Pedagogies of discomfort and empathy in foreign language education: Fostering EFL learners' critical global thinking through literature and art

Abstract

This paper explores a project-based inquiry designed to foster EFL learners' critical global thinking in a higher education setting in mainland China. Embedded in the conceptualization of foreign language education through pedagogies of discomfort and empathy, the purpose of this qualitative study with 25 university EFL learners is to sensitize students about issues of global human rights violation and nurture intercultural empathy, empowerment, and hospitality beyond national borders. In this way, foreign language education could provide generative spaces for social transformation and justice through cultivating students' political and ethical responsibilities. This paper shows how this conceptualization was robustly enacted in a higher education setting in China with explicit teacher guidance for students to engage in difficult socio-political issues using literature and arts.