Research Seminar - Promoting children’s environmental responsibility in the EFL classroom

Promoting children’s environmental responsibility in the EFL classroom

Presented by: Dr Valentina Adami

Date: Friday 25 August 2023
Time: 12-1pm
Location: Online via Zoom and in-person at the SCA Writer's Studio (Level 6, Michie Building)

Abstract

In recent years, several initiatives such as the European Green Deal (2019), GreenComp (2022) and UNESCO’s Global Action Program on Education for Sustainable Development (GAP on ESD, 2015-2019) have been taking place in the EU and all over the world to support environmental education; however, “learning for environmental sustainability is not yet a systemic feature of policy and practice in the EU” (European Commission, 2022, p. 1). Both UNESCO and the EU have repeatedly highlighted the importance of starting education for sustainability (EfS) or Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) from early childhood through a learner-centred approach that involves young people in meaningful ways. Valentina’s presentation will illustrate her current research project, which aims at developing an integrated curriculum to introduce environmental education in the EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom in primary schools. After a brief overview of the theoretical framework at the basis of her research, and of the current situation of environmental education in Italy, the EU and worldwide, Valentina will discuss how and why EFL teachers could and should play a key role in cultivating children’s environmental responsibility. 

Presenter

Valentina Adami is a tenure-track researcher of English linguistics at the University of Bergamo, Department of Human and Social Sciences, where she is the international coordinator for the degree in Primary Teacher Education. She currently teaches English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to psychology and pedagogy students, and she coordinates the English teaching methodology workshops for primary education students. Her current fields of research include ecolinguistics and ecocriticism, with a focus on environmental communication; teaching English to young learners (TEYL) through storytelling, CLIL and task-based approaches; and environmental education. She has also previously worked on trauma fiction, and her PhD (2010) was a study of bioethical issues in Margaret Atwood’s speculative fiction.