Research Information System
TESL-EJ, vol.30, no.1, pp.1-17, 2026 (Scopus)
This study examines how pre-service English teachers (PSETs) integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into language teaching. Grounded in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), it investigates which SDGs are prioritized, how learning outcomes reflect sustainability competencies, and how pedagogical tasks support sustainability-oriented thinking. The study was conducted in a compulsory “Teaching Language Skills” course at a Turkish public university. Following a workshop on ESD and the SDGs, 102 PSETs worked in groups to design 45-minute lesson plans for young adult learners. A qualitative document analysis of 27 lesson plans examined thematic focus, competency alignment, and pedagogical design. Environmental themes were most common, particularly SDG 13 and SDG 12, while SDGs 2, 4, and 15 were rarely addressed. Learning outcomes most frequently emphasized critical thinking and normative competencies, whereas anticipatory competency appeared only minimally. Although relatively few in-class outcomes explicitly reflected ESD pedagogies, homework tasks often extended lessons through action-oriented learning. Overall, the findings suggest that PSETs can incorporate sustainability themes into language teaching, but teacher education programs may need to place greater emphasis on future-oriented thinking within ESD