FRENCH CUISINE IN THE CLASSROOM - USING CULTURE TO ENHANCE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

French cuisine offers a valuable resource for creating culture-based c ontexts for language use in the classroom. Situating a food in its his torical and social context prior to tasting, following up the experien ce with a detailed discussion of student reactions, and comparing the situation to other aspects of French or American eating habits permit learners to appreciate more fully the important sensory differences be tween cultures. This article presents numerous suggestions and ideas f or exercises incorporating food-related activities in the French class .