LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 25:12 December 2025
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Selvi M. Bunce, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate
         Nathan Mulder Bunce, M.A., Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Honorary Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

Celebrate India!
Unity in Diversity!!

HOME PAGE

Click Here for Back Issues of Language in India - From 2001

Poetic Encounter
Available in https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09TT86S4T

Poems
Naked: the honest browsings of two brown women
Available in https://www.amazon.in

Decrees
Available in https://www.amazon.com

BOOKS FOR YOU TO READ AND DOWNLOAD FREE!

REFERENCE MATERIALS

BACK ISSUES

  • E-mail your articles and book-length reports in Microsoft Word to languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.

  • PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES GIVEN IN HOME PAGE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LIST OF CONTENTS.

  • Your articles and book-length reports should be written following the APA, MLA, LSA, or IJDL Stylesheet.

  • The Editorial Board has the right to accept, reject, or suggest modifications to the articles submitted for publication, and to make suitable stylistic adjustments. High quality, academic integrity, ethics and morals are expected from the authors and discussants.

Copyright © 2025
M. S. Thirumalai

Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
11249 Oregon Circle
Bloomington, MN 55438
USA
Custom Search

Blending Climate Education with English Language Teaching in the Context of Barriers and Prospects

Dr. Brindha. K and
Sureka G, Ph.D.

Abstract

The integration of climate education into English Language Teaching (ELT) has emerged as an innovative and necessary approach in the 21st-century classroom. As environmental crises intensify, educators are increasingly challenged to equip students with the linguistic competence and critical awareness required to understand global climate issues. This paper explores the pedagogical possibilities and obstacles involved in embedding climate-related themes into ELT. It examines how climate topics can enrich language learning by providing authentic, meaningful content that promotes critical thinking, intercultural awareness, and communicative competence. Through content-based instruction, project-based learning, and multimodal tasks, teachers can design lessons that simultaneously develop language skills and environmental consciousness. However, several challenges hinder effective implementation, including teachers' limited training in climate literacy, insufficient classroom resources, curriculum constraints, and the difficulty of balancing language objectives with scientific content. Additionally, students’ varied backgrounds and levels of environmental awareness may influence classroom participation. Despite these hurdles, the integration of climate education offers significant opportunities to transform ELT into a platform for global citizenship and sustainability education. By merging climate content with language pedagogy, teachers can empower learners to articulate environmental concerns, participate in global dialogues, and become responsible agents of change. This paper ultimately argues that climate-focused ELT not only enhances linguistic development but also nurtures ecological responsibility, making it a vital component of modern education.

Keywords:Climate Education, Content-Based Instruction, English Language Teaching, Global Citizenship

Introduction

The growing urgency of climate change has transformed education systems worldwide, compelling educators to integrate environmental awareness into various disciplines. English Language Teaching (ELT), traditionally centered on linguistic and communicative competence, is increasingly being recognized as a powerful platform for addressing global environmental challenges. As English continues to function as the dominant language of international communication, scientific research, and global policy discussions, incorporating climate education within ELT allows learners to access, understand, and engage with contemporary issues that transcend borders. Integrating climate-related themes into ELT enriches the learning process by offering authentic materials such as articles, speeches, documentaries, climate reports, and digital media. These materials not only enhance listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills but also encourage learners to critically analyze environmental issues and participate in meaningful discussions. Furthermore, climate-themed lessons foster values of responsibility, empathy, and sustainability skills essential for shaping environmentally conscious citizens. Despite its potential, this integration poses several challenges. Teachers may lack adequate training in climate literacy, while rigid curricula and limited resources can inhibit innovation in lesson planning.

Challenges in Integrating Climate Education into ELT

Integrating climate education into English Language Teaching (ELT) presents several interconnected challenges that affect both teachers and learners. Many English teachers feel unprepared to discuss environmental issues because they lack sufficient climate literacy, having received little or no training in climate science or sustainability during their professional preparation. This lack of confidence often leads to hesitation in addressing climate topics in the classroom. In addition, rigid and exam-oriented curricula leave limited room to incorporate interdisciplinary content, as teachers must priorities grammar, vocabulary, and prescribed textbook lessons aligned with assessment requirements. The absence of appropriate and accessible teaching materials further complicates the situation, particularly in schools with limited resources, where authentic climate-related texts and multimedia content are not readily available or suitable for language learners. Even when resources exist, the complexity of scientific terminology and abstract concepts makes it difficult for teachers to balance language objectives with environmental content, sometimes resulting in cognitive overload for students.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Brindha. K
Assistant Professor
Research and PG Department of English
Chikkanna Government Arts College,
Tiruppur
&
Sureka G, Ph.D.
Research Scholar
Research and PG Department of English
Chikkanna Government Arts College,
Tiruppur
Custom Search
  • Click Here to Go to Creative Writing Section

  • Send your articles
    as an attachment
    to your e-mail to
    languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.
  • Please ensure that your name, academic degrees, institutional affiliation and institutional address, and your e-mail address are all given in the first page of your article. Also include a declaration that your article or work submitted for publication in LANGUAGE IN INDIA is an original work by you and that you have duly acknowledged the work or works of others you used in writing your articles, etc. Remember that by maintaining academic integrity we not only do the right thing but also help the growth, development and recognition of Indian/South Asian scholarship.