Education for Sustainable Development in an English Classroom

Aleksandra Zaparucha, Poland, and James Hindson, UK

Aleksandra Zaparucha is a freelance Geography and English teacher, EFL/CLIL teacher trainer, author and translator based in Toruń, Poland. E-mail: ola.zaparucha@gmail.com

James Hindson is a Geography teacher, specialist on Education for Sustainable Development and director of Sense&Sustainability, based in Shrewsbury, UK.
E-mail: senseandsustainability@gmail.com

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Introduction
Environmental issues in selected English textbooks
Bibliography
Textbooks

Introduction

Currently we are at the end of the UNESCO Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and although much progress has been made towards the goal of integrating ESD throughout the curriculum, few achievements have been made in the area of teaching English compared with other subjects. This is a great pity as English language lessons offer huge opportunities for teaching ESD and it is hoped that this article will help language teachers address this gap!

This article briefly reviews how sustainable development is currently covered in some of the most popular English language textbooks. The authors made a study of the environmental content of 19 commonly used English textbooks. Fourteen of these are aimed at Intermediate level and five at Upper-Intermediate and above. All textbooks studied were published between 1986 and 2006.

Each English textbook uses a wide variety of topics to be covered during language learning including personal ones such as family life or eating habits and also general-knowledge topics with strong links to other school subjects. For instance, it is difficult to imagine a good language textbook without some geographical vocabulary (Zaparucha, 2007) or one that does not cover historical events or social issues. In the context of the challenges of the twenty first century it is reasonable to assume that environmental issues should also figure strongly.

Environmental issues in selected English textbooks

From among the tested course books five do not tackle the problem at all (True to Life: Intermediate, Wavelength: Intermediate, Natural English: Intermediate, Cutting Edge: Upper Intermediate and Cutting Edge: Advanced). Other textbooks include single topics loosely connected with environmental issues, such as overpopulation (Language in Use: Upper-Intermediate), natural medicines (face2face: Intermediate), tribes in the Amazon rainforest (Rising Star: Pre-FC), genetic engineering (Activate your English: Intermediate), slow food and slow cities (New English File: Intermediate), forest fires (Attain: Intermediate), and tourism in Antarctica (Opportunities: Intermediate). Two textbooks present environmental problems but few or limited solutions, such as ‘spending some money on conservation’ (English File: Intermediate and Headway: Intermediate, respectively). In many cases the solutions offered to deal with environmental issues are typically limited, such as ‘recycling rubbish, planting trees, saving endangered species of animals’ (Matrix: Intermediate).

The remaining textbooks include diverse case studies and vocabulary and they offer some solutions to environmental issues. For instance, Language in Use: Intermediate, besides giving advice on how to become ‘green’ as an individual, offers ‘Five things governments could do to help the environment’, such as to double the price of petrol and to put a deposit on bottles to encourage people to return them. face2face: Intermediate offers students questions to discuss, such as: Do you think global warming is taken seriously by governments?, What has been done in your country in the last few years to deal with climate change? and Do you think governments should do more to stop people using their cars so much? The only researched textbook on business English, Intelligent Business: Intermediate, also has limited environmental content. Some of it, though, asks critical questions. In the section entitled Gas for Peru v green imperialism important points are made to encourage critical thinking that is largely absent in other books, such as It is impossible to estimate the real value of the rainforest. It might be possible to reduce deforestation if traditional forms of agriculture are promoted.

