miscelánea 71 (2025): pp. 15-41 ISSN: 1137-6368 e-ISSN: 2386-4834

MARÍA MERCEDES PÉREZ AGUSTÍN

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

mapere65@ucm.es

<https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9178-7405>

ÁNGEL LUIS LAHOZ LEÓN

CEIP Claudio Moyano, Madrid

angel.lahoz@educa.madrid.org

<https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4394-1915>

Abstract

The aim of this article is to meet the increasing need to develop the intercultural

dimension of communicative competence through an authentic resource, in this

case, picturebooks. An innovative pedagogical initiative was carried out with two

primary-level classes (5th and 6th) in a bilingual school in central Madrid (Spain).

The selected resource was the picturebook entitled Fry Bread: A Native American

Family Story, about a present-day Native American family preparing a traditional

post-colonial recipe. The resource was introduced through reading aloud as part

of a project in which 44 students were asked to write a recipe in English for a dish

that is special to them or their families, accompanying the text with an illustration.

The contributions of students, which were compiled in a recipe book composed

of 44 main courses and desserts, were analysed in accordance with the main

topics of focus in the intervention, identifying who was the recipe-keeper in each

family. It was determined that the most popular topic was family time, followed

by tradition. In most cases, the mothers were the keepers of the recipes, and the

illustrations reflected a highly collaborative family effort to prepare the dishes. To

HOW TO IMPLEMENT A PICTUREBOOK IN

PRIMARY EFL CLASSROOMS TO DEVELOP

CHILDREN’S INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

CÓMO IMPLEMENTAR UN ÁLBUM ILUSTRADO

EN INGLÉS COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA EN LAS

AULAS DE PRIMARIA PARA DESARROLLAR

LA COMPETENCIA INTERCULTURAL

DE LOS ESTUDIANTES

https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_misc/mj.202510148

María Mercedes Pérez Agustín and Ángel Luis Lahoz León

miscelánea 71 (2025): pp. 15-41 ISSN: 1137-6368 e-ISSN: 2386-4834

conclude, the recipes were analysed from the perspective of Byram’s (1997)

Intercultural Communicative Competence model, revealing that the dimension

of knowledge of self and other and discovery and interaction were the most

prevalent in the recipe book. This suggests awareness-raising among children of

the differences between countries and a willingness to familiarise themselves with

other cultures.

Key words: reading aloud, picturebooks, ESL/EFL (English as a Second

Language/English as a Foreign Language), Native American, interculturality,

Project-Based Learning (PBL), Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC).

Resumen

El objetivo de este artículo es responder a la creciente necesidad de desarrollar la

dimensión intercultural de la competencia comunicativa a través de un recurso

auténtico, en este caso, los álbumes ilustrados. La experiencia pedagógica

innovadora se llevó a cabo con dos clases de primaria (5º y 6º) en un colegio

bilingüe del centro de Madrid. El recurso seleccionado fue el álbum ilustrado

titulado Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story que presenta a una familia

nativa americana actual que prepara una receta tradicional post-colonial. Este

recurso se introdujo a través de la estructura de lectura en voz alta dentro de un

proyecto en el que se pedía al alumnado que escribiera una receta en inglés

acompañada de una ilustración que fuera especial para ellos o sus familias. Como

resultado, ambas clases escribieron un recetario compuesto por platos principales

y postres, 44 en total, que fueron analizados teniendo en cuenta los principales

temas abordados en la intervención y quién era el guardián de las recetas en sus

familias. Se determinó que el tema más popular era el tiempo en familia, seguido

de la tradición. En la mayoría de los casos, las madres eran las guardianas de las

recetas reflejando también una alta colaboración para preparar los platos con sus

familiares mostrados en las ilustraciones. Para concluir, se analizaron las recetas

desde la perspectiva del modelo de Competencia Comunicativa Intercultural de

Byram (1997), lo cual reveló que la dimensión de conocimiento de uno mismo y

del otro y descubrimiento e interacción eran las más prevalentes en el recetario.

Esto implica que los niños y niñas toman conciencia de las diferencias entre países

y están dispuestos a familiarizarse con otras culturas.

Palabras clave: lectura en voz alta, álbumes ilustrados, ILE (Inglés como Lengua

Extranjera), nativos americanos, interculturalidad, aprendizaje basado en

proyectos, competencia comunicativa intercultural.

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1. Introduction

This article presents a pedagogical experience carried out at the primary-school

level involving two 5th- and 6th-grade classes in a bilingual public school in

Madrid, Spain. The objective of the experiment is to develop intercultural

competence in a multicultural classroom and encourage students to instill

democratic values citizens through the use of authentic resources. This paper

reflects upon picturebooks as literary resources that foster interculturality in an

ESL (English as a second language)/EFL (English as a foreign language) context.

The selected resource is a picturebook entitled Fry Bread: A Native American

Family Story (2019), which, as Dolan (2014) stated, “bridges the gap between

geographically distant places and the lives of the children in the classroom” (3).

As explained below through a detailed account of all classroom sessions and

activities, the picturebook was introduced through the reading-aloud structure

within a Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach under the heading “Recipe

Book” as part of the project. This led to the final product, which consisted of

writing a recipe for a dish with special meaning for students because it is consumed

on special occasions or is part of their family’s heritage, with all recipes compiled

in a book entitled “Recipe Book”. The expected outcomes of this initiative, in

which students were prompted to create multicultural recipes inspired by the

picturebook, are in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal

4 (Quality Education), whereby teachers foster global citizenship and value

cultural diversity. To highlight students intercultural competence, the recipes

were analysed from the perspective of Byram et al.’s (2002) Intercultural

Communicative Competence (ICC) model composed of knowledge, skills and

attitudes, and the descriptors of the Reference Framework of Competence for

Democratic Culture (RFCDC) (2013), taking into consideration the students’

cultural and linguistic background as well as the connection between these

features and the selected recipes.

