Althaus, Irene; Perrin, Raphael (2025). Integrating Sustainability into Pre-Service Language Teacher Education: Insights from the University of Teacher Education Lucerne, Switzerland. Trabalhos em Linguística Aplicada, 64, e025028. 10.1590/01031813v64120258679130

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In the face of global environmental challenges, social inequalities, and economic disparities, educational institutions worldwide strive to align their practices with UNESCO’s goals for sustainable development. For language education, research suggests that fostering multilingualism and transculturalism are crucial competencies for the well-being of diverse communities, as they enhance the ability to understand, tolerate, and negotiate culturally different points of view (de la Fuente, 2022). This article reports on an attempt to promote sustainability within a French and English didactics module at the University of Teacher Education Lucerne, Switzerland. Participants were 46 master’s level pre-service teachers of French or English (or both) at lower secondary level. The goal was to sensitize the participants to the topic of sustainability and to show them ways to consider it in their future teaching. To this end, the topic was addressed in a 90-minute session consisting of theoretical input and practice to explore cultural representations and concepts. At the end of the semester, the topic was revisited using examples of the participants’ projects related to sustainability. Furthermore, familiarity with the topic and relevant concepts were self-evaluated. Results indicate that while the module effectively highlighted the relevance of sustainability in language education, half of the participants felt insufficiently prepared to integrate it into their teaching, citing uncertainties about handling stereotypes and a lack of adequate resources. These findings and the fact that only a few participants established explicit links to the topic of sustainable development in their projects suggest that the subject should be addressed in a more in-depth and more diverse manner in future implementations.

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