Experience and learning seem to be intertwined and closely related (Beard & Wilson, 2006), as considering the definition of experiential learning, i.e., “the sense-making process of active engagement between the inner world of the person and the outer world of the environment” (p. 19), experience should always undergird the learning process. Beard and Wilson (2006) go on to say that not all experiences result in learning, as “we have to engage with the experience and reflect on what happened, how it happened and why” (p. 20) for learning to happen. Even though an average person encounters an infinite number of stimuli during a regular day, it depends on many factors which stimulants they meaningfully engage with. Meaningful engagement, which is based on previous knowledge and experiences, and reflecting on the experience are the key to learning. Experiential activities usually involve a great level of emotional response, and learning first takes place in the emotional domain, which is later reinforced in the cognitive domain through post-activity reflections and discussion (Pike & Selby, 1988). Based on the above, experiential learning can be defined as “the insight gained through the conscious or unconscious internalization of our own or observed experiences, which builds upon our past experiences or knowledge” (Beard and Wilson, 2006, p. 43). Experiential learning in the EFL class can take many forms, and classroom activities that involve the students cooperatively working on a project or task, including the phases of exposure, participation, internalization, and dissemination can be regarded as experiential (Knutson, 2003). In the exposure phase, the students’ background schema is activated, which entails activating the past experiences and background knowledge of the subject. This process can happen through setting goals and understanding the objectives of the activity, or by answering questions about students’ personal experiences in connection with the topic. The participation phase is the experience itself, the collaborative activity in the classroom, where students need to rely on their ability to negotiate, communicate, and take on roles and responsibilities. In the internalization phase, the teacher-facilitators asks students questions to help them reflect on their feelings in connection with the experience. The dissemination phase links classroom learning with the real world outside the classroom: the project may end in a role-play of a social situation or even in a field trip where the students can use their newly acquired skills (Knutson, 2003). The dissemination phase provides us with a clear link to global citizenship education, as the main aim of GCED is acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes through classroom activities but also going beyond the physical boundaries of the classroom and taking action to create a better world.

Service-learning can take many forms, including volunteer activities (e.g., picking up rubbish), participation in an advocacy campaign (e.g., a campaign against online hate speech), or providing services directly to members of the community, such as giving private lessons to less advantaged children or visiting the elderly (OECD/Asia Society, 2018). Service-learning is more than merely volunteering, it also involves linking the classroom to the real world and learning about the problems before they experience them: for instance, students can learn about the problems of loneliness among the elderly in class through narratives, infographics, and videos. Then, as the experiential part, they can be asked to get in touch with their elderly relatives or acquaintances and interview them about important moments of their lives. As a follow up in the classroom, they can be asked to share what they had learnt from these discussions and reflect on them in groups. Finally, they can be encouraged to think about what could be done to make the older generation feel less lonely. In such context, students can develop several of their skills, such as cooperation, communication with diverse groups, their attitudes of openness and finally they learn how to act to make a difference and contribute to social change while using the language meaningfully.