(25 set) Spread the Italian – and not only – solely through gastronomy. The smart cuisine able to teach foreign languages as an Italian touch. Researchers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia are the Italian partners of the project European Digital Kitchen, which has developed an innovative prototype that helps in language learning. LanCook, this is the abbreviated name of the project, funded under the European life-long learning programme, suggests, in fact, a new and original method of language learning in which the student, experimenting in the preparation of traditional recipes, listens to and dialogues with the kitchen and its utensils, testing his ability to speak and cook. During the three years of study, the five European research teams involved, including, for Italy, the group of Prof. Gabriele Pallotti and Prof Natacha Niemants, from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, has developed a prototype which is composed of a tablet equipped with a program that loads the recipes in the seven languages (English, French , Italian, Spanish, Catalan, German, Finnish) and motion sensors applied to tools, which are able to guide the student in the preparation of a recipe in a selected language. This special kitchen was unveiled today in London at the end of three years of work by Italian researchers Modena – together with European partners- gathered at the Europe House for a public demonstration of how the linguistic kitchen works. A curiosity: in the Italian version, the recipes are penne alla puttanesca and meat rolls, a recipe contained in the famous cookbook by Pellegrino Artusi, that more than any other has had a role in the spread of the Italian through gastronomy. (Red)
