On 20 January 2024, the University of York (United Kingdom) and Universitas Negeri Surabaya (Indonesia) held an innovative workshop for English language teachers from Indonesian junior high schools at Universitas Negeri Surabaya (Unesa). This professional learning event focused on raising English language teachers’ awareness of eco-literacy and involved elements of orienteering.
The event consisted of two parts. Part One included a theoretical-pedagogical input and aimed to connect the concept of eco-literacy with the current curriculum, educational policies, and pedagogical practices in Indonesian schools. Part Two required putting theory into practice. The teachers discussed eco-literacy outdoors, participating in an orienteering activity on Unesa’s campus. In this experiential learning activity, the teachers had to reach three checkpoints using navigation skills. The sessions delivered at the checkpoints focused on specific eco-literacy topics and involved demonstration lessons with specially designed materials to prepare English language teachers to use them in their own classrooms.
The participants found this event and the pedagogical materials developed by the National Centre of ELT Materials Development based at Unesa attractive. They thoroughly enjoyed the active learning experience and hands-on activities that simulated classroom teaching. Some of the participating teachers stated: “It was a lot of fun”, “It was extremely useful”, and “It gave us ideas of how to integrate eco-literacy into our lessons effectively”. They remarked enthusiastically: “We are looking forward to similar events in the future. Thank you!”.
This innovative professional development event for English classroom practitioners was led by Dr Andrzej Cirocki (University of York) and Prof. Pratiwi Retnaningdyah (Unesa). The workshop was supported by a team of dedicated members of staff from the English Literature Study Programme and the English Education Study Programme at Unesa.
Participating teachers were given three weeks to implement similar activities in their English classes as a follow-up activity. This phase was beneficial. The teachers experienced how the eco-literacy-oriented worksheets brought more fun to class and raised their students’ awareness of the importance of protecting the environment.