Climate for Change: Role of Language Teachers
Harisimran S. Sandhu, India
Harisimran S.Sandhu is a freelance Teacher-trainer and Examiner based in Chandigarh (India). His current professional interest is in the field of eco-criticism with special reference to the role of language teachers in combating Climate Change. E-mail: harisss2@rediffmail.com
Menu
Introduction
Background
Strategic climate issues
Eco-criticism
Teaching resources
Outline lesson plan
Worksheets
References
Electronic sources
Ready lesson plans
Selected bibliography
“We are the first generation that can end global poverty and at the same time we are the last generation that can reverse climate change. If we don’t take action now, we will leave only regret to succeeding generations”. - Ban Ki-moon, 9 Jul 2016 (“Advocate Jack Ma hosts,” 2016)
These remarks by the then United Nations Secretary General only endorse the set of Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that together aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of the Sustainable Development (SD) agenda adopted on September 25th 2015 at the UN Headquarters, New York, and sought to be achieved over the next 15 years by 2030.
The Paris Agreement followed on 12 Dec 2015, focusing on the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation and finance. The agreement came into effect on 04 Nov 2016, one month after a total of 72 countries (including India), more than the stipulated 55% of the 197 participating countries, ratified it on 04 Oct 2016. As of 11 May 2017, a total of 145 countries have ratified the agreement.
As responsible global citizens, we need to understand the cause of this uproar over ‘climate change’. After all, how grim is the situation?
While an unusually stable global environment was the precondition for exceptional human development over the last ten thousand years, this stability is now seriously under threat from human activity—most critically, energy consumption. This is resulting in unprecedented concentrations of CO2 effecting anthropogenic climate change (UN 2013: 14), making climate change the ‘defining issue’ and among ‘the greatest challenges’ of our time (“UN Sustainable Development Climate Change”)—not just for world leaders and governments but equally for ordinary citizens, including teachers (“UNESCO: Addressing Climate Change”).
Of the total seventeen SDGs envisaged by the United Nations, SDG 13 is focused exclusively on climate change:-
‘Climate Action: take urgent action to tackle climate change and its impact’
Specific targets:-
13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
13.a: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
13.b: Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.
When we study each of the SDG 13 Targets from the perspective of a language teacher (LT), focusing particularly on the operative words, we might realistically acknowledge that SDG Target 13.3 alone is doable by the average LT anywhere in the world.
This is in no way to discourage or curb individual or institutional enterprise but to simply accept that other ‘targets’ demand legislation and resource mobilization which an LT could, at best, indirectly support and influence through educational and awareness-raising initiatives.
In order to don the mantle of a climate activist, LTs need to first understand the essentials and the strategic climate issues involved:-
- Climate is defined as the average weather over a long period of time in various regions of the world. Although our weather changes from day to day, our climate is expected to stay constant over the years.
- While both natural and human factors can change Earth’s climate, with the Industrial Era, humans have increasingly impacted climate by adding billions of tons of heat-trapping greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
- A major impact of climate change is the extreme weather activities caused by global warming. Heat waves, floods, droughts and wildfires are the new certainty in an ever warming world, and these have serious repercussions for biodiversity, food sources, economies and politics.
- A recent study has shown that climate change is occurring ten times faster than at any other time in the past 65 million years (“How does climate change occur,” 2016).
- Anthropogenic factors of the greatest concern are increasing CO2 levels due to emissions from fossil fuels combustion followed by aerosols and chemicals (particulate matter in the atmosphere), the CO2 released from cement manufacture, land use, ozone depletion, animal agriculture, and deforestation.
- Forests are home to over 50% of the world’s land-based animal and plant life, directly providing food, shelter, fuel and a source of income to a billion people whose livelihoods depend on them. Forests also regulate the climate and water cycles, preventing soil erosion.
- The world has already lost half its forests, and only a tenth of what remains is protected.
- SD means meeting ‘the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ in all three aspects: economic, environmental, and social (Harris, 2000, pp. 5-6)
- Environmental degradation has already reached ‘critical levels’ and SD will require transformative change at the local, national and global levels (UN 2013: 1).
Ecocriticism could prove a worthy ally for any climate activist. Rejecting anthropocentricism in favour of biocentricism—while anthropocentricism gives primacy to human values, biocentricism upholds the inherent value of all things—it has abandoned the one-time view of literature and linguistics as useless and unchanging, or that ‘poetry makes nothing happen’ (Auden cited in Tošić, 2006, p. 49). Ecocriticism has common cause today in its endeavour to raise awareness and invent solutions to environmental crises.
