When We Started Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals （UNSDGs） as a Way to Teach English

Sometimes overarching narratives can seem daunting and confusing. We may not understand how we are to make sense of and implement policies that seem too large or irrelevant to our classrooms. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are such an overarching narrative, causing a shift in societies’ operations. This paper reports on how three English language teachers were able to implement a new lesson curriculum using the UNSDGs as the primary content for instruction and make some significant changes to their classrooms. They also show how change within a formal operational structure being moved by external forces of globalization is possible. Finally, this report can be read as a guide for how to investigate and explore one’s own educational context when there is a feeling that change might be necessary.