Seventeenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

“Language is a uniquely human gift, central to our experience of being human. Appreciating its role in constructing our mental lives brings us one step closer to understanding the very nature of humanity” (Boroditsky, 2009, para. 1); humanity that has been negatively affected by multiple problems resulting in a divisive world. Therefore, now more than ever, it is fundamental to use the teaching and learning process as a great opportunity to bring the community together to find ways to embrace and promote cultural and linguistic diversity through inclusive education where each student feels respected and valued. Students, teachers, and community members need to come together to explore different strategies that empower our community to engage socio-political and educational issues with a caring critical perspective that help in the construction of a more inclusive , peaceful and harmonious classroom, school, society and world. For this reason, ideas to achieve this goal through language teaching and learning are provided in this presentation.