Food for thought: teach Arabic online & take your students on culinary adventures

1 August 2024

Food is indisputably part of a country’s culture and therefore, it also has a link to the language. There’s no point in learning a language without engaging with the culture, customs, habits, etc. Think of things like planned food tours and restaurant visits as part of your language-teaching curriculum. It will not only provide students with practical, real-life application of the skills they’re acquiring, but it will also add a touch of novelty to their learning process.

This methodology not only applies to in-person teachers. If you’re teaching online you can still work your way around it, like for example having a synchronized restaurant visit with your student, even if you’re in different locations. Let’s say you’re an Arabic teacher; you can find a restaurant with Middle Eastern or North African food in your student’s town, arrange for them to go there, and have a virtual session where you guide them through the different foods, vocabulary, etc.

Visit the website to teach Arabic online to hundreds of students. You can choose your schedule, when and how to teach.

Planning culinary adventures

Research and select destinations

The first step is looking for restaurants, cafes or food markets that represent the cuisine of the language that you’re teaching. Preferably, the staff at the venue should speak the language natively, so that your students can order and put their speaking skills into practice.

Create a culinary itinerary

If there is more than one food establishment, consider creating a culinary itinerary so that you can take your students to different dining experiences. By visiting street food vendors and fine dining restaurants, they can be exposed to different aspects of the cuisine and culture.

Conduct a language preparation

Make sure that before your culinary adventure you teach your students the relevant vocabulary and equip them with the relevant phrases that they will need to use when ordering food or reading the menu.

Teach Arabic online and include culinary experiences

Cultural discussions

Once the culinary experience is completed, facilitate discussions about it in the following lesson. Have your students share what they learned, what they thought of the whole experience, discuss their favorite dishes, etc.

Cooking classes

Integrate a cooking class into the language-learning session. Your student can be in the kitchen while you guide them through the cooking process. They can follow recipes in Arabic, learn cooking-related vocabulary.

Thematic lessons

You can use themes from the culinary adventure to design engaging lessons. For example, how about a lesson on the history of a traditional dish? Or about the importance of food in cultural celebrations? It will be something original and different that will offer context and relevance to the language learning journey.