Sustainability is a priority among the institutions and countries seeking to implement the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN, 2018). At the same time, Higher Education (HE) institutions prioritise annual global performance rankings, performance metrics, and impact assessments, which can include seeking evidence of the contributions that teaching and research make to SDGs. Academics and educators are encouraged to view SDGs and the environment as critical components of the twenty-first-century curriculum. In language syllabi, sustainability issues can be addressed in a number of ways. Environmental issues can be explored through discussions, debates, or the process of building an appropriate lexicon for the subject. However, a challenge remains: How do educators develop materials and lessons to foster appropriate linguistic abilities for the here-and-now while also doing justice to broader educational aims that have "an enduring influence on the future attitudes and personalities of their students" (Maley & Peachey, 2017, p. 7)? It is a challenge that calls for a language pedagogy that puts learners centre stage as meaning-makers and designers of their future (Serafini & Gee, 2017).
This paper reports on how I implemented a student-centred, expansive language pedagogy by adopting an enquiry-based approach to materials development. More specifically, I used Exploratory Practice (EP) (Allwright & Hanks, 2009; Slimani-Rolls & Kiely, 2018) to encourage students to build an embodied understanding of environmental issues. First, EP is introduced, particularly its epistemological and ethical framework, which puts sustainability at the core of its practice. Second, the paper illustrates the EP process of classroom materials development, which emerges synergistically through my students and I engaging in cross-puzzling and investigations revolving around the idea of the Anthropocene. The shared understanding developed through EP can draw attention to institutional and personal challenges, such as top-down HE institutional constraints that encourage linear, one-size-fits-all pedagogical materials. I discuss how my own embodied understanding, developed in my participation in an international and cross-disciplinary educational project concerned with the Anthropocene, has meshed with my learners' embodied understanding, arriving at a shared one. Third, and finally, the paper reflects on how an enquiry-based approach to classroom materials development and implementation responds to SDGs and global environmental challenges, and it encourages language teachers to develop sustainability and inclusivity through practitioner-research communities of practice.
References
Allwright, D., & Hanks, J. (2009). The developing language learner: An introduction to Exploratory Practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
Maley, A., & Peachey, N. (Eds.) (2017). Integrating global issues in the creative English language classroom: With reference to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. British Council. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/PUB_29200_Creativity_UN_SDG_v4S_WEB.pdf
Serafini, F., & Gee, E. (Eds.). (2017). Remixing multiliteracies: Theory and practice from New London to New Times. Teachers' College Press.
Slimani-Rolls, A., & Kiely, R. (2018). Exploratory Practice in language education: How teachers teach and learn. In A. Slimani-Rolls & R. Kiely (Eds.), Exploratory Practice for continuing professional development (pp. 5–27). Palgrave Macmillan.
UN. (2018). Do you know all 17 SDGs?THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development (un.org).