It seems that best coverage of environmental issues, challenges and solutions are in two textbooks by Express Publishing: Enterprise 4: Intermediate and Upstream: Intermediate both by Virginia Evans and Jenny Dooley. In addition to presenting the current situation, the authors offer topics for discussion, such as, in Enterprise: Intermediate, Problems, effects and solutions: Litter/rubbish – dirty streets, spread of diseases – encourage recycling, use litter bins; Air pollution – breathing problems, cancer risk – unleaded petrol, filters in factories, ban cars from city centres; Water pollution – fish die, stomach illnesses – limit use of chemicals in industry, fine factories which pollute seas/rivers. The books also encourage personal reflection through the use of questionnaires, such as Are you part of the problem? in Upstream: Intermediate: When you leave a room, do you [turn off the lights/leave one light on/never bother to turn off the lights?]. Do you: [take short showers (less than 10 minutes)/have baths/take long showers (more than 10 minutes)]? The authors of both textbooks by Express Publishing also make sure all the language skills are practiced, unlike most of the other textbooks where only selected skills are in use, such as reading and speaking. For example, a writing task from Upstream: Intermediate is as follows: […] write your own set of rules on how to save on water. Write at least five rules and pin them on your classroom noticeboard.

In reading this review the reader might be forgiven for thinking that environmental issues and sustainable development are covered relatively well in current text books. Whilst this is true at one level, there are a number of weaknesses which provide opportunities for improving the integration of ESD into language learning. Firstly, just over one quarter of the books do not cover environmental issues at all and many of the rest have only a superficial coverage or include limited or out-of-date material on environmental issues. Only two books include significant environmental content and even these cannot be used to give pupils any coherent appreciation of environmental issues and their solutions. A second key weakness is that none of them uses the term ‘sustainable development’ and hence there are no activities that teachers can use to introduce this topic. This is a significant omission. A third weakness is that although current books cover environmental topics from a factual point of view, very few activities focus on encouraging critical thinking or personal application, both important sets of skills if language learning is going to support not just English language communication but students in becoming better environmental citizens.

Bibliography

Kelly K. (undated), What does a successful CLIL course look like? Retrieved March 2009 from www.factworld.info/bulgaria/beta_07/CLIL_TT.ppt

Lauder N. (2009) Clarifying CLIL, Retrieved March 2009 from
www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/uk-publishers/oup/clarifying-clil

Zaparucha A. (2007) “Everyone is a Geography teacher: on reasons for Geography and English Integrated Teaching”, The Teacher, January

Textbooks

Burke K., & Rowdon B. (2001). Wavelength: Intermediate: coursebook. Harlow: Longman.

Cunningham S., & Moor P. (2003). Cutting Edge: Advanced: coursebook. Harlow: Longman.

Cunningham S., & Moor P. (2005). Cutting Edge: Upper Intermediate: coursebook. Harlow: Longman.

Doff A., & Jones C. (1994). Language in Use: Intermediate: coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Doff A., & Jones C. (1997). Language in Use: Upper-Intermediate: coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Evans V., & Dooley J. (1998). Enterprise 4: Intermediate: coursebook. Newbury: Express Publishing.

Evans V., & Dooley J. (2002). Upstream: Intermediate: coursebook. Newbury: Express Publishing.

Gairns R., & Redman S. (2003). Natural English: Upper-Intermediate: coursebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Gairns R., Redman S., & Collie J. (1996). True to Life: Intermediate: coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gude K., Wildman J., & Gryca D. (2000). Matrix: Intermediate: coursebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Harris M., Mower D., & Sikorzyńska A. (2000). Opportunities: Intermediate: coursebook. Harlow: Longman.

Oxenden C., & Latham-Koenig C. (1999). English File: Intermediate: coursebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Oxenden C., & Latham-Koenig C. (2006). New English File: Intermediate: coursebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Prodromou L. (2000). Rising Star: Pre-FCE: coursebook. Macmillan-Heinemann.

Redston C., & Cunningham G. (2006). face2face: Intermediate: coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sinclair B., Prowse P. (1996) Activate your English: Intermediate: coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Soars. J., & Soars L. (1986). Headway: Intermediate: coursebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Trappe T., & Tullis G. (2005). Intelligent Business: Intermediate: coursebook. Harlow: Pearson/Longman and The Economist

Wildman J., & Bolton D. (2003). Attain: Intermediate: coursebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Please check the CLIL for Primary Teachers course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the CLIL for Secondary Teachers course at Pilgrims website.