This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

A "talking kitchen" teaches students how to cook French and speak French. Researchers at New Castle University in the United Kingdom have developed the French Digital Kitchen. Professors Paul Seedhouse and Patrick Olivier led the project. Professor Seedhouse told us on Skype that it works like a satellite navigation system in a car.

PAUL SEEDHOUSE: "The sat nav speaks to you and it tells you, for example, to turn left. And if you turn left then it continues with the program. If, for example, you turn right, then it's a mistake, so it loops back and it gives you further instructions."

The kitchen equipment and tools use motion sensor technology similar to the Nintendo Wii game system. The sensors help a computer guide the students through instructions in French.