Peacebuilding in Language Education

This innovative, much-needed book shares powerful wisdom and practical strategies to help language teachers, teacher educators and peace educators communicate peace, contribute to peace and weave peacebuilding into classrooms and daily life. The clear, six-part Language of Peace Approach underlies more than 50 creative activities that can promote peacebuilding competence in secondary and post-secondary students, current and prospective educators and community members outside of academia. Chapters span the spectrum from cross-cultural peace education to the positive psychology of peace, from nonverbal peace language to transformative language teaching for peace, and from the needs of language learners to the needs of language educators. The book makes a unique and valuable contribution to the discussion of how we can live together peacefully in a changing world. 

This rich collection’s biggest strength is that it provides an excellent balance between theoretical analysis on the one hand, and practical implications on the other. The rich ideas and activities that are suggested will be immensely valuable to teachers who wish to expand their repertoire of instruction through taking into serious consideration multiple aspects of peace that are not limited to the inner self but expand to cover intercultural and international aspects., Language can incite hate, hurt and harm; it can also cultivate love, empathy and respect. This timely book shares powerful wisdom and practical strategies for how language teachers and other educators can communicate peace; contribute to building inner, interpersonal, intergroup, intercultural, international and ecological peace; weave peacebuilding into instruction and daily life; and enhance their teaching, learning and being., This volume constitutes an impressive effort by international scholars aligned on the vision of the ripple effect, whereby notions of peace are integrated into the teaching and learning of languages. The book deals with peace in its various manifestations and demonstrates how beyond speech and writing, nonverbal communication also has a role to play in creating an environment in which peace can flourish., This book is most timely during the sociopolitical turmoil of a worldwide pandemic, massive refugee migrations and displacement, environmental and economic disasters, and collapse of peace efforts on the world stage. Readable and insightful, the volume offers hope and concrete peacebuilding strategies and models steps that language educators and students will embrace. This is a jewel of a book and a labor of love realized., This is an uplifting collection for our challenging times. It brings together scholars with the courage to mobilise their longstanding scholarship in language education, diverse talents in arts and activism, and deep commitment to their communities to offer a strong vision for a peaceful, just and sustainable society. The book challenges us all to renew our resolve to use our language education inquiry and practice to contribute to his project. 

Rebecca L. Oxford is a University of Maryland Professor Emerita and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher who now works with doctoral students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. María Matilde Olivero is a second language teacher educator and researcher at Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Argentina.Melinda Harrison is a lecturer at Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama, USA and is working on a PhD in Educational Studies in Diverse Populations at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.Tammy Gregersen is a Professor of TESOL at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.