Teaching a Recipe: A Lesson with Listening Activity

Teaching listening is one of the neglected and thereby challenging tasks. Nevertheless, teaching listening skills is significant as it sets the path for teaching/learning other skills of language. Moreover, integrating listening activities can be an alternative way to teach writing in ESL (English as a Second Language) or EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms.

Students can perceive information, understand and respond to it in both written and spoken forms by using the perceptual talent of listening. Activities in the classroom that blend listening and writing abilities have a favorable influence on students’ proficiency in language acquisition and material competence. As a result, this session incorporates listening exercises while teaching to write a recipe; one of the topics covered in the Secondary Level English Curriculum. The lesson plan below is based on my experience of using listening exercises to teach recipe writing.

Introductory Parts

Proficiency Level: Secondary level

Age Group: 14 – 16 years

Class Time: 90 minutes

Objectives

On completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

Learn the vocabulary of ingredients to cook an omelet
Watch a related video without sound and identify the ingredients used in the video.
Match the ingredients with their appropriate quantity.
Arrange the recipe in the correct order.
Write a recipe for their favorite food.

Resources

Flashcards, Video Clip, Worksheets, Cutouts

Procedure

Warm-up: (10 minutes)

Ask personal questions to students such as,

Do you like to cook? Why? Why not?
Who taught you to cook?
What are your favorite dishes to cook?

2. Pre-Listening: (15 minutes)

Introduce the vocabulary of ingredients to prepare an omelet.
Display the flashcards with pictures and names in English and, if necessary, in the mother tongue.
Write the words on the board.
Let the students pronounce the word.

3. Listening Task 1: (15 minutes)

Distribute each student a sheet of paper with the list of different ingredients used for cooking.
Play a video of preparing an omelet without sound.
Ask the students to tick the ingredients they see in the video.
Finally, share the ingredients used in the video with the students.

4. Listening task 2: ( 15 minutes )

Provide each student with a sheet of paper with the name of the ingredients in column A and the quantity needed in column B to prepare an omelet.
Now, play the same video with sound this time.
Ask the students to match the ingredients in column A with their quantity in column B.
Finally, share the answers.

5. Listening Task 3: (15 minutes)

Group the students; five in each group
In each group distribute the cutouts of the recipe for an omelet.
Play the video again.
Let the students discuss and share in the groups about the procedure to cook an omelet as in the video.
Ask them to arrange the cutouts in the correct order and present them to the class.

6. Extended task: (20 minutes)

Ask students to prepare a recipe for one of their favorite food.
Tell them to share it in the class.

My Reflection on this Lesson Plan

This lesson plan is an outcome of my own experience of teaching in secondary-level ESL classrooms. The main objective of this lesson plan is to help students write a recipe conveniently through various listening activities. Asking students to share about their personal lives related to the topics generates interest and motivates them towards the topic. Playing videos without sounds helps students to focus on one particular aspect at a time. Assigning tasks in groups assist students to learn the subject matter collaboratively and co-operatively which indirectly aids their soft skills. The students participated actively and were well-engaged in each activity. Finally, they were able to write a recipe and share it with the class.

Appendices

Listening Task: 1

Tick (√) the ingredients you see in the video and cross (X) those you don’t see.

S.N.	Name of the Ingredients	Tick/ Cross
1	Eggs
2	Onion
3	Garlic
4	Tomatoes
5	Flour
6	Sugar
7	Salt
8	Butter\oil
9	Milk
10	Pepper
11	Chilies
12	Water

Listening Task: 2

Match the ingredients in column A and the quantity in column B

Ingredients Quantity

Egg half slice

Onion a pinch

Tomato two

Salt and pepper one small size

Green chili one tablespoon

Butter/ oil as per your taste

Listening Task: 3 (Cutouts)

Beat eggs well in a bowl.
Add chopped onion, tomatoes, green chilies, salt, and pepper to the eggs in the bowl and mix it well.
Melt butter or oil in a frying pan on medium-low heat, and tilt the pan to grease the sides and the bottom of the pan nicely.
Pour the eggs into the pan, and tilt to spread the butter to the sides. Cook on medium heat till it sets and the underside is golden brown.
Gently lift the egg with a spatula and turn immediately to cook the other side. Cook till golden brown on both sides.
Slide on a plate. Fold into half and serve hot with bread.

About the Author

Ms. Aryal is an English teacher in Tikapur with fifteen years of experience in the teaching field. She has completed her master’s degree in English education from Tikapur Multiple Campus, Tikapur. Her aim is to be a professional educator to improve English language teaching in Nepal. She has served as a Headteacher at Karnali Secondary School, Tikapur for three years. She is a Fulbright Teaching Excellence Achievement Program (TEA) fellow of 2022 who participated in six weeks of an intensive program at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA. She is a life member of NELTA, Nepal Red Cross Society, and Tikapur Academic Society. In her free time, she likes listening to songs, watching movies, and chatting with friends.

To Cite this Article (APA)

Aryal, S. (2022, November 29). Teaching a recipe: A lesson with listening activity. NELTA ELT Forum. https://neltaeltforum.wordpress.com/2022/11/29/teaching-a-recipe-a-lesson-with-listening-activity/