Integrating English Education and Education for Sustainability in the Galapagos

• In Event: 25.082 - Fairmont Royal York Roundtable Session Three
  In Roundtable Session: 25.082-10 - Education for Sustainability: A Public-Private Partnership for Transforming Education in the Galapagos

Abstract

Beginning with the 2016-2017 academic year, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education has mandated that English instruction begin in second grade and continue through upper secondary education. By completion of secondary education, students should be independent users of social and academic English at intermediate proficiency level B1as measured by the Common European Framework of Reference, an internationally recognized language proficiency scale.. Historically Ecuador has suffered from a shortage of qualified teachers, both in English proficiency and in pedagogical preparation. Results of a 2012 national study by SENESCYT, the Ecuadorian ministry of higher education, indicated that 74% of teachers of English in Ecuadorian public schools demonstrated an English proficiency level below B1 (El Telégrafo, 2014). The 2016 English curriculum advocates both communicative language teaching and content and language integrated learning. The challenge facing Ecuador is in building the capacity of English teachers in 1) English language proficiency, 2) language pedagogy, 3) incorporation of educational values found across the general educational curriculum (e.g., intercultural competence, critical thinking, and creativity through the arts), and 4) adapting and accommodating curriculum components (differentiating instruction and assessment). This is no different in the unique context of the Galapagos public schools, where education for sustainability as a context for language learning provides a content and thematic focus both relevant to learning about the ecosystems of the islands and how to live in them respectfully.

The English component of Education for Sustainability in the Galapagos was designed based on the 1) needs identified in classroom observation and interviews with stakeholders and teacher educators, 2) idea that communicative language teaching must be contextually appropriate in order to engage students in meaningful, cognitively rich interaction (Piccardo, Berchoud, Cignatta, Mentz, & Pamula, 2011; Piccardo, 2014), and 3) the notion that essential questions should guide intriguing unit and lesson design (McTighe & Wiggins, 2013; Curtain & Dahlberg, 2016). An international team of English teacher educators has begun delivering a professional development program (ongoing workshops and mentoring) that demonstrates how communicative language teaching can be used in teaching sustainability. Challenges include the wide range of English proficiency among the cohort of teachers, lack of familiarity with the 2016 English curriculum and communicative language teaching, and dependence on textbooks that do not address environmental sustainability. However, the cohort of teachers has expressed enthusiasm in the initial phase of professional development, even establishing a WhatsApp group to communicate with each other and with the teacher education team. Overall, teachers have indicated satisfaction with the workshops.

This presentation begins with an overview of the planning process. We explain how we have integrated resources related to environmental sustainability, local to the Galapagos, into the first English workshops. We offer an analysis of lessons, where teachers had moments of inspiration and where their reactions indicated that facilitators needed to clarify objectives. Finally, we note how, in the ongoing program, teachers have begun to assume the role of facilitator, while the teacher educators release control.

Authors

• Susan Huss-Lederman

• Hazel Acosta

• Agnes Orosz

• Elsa Schwaninger

• Jillian Marie Conry, Southern Methodist University

• Diego Roman, Southern Methodist University