“DALLA CINA ALLA CUCINA” A study on the efficacy of the experiential learning with Chinese students.

Abstract

This dissertation aims to demonstrate how the Experiential Learning is a successful methodology to teach Italian as a SL. The research has been conducted on Chinese students attending a Istituto professionale alberghiero (School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management) in Venice and studying Italian as a SL. Data have been collected with three tests and a questionnaire submitted to the students. The aim was to understand whether the Experiential Learning could be a successful and interesting methodology for Sinophone learners. Literature per se has, in fact, widely shown that the learning based upon experience can help to reach success in acquiring a Foreign or Second Language. Therefore, this approach should help Sinophone learners to better integrate in a different environment, even though they are normally used to a more ‘traditional’ teaching methodology. The positive results of the research confirm that the Experiential Learning is a successful trigger to teach Italian as a SL to Chinese students.