An understanding of the climate issues would facilitate LTs in sourcing material and updates for use in the classroom:-
- UN SDG 13: the main UN website on Climate Action with regular updates and material.
- Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future (TLSF): a UNESCO multimedia teacher education program. The modules are grouped under four themes (Curriculum Rationale, SD across the Curriculum, Cotemporary Issues, Teaching & Learning Strategies), and include reading material, outline lesson plans, and worksheets for each module.
- Eldis: an online information service providing free access to up-to-date and diverse research on international development issues, including Climate Change, managed by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in Brighton, United Kingdom.
- Additionally, LTs need to stay locally grounded and alert for climate action: the meaning of SD likely ‘evolves according to local contexts’ (“UNESCO TLSF”). \
This is an example of a lesson plan based purely on authentic material sourced from a local newspaper, adapted both for teaching English as well as sensitizing students on climate issues.
Main Aim: To develop reading skills / deduce meaning of vocabulary from context
Sub Aims: To develop creative writing skills (haiku) / speaking skills / discuss safer, toxin-free clothing / impact on environment
Age group: Teens
Level: B 1+
Time: 45 minutes
Materials: Authentic text adapted from local newspaper:
http://epaper.tribuneindia.com/899054/Life-Style/LS_08_August_2016
Links to websites:
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151023084508.htm
http://bodyecology.com/articles/top_6_fabrics_you_should_avoid_wearing.php
www.ethical.org.au/3.4.2/get-informed/issues/fashion-footprint/
www.ecowatch.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_fashion
www.futurelearn.com/courses/sustainable-fashion/0/steps/13529
https://oecotextiles.wordpress.com
Text
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Detoxing Fashion (adapted from: Singh, 2016, p. 1)
What you wear impacts the earth in more ways than one. Here is a lowdown on how you can stay chic and yet not add to your carbon footprint.
Models display cotton clothing
The Garment Story
Do you recall going back into the story of any garment that you picked up? By story we mean, trying to look back into where the garment came from, the fabric used, synthetic or organically grown, the amount of chemicals used to convert raw material into form, or the gallons of water used in the process. We bet going this far is much more difficult than paying the price of the garment and walking away with it.
Sustainable Fashion
If you love fashion but you are not familiar with the word sustainable fashion (SF), well then here’s what you need to know. SF is part of sustainable design where the product is created and produced with consideration to the environment. According to Earth Pledge, a non-profit organisation, “At least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles. And this of course causes irreversible damage to people and the environment.”
Sustainable Fabric
So, here’s something that you would want to take a look at. As part of the Greenpeace Detox My Fashion campaign, almost 18 companies including big names like Burberry, Marks & Spencer, and H&M have started to eliminate toxin s from their supply chains. The idea is to make fashion free from hazardous chemicals which, to begin with, can be achieved if the designers opt for more sustainable fabrics like cotton.
Pure and Organic
With the word organic spreading over even into fashion, people want to slip into clothes that are pure and do no harm to their skin rather than those that simply look attractive. This is why the market for pure fabrics has grown tremendously. Chemical-free cotton clothing has definitely made it to the ‘designer’ market that now offers varieties of both western and ethnic lines you can wear to any occasion, and it comes with all the bling and shimme r you can want.
Don’t Itch
With cases of fabric allergy no longer uncommon, cotton is often the preferred choice, and designers in India and abroad are attempting to give this fabric a chic look, keeping its ethnic element intact. Fashion no longer means yielding on safety or health. It means looking beautiful, which of course can be done without toxins.
|
Lesson Plan
| Teacher-Student Interaction | Time
(mins) |
|
| 1 |
Warmer: Flash pictures from Reading Text on screen; simultaneously play music typically heard at fashion shows, and ask:
‘What do you think these ladies are doing?’
SS: modeling (clothes)
|
3 |
| 2 |
Pre-reading:
- Discuss Title: ‘Detoxing Fashion’
- Discuss subtext: “What you wear impacts the earth in more ways than one.
Here is a lowdown on how you can stay chic and yet not add to your carbon footprint.”
