Acceso usuarios
Melina Porto
The aim of this study was to undo the nature/culture, human/non-human divide in English language teaching in order to enable healthy and ethical human – environment relationships. Set in a rural primary school in Argentinian Patagonia, participants were 40 children aged 6–14 who belonged to the multilingual Mapuche communities in an area called Pil Pil. Theoretically grounded in the post-human episteme and eco-centric perspectives in applied linguistics and language education, the research question was: How can the human/non-human, nature/culture divide be disarticulated through language education? Based on four outdoor learning experiences planned and implemented in the setting, documentary and conversational data were gathered. A walking post-qualitative methodology was used. Findings are portrayed in three lines of articulation which indicate that geographical spaces became sites of ethical engagement with the natural world fostered by walking experiences in the outdoor environment. These walking outdoor opportunities enabled an affective and ethical foundation for the development of an eco-consciousness built around a human/nature and non-human unity. This happened in an English language classroom in which English, Spanish and Mapudungum were enabled and fostered. Implications for language education and green applied linguistics are considered.
