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Hinduism and TESOL: Learning, Teaching and Student‐Teacher Relationships Revisited
Author(s) -
Sharma Bal Krishna
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
language and linguistics compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.619
H-Index - 44
ISSN - 1749-818X
DOI - 10.1111/lnc3.12013
Subject(s) - hinduism , ethos , autonomy , representation (politics) , sociology , class (philosophy) , pedagogy , learner autonomy , mathematics education , epistemology , linguistics , psychology , language education , philosophy , political science , law , comprehension approach , politics
This historical and philosophical survey provides an overview of ‘learning’‘teaching’ and ‘student‐teacher relationships’ as espoused in Hindu philosophy and its ancient educational practices. It shows that some of what have been regarded as the standard practices and innovations in language pedagogy in the Western world today, especially in Anglo‐American educational contexts, were in existence in the traditional Hindu educational ethos found in the Vedic and Upanishadic periods in the South Asian sub‐continent. This calls into question the representation of learner‐centeredness, autonomy and class discussions as innovative constructs. It shows that such practices in TESOL, for example, are not inherently West‐based and, thus, by contrast are in fact appropriate in non‐Western cultural contexts like Nepal.