- Elicit/clarify meaning of: ‘lowdown’, ‘chic’, ‘carbon footprint’
- Get SS to predict what they might expect to read in the Text
|
7 |
| 3 |
Reading for Gist: Give text and para headings separately and get SS to match them. - Worksheet 1 |
4 |
| 4 |
Reading for Detailed Comprehension: Mark as True or False - Worksheet 2
|
8 |
| 5 |
Vocabulary: Worksheet 3
|
6 |
| 6 |
Creative Writing:
- To awaken their tactile sensibility, get SS to close their eyes and to gently run finger tips in small circles over their clothes for 15-20 secs; then share with partner any words/phrases/images/sounds that come to mind.
- Divide SSs into pairs/groups. Get some to write haikus on organic/natural clothing, and others on synthetic clothing.
Two examples of each type:
No chemicals, please.
Prefer pure and organic—
Love Environment.
Caressing the skin—
You natural fruits of the earth.
Beautiful all through.
Synthetic clothing
gives you the itch and leaves scars
on Environment
Your sheen hides so much
pain and plunder of the earth—
Can’t bio-degrade?
|
9 |
| 7 |
Speaking: Divide SSs into groups of three. Give each group one topic to research and to prepare a brief 3-4 minutes talk/presentation on. SS begin preparation in class and finish task as homework:
- What is sustainable fashion?
- What are carbon and fashion footprint?
- What is the carbon footprint of different types of fabric?
- What problems can chemicals in clothing cause?
- What is the impact of the textile industry on climate change?
Websites for reference are given above under ‘material’
|
8 |
| 8 |
Public Interface:
- SS write selected haikus on matching fabric: synthetic (polyester, acrylic, rayon, nylon), or natural (cotton, silk, linen, hemp, wool, cashmere), and display these for public view—for example, on the school notice board.
- SS present (above) prepared talks before (school) audience.
|
|
Worksheet 1
Read the article quickly (skim) and match these headings with the paragraphs below:-
Sustainable Fashion The Garment Story Sustainable Fabric Don’t Itch Pure and Organic
- ______________
Do you recall going back into the story of any garment that you picked up? By story we mean, trying to look back into where the garment came from, the fabric used, synthetic or organically grown, the amount of chemicals used to convert raw material into form, or the gallons of water used in the process. We bet going this far is much more difficult than paying the price of the garment and walking away with it.
- ______________
If you love fashion but you are not familiar with the word sustainable fashion (SF), well then here’s what you need to know. SF is part of sustainable design where the product is created and produced with consideration to the environment. According to Earth Pledge, a non-profit organisation, “At least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles. And this of course causes irreversible damage to people and the environment.”
- _______________
So, here’s something that you would want to take a look at. As part of the Greenpeace Detox My Fashion campaign, almost 18 companies including big names like Burberry, Marks & Spencer, and H&M have started to eliminate toxins from their supply chains. The idea is to make fashion free from hazardous chemicals which, to begin with, can be achieved if the designers opt for more sustainable fabrics like cotton.
- _______________
With the word organic spreading over even into fashion, people want to slip into clothes that are pure and do no harm to their skin rather than those that simply look attractive. This is why the market for pure fabrics has grown tremendously. Chemical-free cotton clothing has definitely made it to the ‘designer’ market that now offers varieties of both western and ethnic lines you can wear to any occasion, and it comes with all the bling and shimmer you can want.
- ________________
With cases of fabric allergy no longer uncommon, cotton is often the preferred choice, and designers in India and abroad are attempting to give this fabric a chic look, keeping its ethnic element intact. Fashion no longer means yielding on safety or health. It means looking beautiful, which of course can be done without toxins.
Answers: 1 - The Garment Story 2 - Sustainable Fashion 3 - Sustainable Fabric
4 - Pure and Organic 5 - Don’t Itch
Worksheet 2
Read the article and mark the following sentences as ‘True’ or ‘False’
| 1 | Garments can be made of either synthetic or organically grown material |
| |
| 2 | Lots of water is used in the manufacturing process |
| |
| 3 | Companies are not keen to remove chemical substances from the manufacturing process |
| |
| 4 | Designers prefer cotton because it is sustainable |
| |
| 5 | Some clothes can be harmful to the skin |
| |
| 6 | Cotton clothing is yet to enter the designer market |
| |
| 7 | Fabric allergy is still uncommon |
Answers
| 1 |
True |
5 |
True |
| 2 |
True |
6 |
False |
| 3 |
False |
7 |
False |
| 4 |
True |
8 |
False |
Worksheet 3
Look at the bold-italicized words in the Text. Choose one each for Column B to match the definitions in Column A. The first has been done for you.
