Being empathetic to the suffering of others.

1. Rebuilding historical memory of the Colombian
armed conflict in the EFL classroom
María del Pilar Fernández Pedraza M.A.
Leidy Yisel Gómez-Vásquez M.A.
2. Being Empathetic to the Suffering of Others

2. Initial Reflection!
Dear teacher,
What amount and type of information
do you consider appropriate to share
with students from victims testimonies?
How could you access to the victims
testimonies?

3. Relevance and purpose of this work
“The testimony is essential to recognize the dignity and thus
reconstruct individual memory from the collective
memory.” (Roldan, 2013)
One of the objectives in this lesson is to have learners reflect
upon the situation of violence that the victims of the
Colombian armed conflict had to suffer and to connect those
testimonies with their own realities.

4. Before watching the testimonies:
Have your students in groups to
discuss the following questions:
• Why is it important to listen to people’s testimonies?
• Do I have a story in relation to the conflict to share?
Am I a victim myself?
• Do I know someone who was a victim? Have I heard
their testimony?
IMPORTANT: Take
into account that
students have
been part of this
conflict in different
ways, take
advantage of it to
make them feel
empathetic to the
victims

5. While watching the testimonies:
Assign each group of students one of the following
videos.
Ask them to watch the video and take notes on the
information
bit.do/eSDmT 0:20 – 1:57
bit.do/eSDm3 1:35 – 3:05
bit.do/eSDnd 22:35 – 27:04
IMPORTANT:
Remember to select
testimonies that are
appropriate for the
students’ contexts
and ages.

6. While watching the testimonies:
VARIATION 2: Have students
find photographs of a violent
event portrayed in
newspapers, magazines or
internet.
Teacher can also provide the
photos.
Find some photos of the
Colombian armed conflict
here: http://bit.do/eSDoJ
VARIATION 1: Instead of using
videos the students could develop
interviews to real victims or
people linked to real victims. (for
instance, relatives, neighbors,
friends, etc.)
It would be necessary to guide
students on the correct way to
develop an interview.
For tips on this matter visit:
http://bit.do/eSDop

7. After watching the testimonies:
Ask students to discuss the following questions by using the notes
they gathered.
• Was I informed about the events told by the victims?
• Did the testimonies made me feel empathetic to the victim, or
was it the opposite?
• What was the victims’ purpose when telling their stories?
• What emotions and feelings did I identify in the victim?
• How were my feelings affected by those testimonies?

8. After watching the
testimonies:
Once they have shared their opinions,
students record a 2 minute video telling
the victims story but including the
information they have just discussed.
The purpose of this activity is to
integrate both the story of the victims
and the critical point of view of the
students and not simply to retell the
story.
Extra resources: Students could create
and share their videos in:
https://animoto.com/
This tools allows the creation and
edition of videos using their
cellphones.

9. VARIATION 4: Have students create
a poem, short story or tale. For that,
they might use
https://storybird.com/
This tool allows the creation of
beautifully illustrated stories.
VARIATION 1: Have students
write a letter narrating what
happened from a victim’s point
of view.
VARIATION 2: Have the class
reflect about the following
questions:
• What would you do if you
were one of the victims of
this conflict?
• Would you find a possible
solution?
• What if you were a
witness? What would you
do to help the victims?
VARIATION 3: Ask students to record a
news TV program performing the roles of
anchor, reporter, victims, witnesses,
victimizers, etc.

10. Reflecting upon the events:
Ask your students to discuss and share:
• What connection do I have to the
story told by the victims?
• When retelling the story what
aspects did I include and which ones
did I avoid? Why?

11. Dear teacher,
What pedagogical challenges could
you find when collecting, listening to
and analyzing victims testimonies?
How would you meet them?
Food for thought!