Environmental awareness and critical literacy in the English Classroom

Abstract

The present study is conducted at a Lebanese high school with a grade ten class. It focuses on using online platforms such as Google Meet, Google docs, Zoom, Microsoft Teams to support English as a Foreign Language Teaching (EFLT) classes and at the same time developing CL. It is based on a CL model adapted for ESL context called the CALT model. The study occurred right after the pandemic, so the students are familiar with all these platforms and how to use them. The main objective of our research is to explore how Lebanese students in the EFL class were capable, with the aid of their teacher and the ICTs, to develop critical literacy (CL) skills, and how the EFL teacher was able to deal with this online mode to meet EFL objectives while developing CL skills. The methodology used in the present study is based on mixed methods: qualitative analysis of students’ assignments and our class observation while and after implementing an action plan and use case-study research design for analysis.