Spirituality and Second Language Education

Abstract

No doubt any discussion of language learning without taking into consideration the strong influence of social behavior will be in vain. Constructivist theories and methodologies of language learning have firmly refuted many key principles of cognitive theory which reckoned learners as individuals whose process of learning takes place in isolation. By putting accent on communication, the proponents of constructivism endeavor to bring into limelight the significant role the society and environment play in the development of language. No doubt any communication occurs based on shared value systems or spiritual outlooks. The present paper, in an unprecedented study, aims to establish a connection between language pedagogy and spirituality. The study provides ample literature to show how adopting a spiritual outlook towards teaching considerably accelerates the process of learning by raising autonomy, confidence, self-esteem and feelings of empathy and by reducing stress and condescending approaches.