ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the high-impact experiences of project-based language learning (PBLL) as a curricular framework for deep learning about human and ecological sustainability. As a form of content-based instruction, it opens students to a broader way of thinking about and valuing the power of language and culture to inform and offers the opportunity to change perspectives and behaviors, thus facilitating student intellectual and emotional growth. This chapter includes a brief overview of a third-year college-level PBLL Chinese language course on climate action, which addresses climate change’s multilingual and multicultural dimensions. This approach teaches students that other cultures see their relationship to nature and the environment differently, and the language they use to speak about these relationships has the potential to open a multitude of perspectives for seeking solutions to our current climate and humanitarian crises.
