Lesson Plan on Traditional Foods

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State, administered by the University of Oregon.
Paths to Success in English Language Teaching. Copyright 2015 University of Oregon. All rights reserved.
Phase 1 Lesson Plan Template Page 1
PHASE 2 LESSON PLAN
Lesson Name: A Culinary Adventure
A. Students and Setting
Students:
• Age: 18-25
• Grade level: Freshmen in Hospitality and Tourism Management Bachelor degree.
• English level: Students have received twelve years of instruction in Eng. at school, focusing mainly on
grammar and vocabulary. As a result, their reading and writing skills show a much higher
development (high beginners) than their listening and speaking skills (fake beginners). Some of them
are independent English learners, so their proficiency is considerably higher than that of the rest.
Setting:
• Type of institution: public university
• Students per class: 15-20
• Sessions per week: 2 Duration: 60 mins. ea. Classrooms are provided with a multimedia projector.
There is WiFi Internet access in the whole building. The instructor possesses his own laptop and
speakers. Many students also have their own laptops; others borrow some from the library.
B. Lesson Background:
This lesson recycles language-based topics previously seen in class (adjectives, likes and dislikes, and
sequence expressions) and introduces a content-based one: traditional cuisine. Sequence expressions
were the grammar structures used in the previous class to present a step-by-step project using realia.
This time students will do something similar but on the basis of traditional dishes from their regions. Given
the fact that these students come from different parts of the country, many of them with tourist potential
and rich culinary traditions, it is important for them to learn about foods their future clients may be
interested in.
Given the students’ background experience with the language and format used for this activity, they will
feel at ease while working on this new topic. Likewise the previous lesson, students will have the
opportunity to use realia and demonstrate what they have learned in a fun and delicious way in the next
class session. They will cook and bring dishes to class and put into practice the new vocabulary thy will
acquire as well as the previously seen language forms.
C. Learning Objectives/Expected Results:
Students will:
• Develop knowledge and appreciation for the traditional culinary wealth of the different regions of the
country and that of other countries.
• Recycle adjectives, expressing likes and dislikes, and sequence expressions.
• Acquire new cuisine-related vocabulary.
• Develop their negotiation skills to produce a collaborative work.
• Create a book of traditional recipes from different regions of the country.
• Practice their English writing, pronunciation, listening and speaking.
• Practice their culinary skills.

D. Materials and Sources:
• Websites:
• Cuisines
• Panamanian Recipes Wiki
• Recipes from Panama
• Food survey (prepared by the teacher in advance)
• Cooking ingredients
• Kitchenware
• Paper
• Pencils
• Printer
• Computers/laptops
Sources
• Cuisines (n.d.). In Good Food. Retrieved from
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/category/cuisines
• Panamanian Recipes Wiki (n.d.). In Panama Living. Retrieved from
http://panamaliving.com/recipes.html
• Recipes from Panama (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://panamanianrecipes.wikia.com/wiki/Panamanian_Recipes_Wiki
Note: The rest of the materials (ingredients, kitchenware, school supplies, etc.) will be provided by the
students. Students will be allowed to use borrow computers from the library or bring their own.
E. Procedures / Timing:
Teacher does/says . . . Students do/say . . .
Approximate
Time
• Introduces the topic of traditional
cuisine by showing students
exotic dishes from around the
world through the Website Good
Food.
• Responds to any questions that
may arise from the students.
Ask questions about the dishes. 5 mins.
Gives students a survey on such
dishes.
Fill out the survey individually. 5 mins.
Go over the answers and hold a discussion on the survey items. Students
are encouraged to say if they have heard about, tried or would like to try
any of the dishes, know how it is made, where it comes from, etc.
10 mins.
Asks students about traditional
dishes of their regions.
• Reply to the teacher by naming
some dishes and giving
10 mins.

interesting details.
• Answer questions from the
teacher or their classmates
about those dishes.
Forms groups of 4 students of
varying Eng. levels and asks them to
select a traditional dish they would
like to talk about. Each students is
assigned one of the following roles
in order not only to keep everyone
busy and thus avoid behavior
problems but also to make the
activity productive: topic monitor,
volume monitor, participation
monitor, and language monitor
Decide on which dish to talk about. 5 mins.
Monitors the groups and provides
feedback if necessary.
• Using one computer per group,
do research on the selected
dish, focusing on the way it is
prepared and on any interesting
traditional aspect associated with
it.
• Select an appealing picture of it,
write a short but appealing
caption of it and summarize its
recipe, using their own words.
The job will be divided among
the group participants based on
their skills and interests. Some
can work on content; others on
form, etc.. However, every group
member will be allowed to
feedback the others with respect
to the any aspect they may find
worth improving.
• Print two copies of the work. One
of them will be submitted to the
teacher and used to make a
cookbook with traditional recipes
in English. The other will be
taken home and used as
reference to collaboratively
25 mins.

