Promoting ecological critical awareness through English Language Teaching: EFL teachers’ strategies and practices

Authors

  • Rachmawati Achadiyah English Education, Faculty of Tarbiyah, University of Kiai Abdullah Faqih

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26905/enjourme.v10i2.15514

Keywords:

Ecological critical awareness, EFL classroom, environmental issues learning

Abstract

The increasing prominence of English has made it a marker of social status, further strengthened by the Indonesian curriculum, which maintains English as a compulsory foreign language subject. This context offers opportunities for educators, particularly English teachers, to integrate knowledge from other disciplines. While previous studies often explored cultural integration within English teaching, few have examined the incorporation of environmental issues. This study fills that gap by exploring how EFL teachers integrate environmental topics to foster students’ ecological critical awareness. Five English teachers participated through interviews and document analysis, providing evidence of classroom practices that promote such awareness. The findings reveal that teaching materials, methodologies, and learning activities play essential roles in developing students’ ecological critical awareness. Teachers frequently use videos, reading passages with visuals, and environmental vocabulary as core materials. Project-based and problem-based learning serve as key approaches, while outdoor activities—such as field visits and interviews with local communities about environmental changes—help students understand real-world ecological impacts.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Achadiyah, R., & Azmi, M. (2023). HOTS Manifestation in English Summative Assessment. English Education:Journal of English Teaching and Research, 8(2), 220–231. https://doi.org/10.29407/jetar.v8i2.20915

Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027

Cheraghpour, G., Samvati, C., Maftoon, P., & Rashtchi, M. (2023). Shedding Light on Ecological Critical Language Awareness Construct : A Questionnaire Development and Validation Study in the Iranian EFL Context Shedding Light on Ecological Critical Language Awareness Construct : A Questionnaire Development and Validatio. September. https://doi.org/10.30486/RELP.2023.1973610.1417

Dasrita, Y., Saam, Z., Amin, B., & Siregar, Y. I. (2015). Kesadaran Lingkungan Siswa Sekolah Adiwiyata. Dinamika Lingkungan Indonesia, 2(1), 61. https://doi.org/10.31258/dli.2.1.p.61-64

Deetjen, C., & Ludwig, C. (2021). Going Green in the EFL Classroom: An Introduction. Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment, 12(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.37536/ecozona.2021.12.1.4294

Dianti, Y. (2017). 済無No Title No Title No Title. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 6(11), 951–952., 5–24. http://repo.iain-tulungagung.ac.id/5510/5/BAB 2.pdf

Ehara, Y., Baba, Y., Utiyama, M., & Sumita, E. (2016). Assessing translation ability through vocabulary ability assessment. IJCAI International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2016-Janua, 3712–3718.

Ginting, P., Algae, G., Hasnah, Y., Saragih, M., & Kharisma, A. (2024). The Embodiment of Environmental Discourse in Language Learning: A Critical Ecolinguistic Study of EFL Textbooks in Indonesia. In Language Related Research (Vol. 15, Issue 1). https://doi.org/10.29252/LRR.15.1.6

Hamed, M. S. E. M. (2021). Environmental Discourse in EFL Textbooks in Egypt: A Critical Ecolinguistics Case Study. CDELT Occasional Papers in the Development of English Education, 74(1), 281–328. https://doi.org/10.21608/opde.2021.195338

Hestiningtyas, W., Rizal, Y., & Rahmawati, F. (2021). Problem Based Learning Model Analysis in Improving Student’s Critical Thinking Ability. Economic Education Analysis Journal, 10(3), 543–553. https://doi.org/10.15294/eeaj.v10i3.50682

Jannah, W., & Wardah, W. (2022). an Analysis on Learning Strategies of Successful English Learners. Journal of English Education Program, 3(2), 126–135. https://doi.org/10.26418/jeep.v3i2.51103

Jena, F., Glas, K., & Jena, F. (2021). Ecology , Cultural Awareness , Anti-Racism and Critical Thinking : Integrating Multiple Perspectives in Foreign Language Teaching The Need to Combine Ecocritical and Postcolonial Perspectives Charting the trajectory of ecocritical or ecopedagogical public. 8–24.

