studying at culinary school. Today they are visiting your home to share skills with your young chefs.
The spoon helper can give directions, ask children questions and correct any grammar or pronunciation mistakes in English, in real time.
Make your food festive
Kids love celebrations, so it’s fun to try recipes they associate with parties and family celebrations.
Celebrating with food allows children to demonstrate the English they’ve learned for other contexts (for example. saying ‘Happy Birthday’ or ‘Happy New Year’) and express their artistic side.
These websites have simple recipes in English that are suitable for children:
Eats Amazing has a range of colourful cooking ideas, including macarons and a rainbow fruit salad. Meanwhile, Bake Play Smile has a list of recipes that suit festive events.
Go on a gastronomy world food tour
No matter what recipe you follow, try to introduce ingredients or cooking styles from different cuisines. This helps your children learn about more types of foods and more words in English.
For example, you could bake cupcakes with red, white and blue icing, like the French flag. Or make sushi or try an Asian fusion dish that blends elements of foreign cooking with the foods your kids already know.
Diverse foods and cooking styles give your children a more varied English vocabulary, and can encourage them to try new and unusual foods.
Follow English vocabulary worksheets while you wait for the food to cook
There’s always an awkward time while you wait for your dish to cook, cool or be ready to eat. But this can be a learning opportunity!
Print out a worksheet like this pizza worksheet from British Council English lessons for children, Or you can make your own worksheet; ask your children to match English words with pictures from the cooking process and define different cooking terms.
Kids can also put the cooking steps in order – which helps them remember the words in English. At the end of the worksheet, they can draw what they cooked and write a short description about how it looks and tastes.
English recipe activities you can do in the supermarket with your kids
Next time you’re at the supermarket, plan a dish with your children – it can be real or made up! Ask them to speak in English when you walk past ingredients for that dish.
You could also go through the homeware section and ask kids to point out the items they’d need to ‘mix’, ‘knead’, ‘grate’, ‘cut’ and ‘decorate’ the dish.
This activity helps build imagination in your kids. Their minds run wild as they combine different flavours, textures and ideas.
These are just a few of the English recipe activities you can do with your little learners. Try them regularly and you’ll see your kids improve their English and grow hungry for more!
Keep the fun going in our English classes for children near you, here
Do you want more fun ways to support your child’s English development? Discover how film can help you teach or learn English.