ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION THROUGH LANGUAGE TEACHING: EXAMINING ECO-CRITICAL DISCOURSES IN EFL TEXTBOOKS IN BANGLADESH

This study critically examines eco-critical discourses in EFL textbooks in Bangladesh and explores how these discourses foster environmental education. We selected secondary-level (grades 7, 8, and 9/10) EFL textbooks used in government schools. We used a qualitative descriptive design to examine selected textbook lessons. The collected data was analyzed using the reflexive thematic analysis method to identify recurring themes and patterns related to environmental discourses and representations. Analysis was guided by the framework of eco-critical language awareness and environmental literacy. Findings reveal that eco-critical discourses in the textbooks meaningfully construct environmental literacy. The textbooks present local sustainable issues in Bangladesh. By presenting eco-critical discourses, the textbooks retain ecopedagogical potential to stimulate the ecoconsciousness of learners. However, at the macro level, the textbooks conceal the socio-political and economic backing of the environmental issues. In this regard, the findings suggest that EFL curriculum designers and policymakers should integrate critically enhanced eco-critical knowledge that can explicitly foreground ecopedagogical orientations to promote environmental education while sustaining nature’s intrinsic value. The study suggests how teacher educators, textbook writers, and teachers can move beyond the treatment of environmental issues as peripheral topics towards their meaningful incorporation into language teaching and learning.