ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (original) (raw)
Related papers
2017
Teacher education can make an important contribution to raising understanding of Sustainable Development Goals within education. Education for sustainable development (ESD) and global citizenship education (GCED), human rights, peace and inter-cultural understanding can be seen within a range of courses for the initial training and continuing professional development of teachers. However, in many instances they are seen as optional extras to core courses. There is a tendency in many countries for ESD and GCED to be promoted within teacher education along parallel lines. To maximise impact, there is a need for these initiatives to come more closely together. ESD and GCED approaches tend to promote a social constructivist approach to teaching and learning. This can present major challenges to securing broader support because it is counter to dominant approaches to the training and education of teachers. Civil society organisations and policy-makers outside of education have tended to have a major influence in determining the practices of ESD and GCED within teacher education. To measure progress, indicators need to be developed that make connections between ESD and GCED and current themes within education such as global competencies, cultural understanding and moral and social purpose of teaching. Networks, be they national, regional or international, can play an important role in sharing expertise and influencing policy-makers.
Perceptions of Iraqi EFL Pre-service Teachers of Sustainable Development
Journal Of Educational and Psychological Researches, 2023
Sustainable development (SD) is an improvement that meets present needs but jeopardizes the ability of new populations to do the same. It is vital to acquaint EFL students with the terminology and idiomatic expressions of this discipline. Nowadays, sustainable development and the environment have been prioritized in every aspect of life. Since culture and the teaching of Foreign language English cannot be separated, the English language becomes the mean of communication in health, economics, education, and politics. Thus, integrating sustainable development goals within language learning and teaching is very important. This descriptive quantitative study aims to investigate the perception of EFL pre-service teachers of sustainable development. Students in their fourth year at the "College of Education for Women" for the academic year 2021-2022 are selected as the study sample and Balakrishna et al (2020) questionnaire is adopted and modified to be used as the study tool. The validity and reliability of the study tool have been ascertained by using face validity and the Alpha Cronbach formula respectively. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, weighting means, percentages) are used to find the results. The results indicate that EFL student-teachers' perception of sustainable development is moderate in their perception of sustainable development. Accordingly, suitable recommendations and suggestions are set forward.
2006
As educators and policymakers in all levels and modes of education will agree, there are innumerable frameworks, fields and movement for reforming and transforming educational institutions and systems to fulfill desired visions, goals and objectives of a “better” world for all peoples, societies and the global community. Each framework or field invariably develops over time its own relevant core conceptual issues, methodologies, analytical “language” and institutional practice. However, based on the learnings and “wisdom” accumulated from diverse experiences, implementation, social advocacy and research, initial conceptual frameworks often “evolve” in complexity and maturity.
The teacher is the most important element in any educational program. It is the teacher who is responsible for implementation of the educational processes at any stage. This shows that it is imperative to invest in the preparation of teachers, so that the future of the nation is secure. Also, this is a well documented fact that the quality of teacher education has a direct bearing on the kind of education their students would obtain. It is hence implied that how the teachers are educated has to happen through a considerate, well- supervised and well thought out programs and curriculum. We must create such teachers who can educate students and teach them to become what we foresee our children to be in the future. If we want our students to be skillful, having knowledge of sustainable development and adopting these values in real life too, we must have our teachers trained with this philosophy. This transformation may come about in young children when their educators, i.e. teachers are educated in a holistic manner so that what teachers do is a synonym of their belief system. This may have a deeper influence on the thoughts of young children. It is well known that the quality and extent of learner achievement are determined primarily by teacher competence, sensitivity and motivation. Also, when the goal happens to be sustainable development then training of teachers with this outlook becomes even more important. They ought to be trained and educated how to teach what they teach in a sustainable manner. Therefore, integration of values of sustainable development in teacher education program is the necessary demand to have aware teachers who would produce students fully aware of intricacies of economic, political, global and environmental aspects of the reality they are present in. Our students need to be trained to handle and have a dialogue about big issues such as inequality, public health, global consumption, biodiversity loss and the limits of natural systems. In this paper, we have made an attempt to establish the balance, if any, between the purpose of teacher education as envisioned in UNESCO document and what actually is followed and even mentioned in B. Ed curriculum and the training institutes. Also to explore is there any gaps? What is the nature of these gaps and what plausible steps as a collective response we all must raise? Our paper will shed light on these aspects.
Learning about Sustainable Development Goals through English Language Teaching
Research in Social Sciences and Technology, 2020
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of Sustainable Development (SD) and its goals to the students of the Faculty of Education, future teachers, in order to become skilled and knowledgeable and then introduce these Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to their students. As such, this study tries to link the concept of English Language Learning (ELL), English Language Teaching (ELT), and the SDGs as a type of all-inclusiveness within the "3 Ps": Planet, People, and Profit. The instrument used for the purpose of this study was an online questionnaire sent to the students of the Faculty of Education in Kosovo. The total number of participants was 89. The students' responses revealed that 60 percent of the future teachers are aware of the SD concept; however, the results indicate that not all "3 Ps" are hit upon by the future teachers. Based on the results, the most common areas of interest and societal needs of learning about SDGs are related to education, gender equality, good health and wellbeing, alleviation of poverty, and decent work and economics. These same goals are also hit upon in ELT classes. The study concludes that Kosovo's future teachers are more concerned about issues related to social issues-"P-People"-followed by goals related to "P-Profit," while goals related to "P-Planet," the environment, are left behind. Future teachers' knowledge about SDGs is vital, for there is a significant direct impact of learning about specific SDGs in higher education institutions, and the application of SDG topics in English language classes can infuse the SD concepts.
