How To Bring Environmental Issues Into The English Language Classroom Using The Dialog Eco-Interaction Model

Description

What if an English lesson could do more than teach vocabulary, grammar, and communication skills? What if it could also inspire students to talk about the world around them, question everyday practices, exchange ideas, and explore solutions to environmental challenges?
Environmental issues such as plastic pollution, flooding, climate change, biodiversity loss, and responsible consumption are no longer distant global concerns. They are part of our everyday lives and the world our students will inherit. These issues offer valuable opportunities to make English language learning more meaningful, relevant, and connected to real-life experiences. However, simply introducing environmental topics into a lesson is not enough. Students need opportunities to speak, ask questions, share opinions, challenge ideas, clarify meaning, and learn from one another.
This book offers a practical and thought-provoking approach to making that happen through the Dialogic Eco-Interaction Model. Drawing on Conversation Analysis, dialogic pedagogy, and Education for Sustainable Development, it introduces a framework that connects English language learning with meaningful environmental discussions.
At the heart of the book are five interconnected dimensions of the Dialogic Eco-Interaction Model: Expanded Participation, Dialogic Sequence Development, Interactive Environmental Discussion, Collaborative Clarification, and Shared Contribution. Together, these dimensions show how teachers can create more inclusive and interactive classrooms in which students are not merely listeners or answer-givers but active participants in developing ideas and exploring environmental issues.
Moving from educational foundations and theoretical perspectives to the conceptual development of the Dialogic Eco-Interaction Model and its classroom applications, the book provides guidance for planning lessons, facilitating classroom discussions, supporting student participation, assessing interaction, and reflecting on teaching practices. It also offers classroom-oriented examples and practical resources that readers can adapt to different learners, educational settings, and local environmental concerns.
More than a guide to teaching environmental topics in English, this book invites teachers to rethink the possibilities of classroom talk. It encourages them to turn everyday environmental concerns into meaningful learning opportunities where language becomes a tool for communication, collaboration, and thoughtful engagement with the world.
Whether you are an English language teacher looking for fresh ideas, a teacher educator preparing future teachers, or a student exploring innovative approaches to language education, this book will help you discover how teaching English can open conversations about the environment—and how those conversations can make learning more meaningful.