2022 IATEFL Conference Plenary: Environmental Sustainability & ELT in 2022 – Which Way Now?

Abstract

We are all living through an unprecedented period of change and adjustment on a global scale, which affects every single one of us. How can our relationship with the environment be seen in terms of the recent pandemic?  Remote working has seen a temporary reduction in our impact on the environment, but it this move ‘online’ a transformative one, or is accelerating our path in the wrong direction?

We are now at a point where we can decide to return to our old ways of doing things – or follow a new path with lessons learned from lockdown. 

In this closing panel discussion, educators from Kenya, Algeria and Spain will talk to host, Sarah Mount, about their own experiences over the last 12 months. We will look at the very different contexts in which they work and how they are addressing environmental responsibility in their new working practices.

We will look at how the ways in which we teach have been affected by the recent Pandemic, how scientific explanation has increased our understanding of the effects of our relationship with the environment, and how can we put these lessons learned into practice.

Bio data

Geoffrey Maroko holds a PhD in applied linguistics from Kenyatta University. He is an associate professor of English and Linguistics and is currently the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Machakos University, Kenya. His teaching and research interests include linguistic field methods; language planning and management; language and healthcare; and language and culture. He is currently leading a three-year research project funded by the National Research Fund (NRF) entitled: A Situational Analysis of Intervention Measures in the Management of HIV/AIDS Prevalence in Kisii County. He has published in such areas as language teaching and testing; English for academic and research settings; language and culture;  Phonology; communication in healthcare situations; language management, and HIV/AIDS.

Owain Llewellyn is a passionate environmentalist and language teaching professional who once took part in direct action to prevent oil companies drilling nearby. As a language teacher he saw a new opportunity to raise awareness of environmental issues and bring the dialogue about sustainability into the classroom. Since 2012 he has run https://eltsustainable.org giving teachers the world over the opportunity to reach thousands of learners with engaging environment-themed lessons. Owain is a teacher of English, teacher trainer and academic manager. He’s currently writing an MA dissertation examining the learner experience in online language courses.

He works with teachers worldwide in bringing the dialogue around the environment into their class through numerous teacher development projects. These have included writing lesson plans on environment themes for the British Council myClass and English Online courses, writing a module for the British Council Climate Action in Language Education teacher development course and launching Language Teaching for the Planet online course as well as frequently delivering webinars. He is on the discussion panel at the 2022 IATEFL conference in Belfast.

Ceri Jones is a teacher, teacher educator, materials writer and online tutor. One of the co-founders of the award-winning teachers’ community, ELT Footprint, she is passionate about supporting teachers and educators in tackling the challenges involved in addressing environmental issues across all educational contexts.

She is currently involved in a research project which outlines the obstacles that stand in the way of ELT teachers and the integration of sustainability and environmental competences alongside the language curriculum in their classrooms. The research aims to highlight areas where schools, teacher educators, publishers and other organisations can support teachers in taking on this challenge, wherever they may be.

She is also involved with a fellow co-founder of ELT Footprint, Katherine Bilsborough, in promoting the development of teaching frameworks which can bridge the gap between ecoliteracy and communicative competence and lend a structure and a rationale for environment-based language lessons across all ages groups and language learning contexts.