Affiliation:
1. Florida International University, USA
Abstract
Language is a necessary tool to understand the world. It can be used as an instrument of hate, harm, exclusion, and dehumanization or as an instrument of love, help, inclusion, and humanization. Language is a component of peace, and the language classroom can be a place where communicative competence is expressed through communicative peace. This chapter will explore the relationship between language acquisition, emotion, critical thinking, and peace building. It will demonstrate how applied peace linguistics can help teachers create empathetic and equitable foreign language classroom environments. The author will describe the characteristics of a language acquisition classroom that encourages both critical thinking and peace building. Strategies for teaching language learners by centering emotion during language activities, encouraging critical thinking, and creating peaceful connections among diverse learners will be suggested.