Discover Portuguese in the Kitchen 2:
Learning Portuguese through Cooking can be a Recipe for Success
 
  Students at Camões House, MCM College enjoyed a rather unusual language enhancement activity over the weekend. Resident Assistant, Claúdia Zhang Ming Zhu, and Resident Tutor, Simão Liu Gaole organised about twenty enthusiastic Portuguese language majors, as well as several international students (from Lusophone countries), into three groups as they gathered at the common room, on the 1st floor. The objective was simply to get into the kitchen with someone native to the language, engage interactively through gastronomy: prepare two traditional Portuguese desserts, and apply a full hands-on experiential learning approach.
Associate Master, Dr. Manuel Noronha patiently explained the preparation and techniques necessary to make Salame de Chocolate and Pasteis de Nata. Students learned the different ingredients in the recipe and verbs and phrases that describe the cooking process. Students found that learning Portuguese through cooking could well be regarded as “a recipe for success” on so many different levels. The best part of the activity was that it also involved all five senses:
· Sight: Reading the recipe, looking at all the gorgeous ingredients and watching your food take shape
· Smell: Wonderful aromas of sensational cooking smells
· Sound: The noise of food as you chop and cook whether it is sizzling in a pan or gently bubbling away.
· Touch: The different shape and texture of your food – kneading dough, or using utensils to prepare the custard sauce.
· Taste: The most important part - trying the finished dish, and then sharing it with other partipants.
The activity added not only fun, but elevated participants’ learning experience by introducing new vocabulary, increasing understanding while learning more about Portuguese culture and history through gastronomy. It also encouraged many participants to actually make their learning visible by sharing their photos and the recipes across various social media platforms. |