The first section of the article will discuss the benefits of using picturebooks to

promote ESL/EFL learning and interculturality within the PBL methodology.

Next, the number of participants in the experiment will be presented together

with their familial-cultural background, with the purpose of bringing the reader

closer to a multicultural classroom model. The following section offers a detailed,

step-by-step explanation of the creative process, which followed the three phases

of reading aloud (pre-, while, post-), after which we offer an analysis of the final

“Recipe Book” based on six thematic blocks (1. Family time; 2. Tradition; 3.

Wish to carry on the tradition; 4. Identity; 5. Special occasions; 6. Any occasion)

based on the words used in the recipe book.

María Mercedes Pérez Agustín and Ángel Luis Lahoz León

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2. State of the Art

2.1. Picturebooks as a Form of Literature

According to Barbara Bader,

A picturebook is text, illustrations, total design; an item of manufacture and a

commercial product; a social, cultural, historical document; and foremost an

experience for a child. As an art form it hinges on the interdependence of pictures

and words, on the simultaneous display of two facing pages, and on the drama of the

turning of the page. (1976: 1)

This resource is an item of manufacture designed to have between 24 and 48

pages which are composed of the front matter, the body of the book and the back

matter. According to Genette, these peritextual features are the parts of the text

that “surround it and extend it, precisely in order to present it” (1997: 1) and also

to generate dynamism, magic and suspense. The front matter provides a brief

description of the main topic of the book and the back matter contains a biography

and a synopsis of the story and occasionally an image of the author and illustrator.

Picturebooks break with the traditional reading conventions because texts are

short and illustrations are appealing. This requires an active and supportive reader

to bring these elements together. This description highlights one of the features

that have generated high interest, namely the bimodal link between text and image

(Nodelman 1988; Nikolajeva and Scott 2006) which could be redundant,

complementary or counterpoint (Bateman 2014). Generally, picturebook images

complement the information provided in the narration, as in Fry Bread: A Native

American Family Story. This form of literature has typically been used in the home

for bedtime reading, allowing parents to engage in an entertaining and enjoyable

experience. The gap between the text and the image leaves an interpretative space

for the reader where they can construct meaning by linking literary works through

intertextuality (Mendoza-Fillola 2001) or by means of a semiotic code such as

“interpictoriality” (Hoster et al. 2018). What makes a picturebook different from

a storybook lies in conceiving of it as “a unit, a totality that integrates all the

designated parts in a sequence in which the relationship among them —the cover,

endpapers, typography, pictures— are crucial to the understanding of the book”

(Marantz 1977: 151). Therefore, the final result is a product of viewing the

picturebook not just as a story to be told but as an object of discovery where all the

images and the elements within the object contribute to the final result.

2.2. Picturebooks for EFL/ESL and Interculturality

This section presents the multiple benefits of picturebooks for teaching EFL/

ESL and interculturality. Although there are various interpretations of the word,

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here we understand interculturality in the manner provided by the UNESCO,

which “refers to the existence and equitable interaction of diverse cultures and the

possibility of generating shared cultural expressions through dialogue and mutual

respect” (Article 4.8 of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the

Diversity of Cultural Expressions, UNESCO 2005). This definition not only

reflects the multiculturalism present in today’s classrooms but at the same time

gives different cultures equal importance. In line with Byram et al.’s (2002) ICC,

“the basis of intercultural competence is in the attitudes of the person interacting

with people of another culture” (11-13). This implies that learners should be

open and willing to learn from other cultures.

In many cases, the main challenge for teachers is to introduce different realities in

the classroom, which makes picturebooks an optimal resource because they can

act as a mirror in which students are reflected and also as a window through

which they can see other cultural experiences (Wu 2017). Furthermore, as Boyd

et al. (2014) stated, picturebooks, with their firm commitment to diversity, also

encourage students to accept people who are different from them and are works

of literature that are open to the imagination and require meaningful thoughts

and a capacity for deep reflection (Encabo Fernández et al. 2012). According to

Braid and Finch (2015), the debate and interaction that takes place while reading

aloud will foster intercultural education, also allowing students to perceive

cultural interactions and traditions in a positive way (Hancock 2016).

Picturebooks have been used as a rich and authentic source of meaningful input

in the field of foreign language education for over four decades (Mourao 2023).

High-quality picturebooks facilitate language acquisition by enhancing both

linguistic and interpersonal proficiency. According to Ghosn (2013), humanising

English teaching allows individuals to enhance their moral reasoning skills,

emotional intelligence and empathy. In this same vein, Fleta-Guillén and García-

Bermejo argue that “picturebooks not only help students to understand language

and content, but also to develop positive attitudes toward the target language”

(2014: 38). Furthermore, they expose language learners to a variety of cultures

and afford opportunities for “combining critical literacy with intercultural

learning, as an empowering process” (Bland 2013: 26). Despite the existence of

well-developed theories describing the advantages of picturebooks for intercultural

learning, empirical research is relatively scarce, especially with regard to modern

foreign language learning in classroom settings.

In the following sections the pedagogical experience will be thoroughly explained

(i.e., participants, methodology, sessions) to answer the following questions:

— To what extent did the picture book Fry Bread: A Native American Family

Story help students abandon stereotypes toward Native Americans in a

Spanish EFL context?

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— To what extent does composing recipes in EFL classrooms contribute to

raising students intercultural awareness?

