HIGH POINT, N.C., March 10, 2016 – High Point University students recently learned about Italian culture right here in the city of High Point thanks to an authentic Italian restaurant and business owner.
Students enrolled in the Modern Foreign Language Italian course went to Scugnizzi restaurant, where they learned to order their food and drinks in Italian, as well as how to make authentic Italian cuisines.
“This was an effective learning experience for my students,” said Tonilena Soranno, instructor of Italian at HPU. “When we told the students they were going to go to a real Italian restaurant in the city of High Point, they were really excited. More importantly, they were more engaged in learning about Italian food and made an effort to practice more and more of their skills in order to be prepared for ordering food and drinks. They knew they were going to be using the vocabulary learned in class in a real setting, therefore they were very committed to their learning.”
During their time at Scugnizzi, the students learned how to make pizza from scratch. They prepared their own dough, seasoned the pizza with toppings of their choice, and finally got to eat the fruit of their labor. The owner of Scugnizzi, Tony Coppola, explained the importance of fresh ingredients in the Italian cuisine, and students discovered the difference in the taste.
“It was a wonderful experience and a great opportunity for me to introduce, explain and teach about the Italian culture and its food,” said Coppola. “The HPU students are an amazing group of young people, and I was honored to share with them the contributions that Italians have been giving, throughout history, to the culinary experience here in the United States.”
“It was a great way for us to experience authentic Italian language and culture right around the corner in High Point,” said HPU student Jamie Sitro. “I love that HPU professors go above and beyond to make sure we’re educated inside and outside the classroom.”