EFL TERTIARY TEACHERS’ INTEGRATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE TOPICS TO PROMOTE SDG LEARNING IN SPEAKING CLASSES

Abstract

This article illustrates a structure related to a written qualitative study to examine how tertiary EFL teachers integrate climate change themes into speaking teaching to promote students’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) capacities. By selecting frameworks that are internationally recognized, such as UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the framework of transformative learning theory, this research argues that weather-integrated EFL strategies align with both linguistic and educational interventions. This research synthesizes many interviews with Vietnamese teachers in the Mekong Delta, revealing that local tertiary climate problems like salinity intrusion, flooding, pollution, and livelihood disruption in the Mekong Delta play a crucial role in communication, critical thinking, and social awareness. In the final section, data illustrate that EFL tertiary teachers attentively combine authentic materials, task-based tasks, reflective dialogue, and multi-digital tools to encourage learners' linguistic performance and environmental ethical responsibility. Additionally, problems include gaps in the curriculum due to a lack of materials, instructors’ limited ESD training, and, finally, challenges with institutional constraints. This research also proposes a model for teaching weather themes in EFL speaking classes that links communicative language teaching with the SDGs to adjust learners' speaking competencies. By reflecting on this article, pedagogical implications for instructors’ curriculum design, institutions, and educators are provided to promote systemic adoption of sustainability-embedded English instruction.