INTEGRATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN LANGUAGES LEARNING: A FORUM THEATRE APPROACH

Abstract

In language teaching framed by a communicative approach, learners are required to act as active social agents rather than passive consumers of grammar rules and vocabulary lists. By mapping the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (United Nations, 1948) against the Plan Curricular del Instituto Cervantes (PCIC) (Instituto Cervantes, 2006), this essay demonstrates that foreign language instruction inherently carries civic, sociocultural, and ethical dimensions. However, transitioning away from traditional methods long embedded in the classroom remains a challenge. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes integrating Forum Theatre into foreign language education as a pedagogical tool for fostering interculturalism and human rights awareness. Through interactive drama and the new concept of ‘spect-actor’, learners engage with non-punitive, open-ended scenarios featuring real-world socio-cultural conflicts (such as racism, xenophobia, arbitrary interferences in the family life, and unfair labour practices...). This methodology transforms abstract human rights values into active communicative practice, allowing language learners to negotiate solutions and develop intercultural competence within a collaborative environment.