2.3. Project-Based Learning for Intercultural Communicative Competence

As Thomas and Peterson (2014) state, PBL is an instructional approach that

engages students in authentic, inquiry-based projects designed to address real-

world problems or challenges. PBL is characterised by its emphasis on student

autonomy, collaboration, inquiry and application of knowledge and skills to solve

complex problems (Helle et al. 2006). Inquiry and investigation foster curiosity,

promote self-directed learning and cultivate skills that extend far beyond the

specific project at hand, as Blumenfeld et al. (1991) state.

It can be said that the main characteristics of this instructional approach meet the

requirements to develop ICC. According to Kramsch (1993), ICC involves

multiple components, including intercultural sensitivity, knowledge of cultural

norms and practices, communication skills, empathy and adaptability. In today’s

globalised world, ICC is essential for meaningful communication, collaboration

and cooperation across cultures in various personal, professional and academic

contexts. Together with this, PBL promotes active learning, critical thinking,

creativity and the development of 21st-century skills such as communication,

collaboration and problem-solving.

PBL provides authentic contexts for students to engage in meaningful interactions

with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds (Helle et al. 2006). Projects

often require collaboration with peers from different cultures, which exposes

students to diverse perspectives and experiences, as in the pedagogical experience

shown in this article. In addition, PBL promotes cultural awareness by

encouraging students to explore and understand the cultural dimensions of the

topics or issues they are investigating (Thomas and Peterson 2014). This process

fosters an appreciation for cultural diversity and helps students recognise their

own cultural biases and assumptions.

Moreover, PBL enhances students’ communication skills by requiring them to

transmit their ideas, perspectives and findings to diverse audiences (Byram 1997).

Through collaboration and interaction with peers from different cultures,

students develop cross-cultural communication competencies, including empathy,

active listening and intercultural sensitivity. Furthermore, this methodology

challenges students to solve complex problems or address real-world issues that

may have cultural implications. By working collaboratively with peers from

diverse cultural backgrounds, as reflected in the picturebook through the topic

of identity, students learn to navigate cultural differences, negotiate meaning and

develop innovative solutions that are sensitive to cultural contexts.

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3. Method

3.1. Participants

The pedagogical experience was devised for a total of 44 primary-school participants

in the 5th (n=21) and 6th grade (n=23) in a public bilingual school located in

central Madrid. The general English level of the students ranges from A2-B1.

Regarding the origin of the students’ families (see Table 1), in half of the families

(50%) both parents are Spanish, which suggests a significant representation of

local or native Spanish-speaking families. In nearly one-third of the families

(27.3%), both parents originate from a country other than Spain, which

highlights a substantial level of cultural diversity within the classroom. Moreover,

nearly one-fifth of the families (18.2%) were composed of only one parent from

a country outside Spain, which adds another layer of diversity, bringing in

different cultural perspectives and backgrounds. In one of the two single-parent

families in the class, one had a parent from Spain and the other single parent was

from elsewhere.

(n=44) (%)

Both parents of Spanish origin 22 50

One parent from a country other than Spain 8 18.2

Both parents from a country other than Spain 12 27.3

Single-parent family in which the parent is from Spain 1 2.3

Single-parent family in which the parent is from a country other than Spain 1 2.3

Table 1. Students’ family origins

As can be seen in Table 2, in 61.4% of the families both parents’ mother tongue

is Spanish, which suggests a prevalent linguistic similarity among a significant

portion of the students’ families. About one-fifth of the families (20.9%) have at

least one parent with a mother tongue other than Spanish (i.e., Swedish, French,

Korean, English, Arabic) and a smaller percentage of families (14%) have both

parents with a mother tongue different from Spanish (Guaraní, Russian,

Romanian, Quechua), indicating a subset of students with a potentially richer

linguistic environment.

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(n=47) (%)

Both parents’ mother tongue is Spanish 27 61.4

One parent whose mother tongue is other than Spanish 9 20.5

Both parents’ mother tongue is other than Spanish 6 13.6

Single-parent family in which the parent’s mother tongue is Spanish 2 4.5

Table 2. Family’s mother tongue

It can be concluded that while Spanish remains the dominant language among

families, learners are exposed to different languages and cultures. This enhances

their linguistic and cultural awareness, but also shows the need to foster the

learners’ intercultural competence.

3.2. Creative Process

The aim of this pedagogical experience was to promote democratic values in the

students. Thus, we searched for an action-oriented approach (Piccardo and North

2019), promoting learning through realistic scenarios that lead up to a final

collaborative task. We also sought to achieve a number of objectives established in

the official curriculum for English in the third cycle of primary education, particularly

those regarding reception, production, interaction and mediation in the English

language as well as the development of the different Key Competences established in

the LOMLOE (Ley Orgánica 3/2020, 2020) and the Key Competences for Lifelong

Learning identified by the European Commission, Directorate-General for

Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (2019). In order to achieve these goals the

following methodologies (see Figure 1) were introduced in the classroom.

The transformative pedagogical approach of PBL was introduced through the

driving question, “Can you write a recipe in English that is special to you and

your family and share it with us?” This question aimed to encourage authenticity

and real-world learning, one of the core tenets of PBL. Thus, the pedagogical

experience intended to mirror a genuine challenge or problem present in the

Figure 1. Methodologies used in the pedagogical experience

Project-Based Learning

Reading aloud

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world whose authenticity not only engaged students by tapping into their intrinsic

motivation (Thomas 2000), but also ensured that the learning was applicable

beyond the classroom walls. Inquiry and investigation —two other characteristics

of PBL— were put into practice since students were encouraged to investigate a

recipe that was special for their family. In addition, the families were involved in

the process. Moreover, collaboration, or positive interdependence for the final

product, was present, as the collective success of the group depended on the

individual work of each student. Furthermore, students’ autonomy and decision-

making was fostered in this pedagogical experience as students could choose the

recipe that they wanted to write, and they had to make their own decisions about

their texts and illustrations. On top of this, the final product was a recipe book

that could be shared with their families, teachers and peers, adding authenticity

and accountability to the project.

