Kraft Foods’ ESL Program.

In partnership with well-known community organizations across the country, Kraft Foods is offering a creative English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum to the Hispanic community. Designed to teach the basic elements of the English language, plus the additional educational components of healthful eating, nutrition label comprehension, and food preparation, for the past four years, this program has provided a fun and innovative educational curriculum to help teach English to Spanish-speaking adult students utilizing a key element of the Hispanic culture – food.

“Kraft Foods recognizes and embraces the wonderful contributions that Spanish-speaking immigrants have made to our communities, and we are pleased to help them strengthen their English-language skills so they may continue to succeed,” said Liz Perez Angeles, Associate Director Hispanic Marketing,, Kraft Foods. “Through our on-going educational programs such as the ESL initiative, we can continue to enrich the lives of Hispanic families across the U.S.”

The program’s objective is to bring the basics of the English language to life through everyday experiences, while keeping it relevant and engaging. As part of the curriculum, some classes have concluded with trips to a supermarket in an effort to demonstrate to students how their new knowledge applies to real life situations. The teaching materials focus on examples related to reading nutrition labels, grocery shopping, and food preparation terminology.

“I am grateful to companies such as Kraft Foods for providing educators with the tools to help optimize student learning in the classroom,” said Peggy Shapiro, Chair of the Foreign Language/English as a Second Language Department. “The curriculum will help students gain a better understanding of the English language, while teaching them about food and nutrition.”

Program materials and schedules are being distributed to ESL teachers in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Houston. ESL classes will receive a teacher’s guide, student workbooks, which include lesson plans on Eating Healthy, Saving Money on Food Shopping, Understanding Labels and Packages, Shopping in a Supermarket, and Making Meals Your Family Loves, along with a Food Guide Pyramid poster.