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Research at the Digital Institute

Newcastle University

Research at the Digital Institute

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Kitchen sink French

Talking kitchen
Sitting at a classroom desk isn’t the only way of learning a language. Using an innovative language programme, The French Digital Kitchen, you can cook an authentic French dish and learn the French vocabulary associated with that activity. At Newcastle University, the interdisciplinary, Kitchen project is led by language expert, Professor Paul Seedhouse and computer scientist, Professor Patrick Olivier.

Inspired by Patrick Olivier’s digital kitchen, developed to help patients suffering from dementia keep track of their cooking at home. Seedhouse saw its perfect application in language teaching. Task-based language learning has been around for a while, based on the idea that you learn best by doing an interesting and motivating task. Seedhouse sees the digital language kitchen moving this on. They have built a kitchen at Newcastle University where the utensils communicate with the software programme. Using 3D printing techniques motion-sensors are embedded in the kitchen equipment and are programmed to track specific movements, similar to the Nintendo Wii, the software speaks to you like a car’s Sat Nav as you prepare a French dish.

Smart kitchen utensils
Seedhouse explains what a student experiences, ‘If you follow the audio instructions on the computer it moves on to the next. If you don’t, the programme loops back and repeats the instruction. So if the instruction is “take the peeler and peel the pears”. The pears are in a container with a sensor to detect if you have moved the pears, the peeler can tell if it has been picked up and so on. The sensors in the knife can detect if you are chopping, slicing or scraping and can monitor what’s required next.’ The software allows students to select the level of language support they need to complete the task.

Baking Background © KEMAL BAŞ - iStockphoto
The Kitchen goes to Europe
Already looking at its use in schools, the team will be developing the European Digital Kitchen for the next three years, with funding from the European Union. They intend to use the portable versions of the kitchen and integrate culture content into the language learning. The kitchen will soon be teaching seven languages, cuisines and culture. And because it’s based on a spreadsheet it will be possible to use it with any language and cuisine. Ooh la la!

LearnEnglish Science activities
Why not do a language activity based on this cubed story, Kitchen sink French? You can double-click on any word on this page for a dictionary definition.

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