AAC in Action: Stir, Taste, Compare!

Stir, Taste, Compare: Expand Language and Learning with  AAC in Action: Tasty Traditions 

Seasonal food traditions bring people together. They are familiar, motivating and full of shared experiences, which makes them powerful contexts for learning and communication.  Food activities don’t just support everyday interaction. They also provide rich opportunities to expand language beyond basic requests, helping AAC users develop descriptive, comparative and preference language, while naturally linking to curriculum areas such as Maths.

Our new resource, AAC in Action: Tasty Traditions explores how culturally linked food activities can be used to support deeper, more purposeful communication at home and in the classroom.

Moving beyond “more” and “that one” 

We can support our learners to use everyday core words alongside vocabulary that communicates what they think and feel. Cooking, baking and tasting create natural reasons to use:

• descriptive words: soft, dry, sticky, thick, thin
• preference language: best, favourite, least liked
• comparative words: bigger, sweeter, softer, different

These words allow learners to share opinions, make choices and compare experiences, key communication skills across school, home and community life. And let’s face it, we all have strong opinions when it comes to food! Flavour, taste and texture give learners real and motivating reasons to comment rather than simply ask for something.

Cooking as a bridge to curriculum learning 

Taste tests, baking sessions and shared food activities also align beautifully with curriculum goals, particularly in maths. Within a single activity, learners may use vocabulary or be exposed to:

• number words: one, two, more, less
• quantity concepts: all, none, first, last
• measurement and capacity: full, empty, half, bigger

For example, when learners compare pancakes or short bread biscuits, they can use their AAC systems to:

• vote for a favourite
• tally preferences
• create simple pictograms or bar charts
• discuss results using comparative language

These are meaningful maths activities, grounded in real experience, rather than abstract tasks. Tasty Traditions includes ideas such as turning peer feedback into data‑collection activities, helping learners connect communication, numeracy and topic work in a practical way.

Describing, comparing and choosing together 

Traditional celebrations across the British Isles — such as Burns Night, Pancake Day, St David’s Day and St Patrick’s Day — offer different foods and routines, but the language opportunities are strikingly similar.

Learners might:

• compare textures of shortbread and soda bread
• choose toppings for pancakes
• decide which recipe is best or worst
• comment on smell, taste and appearance

Because these activities are shared, learners are not communicating in isolation. They are interacting with peers and adults, taking turns, offering opinions and responding to others, all essential social communication skills.

Modelling rich language without pressure 

Expanding language doesn’t mean expecting learners to produce new words straight away. Adults play a key role by modelling descriptive, preference and comparative words during activities:  “This one is softer.” “I like this one best.” “That one is bigger than this.”

If an exact word isn’t available, approximate language still matters. For example, using “not like” to express “least favourite” still communicates meaning and keeps the interaction going. Thinking aloud while navigating an AAC system shows learners how to explore language, rather than waiting for the “right” word.

One activity, many learning outcomes 

A single cooking or tasting session can support:

• expressive language development
• social interaction and turn‑taking
• maths concepts and data handling
• confidence in sharing opinions

And because the language is linked to real experiences, learners are more likely to use it again in other contexts. That’s what makes activities like these so powerful, they don’t sit neatly in one subject area, and neither does communication.

Getting started with Tasty Traditions 

You don’t need complicated equipment or elaborate planning. Start small:

• choose a simple, culturally linked recipe
• decide which descriptive or comparative words to model
• create opportunities for learners to choose, compare and comment

The worksheets in AAC in Action: Tasty Traditions  are designed to spark ideas and support flexible planning for different learners, settings and AAC systems.

Language that lasts beyond the kitchen 

Words like “best”, “different”, “bigger” and “least liked” don’t belong only in cooking lessons. They belong across the curriculum and in everyday life. By using seasonal food traditions as a context, we can help AAC users practise the kind of language that supports learning, relationships and self‑expression long after the last recipe is finished.

AAC in Action: Tasty Traditions is a free resource from the charity Ace Centre. Download it now from https://acecentre.org.uk/resources/tasty_traditions 

Written by Meaghan Ebbage‑Taylor and Tina Voizey from Ace Centre 

Meaghan is a Senior AAC Consultant with over a decade of experience in mainstream and special education, supporting pupils with SLCN using paper‑based and electronic AAC, and is co‑author of AAC and Aided Language in the Classroom. Tina is Information and Resources Manager and brings over 30 years’ experience supporting learners with complex disabilities using AAC across education and beyond