Year 10 German: Cooking Video Tutorials
What happens when German lessons move from the classroom to the kitchen? As part of their German unit “Does It Taste Good?”, Year 10 students explored language learning in a practical, creative, and delicious way.
Before the cooking began, students familiarised themselves with essential cooking vocabulary in German, learning words and expressions related to ingredients and cooking techniques such as chopping, mixing, stirring, and baking. To inspire their culinary adventure, we also watched German cooking videos on YouTube. There was only one small problem, after every lesson, everyone felt hungry! 😀
Working in groups, students selected a dish they wanted to prepare, created a list of ingredients, and wrote detailed step-by-step instructions in preparation for their cooking day. On the big day, they bought the ingredients themselves and headed to the kitchen.
Their task was not only to cook or bake their chosen recipe but also to record a video of the process. Later, students added voice-over instructions to create their own cooking tutorials, inspired by the German videos we had previously watched. The project encouraged teamwork, creativity, planning, and authentic language use beyond the classroom.
The results were both delicious and impressive. Norbert and Adam prepared schnitzel with mashed potatoes and kindly shared their meal with classmates. Nikita, Lexin, and Milana baked a traditional chocolate cake, while Michal and Dafne prepared Frittatensuppe, a traditional soup from southern Germany made with sliced pancake strips. Richard, Alex, and Martin cooked Currywurst with fries.
Learning outcomes:
- Authentic language use in a real-life context
- Student agency and collaboration
- Inquiry-based and experiential learning
- Creativity through media production
- Intercultural understanding of German cuisine
- Development of ATL skills
