TEFL, Culture, and Environment: From Analysis of TEFL Textbooks to Inclusive Pedagogy more

Sun, May 1, 17:00-Tue, May 31, 23:55 Asia/Seoul

This talk analyses TEFL textbooks with environmental themes that were written in the UK and US for use in Japanese universities. The shallow environmentalism of the textbooks, which treats the natural world as a resource and fails to address consumerism, is contrasted with the deep ecological wisdom embedded in traditional Japanese culture. The talk concludes with a discussion of how TEFL teachers can inspire students to draw from their traditional culture and express its ecological wisdom in English rather than just being expected to absorb and repeat western environmental perspectives.