Ma, L. (2021). An Immersive Context Teaching Method for College English Based on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Virtual Reality Technology. Mobile Information Systems, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/2637439

Maxwell, J. (2014). Designing a Qualitative Study. In The SAGE Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods (Issue July). https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483348858.n7

Mehler, A., & Melber, H. (2016). Across the spectrum. Africa Spectrum, 51(1), 3–4. https://doi.org/10.1177/000203971605100101

Misiaszek, G. (2017). Educating the Global Environmental Citizen: Understanding Ecopedagogy in Local and Global Contexts. In Educating the Global Environmental Citizen: Understanding Ecopedagogy in Local and Global Contexts (Issue January 2018). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315204345

Monday, T. U. (2020). Impacts of interview as research instrument of data collection in social sciences. Journal of Digital Art & Humanities, 1(1), 15–24.

Nanni, A., & Allan, L. (2020a). PBL and the New Ecological Paradigm: Fostering Environmental Awareness Through Project-Based Learning. The Journal of AsiaTEFL, 17(3), 1085–1092. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2020.17.3.25.1085

Nanni, A., & Allan, L. B. (2020b). Pbl and the new ecological paradigm: Fostering environmental awareness through project-based learning. Journal of Asia TEFL, 17(3), 1085–1092. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2020.17.3.25.185

Novawan, A., Alvares Tosalem, S. M. P., Walker, S. A., Ismailia, T., & Budi, A. S. (2022). Reframing Language Education in the Light of Ecological Linguistics Is the Ecological Perspective “Toxic” or “Vitamin”? Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 645(Icoship 2021), 1–10. http://ecolinguistics-association.org/

Nur, S., Anas, I., & Pilu, R. (2022). The Call for Environmentally-Based Language Teaching and Green Pedagogy: Climate Actions in Language Education. Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies, 4(1), 77–85. https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i1.9526

Palupi, M. E., & Arfani, S. (2023). English Learning Using Nature-Based Learning Methods To Increase Student Motivation. JELL (Journal of English Language and Literature) STIBA-IEC Jakarta, 8(02), 157–166. https://doi.org/10.37110/jell.v8i02.184

Putri, G. A. P. E. I. (2018). Critical environmental education in tertiary English language teaching (ELT): A collaborative digital storytelling project. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(2), 336–344. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v8i2.13280

Rachmajanti, S. (2017). Building Cultural Awareness and Critical Thinking Skills through Project-Based Task: A Workshop for Indonesian Context. KnE Social Sciences, 1(3), 498. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v1i3.772

Saiful, J. A. (2023). Eco-ELT for environmental research and praxis in ELT. Journal on English as a Foreign Language, 13(2), 373–398. https://doi.org/10.23971/jefl.v13i2.6335

Setyowati, R. N., Sari, M. M. K., & Habibah, S. M. (2020). Improving Critical Thinking Skills of Students through the Development of Teaching Materials. June 2019. https://doi.org/10.2991/icss-18.2018.50

Sholikhi, F., & Zuliansadewi, S. (2024). Exploring the Impact of Youtube on Public Administration Students’ Communication Skills. Journal of English Education Program, 5(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.26418/jeep.v5i1.71626

Syaputri, M. D., Devianty, S. M., Hukum, F., Katolik, U., Cendika, D., & Ajar, M. (2023). Meningkatkan Kesadaran Lingkungan dengan Metode Ajar Demonstrasi. 4(2), 128–140.

Tamaela, L. S. (2016). The Development of Environmental Song-Based Materials Using a Scientific Approach for Teaching English. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(10), 145–151. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1099546

Widana, I. W. (2017). Higher Order Thinking Skills Assessment (Hots). JISAE: Journal of Indonesian Student Assessment and Evaluation, 3(1), 32–44. https://doi.org/10.21009/jisae.v3i1.4859

Additional Files

Published

2025-12-31

How to Cite

Achadiyah, R. (2025). Promoting ecological critical awareness through English Language Teaching: EFL teachers’ strategies and practices. EnJourMe (English Journal of Merdeka) : Culture, Language, and Teaching of English, 10(2), 118–135. https://doi.org/10.26905/enjourme.v10i2.15514

Similar Articles

1 2 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.