International Conference: language education for sustainable development

Haudeck, Helga (Dr.): Akademische Oberrätin, Institut für Englisch, PH Ludwigsburg
Medina, Adriana (Prof.): Professor at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA
Roters, Bianca (Prof.): Professorin für Sprachwissenschaft und Sprachdidaktik, Institut für Englisch, PH Ludwigsburg
Schabio, Saskia (Dr.): Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin, Amerik. Literatur und Kultur, Universität Stuttgart

Ricardo Römhild, Anika Marxl, Frauke Matz & Philipp Siepmann (Eds.). Rethinking Cultural Learning: Cosmopolitan Perspectives on Language Education. WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2023.

“Critical cosmopolitan citizenship allows us to conceive of citizenship as a status, a feeling and a practice at all levels, from the local to the global” (Römhild et al., 2023). The polycrisis, e.g. climate change, leads to a myriad of different emotions throughout all age groups, starting with children’s reactions towards picture books or teenagers facing climate anxiety. In this symposium, we aim to present different teaching options that shed light on the discourse, bearing the perspective of critical cosmopolitan citizenship (CCC) in mind. We are going to discuss possible cognitive and emotional implications for students in listening to stories and creating their own stories in digital products, thereby comprehending, engaging and interacting with the texts on an emotional level. In sum, we address the need for a more sustained engagement with the emotional and cognitive implications of critical cosmopolitan citizenship in EFL classrooms.
This symposium aims to bring together students, teachers, and researchers in a community of practice that addresses questions of critical cosmopolitan citizenship with a focus on environmental justice. Concerning digital storytelling, participants will be asked to narrate their perspectives on the teaching ideas presented and construct possible venues of digital outlets. Participants actively co-construct their teaching planning perspectives and negotiate their ideas on critical cosmopolitan citizenship provided in the exemplary teaching units from different angles and standpoints.

Key questions are:
• How are other concepts of environmental citizenship related to CCC? What are the different agendas and how do they play out in the classroom, both in school as well as in teacher education? How can we make this debate relevant for (future) teachers?
• How can digital storytelling promote or advance our understanding of CCC?
• How can sound and images serve as a scaffold in picture books, graphic novels, or plays? How do such findings translate how we read and create digital stories in the classroom?
• How can CCC be integrated into teaching units and reflected from a curricular perspective?

Structure of the symposium:
In this proposed session, the presenters will provide the audience with an overview of conceptual frameworks related to global learning. Next, the participants will be asked to engage in a discussion on how they perceive these frameworks and see their practical application in the classroom. Afterwards, the presenters will offer a project illustrating the educational potential of two of the frameworks and their use in the classroom through picture books. After another opportunity for discussion, the audience will leave with ideas for ways to incorporate global learning in their classroom.

1. Introduction to different concepts and possible teaching perspectives
2. A Globally Networked Learning Project on Storytelling and the Sustainable
   Development Goals

Concerning digital storytelling, participants will be asked to narrate their perspectives on the teaching ideas presented and construct possible venues of digital outlets. Participants actively co-construct their teaching planning perspectives and negotiate their ideas on critical cosmopolitan citizenship provided in the exemplary teaching units from different angles and standpoints.