When we started ELTfootprint, we met ELT pioneers who had already been fighting the climate crisis and biodiversity loss for a long time. Unsurprising really, until you consider that they had been doing so without the mass support of groups like ours, in an age when the natural world was rarely front-page news. Owain Llewelyn is one of these people; with over seven years writing lesson plans for a greener future and sharing them on his site, eltsustainable.com, he’s built up a comprehensive bank of resources for ELT. It’s a place we keep coming back to; you may well have visited it, as Owain regularly posts topical lessons on the group page.
I took part in Owain’s first ‘Language Teaching for the Planet’ lesson-planning course because I’m interested in exploring the possibilities of bringing the crisis into my teaching. It’s practical, principled guidance; I learned a lot, not just through Owain’s input but also through discussing the issues among the community of participants.
I was thrilled when Owain asked if I could help out on the second course. With more teachers enrolled (quite a few who are members of the ELT Footprint Facebook group and including Kath Bilsborough) there was an even greater buzz in the chat room. The results were so good, Owain has compiled the lessons into a book, free for you to download and use in class.
Get your free book of seven lessons here!
3 thoughts on “Language Teaching for the Planet – a new course for lessons about a sustainable future”
Thanks Dan, I will try these out in my ESOL classes. I can also recommend New Internationalist’s suite of alt-ELT lessons. Many are about the climate crisis but they also cover a lot of very interesting political perspectives that mainstream publishers won’t touch. I’ve used a lot of them with ESOL students, who really enjoy them. Check it out: https://eewiki.newint.org/index.php/Ready_Lessons.
Thank you for the kind words! I’m really happy you have enjoyed being both a participant and helping out on the second course! I would like to say a big thank you to ELT Footprint. I don’t think I could have got the course of the ground without the support of this fantastic group! Looking forward to the third running of the course starting January 21st – feel free to visit https://eltsustainable.thinkific.com if you’d like to find out more!
What a joy! we must use creative resources in classrooms around the world. I used to be an EFL teacher and this makes me want to go back to teaching! what a great tool. Thanks for sharing.