"Using Food to Spark
Student Conversations in the
Foreign Language Classroom"
Ronald J. Friis
Furman University
Why food?
Cultures
Comparisons
Communities
Connections
Communication
Conversation activities
(See handout)
Use familiar foods.
Ordering in restaurants, cafés.
Food and daily routines.
Discuss when foods are eaten (or not eaten).
Comparisons (of dishes, customs, etc).
Cultural analysis of a dish, ingredient or beverage.
Describe a US food or custom to someone
from the target culture.
Start with a painting, photograph or ad.
The Super Size Me website.
Fast food facts from the
Super Size Me website
40 percent of American meals are eaten outside the home.
Each day, 1 in 4 Americans visits a fast food restaurant.
McDonald's distributes more toys per year than Toys-R-Us.
French fries are the most eaten vegetable in America.
In the U.S., we eat more than 1,000,000 animals an hour.
Some of our top issues
Customs and rituals about eating
Globalization
Food culture in the US
Fast vs. slow food cultures
Gendered division of work within the house
Corn
US Latino immigration
Writing activities
(see handout)
Your family's signature dish.
A narration and description of a family celebration.
Regional dishes/crops/wines from a country.
A country's national dish.
Describe yourself through/as a dish.
Writing advertisements or recipes.
A restaurant review (great video project).
Analyzing fast and slow food cultures.
Discussion of borders in terms of food.
3 questions for your group
1. What three foods, beverages or ingredients from
your target culture would spark a rich in-class
conversation?
2. What US food custom would be hard to explain to
someone from your target culture?
3. What is your family’s “signature dish”
and what does it say about you?
Projects
(see handout)
Interview a native speaker about the
cultural importance of a dish.
Review a meal in the dining hall.
Film a restaurant review.
Film an advertisement.
Website / blog / wiki.
Visit a local market.
Film a recipe.
Día de comida
Students cooking
Familiarity Visuals
Shopping
Kitchens
Safety
A good student recipe…
1.is for a familiar food.
2.indicates the level of difficulty.
3.indicates the needed kitchen equipment.
4.indicates how long is needed to make the dish.
5.contains a shopping list.
6.has clear, step-by-step instructions.
7.contains lots of visuals and tips.
http://archivogastronomico.blogspot.com
Blog contents:
1. Recipes
2. Syllabus
3. Food vocabulary
4. Images and links to articles
5. Daily reports of what we did
6. A bibliography of Hispanic foods
7. Student essays, projects, videos, etc.
Chile
* Pebre (una salsa chilena)
* Ensalada de quinoa
* Empanadas de pino
México
* Carnitas
* Enchiladas
* Tamales
* Relleno (fácil) para los tamales
* Pastel de tres leches
* Pozole rojo
* Pipián (mole) verde con pollo
* Tortillas caseras
* Tacos de carne asada
* Tacos de pollo en salsa verde
* Guacamole
Cuba
* Frijoles negros - moros
* Platanitos fritos
* Sándwich cubano
US
* Southwestern Green Chile Mac & Cheese
* Cal-Mex Cuisine: San Diego Fish Tacos
* Tex-Mex Cuisine: Chile con queso
Honduras
* Horchata (hondureña)
* Sándwich de pollo hondureño
España
* Pintxo de plátano y beicon
* Pintxo de jamón con alioli
* Paella a la parrilla
* Samfaina à la Mañé
* Espinacas con pasas y piñones
* Pinchos morunos
* Ensalada sefardita de lentejas
* Tortilla española
* Pollo al ajillo
* Pinchos morunos
Unscripted, authentic video input
Communication
Connections
Cultures
Communities
Comparisons
Ron Friis
ronald.friis@furman.edu