| A | B |
| 1 | Produced without use of chemicals or pesticides | Organic |
| 2 | Produced without exhausting natural resources or causing severe damage to the environment | |
| 3 | Beyond repair | |
| 4 | Not safe | |
| 5 | Relating to a group of people sharing a common and distinctive culture | |
| 6 | Expensive and showy clothing or jewelry | |
| 7 | Soft flickering light | |
| 8 | Poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms | |
Answers
| 1 | Organic |
| 2 | Sustainable |
| 3 | Irreversible |
| 4 | Hazardous |
| 5 | Ethnic |
| 6 | Bling |
| 7 | Shimmer |
| 8 | Toxin |
Harris, Jonathan M (2000). Basic Principles of Sustainable Development. Medford USA: Tufts University
Tošić, Jelica (2006). Ecocriticism – interdisciplinary study of Literature and Environment. Working and Living Environmental Protection, 3/1, 43-50
United Nations (2013). World Economic and Social Survey. New York, USA
Woodward, Tessa (2015). A framework for learning creativity. In Alan Maley and Nik Peachey (Eds.). Creativity in the English Language Classroom (pp. 150-157). London: British Council
Wright, Andrew (2015). Medium: companion or slave? In Alan Maley and Nik Peachey (Eds.). Creativity in the English Language Classroom (pp. 14-23). London: British Council
Electronic sources
Advocate Jack Ma hosts Secretary-General and numerous dignitaries for a Philanthropy Conference (2016, Jul 09). Retrieved from:
www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/
Eldis - Electronic Development and Environment Information System (2016). Retrieved 08 Aug 2016 from:www.eldis.org
Singh, Jasmine (2016, Aug 08). Detoxing Fashion. Tribune Life + Style p.1. Retrieved from: http://epaper.tribuneindia.com/899054/Life-Style/LS_08_August_2016
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals - 13. Retrieved 29 Jul 2016 from:
www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change-2/
United Nations Sustainable Development Climate Change. Retrieved 08 Aug 2016 from:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/climatechange
UNESCO: Addressing Climate Change. Available from
http://en.unesco.org/themes/addressing-climate-change
UNESCO: Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future (TLSF). Retrieved 08 Aug 2016 from: www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/
United Nations Climate Action: Why it Matters. Retrieved 10 Aug 2015 from:
www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment
How does climate change occur? Retrieved 07 Sep 2016 from:
http://why-sci.com/climate-change/
A Car that Runs on Air. Available at:
www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/alternative-power-a-car-runs-air
Environmental Lessons (Teacher.org). Available at:
www.teacher.org/lesson-plans/environmental/
‘How Green Are you?’ (TeachingEnglish). Available at:
www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/how-green-are-you
Coupe, L (Ed..). (2000). The Green Studies Reader: From Romanticism to Ecocriticism. London: Routledge
Heise, UK (2006). The Hitchhiker's Guide to Ecocriticism. PMLA, 121/2: 503-516.
Jha, Shivani (2015). Ecocritical Readings: Rethinking Nature and Environment. New Delhi: Partridge
Climate Change
Conservation video - Julia Roberts - www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmVLcj-XKnM
Lazy person’s guide to saving the world. Available at:
www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/takeaction/
Poems on Climate Change. Available at:
www.theguardian.com/environment/series/keep-it-in-the-ground-a-poem-a-day
These 5 Little-Known Effects Of Climate Change May Surprise You, But Are Worth Knowing About. Available at:
http://aplus.com/a/5-unexpected-consequences-climate-change
UN Documents: Gathering a Body of Global Agreements. Available at:
www.un-documents.net/
UN Sustainable Development Goals. Available at:
www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
UN Sustainable Development Newsletter (to subscribe):
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdinaction/newsletter
UN Sustainable Development Resource Library. Available at:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/resourcelibrary
UN SD Videos. Available at:
www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/videos/
Ecocriticism
Ecocriticism (1960-Present). Available at:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/13/
General Readings on Ecocriticism. Available at:
www.shmoop.com/ecocriticism/
Howarth, William 1996. Some principles of Ecocrticism. Available at:
http://go-dl.eve-files.com/media/0912/Some_Principles.pdf
Please check the Creative Methodology for the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Methodology & Language for Secondary course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Teaching Advanced Students course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the CLIL for Secondary course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Practical Uses of Technology in the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.
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