Environmentalism in the English classroom: An autoethnographic analysis of a cinema-based didactic proposal

Abstract

Environmental degradation is a global concern with cross-curricular significance. However, it is often absent from English classrooms due to educators' limited pedagogical expertise in this domain. This article endeavours to promote the integration of environmental themes into English language instruction by presenting and analysing an instructional didactic proposal centred on the film Avatar (2009). As such, the article explores the principles of eco-education and the possible advantages of employing cinema as an educational tool. The authors implemented a film-based eco-education teaching unit in two high school classes and assessed its impact through an autoethnographic method. The results revealed that, while the English students encountered challenges with the approach, the proposed teaching unit positively influenced their environmental awareness and proactivity. It also cultivated an engaging learning environment, thereby enhancing various aspects of their linguistic competence. Consequently, this paper serves as a model for the implementation of environmental approaches in English classrooms, an area that has seen limited exploration by researchers, and which both teachers and scholars have requested. In broader terms, given the nature of the participants’ difficulties when working on the proposal, the findings reveal that there is a need to update teaching methods in English formal instruction and to provide further guidance on the didactic exploitation of films.