Pedagogical concerns and challenges of Education for Sustainable Development
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2014
Global environment and ecology are rapidly becoming the demanding subjects of discussions necessitating decision and action in the required direction as the environmental problems have emerged due to exploitation of natural resources for want of basic needs and so called the developmental measures. The developed and the developing countries share the environmental concerns alike which have their roots in societal, economical and ecological bases. Therefore, Sustainable Development is grounded on four independent systems such as bio-physical, economic, social and political. It supports interrelated principles such as peace, equity, democracy, appropriate development and conservation for sustainable living. Education has been acknowledged worldwide as a fundamental tool and one of the major means of sustaining the resources and its judicious utility, so that the earth resources could be protected for future generations. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an emerging concept that seeks to empower people of all ages in the world to assume responsibility for creating a sustainable future. The role of education is the major determinant in increasing creativity, rationality, problem-solving abilities, critical and analytical mindedness needed to foster the increasingly complex cultural, social and technological decisions involved in sustainable development. This paper examines some of the above critical concerns and issues related to sustainable development. It highlights the need for an interdisciplinary and a holistic approach to ESD in school education which is value driven, future and action oriented in nature. It attempts to discuss an across-the-curriculum approach to education for a sustainable future and the pedagogic concerns required to examine the local as well as global issues related to sustainable development.
Education within Sustainable Development: Critical Thinking Formation on ESL Class
E3S Web of Conferences
The article is devoted to consideration of the critical thinking formation in course of foreign language teaching within the education for sustainable development as a crucial skill of perspective employee and a future leader of Russian employment market. The necessity to include the component of problem education and critical thinking methodology in course of the foreign language class is justified along with analysis of the basic principles of critical thinking and certain strategies that can be implied in class. This model targets communicative language competences of students as well as critical thinking due to interconnection of various types of cognitive activities in class. The role in personality development of the students is considered along with the formation and enhancing of critical thinking skills within the modern personality-oriented approach.
Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Education. An International Perspective
Environmental Education, 2019
Teacher education is a key prerequisite for the promotion of education for sustainable development (ESD) at schools. Whether school-based education processes and the schools themselves can be shaped as sustainable educational institutions, depends largely on the knowledge, competencies, attitudes and values of the teachers, but also on the interaction with institutional frameworks and curricular structures. However, looking in detail at the state of teacher education for sustainable development in Germany, it becomes clear that the field is still very much characterised by courses and projects in individual disciplines. To date, there are hardly any structural changes in teacher education and training, and there is a need for development in the school structures and curricular requirements in order to promote the ESD concept. Therefore, in the coming years in the context of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD, a stronger and faster integration of ESD into the structures of teacher education and the fostering of ESD practice should be given more importance.
Society & Change, 2023
The paper aims to emphasize greening the classroom by integrating environmental and sustainability issues into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) lessons, which fundamentally means to be environmentally-aware and eco-conscious. Teaching EFL can provide the seamless opportunities to incorporate the growing consciousness of the green movement. Thus, teaching sustainability refers to teach students about the environment, climate change and conservation, and make them active players in the sustainability movement. However, while teaching English the pedagogy needs to focus not only on teaching the language but also the content. This can be executed through the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) lessons. The present paper aims to analyze the extent of teaching sustainability in EFL classrooms at the primary level in Bangladesh and find out how effective the CLIL lessons for EFL competency based on sustainability issues. The study is a mixed method research which is descriptive in type. Content analysis, survey, interview and classroom observation have been performed to collect the data. Samples (141 students and 5 teachers) have been taken from 4 primary schools (urban, semi-urban and rural areas) in Bangladesh to find the real scenario of teaching sustainability and students’ awareness of sustainability along with their language learning. Findings of the study show students enjoy CLIL lessons based on sustainability issues. Moreover, they are being exposed to the language and learn the language related to the lesson. It’s also a nice change for the TEFL teachers to be able to teach content rather than language. However, the study shows that though CLIL lessons based on sustainability issues is enjoyable to the students and convenient for the teachers, it has several challenges faced by two main stakeholders - students and teachers. The challenges are appropriate content, shortage of trained teachers, classical (GTM and DM) pedagogical method, non-interactive classes etc. Based on the data and insights found from the study, the research recommends for extensive training of EFL teachers about the effective application of CLIL; the class duration should be increased; flexibility in the syllabus according to students’ need and interest; effective study materials etc. Keywords: Sustainable Development, Content and Language Integrated Learning, Foreign Language Teaching, Primary Education
International Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR), 2024
Being one of the signatories of the United Nations (2015) Sustainable Development Goals, Bangladesh is committed to achieving the goals which is also the demand of time in this 21st century. To attain sustainability for a habitable future, teaching sustainability is a must that is possible to achieve in the English language classroom. The research paper aims to find teachers’ perceptions of ensuring teaching sustainability in the English language classroom at the primary level of education in Bangladesh. It analyses the contents of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) approved English textbook of Class-V to see how many of them align with the criteria of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It also tries to identify the pedagogy of English language teaching at the primary level from the teachers’ perspectives so that the researchers can also comprehend their perceptions of students’ current learning outcomes. The study grounded on the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach is mixed method research that is descriptive in type. Content analysis, surveys, and interviews of teachers are done to collect the data. The research involves 4 primary school teachers in Bangladesh to understand their perception of teaching sustainability and students’ sustainability awareness along with their language skills. In this research, the purposive sampling of non-probability sampling has been used. The study finds teachers’ positive approach to ensuring teaching sustainability following the existing textbook. However, their mixed perception is uncovered about integrating CLIL for building an advantageous situation for both teachers and students to result in order to achieve sustainable goals and prepare students better for the future. Keywords: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), CLIL, Environment, Language and Sustainability