Finally, the reading aloud technique (Ellis and Mourao 2021) was implemented

through mediation, which consists of selecting the picturebook according to the

students’ level, age, needs and interests, accompanied by scaffolded activities and

guidance through the various meanings that a multilayered picturebook may

offer. One of the main challenges EFL/ESL teachers face is using language

attached to a real and authentic context in a way that is engaging within a

multicultural setting. In this regard, the picturebook Fry Bread: A Native

American Family Story becomes an object of discovery due to its multilayered

text, which leads to multiple interpretations from the narrator’s and other

characters’ voices. Furthermore, from the reader’s perspective, the story opens up

necessary dialogue between two cultures that are so isolated from each other, the

Western and the Native American. The readers also become active learners when

they read about the 573 recognised tribes depicted in the endpapers, as well as

traditional Seminole pottery, basketry and dolls.

Kevin Noble Maillard is the author of Fry Bread: A Native American Family

Story. He belongs to the Mekusukey Seminole tribe, and by sharing ‘fry bread’, a

post-colonial recipe, he seeks to promote unity among all nations. The universal

topic of food and the call to readers to join in this feast with a racially diverse set

of characters not only foster intercultural understanding, but also help the reader

to challenge certain misconceptions, such as the belief that Native Americans

have red skin, wear feathers or ride horses. Consequently, this is more than a

book about food; it is a story of displacement, starvation and the struggle to

survive, subtly alluding to the historical event of The Long Walk, when between

1863 and 1864 hundreds of Navajo were forced to march 400 miles from Arizona

to eastern New Mexico and had to subsist entirely on rations of flour, salt and

water, that is, the ingredients to prepare fry bread.Summing up, this picturebook

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offers insights into other cultures that can be very beneficial to develop cognitive

and attitudinal skills for real-life experiences. In the following table we can see

the different stages of the reading aloud process.

Mediating a picturebook read-aloud

Stage 1: Before Stage 2: During Stage 3: After

Selection and preparation Use of expressive techniques:

— Body, eyes and voice

— Reading aloud

— Read-aloud talk

Follow-up and reflection

Table 3. Picturebook reading aloud structure (Retrieved from Ellis and Mourao (2021))

3.3. Sessions

Certain that Fry Bread could be a good trigger for promoting interculturality in

the classroom, a pedagogical intervention was designed, consisting of seven

sessions that followed the reading aloud structure, as can be seen in Table 4. In

the next section the activities carried out in each session will be explained

thoroughly, as the stages of the learning process are of utmost importance to

truly support intercultural competence.

Pre-reading aloud stage

Session 1: What is

fry bread?

Activity 1. See, think,

wonder. Activity 2. Where is

this bread from? Activity 3. Peritextual

features.

Reading aloud stage

Session 2: Close

reading of Fry

Bread.

Activity 1. Reading aloud

Fry Bread. Activity 2. Going

deeper into Fry

Bread.

Activity 3. Not this,

but that.

Post-reading aloud stage

Session 3: What makes this

recipe so special?

Activity 1. Speaking circles. Activity 2. Writing your

reasons.

Session 4: Recipe time! Activity 1. Reading Kevin’s

Fry Bread recipe. Activity 2. Specific content-

based language teaching.

Session 5: Can you write

your own recipe?

Activity 1. Writing my recipe. Activity 2. Typing up my

recipe.

Session 6: Talking

through pictures.

Activity 1. Analysing the

illustrations of Fry Bread. Activity 2. If I were

the illustrator… Activity 3: Let’s

draw!

Session 7:

Composing our

hymn.

Activity 1: Final reading

aloud of Fry Bread. Activity 2:

Rewriting Fry

Bread.

Activity 3. Reading

the new poem

together.

Table 4. Reading aloud sessions during the pedagogical experience

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3.3.1. Pre-reading Aloud Stage

At this point, the main aim was to spark students’ interest in the picturebook as

well as to support ICC by bringing the Native American culture to a European

context. As an ice-breaker activity, the teacher showed the students the front

page of the book and asked questions to help draw their focus to the title and

the illustration. They wrote a list of what they could see, what they thought of the

illustration on the front page, and what they would like to know about the book.

This routine encouraged students to make careful observations and thoughtful

interpretations and stimulated their curiosity, setting the stage for inquiry.

During the second activity, and in order to deepen their understanding of cultural

similarities and differences around the world, they were prompted to predict

where bread came from, guessing its name and origin. For example, pita bread is

from Syria or Greece, pretzels are from Germany, etc.

To conclude the pre-reading stage, the teacher showed students other peritextual

elements of the picturebook, such as the title page, the front and back covers, the

dedication page, the endpapers and awards. In this fashion, the picturebook was

presented as an aesthetic object, highlighting the importance of the illustrations.

Here are some examples of questions to be posed:

• “What do you think they are eating?”

• “Do you think these characters know each other?”

• “Why is the chosen food bread?”

• “What do you think fry bread symbolises?”

• “Can you think of important moments in your life where bread is present?”

• “What is the medal on the front cover?”

• “The book is dedicated to J.M.-N. and to K.N.M., who do you think they

are?”

3.3.2. Reading Aloud Stage

During the reading aloud stage, the teacher-narrator helped students to engage

more actively with the story through the use of rhythm, intonation, volume, body

language, gestures, etc. and by asking questions that helped the listeners to fill

the information gaps between the images and the text. This was accompanied by

some questions that helped students to understand the deeper layers of the story

and to develop into active and critical readers, such as

• “What do you think the mother is doing in this image?”

• “How do you think the characters are feeling in this image?”

