Teaching English cooking and food vocabulary can be very exciting and rewarding. Teaching and also learning about cooking and food in a foreign language are difficult at first glance; however, whether you are teaching children or grownups, bringing together theory, team work and practice will make the class lively and effective.

Use flashcards to introduce different sets of food. Flashcards have diagrams and definitions of different types of food and are effective for both adult and young learners. Ensure that in each lesson, you introduce just a few food items at the beginning. Revise the previously learnt foods and then continue to introduce more foods to the students. Practice food and cooking vocabulary by displaying flashcards and asking the students to call out the type of food displayed.

Ask students to match food items in handouts. Matching may involve writing down the names of certain foods and cooking items, or simply drawing items from their description. At the beginner's level consider introducing simple fill-ins and matching activities to encourage the learners. As the students progress these activities can become more demanding and challenging.

Make use of crosswords and other puzzles to practice vocabulary. These activities are applicable for both adults and children and are an effective group activity. Create puzzles and crosswords or use ESL resource portals such as ESL Flow to access exciting and informative ideas for your classroom.

Introduce cross-curricular activities that will link food and cooking to health. Discuss the functions of nutritional groups such as vitamins, carbohydrates and proteins. Use worksheets in which the students answer questions about fitness, healthful diet and nutrition.

Practice cooking food as part of the lessons. Tasting different ingredients and cooking foods will boost the students' understanding of the food items. Decide on simple foods to prepare in the classroom and write out the recipes on the board. Use instructions such as "add," "cut," "take" and "put" while preparing the food. Consider using magazine cutouts to help the students visualize instructions when cooking.