In the latest Cambridge Paper for English, ELT author and Teacher Educator Katherine Bilsborough writes about the latest research in Sustainability Education, and shares insights into the implications for classroom practice in English language teaching. In this blog post, she highlights some of the key points from the paper. You can read the full paper.
While you are reading this blog post, discussions about sustainability are taking place in every corner of the world. For that reason, it should come as no surprise, that it has also become a burning topic in ELT. As teachers of English, one of our roles is to equip learners with the language they need to take part in these global discussions on sustainability. As David Crystal says:
‘Englishes are used in a multitude of contexts to express a diversity of views and narratives in global discourse, and are the medium for emerging ideas’. (Crystal, 2003).
What exactly do we mean by sustainability?
Sustainability has three key aspects: social, economic, and environmental. Alongside language, educators have the task of developing learners’ skills in these areas too. We already help learners develop life skills, such as critical thinking and collaboration, and it is a small step to include those needed to create a more sustainable world.
Some of the skills and competencies that are necessary for sustainability education are already recognised in ELT and education more broadly, such as collaboration, critical thinking or problem-solving. Others emerge as we consider the aims and objectives of sustainable education.
“Sustainability in ELT” White Paper
Five points for English teachers to keep in mind when approaching sustainability in the classroom
1. Put sustainability into practice
1. Having a sustainability focus in your lesson plan is great but it is also a good idea to consider practical things like having a green classroom design or reducing your carbon footprint. Using digital materials rather than relying solely on printed materials is one option, for example. By acting in sustainable ways ourselves, we provide a model for our learners to follow and learn from.
2. Be considerate
2. Try to embed sustainability into your lessons in a thoughtful way, considering local contexts, needs and limitations. Using projects that connect to the wider community can be useful for this, such as field trip projects like working in community gardens or volunteering at food banks. It can be useful to connect with other teachers working in similar contexts to share ideas and materials. It is also a good idea to invite other stakeholders such as community leaders and local businesses who can share their own perspectives on the sustainability skills they’re looking for from future employees.
3. Focus on solutions, not problems
Adopt a pedagogy which fosters hope, agency and empowerment to help avoid eco-anxiety, an issue that can affect learners of all ages. In simple terms, this might mean looking at solutions rather than dwelling on problems. Try to predict how learners might react to the content you are planning to use in your lessons. Encourage questions in your classroom and engage in honest conversations. Using multilingual approaches can allow these conversations to be more inclusive and accessible to learners.
4. Find the right approach
Explore different approaches to teaching sustainability to find the one that best works for you and your learners. While keeping things local can increase motivation, consider using a framework to help you identify core sustainability skills. Developing such skills in your learners will add value to the learning experience by helping them develop competencies to live more sustainably and take steps for positive change.
5. Training
Training is an important part of implementing sustainability education – both in terms of educating ourselves on the knowledge and skills related to sustainability, and in how we teach this to our learners. It is essential that school leaders provide opportunities for CPD (continuous professional development) in this area, and publishers and institutions should provide the resources to support this.
Sustainability education in ELT can be incorporated through different approaches and can provide opportunities for learners to develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes through topic-led, project-based or challenge-based learning. Identifying and addressing sustainability issues can provide engaging experiences and extend the classroom into the school, local or global community, providing an arena in which learners can use their sustainability skills and English for a real-world purpose.
“Sustainability in ELT” White Paper
You can find a more in-depth look at Sustainability in ELT and links to other useful resources in the latest Cambridge Paper for English on ‘Sustainability in ELT’. To help you integrate sustainability into your lessons, explore our sustainability toolkit for English language teaching which is packed with practical tips and inspiration to support you.
To discover more activities you can use in the classroom, take a look at this blog post which introduces the Sustainability Framework for ELT and download the activity cards.