Designing language learning materials for sustainability: an embodied approach

Sustainability is a key priority in education, with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) shaping both teaching and research. However, a challenge remains: how can pedagogical materials that develop linguistic abilities also foster sustainable learning that that transcends the here-and-now of a language lesson and has an enduring influence on students’ futures (Maley & Peachey, 2017), by supporting lifelong learning in a globally interconnected world (UNESCO, 2016)? This presentation reports on a materials design project that engages language learners with sustainability through experiential and embodied learning focused on the Anthropocene. Using an inquiry-based approach to materials development (Allwright & Hanks, 2009), the project encouraged students to experience language as embodied and entangled with the world as a “web of life” (Escobar, 2018). The inquiry explores how materials can reconnect language learning with ecological awareness and foster meaningful, transformative language education.