• “Why are all the children looking at the grandmother telling a story?”

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In order to focus on words and their meaning, the following activity (“Not this,

but that”) consisted of retelling the story, but changing some words which

students had to identify. For example, the teacher said, “Fry bread is food. Flour,

salt, coke, …” The students had to stop the teacher and say: “Not coke, but water”.

3.3.3. Post-reading Aloud Stage

To begin with the post-reading aloud stage, the students were required to bring

a recipe that was special and meaningful for them or their family. During the first

activity, the students had to form two big concentric circles so that each student

had another student facing them. Then, the teacher projected a question on the

interactive whiteboard, and students were encouraged to share their answers.

Later, the teacher asked them to move clockwise and repeat this exchange of

experiences with a different pair and a different question. This activity helped

them to connect with the deep meaning of the recipe for their family and to learn

about recipes from other cultural backgrounds, fostering intercultural exchanges.

These were some of the proposed questions:

• “Which recipe did you choose?”

• “Who taught you this recipe?”

• “Who usually cooks it at home?”

• “Why is that person special to you?”

• “Where does this recipe come from?”

• “How is your family related to that place?”

• “When do you usually eat this dish?”

• “Why is this recipe so important for your family?”

The students were each expected to share their recipe, which is something personal,

authentic and intimate and something to be proud of. These speaking circles

created the necessary space for children to get to know themselves better, to

interpret and compare their culture and traditions to those of others, to exhibit

curiosity and openness and value the attitudes and beliefs of others, elements that

Byram (2008) identifies as necessary for the development of intercultural

competence. After sharing their ideas with their peers orally, the students had the

opportunity to write them down on paper, which were later used for the final

project. Some examples of this writing exercise appear in the results section below.

During the 4th and 5th sessions, the students wrote their special recipe. To model

this task, the teacher used the example of the fry bread recipe that the author,

Kevin Noble Maillard, shares in the author’s notes of the picturebook, where the

author explains that it is actually a recipe passed down from his aunt Maggie. This

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provided a real, contextualised recipe that helped students to learn about text

formats, parts of a recipe (ingredients, instructions), verb tenses, specific

vocabulary, quantities and the like.The students had previously received scaffolded

instruction on key words related to cooking (i.e., verbs, kitchen utensils, the most

commonly used ingredients) through images. At the same time, they were given a

recipe template that was divided into sections for ingredients and steps and were

taught how to explain the different steps using connectors.

Subsequently, each student had the chance to write down the special recipe that

was typical of their family. At this moment, the teacher’s role was to provide one-

to-one support to students when required. To finish this phase, the students had

to type out their recipe, explaining why it was special for them, and upload it to

a digital platform (Teams). The pedagogical aim behind this task was to foster

digital competence through the use of learning technologies in a confident,

critical and responsible way.

To promote the use of English and enhance the students’ creativity, during the 6th

session the teacher proposed that students create an illustration to accompany each

recipe. Before starting to think about their illustrations, the teacher helped them

analyse the illustrations of Fry Bread by Juana Martínez Neal, pointing out aspects

such as the colours used, the use of different sizes, the expression of each character

and the perspective chosen for some of the illustrations (Serafini and Reid 2022).

To lead the students to a decision-making process, the teacher asked them to

imagine the illustration they wanted to accompany their recipe, recalling that the

picturebook is also a piece of art. To help them with this process, the teacher

asked them to close their eyes and answer these questions in their minds:

• “Who appears in your illustration?”

• “What is the setting of your illustration?”

• “What details do you want to show in the illustration?”

• “What colours will you use?”

• “Which perspective do you want to choose: long shot, full shot, medium

shot or close-up?”

In the last part of this session, the students were provided with different materials

to use in their illustrations. This created a beautiful atmosphere of concentration

and work, and the results showed a deeper understanding of the picturebook and

what the students wanted to transmit with their illustration.

In the last session, the students were asked to rewrite the poem entitled Fry Bread

with the purpose of summarising the story and also celebrating the product

created, the recipe book. For this activity, the students formed pairs. Each pair

was inspired by one of the 12 headings that compose the picturebook. Then, they

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had to invent four new verses. At the end of the session, we put all the verses of

the poem together and the students read the new poem aloud, transforming it

into a hymn as seen in the Appendix.

4. Results

4.1. Data Analysis Procedure

The data collection process began by gathering information about students’

family origins and their corresponding native languages. The second step

consisted of collecting anonymised student recipes, which were coded as initial S

followed by the number of the recipe as it appeared in the book.

Firstly, the association of two variables was studied: the students’ multicultural

background and the origin of their recipes. The percentage of students who chose

a recipe related to their cultural background was calculated. Then, we calculated

the percentage of students with a multicultural background who had selected a

recipe associated with their family’s origin. In addition, we determined the

percentage of different relatives who acted as keepers of the recipe, the people

who cooked this recipe in the family and passed it down through generations.

The recipes were analysed thematically, and the most recurring themes were as

follows: 1) Family time, 2) Tradition, 3) Wish to carry on the tradition, 4) Identity,

5) Special occasions and 6) Any occasion. This analysis was based on the words and

expressions that appeared in the recipe book, as seen in Table 5.

Topics in the recipes Codes

1. Family time

Spending time together, good memories, all together, at home

together, everyone has their part, expressions of love toward their

relatives.

2. Tradition Passed from, remember, passed it on to me, continue, generation to

generation, heritage, connection to their roots.

3. Wish to carry

on the tradition

Would like for them to learn the recipe, would show it to them when

they are born.

4. Identity

Same country as my dad, belongs to that country, related to my

family, comes from my family’s place of birth, from here, sense of

pride and connection to the cultural and culinary aspects of their

home country and their love for it.

