The Climate Connection (#TheClimateConnection) is a new podcast series from the British Council which explores the relationship between the climate crisis and l...
In our final episode, we draw together some of the main themes of this series and explore how language learning and the climate crisis should not be looked at in isolation, but rather how they are related to wider social justice issues. Renowned language expert Suzanne Romaine discusses some of her recent research into language and sustainable development, and the links between the climate crisis and language death. In our second interview, we hear from Mike Solly about how the British Council’s practices and values are developing with regards to the climate crisis, and from Mariana Roccia who focuses on topics as diverse as ecotourism, ecowriting and ecolinguistics. Our final From the Field is a ‘vox pop special’, where we find out more from our listeners all around the world about language teacher initiatives to fight the climate crisis. Our last Green Glossary looks at two more words which we haven’t had the opportunity to look at elsewhere in the series, namely ‘greenwash’ and ‘morbique’.Download the show notes, transcript and bonus material from our TeachingEnglish website
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40:03
Environmental writes
In episode 9 we explore how the global climate crisis is represented in English language textbooks. From the practitioner side, the teacher, researcher and textbook writer George Jacobs explores how the climate crisis can successfully be integrated into language learning, so as to engage and inspire learners. From the publisher side, Andrew Robinson from National Geographic Learning and Angelica Manca from Hoopla Education talk about how their companies have responded to environmental challenges, both in terms of their own business practices, and in the kind of ELT books which they are publishing. In From the Field, we hear from Sheena Adams, who has worked with a group of Inuvialuktun elders in Canada’s Northwest Territories to create a new vocabulary of renewable energy terminology so that they can more effectively talk about – and solve – some of the new challenges presented by the climate crisis.In the penultimate Green Glossary, the team share some of their favourite climate-related words which we haven’t had a chance to discuss in the series so far.Visit TeachingEnglish for show notes and bonus material
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48:23
Present tense
Anxiety about the climate is a serious and growing problem, in particular amongst young people. In Episode 8, Caroline Hickman from the Climate Psychology Alliance explores this phenomenon. She discusses how eco anxiety emerges, how it can affect learning, how it can be managed, and how language can act as a ‘safe space’ where these anxieties can be addressed. In From the Field, we hear from Malaika, an incredible school in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is doing all it can to be self-sufficient and to embed climate responsibility in everything that it does, and how this can create resilience. The Green Glossary, meanwhile, focuses on the etymology of ‘fossil fuel’, and considers the process of ‘register shift’, that is, how the meaning of words can change over time.Visit TeachingEnglish to find show notes and additional resources
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47:20
Natural language
Episode 7 is all about how language shapes our environment and how the environment shapes our language. In exploring this topic, we talk to two renowned academics working in this field. Firstly, we talk to Arran Stibbe, who guides us through the world of ecolinguistics, looking at how language choices really do matter with regards to the environment and how they can be a powerful weapon in fighting the climate crisis. This theme is picked up in From the Field, where we hear from the innovative Living-Language-Land project, which is attempting to create a living lexicon – a word bank drawn from minority and disappearing languages in relation to land and nature. This global approach is echoed in The Green Glossary, where climate vocabulary in languages other than English, such as flygskam (Swedish), Heißzeit (German) and lonu gan’du (Dhivevi) are discussed. In our second interview, we talk to Ros Appleby, who talks about climate refugees, rewilding pedagogy, and how she created an English language course based on her experience of swimming with sharks.Visit TeachingEnglish to find show notes and additional resources
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50:08
Global Schooling
The focus of episode 6 is on educational institutions themselves, and what they can do to promote climate literacy. Our first guest is Asha Alexander, the dynamic principal of a large kindergarten in Dubai and UN climate champion who is a pioneer in climate literacy. in From the Field, we hear from Malaika, an incredible school in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is doing all it can to be self-sufficient and to embed climate responsibility in everything that it does. Similarly, in our second interview, Beccy Wrigglesworth from International House World talks about their environmental sustainability programme, joining Rose Aylett in reflecting on the role of the ELT industry as a whole in creating a more just world, and how language can be a central part of that. The Green Glossary takes us on a whistle-stop tour of localized varieties of English spoken around the world, looking at words including Kaitiakitangai (Māori), Bayanihan (Tagalog) and jugaad (Hindi). Download the show notes and extras from TeachingEnglish
The Climate Connection (#TheClimateConnection) is a new podcast series from the British Council which explores the relationship between the climate crisis and language education. Across the ten episodes, we’ll hear from a wide range of leading practitioners working in the sector – teachers, trainers, researchers, publishers and authors. We’ll travel from Colombia to China, Moldova to Mali, and Palestine to Poland in our quest to share what’s happening at the cutting edge of climate action in language education. In partnership with the Oxford English Dictionary, we’ll also learn more about the origins of climate-related language, in both English and other languages. Visit https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/podcast for more information and additional content.
Colombia