Developing empathy among first-year university undergraduates through English language course: A phenomenological study

Abstract

Empathy, as an essential personality trait of human beings, has been studied rigorously in the field of nursing and medical sciences. Nowadays, universities are also endeavoring to develop empathy with particular courses or tailored content among the students. The English language classroom acts as a dynamic platform to impart education for empathy. Yet there is a paucity of research related to the outcomes of such initiatives. The current study revolved around an English language course that is primarily designed to improve students' proficiency in English required for them to be empowered with the compatibility of tertiary education. The secondary focus of the course concerned the cultivation of empathy that is inevitable not only for the academic journey but also for social wellbeing. The present study was designed to investigate the contents, based on theoretical grounds, of the English language classroom and to trace the outcomes of such an empathy-teaching. A phenomenological approach was adopted to conduct the study, in which document analysis and semi-structured interviews with 10 participants shaped the instrumentation of data collection. The current study adopted thematic analysis to analyze the semi-structured interview data. The findings projected that the contents harnessed to cultivate empathy corresponded to the theoretical aspects of empathy development. The semi-structured interview data was a testimony of the nature of empathy practice inculcated among undergraduate students.

Keywords

• Psychology
• Education
• Empathy
• Classroom instruction
• Language classroom
• University