Fanāvarī-i āmūzish (Dec 2023)
Revitalizing the Potential of CALL with an Ecological Twist: The Impact of an Ecolinguistically-based Task in Fostering Ecological Sustainability Perspectives among EFL Learners
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In response to the burgeoning significance of environmental and sustainability education, the educational landscape is undergoing rapid transformations, presenting new opportunities for foreign language classrooms to assume a distinctive role in exposing learners to the fundamental concepts and principles of environmental literacy. Drawing on a newly constructed Ecolinguistic computer-assisted language learning (CALL) evaluation scale, this study aims to investigate the implementation of this scale and the interplay between language, centering on an Ecolinguistically-based task that illustrates the interaction between and among the affordance of technology, the teacher participant's pedagogical considerations and their goal of encouraging learner agency in nurturing learners' ecological perspectives, content aspects, and competency of environmental knowledge.Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was adopted to implement a newly constructed Ecolinguistic CALL perspective to promote environmental literacy among foreign language learners. Two intact classes, including 30 English foreign language learners, were randomly assigned to investigate the implementation of the subscales. A paired-sample t-test was applied to analyze the quantitative data. As part of implementing the Ecolinguistic scale and qualitative data analysis, the participants were assigned an Ecolinguistically technology-based task and were informed about the fundamental concepts of the subscale domains of environmental literacy using a technology-mediated task. Thematic analysis was run to gain a more robust view of the participants' ecological views.Findings: The study findings unveil a notable and affirmative influence on students' ecological perspectives, as evidenced by the rigorous quantitative data analysis and the participants' thematic analysis reflections. The successful implementation of the Ecolinguistic subscales and the Ecolinguistically-based task significantly bolstered learners' ecological perspectives while concurrently enhancing their comprehension of intricate ecological concepts. These outcomes substantiate the proposition that integrating Ecolinguistic dimensions into technology-mediated pedagogies holds promising potential for cultivating environmental literacy among English foreign language learners.Conclusions: This research highlights the need to reconceptualize environmental challenges and problematizes the traditional positivist framework underlying mainstream linguistic inquiry. It accentuates the significance of thoughtfully integrating appropriate technologies into language learning environments to enrich students' learning experiences and stimulate motivation that aligns with their individual interests. Moreover, the study underscores the importance of employing practical and cost-effective evaluation techniques to assess students' environmental literacy. The findings yielded by this research endeavor will facilitate and advocate for embracing an eco-dimensional strategy that harmonizes numerous concerns about the volatility of the human habitat and the augmentation of the ecosystem's capacities via the integration of technical concepts, methodologies, and linguistic analysis techniques. This approach endows us with universally applicable to implementing humanitarian endeavors through CALL. It furnishes invaluable perspectives that enrich our comprehension of environmental literacy, thereby bolstering the efficacy of decision-making processes in enhancing our grasp of transformative endeavors within the realms of curriculum design and policy. Several noteworthy limitations warrant consideration. Primarily, the investigation failed to acknowledge the potential ramifications of additional constructs on the subscales of the Ecolinguistic scale. Secondly, the inquiry into the environmental literacy of the participants surpassed the confines of the study's purview. Notwithstanding these limitations, the study's findings and methodologies have propelled our comprehension of environmental literacy to new heights. Nonetheless, further measures are imperative to bolster curriculum design and policy formulation decision-making processes. The study carries substantial implications for pedagogy and academia, encompassing the enhancement of environmental literacy among English as a Foreign Language learners and the cultivation of a comprehensive approach to language acquisition. Additional research is indispensable to delve into the pedagogical preferences of educators, regulate variables, and encompass a more expansive sample size. Educators are strongly encouraged to adopt student-centered, transformative pedagogies while simultaneously ensuring equitable access to technology-driven resources. A thorough understanding of sociolinguistics and a thoughtful consideration of technological affordances also assume pivotal roles in this endeavor.
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