The British Council is supporting the UK’s role in COP26 through a global programme centred on climate change called ‘The Climate Connection’. This global programme includes a specific strand focused on climate action and environmental sustainability in English language teaching and learning called ‘Climate Action in Language Education’.

Professional Development Training Series for Teachers (28 April – 30 June 2021)

A professional development course series designed to train English language teachers how to integrate environmental issues into English language teaching, equip learners with the language skills to understand, discuss and engage critically with climate change issues, and make a meaningful difference. 

There are three modules, with a total of nine hours of learning. All three modules include comprehensive resources, videos, Q&A sessions, practical examples and a certificate.   

  • Module 1. Introducing environmental issues into language teaching classes 
  • Module 2. Developing and delivering lessons with a sustainability focus 
  • Module 3. Making sustainability part of your learners’ lives 

In Vietnam to date, after just three weeks going live, the modules have already attracted more than 130 Vietnamese teachers of English out of 1,000 participants, representing more than 100 countries globally. This puts Vietnam in the top three, after Thailand and India. 

What do course participants say? 

'I’m not a professional teacher of English. I found this course interesting and likely helpful to teach my kids and their friends. Actually it is. Thank the British Council very much.' – Nguyen Hoang Thanh Le, Hanoi, Viet Nam 

'Sincerely thank all the course designers. You are adorable and really, really professional at digesting environmental matters for language teachers. I have got a lot of meaningful ideas which, hopefully, are able to raise students' awareness of care for their local environment.' - Ratchaphon M., Phuket, Thailand 

'I have just finished developing and delivering lessons with a sustainability focus module. I really find it interesting, informative and fruitful. One of the action points I am thinking of is to set a training session for my teachers to make them aware of the challenges, solutions and the seven principles of integrating environmental issues into their language lessons. Really interesting!' – Hind Barry, Tipaza, Algeria 

The Climate Connection - Podcast series (May 2021) 

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.

The Lesson Bank (June 2021) 

We are developing a ‘Lesson Starter Pack’ book consisting of 12 climate change themed lesson plans for different age groups and language proficiency levels. This publication will also provide teachers with practical guidance on how to integrate climate change issues into the curricula and prepare new climate change themed lessons suitable for local contexts.

Global ELT Sector Report (June 2021)

Working together with experts in the field we are conducting research into ‘green’ initiatives across the global English language teaching industry. We are conducting interviews with key ELT stakeholders as well as conducting surveys for English language teachers, schools and universities. The findings from this research will be used to publish a report highlighting global efforts being taken to make the global ELT sector greener; promote and facilitate environmental responsibility and incentivise sustainability.

We are also currently designing global climate action themed Competitions for English Language Teachers and English Language Students to be launched in July/August 2021.