Art Integration in EFL

Abstract

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has evidenced the need EFL education has of better and innovative practices in its classrooms; in response to these challenges, art integration in the EFL classroom comes as an alternative to improve not only linguistic development, but to promote critical thinking, social and cultural awareness, and enhance empathy in students. However, this tool cannot reach its full potential without reflecting its use and the purposes it can serve in daily practices, most especially during an emergency educational period such as the one the world is currently going through. This chapter portrays the experience of 35 pre-service teachers registered in an elective class called Artistic Expressions in the Language Classroom and how the implementation of art-related activities, their follow-up, socialization and discussion in class, and their reflections in the assigned papers led them to acknowledge the pedagogical value art can constitute in their educational communities, particularly when teaching online.