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Knowledge systems and social philosophies from Indigenous communities in the Global South have long promoted non-violence through a sense of shared humanity and community building, and as such are valid counter-hegemonic alternatives to the existing colonial, Eurocentric model of knowledge production in use. This article details the contributions made by two specific Indigenous wisdom traditions -- ubuntu and Buen Vivir -- to a non-violence education teacher training programme in Chile framed within decolonial epistemologies. Using participatory workshops as a method, this study sought to offer Chilean trainee teachers a set of tools to explore issues of discrimination and exclusion and to deal with tensions arising from these issues informed by non-violent approaches. Participants read and reflected on how these wisdom traditions could contribute to their own teaching practice and later planned and facilitated a session with their peers to help them develop awareness on the principles of ubuntu and Buen Vivir. Results show paradigm shifts in three areas: individual versus collective action; their perception of human interconnectedness and of our interconnectedness with the environment; and how these perspectives could inform their teaching practice to foster greater inclusiveness.

Higher-education classroom practices in Chile have historically followed the Eurocentric model in which the student is an 'empty vessel' and the instructor the one who fills it. This has led to the perpetuation of a specific model of knowledge creation and transmission that has historically ignored both non-Western cultures and knowledges but has also neglected attempts at developing practices that might foster greater critical thinking skills or that view education as a way of increasing consciousness, advocating social changes and challenging inequalities present in the classroom. Drawing on a number of different perspectives, from Orientalism, Critical Pedagogy and indigenous knowledge, this paper is written as a way to challenge existing systems and methods, in order to suggest a framework of action anchored in non-Eurocentric approaches and that are further rooted in participatory action research.

Language teacher identity has been at the forefront of pedagogical research in recent years; this has become particularly important due to the demographic changes seen throughout the world since 2015; since then, there have been significant changes in the cultural landscape of schools in general and language teaching in particular, which presents unique challenges for teachers in their process of identity construction. This study aims to explore the transformative nature of language teacher identity in two settings: teaching in online classrooms in one's home country, and teaching in online classroom abroad. The research will explore how cultural identity shapes an educators' relationship with students, how one's own cultural identity influences methodological and pedagogical choices, how these can improve literacy in the young adult classroom, as well touching upon the relevance of cultural identity is in a developing teacher. The findings revealed a general consensus on the need to gear pedagogical practices towards a student-centered approach; they further showed a general split in how teachers view the role that cultural identity plays in the classroom: while some felt that local cultures hindered their approach to teaching, others felt it helped build rapport and understanding between teachers and learners.

Much of social research in language learning in the past twenty years has been devoted to explore issues of identity construction and its sociological implications in terms of mobility and inclusiveness. There are a large number of studies on the areas of culture and identity, and how they relate to the investment and empowerment of language learners (Dörnyei, 2005; Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011; Norton, 1997, 2000, 2013, 2015; Norton & Davin, 2015; Ushioda, 2011). Some of these have been pivotal in the development of identity research for the past two decades and have laid the foundation upon which further research has been done: Norton (1995) proposed her Classroom-Based Social Research, in which learners become ethnographers of sorts under the encouragement of teachers; Brunton and Jeffrey (2014) examined some of the factors that might lead to empowerment with foreign students in New Zealand (2013), Diaz, Cochran, and Karlin (2016) conducted a study in American classrooms to investigate the impact of teachers' behavior and communication strategies on students' achievement and feeling of empowerment, and more recently Howard (2018) investigated the impact of teachers' attitudes in the construction of sociocultural identities in African-American students. Such research has provided a wealth of insight and suggested practices, but in this researcher's opinion they have come short in providing any definite answers as to how to implement them or the outcomes they might yield. The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on how the aforementioned dimensions of identity construction, empowerment and investment can result in greater social inclusion for second-language learners. The paper analyzes each dimension separately, provides a theoretical background that links them to language learning, and then discusses some possible implications for teachers and researchers on how to further recruit students' investment and enhance their sense of empowerment and inclusion.

My personal experience as a teacher in Japan has raised questions about the usefulness of both summative and formative assessment, the possible benefits of non-traditional approaches to classroom instruction, and the influence of assessment measures in the success of Japanese students. For instance, the use of collaborative, inquiry, task or project-based learning in Japanese high schools is nearly non-existent because of the structure of government-led educational standards, which mostly focus on preparing students for university entrance examinations. By critically looking at the latest existing literature on the uses and impact of assessment in Japanese education, this paper aims to further contribute to the discussion on the topic by elucidating possible implications for teachers and researchers who are interested in the context of Japan or similar educational settings. This paper also attempts to look at Japan's current educational practices and how cultural tradition is woven into the integration of teaching philosophy.