RAISING ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS IN ENGLISH CLASSROOM

Baiburova O.V.1, Polyakova S.V.2

1PhD, Associate professor, The Department of English Professional Communication, 2PhD, Associate professor, The Department of English Language; and Intercultural Communication,

Perm State University

RAISING ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS IN ENGLISH CLASSROOM

 

Summary

The purpose of this article is to reveal the ways of raising environmental awareness while teaching General English to the sciences and the humanities students at Perm State University. By applying case study, telebridge project and study through research techniques, we offer Russian and foreign students to analyse various real life situations and materials related to the environment. The findings show that the students develop environmental competence while discussing and interpreting them in view of the context in different environmentally related disciplines.

Key words: environmental awareness, innovative educational tools, General English course, university students.

Introduction

Various environmental issues have become an integral part of modern education. From early childhood, kids are taught to keep their neighbourhood neat and tidy. They learn how important it is to help animals and plants. At school, pupils discuss ecological problems more widely. Nature Study, Biology, Geography, Literature and other school subjects gradually raise teenagers’ environmental awareness adding new and more complex concepts and ideas to the general understanding. Foreign languages play an important role in the process ensuring the metasubject results of learning. Having entered a university, students advance their understanding of the concept of sustainable development as well as acquire specialized environmental knowledge relevant for their future career.

Materials and methods

Most General English textbooks recommended for undergraduate studies at Perm State University address the idea of thinking green, but these materials do not usually represent a systematic approach, touching upon some of the environmental issues [3]. Another drawback of the conventional approach is a lack of interdisciplinary interaction between related sciences, namely geology, hydrology, ecology, biology, chemistry and physics, social sciences and environmental issues. Thus, new types of teaching materials for educating Bachelor, Master and postgraduate students are necessary to develop.

In this paper we consider some innovative educational tools based on the learner-centered approach, cognitivism and connectivism in the digital era. The learner-centered or student-centered approach includes methods of teaching that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student. The students and the teachers become partners in the learning/teaching process. The primary goal of the teacher is to facilitate students’ learning and comprehension of the subject material. We fully agree with Nunan’s view on learner-centeredness, who says that “it is a matter of educating learners so that they can gradually assume greater responsibility for their own learning” [4].

Discussing global ecological problems is one of the possible ways of training environmental awareness. Another way to focus attention on the subject is case study that proves especially effective through an example that resonates. Both tools can be realized through intercultural telebridges.

English teachers of Perm State University regularly organize telebridges between Perm and American universities to discuss various issues [5, 194]. This year one of the events was devoted to Flint water crisis. Students of Central Michigan University conducted a study of the 2016 technological disaster in Flint, Michigan, USA during which over 100,000 of the city’s residents were exposed to high levels of lead in drinking water. To show how dangerous the situation in Flint was, American students used a “shock” effect and entitled their presentation “#276 Missing” symbolizing 276 mothers and babies who had fallen victim to spontaneous abortions caused by lead poisoning. Knowledge is power and the case study may ensure both Russian and American students know the potential risks and instill a sense of responsibility towards self-awareness of risk factors regarding lead exposure and poisoning and promote health-saving technologies.

One more innovative way to raise environmental awareness is studying through research. A great example of this kind is the idea of creating “real-world” leaning experience by learning science in non-traditional places (zoos, museums, parks, educational tours etc.). This approach can be realized through the concept of ecological tourism discussed by Joseph M. Lane & Joseph P. Stoltman in 2016 [1]. The authors focus on human-environmental interaction and analyse the potential for educational tour guides to incorporate science, environmental, and geographic content into existing tour presentations. Non-traditional methods of this kind can complement traditional classroom activities adding fundamental, necessary and valuable knowledge to the formal education.

The PSU students read the article, watched the video, prepared by Joseph M. Lane and discussed the prospects of ecological tourism with this American professor and his students at Delta State University in one of the teleconfereces.

An important thing to be kept in mind is that any ecological problem can be discussed from different points of view: personal, small group, governmental / non-governmental organizations and international organizations. We think that all the perspectives should be combined to ensure personal involvement into the issue. For example, the lack of access to water and sanitation can be discussed through exploring the website of any international organization like “Green Cross International” or “Green Peace”; researching the local situation and from the personal point of view. The problem is traditionally attributed to the developing countries, but Flint water crisis in one of the most technologically developed countries and numerous local reports about spring melt water in most Russian regions show that this challenge does exist for every person in the world and it should be discussed in English classroom.

Another global problem that can be addressed via a project-based study is waste disposal. The students are offered to find and compare the materials related to the 3 R’s. As a result of team work projects they found that the concept of 3 R’s (reduce – reuse – recycle) is taught in most European countries and the USA for many years. In Russia, we still teach children not to drop litter in the streets and throw plastic bottles into a special container. In some public places, there are separate collection facilities for glass, plastic and paper. While Russia is still trying to implement the concept of 3 R’s, Bea Johnson (an American housewife of French origin) has suggested the concept of 5 R’s: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (and only in that order) [7]. The latter approach is aimed at avoiding as much waste as possible rather than recycling as much as you can. “Cutting waste in a household is quite simple if you follow these five easy steps: refuse what you do not need; reduce what you do need; reuse what you consume; recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce, or reuse; and rot (compost) the rest” [2,14]. As a result of the project the students comprehend the idea of the new environmental philosophy. The new popular philosophy makes us responsible for the wastes we produce. For young people it is much clearer when it is explained by a peer, not an adult.

It should be noted that, an English teacher can find a suitable video at YouTube.com. However, they should be careful to watch those videos before showing them to the students as they may contain some informal and inappropriate vocabulary or the speaker may have a strong accent, like French accent peculiar to Bea Johnson herself [7].

Finally, it is important to tune your lesson according to your students’ specialty, as students of different departments may be interested in different approaches to environmental issues. For instance, while discussing water contamination, biologists may focus on the challenges to biodiversity, chemists may need to study the chemical composition of water, social workers should concentrate on the assistance to the people affected by the contamination and lawyers must be able to apply environmental justice [6, 234].

Conclusion

The educational tools like case study and project-based learning are the most preferable ways of raising environmental awareness and General English language learning. They proved to have efficient potential for building environmental awareness and improving intercultural competence in students, expanding their critical thinking skills and knowledge of Academic English in particular social areas such as environmental tourism, water consumption and environmental justice.

References

  1. Joseph M. Lane & Joseph P. Stoltman (2016) Guided Educational Tourism as Informal Physical Geography Education on St. Helena Island, Michigan, Journal of Geography, DOI: 10.1080/00221341.2016.1206953.
  2. Johnson B (2013) Zero Waste Home. Scribner, 2013. P. 14.
  3. Nunan D. (2012) Learner-Centered English Language Education. New York: Routledge. 304 pp.
  4. O’Connell S. (2010) Focus on IELTS, Foundation.Pearson Longman. 264 pp.
  5. Polyakova S., Remizova V., Erzikova E. (2015) Telebridge Project “Water Issues: Russian-American Students’ Perspectives”. Foreign Languages in the Context of Culture. PSU. PP. 194-198.
  6. Tietenberg T., Lewis L. (2011) Environmental and Natural Resource Economics. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education Inc., 2011. 9th edition. 696 pp.
  7. Zerowastehome https://zerowastehome.com (date of access: 20.04.2019).