In this seminar, we will take a look at global education and education for sustainable development as part of the UN Agenda 2030 and its commitment to the 17 SDGs. We will examine the role these approaches can play within a language-related curriculum and reflect how language education may inform these approaches, which have so far mostly been integrated into geography, politics or science education, but are still new to the language classroom. While language education has rather been focused on developing cultural competences, global education may provide (or add) a new direction for language education and relevance to the issues explored in language classrooms. As part of a critical and transformative pedagogy, ESD approaches invite us as educators to support our learners’ competences as world citizens who take responsibility in shaping social and sustainable futures.

We will discuss curriculum frameworks of ESD from an interdisciplinary and language-specific point of view, reflect relevant concepts and approaches and examine teaching materials and textbooks that have been developed both internationally and on a local level. A specific focus will be on the role of language, literature and cultural issues and the development of global education lessons.

Credit requirements: Active participation including obligatory readings, research and online assignments, and a teaching proposal for a complex competence-based task sequence in the EFL classroom (grades 5-13). Teaching proposals can be prepared in small groups (2-3 students each) and will be discussed in January/February. They are uploaded one week before we will discuss your proposal and presented in the form of a poster session.

The teaching proposal should include a central idea and learning outcomes, activities and materials for a competence- and task-based teaching unit in connection with one (or more) SDGs. A template will be provided to ensure a common learning outcome that can serve as a basis and a resource for ESD-related materials both for you and other language teachers. A bibliography and a list of useful links and materials as well as a list of SDG-related novels and films will be provided. You are, however, encouraged to do your own research on relevant topics, issues, or materials – there are countless topics, materials and issues to be explored.