Foreign language learning through food

Making Spanish food helped bridged cultural gaps for Pre-AP Spanish 3 students.

Aliza Porter

Making Spanish food helped bridged cultural gaps for Pre-AP Spanish 3 students.

Aliza Porter, Staff Reporter

Cooking and Spanish culture were the key ingredients in a Pre-Ap Spanish 3 class project on Wednesday as students presented food cooked from different Spanish speaking countries.

“I think that the Spanish project is helpful in learning about the Spanish culture because the students will learn about the different foods that is cooked in different countries especially because there are 22 different countries and we all have a lot of different kinds of foods,” Spanish teacher Marcela Vicente said. “It’s a good march to the different cultures.”

While there are plenty of local restaurants that serve food that have a connection to Spanish speaking countries, Vicente says there is a lot more for students to know about the Spanish culture.

“The purpose of the project is basically to learn about the different foods that are cooked in the different countries,” Vicente said. “Basically because we live in Texas, the majority of the students thinks that the only Spanish food is the Tex-mex and that is not. We have a lot of different variety of foods and basically with this project, I want to show the students that there is a lot more to know.”

For students, the project helped bridge some cultural gaps.

“The food that we prepared was actually a lot more similar to other foods that are more familiar and comfortable with,” sophomore Kanika Kappalayil said. “I think it goes to show that you know culture, even though it’s very different and unique, we all share a lot of similarities in different ways.”