5. Special occasions Birthday, Holy Week, Christmas, Thanksgiving.

6. Any occasion Not on any special occasion, any moment, on any day, once a week,

once every two weeks.

Table 5. Most common topics when analysing the recipes

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Lastly, the recipes were analysed following Byram’s ICC model and the descriptors

of democratic citizenship appearing in the Reference Framework of Competence

of the Council of Europe (Council of Europe 2013).

4.2. Recipe Book Analysis

This section analyses the connection between the selected recipes and the students’

multicultural background. Simultaneously, the topics that make those recipes so

special will be examined as well as the role of the keeper of the recipes within their

families, as inspired by the author Kevin Noble Maillard, who was “the fry bread

lady” in his family. The most frequently mentioned topic was Family time followed

by Tradition and Identity.

A substantial majority of students (70.5%) indicated that the source of the recipe

was related to the origin of their family, as compared with 29.5% whose recipe is

not related to their family background On the one hand, this high percentage

reinforces the idea that there is a strong connection between cultural identity

and the food they choose. It suggests that students are consciously or

unconsciously drawing on their cultural backgrounds when engaging with the

topic of food. On the other hand, the percentage of students who chose a recipe

not related to their cultural background confirms the presence of intercultural

competence in the classroom, since for a significant minority, other factors such

as personal preferences or positive experiences with other countries and cultures

play a more prominent role in their choice of recipes.

In addition, 85.7% of students with a multicultural background presented

recipes from the countries associated with their family’s background whereas a

small subgroup of students with a multicultural background (14.3%) did not

show recipes from the countries associated with their family’s background. The

substantial majority of students with a multicultural background sharing recipes

from their family’s countries indicates a positive alignment between the student’s

cultural heritage and the content of their recipes. This outcome supports the

idea that the pedagogical intervention might have encouraged students to

express and share aspects of their multicultural background through their

choice of recipe. It can be highlighted that a minority of students with diverse

cultural backgrounds also chose to include recipes that are part of the Spanish

culinary tradition.

Another important area to be analysed concerns the reasons the students gave

when explaining why their recipe was special to them (Figure 2).

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Figure 2. Most commonly mentioned topics in the recipe book

The most frequently mentioned topic is Family time. It was mentioned by 35 out

of 44 of the students (79.54%). This suggests that Family time is a central theme,

encompassing various aspects of connection, union and shared experiences, as in

Fry Bread.

Statements referring to the topic Family Time

1. “It is a way to spend time with my father” (Arepas by S1).

2. “I have good memories with this recipe as we spend our weekend enjoying the dish

together” (Mixed rice by S4).

3. “But what really matters are not the days that we eat it. The important part is the time in

family” (Pasta Bolognesa by S6).

4. “I have good memories cooking this dish and eating it by the sea. It is delicious!” (Migas

by S10).

5. “This recipe is very special for me and my family, because it takes us all together around

one big table to prepare it, and everyone has their part to do from grandparents to

grandchildren, and we cook and talk and laugh, and then we eat all together” (Pelmeni

by S16).

6. “We usually bake it on weekends because on weekends we are all at home together”

(Lemon cake by S36).

Table 6. Statements referring to the topic Family Time in the recipe book

The next most notable theme is Tradition. Statements related to the topic of

tradition were written in 12 of the 44 recipes (27.27%). In addition, the Wish to

carry on with the tradition was expressed the same number of times (27.27%).

This theme reflects a strong sense of cultural continuity and the importance of

preserving family traditions.

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Statements referring to the topic of Tradition

1. “I love this recipe because it has passed from generations to my family. This recipe

reminds me of my grandparents” (Cookies by S42).

2. “My grandmother passed away, but I still can remember the pancakes” (Chocolate

pancakes by S38).

3. “The reason is that my grandmother taught my mother and my mother passed it to me

and I want to continue the tradition” (Chocolate kisses by S32).

4. “My dad taught me this recipe because it goes from generation to generation”

(Buñuelos by S28).

5. “It comes from my great grandmother and my great grandmother is special for me,

because she is very old and she is still living” (Turkey stew by S27).

Table 7. Statements referring to the topic of Tradition in the recipe book

Some students specifically expressed a desire to continue the culinary traditions

of their family and preserve the cultural heritage associated with their recipes.

Statements referring to the topic Wish to carry on the tradition

1. “I would like to explain this recipe to my kids but not only that, I will also explain that it

is a very important recipe for me and that it comes from our origin in Argentina”

(Argentinian corn pie by S2).

2. “If in the future I have kids, I would like for them to learn this recipe. I would explain that

it is important to us because we really liked Greece” (Greek salad by S13).

3. “If I had children, I would show it to them the first day they were born” (Crepes by S33).

Table 8. Statements referring to the topic Wish to carry on the tradition in the recipe book

Hereafter, the next most mentioned topic is the connection between the recipe

and Special occasions including family trips, celebrations (Christmas, New Year’s,

Thanksgiving, Holy Week, birthdays) because they are associated with memorable

moments they spend with their beloved ones. This category was mentioned by 23

of the 44 students (52.27%).

Statements referring to the topic Special occasions

1. “I usually cook this recipe at home for my birthday” (Three milk cake by S43).

2. “My family prepares it every Holy Week in Dominican Republic” (Sweet bean by S24).

3. “As I’m Jewish, I have to say that the turkey is not the most important thing of this day

(Thanksgiving), but a distraction” (Thanksgiving Turkey by S25).

4. “I eat it on Christmas night” (Seasoned carrots by S21).

Table 9. Statements referring to the topic Special occasions in the recipe book

Twenty-one students (47.72%) reflected upon their own identity as they mentioned

their love for their home country as a significant factor that makes their recipes

special. Though less frequently mentioned, some students specifically highlighted the

regional aspect of their recipes, connecting them to specific regions within Spain,

where their grandparents used to live. All these ideas have been labeled under Identity.

