It seems I have an abundance of cultural resources that I use when introducing my students to food and meal-taking in French. In this post, I will share my favorites and describe how I use them. Most of these resources are videos. It should be noted that I have thrown in some cultural videos in English, which are not authentic resources, but are useful, nonetheless. Email subscribers should view this post in a browser, as the videos will not embed into the email.
This video (unfortunately it can’t be embedded) shows how McDonald’s is different in France compared to in the United States. It’s pretty old, but my students are fascinated to see how the chain made changes to appeal to the French demographic.
This video shows what school lunches are like in France. Students are really surprised to learn how different they are compared to in the U.S. Again, this is a pretty old video, but I really like it. It also mentions McDonald’s, which they learned about in the previous video. I use this as an opportunity to explore what lunch time means in many parts of the world (an opportunity to both eat and socialize) vs. how it is viewed in the U.S. (a quick break to eat).
After watching the video, students look at the photos in this article to see what school lunches look like up close. This is also an opportunity to discuss why there isn’t a photo for Wednesday (French students have the afternoon off).
In the first video below, two boys talk about what they have for breakfast in France. I subtitled it on Amara, since the auto-generated subtitles weren’t very accurate. Click here to access the subtitled version. In the second video, a man and his cousin have breakfast in Morocco. While watching the two videos, students circle what foods they see on a list I provide to them. Afterwards, students compare and contrast breakfast foods in France, Morrocco, and the United States.
This video shows a Senegalese restaurant in Burkina Faso. Students have a chance to see thiéboudienne, which they learned about in a previous lesson. This is another video that I subtitled in Amara. Click here to see the subtitled version.
I like to show students what eateries look like in the French-speaking world. The below videos show a contrast of what a bakery can look like in three French-speaking countries. The first video shows a family going to a small bakery in France. The second video, which is much longer, showcases a bakery in Haiti. Students have a chance to hear some Haitian Creole, which is related to French. Finally, the third video shows a bakery in Benin. While I like all these videos, showing them all in their entirety is too much, and students start to lose attention at the end. This year, I combined and trimmed the Haiti and Benin videos, and I added my own subtitles to the Benin video, since the auto-generated subtitles weren’t very accurate. Contact me if you want access to the trimmed-up videos.
This video shows both sweet and savory crêpes and shows them being prepared. The only thing is, it goes very fast, so I slow down the playback a little to give students a chance to digest it all (no pun intended).
This video takes viewers inside a Berthillon ice cream shop in Paris. One thing the students notice right away is how much smaller the scoops are compared to American ice cream cones.
Every year, my students go on a Google Maps scavenger hunt to answer questions in French about various eateries they encounter. Every year, I have to visit Street View to see if the establishments are still there, and sometimes I have to update and change the questions. Essentially, the students copy and paste the addresses I provide into Google Maps, then click on the Street View image and try to find the information they need to answer the questions. Some questions want to know where you’d get a certain type of food, ask you what you want off the menu, or ask the price of something. Click here to access the instructions and list of addresses and questions for 2024.
Menus, menus, menus! Authentic menus are an important component in learning about food and meal-taking. Here are a few I’ve used for various purposes (speaking activities, writing activities, reading activities)(students need to be made aware of the currency used in each country):
La Banquise (Montreal)
Jardin Nelson (Montreal)
La Grillardière (Marrakech, Morocco)
La Plancha (Dakar, Senegal)
Café Be (Paris)
Grimpeurs Cyclist House (Lyon, France)
Crêp’eat (Besançon, France)
When students are learning about la Fête des rois, I show this video (which cannot be embedded). It shows the Galette des rois and fèves being made in France. I do not actually show the below video in class, but I post it on Canvas (our school’s learning management system) for absent students to access. I read the book “Petit Ours Brun aime la galette des rois” to students. It’s obviously meant for much younger students, but its simple language and visuals make it perfect for novice students.
For Chandeleur, I bring in homemade crêpes, and the students order them in French with their choice of filling. This occurs after our food and meal-taking unit, but it circle back to material they learned back then. Prior to having the crêpes, they learn what the holiday is all about. I start with the below two videos.
What are your favorite cultural resources and AuthRes for food and meal-taking? I’m always looking for newer and better resources, so please share away!
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