An innovative kitchen that gives step-by-step cooking instructions in French could spark a revolution in language learning in the UK.

Tracking your actions with motion-sensor technology similar to a Nintendo Wii, it speaks to you like a car’s Sat Nav as you prepare a French dish.

The kitchen breaks new ground by taking language learning out of the classroom and linking it with an enjoyable and rewarding real-life activity.

It has been developed by language experts and computer scientists at Newcastle University. The research is supported by five of the UK research councils, including the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through their the RCUK Digital Economy Programme.

The kitchen builds on the proven technique of Task-Based Language Learning (TBLL), an effective teaching method where students are prompted by instructions in a foreign language to carry out specified tasks. But TBLL has never previously involved instruction in a fashionable life skill like cooking, which will help to inspire and motivate users and accelerate their learning.

The new kitchen is designed to be installed in schools, universities and even people’s homes. The first version of the technology was trialled in the catering kitchens of project partner Newcastle College.

The kitchen could be available for schools and universities to use, and for the domestic market, by the end of 2012. A series of portable versions of the kitchen have been developed, which are being taken out on road-shows to schools across the North East.  

You can find out more about the research from the team involved in an audio slide show http://www.youtube.com/user/EPSRCvideo?feature=mhum 

The Newcastle University team is now working to explore routes to commercialisation. An EU grant of €400K has also been obtained to develop English, German, Spanish, Italian, Finnish and Catalan versions. Ultimately, versions could be developed for any language/cuisine in the world.

Professor Paul Seedhouse of the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences has led the project in conjunction with Professor Patrick Olivier of the School of Computing Science.

Professor Seedhouse says: “Our overriding objective is to make language learning more enjoyable, more effective and, by linking it to the development of another valuable life skill, more educational too”.

More information is available at http://digitalinstitute.ncl.ac.uk/ilablearn/kitchen
   

Notes for Editors

The 18-month ‘Language Learning in the Wild’ project has received total ‘Digital Economy’ funding of nearly £163,000.

If a builder wanted to incorporate the technology into a new-build kitchen, it is estimated that this might add in the region of 10-20% to the kitchen’s cost. Where a functioning kitchen already exists, providing it with the special utensils and computing/sensor technology would cost £2,000 to £3,000 (though the commercial price would be higher). 

The prototype version will remain on display at Newcastle University as a permanent show kitchen.

Digital Economy is an RCUK cross-council research programme, aimed at realising the transformational impact of ICT for all aspects of business, society and government. The programme is being delivered by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council and Arts and Humanities Research Council. RCUK Digital Economy Programme: www.rcukdigitaleconomy.org.uk

AHRC Media contact: Jake Gilmore, Communications Manager, 01793 416021; j.gilmore@ahrc.ac.uk  

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC): Each year the AHRC provides approximately £100 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes hundreds of research awards ranging from individual fellowships to major collaborative projects as well as over 1,100 studentship awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.