Peacebuilding in Language Education

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.

* Michalinos Zembylas, Open University of Cyprus and Nelson Mandela University, South Africa *

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.

* Jing Lin, University of Maryland, USA *

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.

* Andrew D. Cohen, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, USA *

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.

-- Martha Nyikos, Indiana University, USA

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. 

-- Maggie Kubanyiova, University of Leeds, UK

This inspiring volume transcends geographical borders as it offers the reader an international perspective on peacebuilding in language education contexts. The ideas presented in this book represent a rich resource for teacher educators interested in developing a culture of peace as it highlights the contribution of differences to peacebuilding. Through this collection ripples of peace will indeed be felt all around the world.

-- Pamela Gunning, Concordia University, Canada

If ever the world needed peace it is surely now, and a book such as this is therefore certainly timely with its message of tolerance, understanding, empathy and nonviolence. Language teachers are in a unique position to promote more positive and peaceful mindsets, since we work and travel with people around the globe who may be influenced by our words and actions. 

-- Carol Griffiths, Girne American University of North Cyprus

At a time of great sociopolitical tension globally, this volume is a beacon of light for understanding and reconciliation. From practical activities to the overarching state of mind this book instills, language educators are given the tools to build peace both with and within their students. This book involves the burgeoning fields of positive psychology, peace education, and language education but does not simply follow previous footsteps; instead, it carves a unique path from which any reader could benefit. 

-- Nathan Thomas, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK

Is there any better way to teach peace than by normalizing it as part of everyday human experience, communication, and expression, as this book does? Peacebuilding in Language Education is a much-needed corrective to too much peace education that starts with the a priori assumption that peace is some lofty, hard-to-reach ideological good rather than the presumed norm for human community and thriving. 

-- Nicole Johnson, University of Mount Union, Ohio, USA

The integration of discussions on peace in education is paramount to positively shaping the minds of future generations, especially in times of personal, political and social uncertainty. In this very timely book, the editors have brought together a collection of profound papers that explore ways in which language educators can weave explorations of peacebuilding into their classrooms and curricula. 

-- Heath Rose, University of Oxford, UK

This book highlights the deep link between language education and culture, which is mostly overlooked in favour of the obvious parts of the "culture iceberg". In our highly turbulent and uncertain times, this volume constitutes a powerful statement that language educators need to raise learner awareness of the power of words. 

-- Zoe Kantaridou, University of Macedonia, Greece; Hellenic Open University, Greece

As can be seen, the activities [in the book] are adaptable both to in-class and online teaching and the lesson
plans alone are worth the price of the book. Overall, this is a very rich book addressing personal attitudes, theory and practice in a more open approach to language teaching and learning and a valuable addition to university, teacher training and teachers' libraries.

-- Barry Tomalin, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK * Training, Language and Culture, Volume 4 Issue 4, 2020 *

This volume is a tremendous read which offers a refreshing, creative, eye-opening perspective on what we as teachers can do in the L2/foreign language classroom to contribute responsibly to the world around us, even beyond our immediate zones of action. It also appeals to us as individual human beings. The moving stories of Ghanaian and South Sudanese children that conclude the volume validate the need for volumes of this kind. Give peace education a chance.

-- Danuta Gabryś-Barker, University of Silesia, Poland * ELT Journal, 2021 *

Readers will certainly walk away from this book with an understanding that teaching language is intricately linked to peacebuilding efforts, from helping language teachers to find inner peace to encouraging meaningful discussions in diverse classrooms. This book has the potential to inspire and empower even the humblest of language teachers to accept the peacebuilder’s call.

-- Kelly Katherine Frantz, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA * Teachers College Record, August 20