prepare the dish at home and
bring it to the next class session
as part of the project.
In the next class session, students will present on the dishes, and explain the whole
preparation process and the cultural value of them. The rest of the class can ask any
question regarding the different dishes. In addition, a small degustation party will be
organized, so the whole class will have a chance to get a taste of each dish and have fun.
After the party, students will express their opinions about the different dishes, showing
respect for everyone’s effort.
F. Alternative Assessment:
In this lesson, the teacher plays a passive role in terms of assessment. Instead of performing a
direct assessment of the students’ work, he acts as observer of the whole process, keeping
from intervening except when strictly required. This type of assessment gives the teacher an
opportunity to better evaluate the students’ learning by gaining insight into the use of their actual
language resources. Rather than focusing on artificial activities supplied by language-learning
textbooks, students work on a stimulating and delicious topic, thus making connections with the
real world as well. Language is learned as a by-product of interaction, with students giving each
other feedback along the activities. This type of learning has proven more authentic and long
lasting as compared to the traditional assessment activities focusing merely on measuring the
students’ short-term memory at taking tests completely unrelated to real life. In other words, the
assessment will be carried out along the whole process instead of during specific activities. This
assessment will focus more on the collaborative aspects of learning and the communicative
skills rather than on picking mistakes and errors which, after all, are natural parts of learning.
G. Classroom Management:
By getting students to work in groups, proper classroom behavior is promoted. All students
remain busy working on different parts of the task according to their interests and skills. Noise is
significantly reduced by having each group work on individual topics as opposed to having the
whole class talking about the same thing at the same time.
The nature of the activity also allows for students’ moving around the class while working at
different stages of the task. This adds variety and helps avoid monotony, while reducing the
students’ anxiety.
Selecting a fun topic is also important. Food is always of common interest to almost everyone.
In addition, it is a very versatile theme which can be adapted to different classroom contexts and
instructional purposes.
All these conditions help the teacher maintain control over the class. She or he acts as a guide
and monitor. From that position, the teacher can let students’ exploit their creativity and
collaborative learning skills, and even attend to the students’ individual needs more effectively
given the extra time teachers are left with while students are busy working independently.
However, this learning format requires lots of planning, especially as regards selecting the right
topics and activities.

H. Reflection – Phase 2:
This lesson plan is a slightly improved version of the one used in Phase 1. Some changes were
made based on the suggestions received from the reviewers and in order to meet the
requirements respecting classroom managements and differentiated instruction seen in the last
2 units. More details about the subsequent activities are offered in the Background. Also, timing
was extended to 10 mins. in the third and fourth parts of the class routine given the complexity
of these sections. The slideshow originally used by the teacher to introduce the lesson was
replaced by the Website Good Food, so students have access to richer information to be
accessed as part of the lesson or for further independent research.
A few improvements were made to the group activities for the purpose of enhancing
collaborative and independent learning, and bettering classroom management which are key
points touched on in Unit 4. In addition, students are assigned more active and well-defined
roles, which results in more involvement and responsibility. Individual learning differences are
taken into consideration when assigning these roles. Students are allowed to choose which role
to play within each group based on their individual skills. Also, as suggested in Unit 4, out-of-
class interaction in favored by giving students a group project to be carried out outside the
classroom for the next class session.
The lesson plan combines the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) and
three sub-skills (vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation), placing special emphasis on the
topic and the tasks. In order to do research, students need to surf the Web and read content.
Then, they will use their writing skills to rewrite the recipes. Listening and speaking are present
while paying attention to the teacher’s introductory presentation, asking questions, discussing
as a group or as a class, and presenting their projects. As previously said, assessment will be
made indirectly, allowing students use their language resources with and creativity and freedom,
and without so much concern of linguistic perfection.
This lesson is of special value for these students. Not only will it expand their knowledge about
dishes from around the world and their own country, but also it will increase their appreciation
for their culture. Being students of tourism, they need to be capable of explaining their future
clients these important part of every tourist destination. In addition, food knows no age and is a
topic of common interest among people. It is also adaptable to different linguistic levels and
learning styles.

Lesson Plan on Traditional Foods

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