A Case Study from Japanese Higher Education by Joshua Jodoin at the 10th World Environmental Education Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand

Alin Aşım (15), YRE Students from Turkey at the 10th World Environmental Education Congress

At the 10th World Environmental Education Congress, we had the opportunity to listen to the presentation of Mr. Jodoin who talked about Language Education for Sustainable Development (LESD) and who presented his case study from Japanese Higher Education.

Joshua J. Jodoin is currently a doctoral student at Kyoto University in the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies and Instructor at Konan University’s Hirao School of Management. He earned a Bachelors degree in Philosophy from the University of Calgary, finished the Cambridge Diploma of English Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA) and received a Masters Degree in Educational Management from the Bilkent University in Turkey. Mr. Jodoin’s interests are the following: Environmental Education(EE), Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and English as a Foreign Language.

The main aim of Joshua Jodoin is to lead students to the environmental education by teaching them English when they come to the higher education with the help of English language, since English is an  international language. Therefore, the English education method which is CLIL (content and language integrated learning) and the method of education for sustainable development (DESD action plan) in Japan’s higher education are mentioned in the presentation. He mentioned that while achieving pro-environmental behaviors, we need to take some challenges, of which some are awareness of consequences, ascription for responsibility and personal norms. He stated the steps of the ESD which are Student-centered approach, problem-solving and critical thinking which motivate students to face challenges and provide research and presentation skills, demonstrate and communicate knowledge.

Mr. Jodoin conducted this research in Kangaku Private University and worked with students who have an intermediate level of English. Some of the survey question themes are: knowledge on environmental issues, knowledge on environmental tools, technology and approaches, knowledge on sustainability topics and knowledge on environmental legislation policy and standards. His survey results clearly report that there is a big difference between 2016 and 2017 on knowledge, eco vision, awareness of consequences, ascription of responsibility and personal norms. At the end of his research, Mr. Jodoin decided that the best practice of ESD which contains steps which are fundamentals of language education for sustainable development called SCOPE:

• Student-centred
• Critical thinking
• Offer feedback
• Practice and demonstrate knowledge
• Educate others

To conclude, after listening to this  presentation, I can tell you that language education plays a major role in ensuring sustainable development. It is necessary to create a common platform for exchanging ideas, discussing problems and producing solutions on this issue that shakes the world and concerns everyone. High Schools can be created with the help of  English. In other words, sustainable development with this method is imposed on students with English language to make them be aware, be responsable and gain qualified personal norms.