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.
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