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Statements referring to the topic Identity

1. “My recipe comes from the same country as my dad: Venezuela. It connects me to my

Venezuelan roots” (Arepas by S1).

2. “My mother is from a different country called South Korea and this dish belongs to that

country. I get to enjoy authentic South Korean dishes at home” (Mixed rice by S4).

3. “Because when my family cooks it, we remember Morocco. This recipe is from Morocco.

My father is from Morocco and I usually visit this place with my family” (Cous cous by

S5).

4. “I have many good memories of this recipe related to my country, Ecuador, where I

grew up” (Salchipapa by S7).

5. “This recipe comes from my family’s place of birth: Extremadura” (Migas by S9).

6. “This recipe is special because it is my favorite food. This omelet is from here, from

Spain” (Tortilla de patata by S22).

Table 10. Statements referring to the topic Identity in the recipe book

A smaller but still notable theme is the idea that the recipe is special for Any

occasion (6). This suggests a versatility in the significance of the recipes, making

them suitable for various events and not tied to specific moments.

The diversity of topics mentioned by students indicates a rich tapestry of

experiences and feelings associated with the chosen recipes, highlighting the

multifaceted nature of the students’ connections to their recipes. These themes

align well with our pedagogical objectives of fostering intercultural competence

and showcasing the diverse cultural backgrounds of the students.

To conclude, this section refers to a topic which the picturebook author Kevin

Noble Maillard mentions at the end of Fry Bread, the one of the keepers of the

recipe. These findings are summarised in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Who is the keeper of the recipes?

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The data reflect a variety of family dynamics regarding the keepers of the recipes.

Mothers (45.5%) play a central role in preserving and passing down culinary

traditions within the family. Also, a notable percentage of students (20.5%)

mentioned that their fathers are the keepers of the recipe, which challenges

traditional gender roles in cooking and highlights the involvement of fathers in

the culinary aspects of family traditions. A considerable portion of students

(15.9%) mentioned their grandmothers as the keepers of the recipe (see Figure 2),

indicating the importance of the older generation in preserving family culinary

traditions. Some students (6.8%) noted that many relatives are involved in keeping

the recipe. This could suggest a collaborative effort or shared responsibility

within extended family networks. Nearly one-tenth of the students (9.1%) made

no reference to the keeper of the recipe. Finally, one student wrote about a

saleswoman in a creperie as the person who taught the recipe to him. This fact

exemplifies the idea that people from the neighborhood also enrich our collective

imagination.

4.3. Recipe Analysis from the Perspective of ICC

Through this section we will analyse to what extent creating recipes in English

has contributed to raising students’ intercultural awareness, following Byram’s

ICC model and focusing on the dimensions of knowledge (knowledge of self and

other), intercultural attitudes (exhibiting curiosity and openness) and discovery

and interaction (exploring cultures). We will also use the descriptors of the

Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture, based on the four

dimensions of values, attitudes, skills and knowledge and critical understanding,

following the Council of Europe (2013), which states that “teaching and learning

practices and activities should follow and promote democratic and human rights

values and principles”. Through the creation of recipes, students became aware of

the multiple facets of their own culture, which allowed them to understand and

acknowledge the depth of others (Byram 2008).

Knowledge of self and the other and discovery and interaction are exemplified by

being aware of the difference between the countries and not being born or raised

in that culture and the willingness to explore other cultures. The following

statements are taken from the recipe book in English.

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Knowledge of self and others and Discovery and Interaction (Statements)

1. “This recipe comes from Greece. My family isn’t related to Greece” (S13).

2. “My recipe comes from the same country as my dad: Venezuela” (S1).

3. “This recipe is from Argentina and I am from Argentina” (S2).

4. “It is very important for the country because we love meat” (S20).

5. “This recipe is special because of my mother. She is from a different country called

South Korea and this dish belongs to that country” (S4).

6. “This recipe is from Morocco. My father is from Morocco” (S5).

7. “I have many good memories of this recipe related to my country, Ecuador, where I

grew up” (S7).

8. “Because it is very special in my country and my family prepares it every Holy Week in

the Dominican Republic” (S24).

9. “As I am Jewish, I have to say that the turkey is not the most important thing of this day,

but a distraction” (S25).

10. “This recipe comes from Romania because my family is from there” (S15).

11. “This recipe is special for me because it reminds me of my home country (Argentina)”

(S20).

12. “We are related to this place because we love Italian food” (S26).

Table 11. Statements related to knowledge of self and others and discovery and interaction from

the recipe book

The dimension of attitude is reflected through the openness and curiosity toward

other cultures and also the willingness to transmit this knowledge to the coming

generations.

Attitude (statements)

1. “If I have a kid I will share a recipe with them because to Romanian people and my

family this recipe is very important as a tradition” (S15).

2. “My family isn’t related to Greece. I would like to learn this recipe” (S13).

3. “This dish is also wonderful because you celebrate this day with other people, with

different religions and nationalities” (S25).

Table 12. Statements regarding attitude in the recipe book

The illustrations that accompany the recipe also display certain cultural elements

such as a Christmas tree (Figure 4) and a view of the great mosque of Casablanca

(Figure 5). Taking into account that the main topic is food, some traditional

ingredients that are less commonplace in Spain appear in some illustrations,

including sesame oil for the recipefor bibimbap (Figure 6) or Greek yogurt to

prepare tzatziki. Most illustrations display a traditional Western table with typical

cutlery (spoon, fork and knife) although most tables are rounded, likely influenced

by the illustrations that appear in the picturebook.

