The work of Paulo Freire has had an enduring impact on the development of progressive, democratic pedagogies around the world. Freire’s ideas on democracy emerged from his experiences with impoverished communities in Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s. For Freire, democratic education is a part of the process of humanization: becoming more fully human through transformative, critical, dialogical reflection and action. From a Freirean perspective, democracy is not just a form of government but a mode of being: a distinctive approach to living, with others, in a world that is always dynamically in the making. Democratic life demands a willingness to live uncertainties and an acknowledgment of our incompleteness. Freire delineates a number of key democratic virtues, including humility, openness, tolerance, and a willingness to listen. He argues against both authoritarian and “anything goes” pedagogical orientations. This chapter discusses Freire’s views on democracy and education in the light of his wider ontological, epistemological, and ethical position, and considers the ongoing significance of his ideas in the twenty-first century.

For language teachers who are already convinced about why to include transformative learning goals, this chapter will help to clarify what we know about how these sometimes-elusive learning goals can be scaffolded within our existing instruction. Language teachers interested in including transformative learning goals in their language classes should know that the transformative process is difficult to predict and to measure. However, instructors can intentionally and even successfully nurture transformation without straying far from widely accepted classroom practices by taking a more critical approach. Authentic texts can be useful for promoting disorienting dilemmas when they are at the learners' cognitive and proficiency level and include feasible tasks. Critical reflection is also essential to transformative learning and can be encouraged through structured written reflection. This reflection can take place in the L1 or L2. Finally, instructors can motivate students to take action by asking them to think about next steps.