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Figure 4. Student’s illustration of roast chicken

Figure 5. Student’s illustration of couscous

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During this particular pedagogical experience, the teachers had a high impact on

students’ motivation by promoting self-confidence, openness to discussions and

critical thinking to help learners become more active citizens. This is also

interpreted through the 166 validated descriptors involving children below the

age of ten from the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic

Culture (Council of Europe 2013), as mentioned above. In the dimension of

attitude, understood as openness to cultural otherness and other beliefs,

worldviews and practices, number 21 reflects the interest in learning about

people’s beliefs, values, traditions and worldviews through discovery and

interaction. The first step was to deconstruct stereotypes toward Native Americans

through the picturebook and the recipes become the object of discovery that

raises students’ interest toward other cultures (Korean, Romanian, Russian,

Ecuadoran, etc.) The dimension of attitude through civic mindedness is clearly

reflected in descriptor 33 through the expression of willingness to volunteer to

help people in the community. This can be seen when the children are very proud

of having these origins and really want to teach the future generations these

recipes, to preserve the tradition. Being active citizens is represented in descriptor

34 when the students participated in decision-making processes regarding the

affairs, concerns and common good of the community (in most cases helping

their mothers or grandmothers to prepare the recipe). To conclude, in the

dimension regarding knowledge and critical understanding, and more specifically

about how they understand the world, descriptor 159 refers to the ability to

describe basic cultural practices, in this case eating habits in one culture. This is

clearly reflected in the fact that it is the central topic of the project.

Figure 6. Student’s illustration of bibimbap

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5. Conclusions

During the intervention described here, students approached the Native American

culture through an authentic and current resource that allowed them to identify

with them and dispel stereotypes about these minorities. In creating recipes,

students were able to develop intercultural competence, specifically the knowledge

dimension, exemplified by the awareness of the differences between countries, as

well as discovering and interacting with other cultures. The multicultural reality

of the classroom is implicitly reflected in the recipes, since one-third of the families

come from countries other than Spain (Romania, Peru, Greece, USA, Morocco,

Dominican Republic, Argentina). In turn, some of the illustrations accompanying

the recipes refer to cultural elements such as a mosque or the Thanksgiving feast

or to unusual ingredients in Spain such as sesame oil. The attitudinal dimension

has also been represented through openness and curiosity toward other cultures

and the importance of passing on this tradition to future generations, as the theme

of tradition and the desire to pass traditions on is the second most recurring

theme after time spent with family. As in the picture book, women are central

figures as the caretakers of the recipes within the same family, as reflected in the

recipe book, where 45.5% of mothers are in charge of preserving the tradition.

According to the Reference Framework of Competencies for Democracy (Council

of Europe 2013), the students reflected an interest in other ways of thinking,

values, traditions and worldviews by taking an interest in the recipes made by

their peers. In some testimonies transcribed in the recipe analysis section, we can

see how the students are proud of their origins and feel responsible for transmitting

customs to the coming generations, as in the picture book. In turn, the need to

make decisions during the process, such as which recipe to choose in the first

place, as well as explaining why it is special to them, fosters student agency,

requiring them to seek the common good for the community, in this case helping

their mothers or grandmothers to prepare the recipe.

With respect to limitations, since the Native American culture depicted in the

storybook is so far removed from our own, it was essential to read the author’s

notes to learn more about the customs, food and history of the indigenous

peoples, as well as to interpret some of the symbols that appear in the illustrations.

In addition, it was the first time the students had written a recipe, making it

necessary to teach them the format, structures and vocabulary of the genre. The

students required teacher guidance in this process as well as for transcribing the

recipe in electronic format.

In general, it can be concluded that the selection of a quality picturebook

accompanied by guided and scaffolded activities guarantees more experiential

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and deeper learning that at the same time may turn the student into an agent of

change for society by being more aware of a multicultural world and showing a

greater openness to other realities different from their own, while improving

their linguistic competence.

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Appendix

THESE RECIPES ARE FOOD

Because they are delicious

Because they have nutrients

Because they have different ingredients

Because you can eat them

THESE RECIPES ARE SHAPE

Because they have many different shapes

They can be circles, squares, triangles

They can be flat, soft or large

THESE RECIPES ARE SOUND

The sound of the sugar

slowly falling in a bowl.

The sound of the flour

quickly mixing.

THESE RECIPES ARE COLOR

Red, yellow, green, blue and many other colors.

They have different colors and that’s fun

Because you are more excited

and enjoy more this experience.

THESE RECIPES ARE FLAVOR

Because they are made of ingredients.

There are a lot of types of flavors

in these recipes:

salty, sweet, sour, hot, …

THESE RECIPES ARE TIME

Because when you prepare them,

you are with your family.

Because they come from the past

and they will be in the future.

THESE RECIPES ARE ART

Art is passion

Passion is fun

When you have fun, you have everything

inside and outside.

How to Implement a Picturebook in Primary EFL Classrooms

miscelánea 71 (2025): pp. 15-41 ISSN: 1137-6368 e-ISSN: 2386-4834

THESE RECIPES ARE HISTORY

They come from the past

They have stories inside

They are and they will be memories

They are our history

THESE RECIPES ARE PLACE

In the kitchen of my house.

In my grandma’s house

In my aunt’s restaurant

In a shop

THESE RECIPES ARE NATION

Because they are made in different nations

They transport us to those nations

Because is Peru, is Spain, Paraguay, Ecuador,

Korea, Venezuela, Extremadura, …

THESE RECIPES ARE EVERYTHING

The recipes feed you and make you have

a lot of fun with your family and friends.

These special moments are beautiful

when you think about them.

THESE RECIPES ARE US

THESE RECIPES ARE FOR YOU

Received: 20/01/2024

Accepted: 09/07/2024

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.