Environmental Discourse in EFL Textbooks in Egypt: A Critical Ecolinguistics Case Study

EFL curricula and teachers play a significant role in motivating ecological citizenship and helping students become critical ecological thinkers. This study applies critical Ecolinguistics as the theoretical background for its qualitative case study in order to identify the ecosophy guiding the design of the written discourse of lessons addressing environmental issues in a sample of EFL textbooks mandated by the Ministry of Education in Egypt. Analysis focuses on the linguistic features of the environmental discourse as well as nature related values, types of reasoning and forms of participation promoted in the texts. Findings reveal a propagation of shallow conservationism-environmentalism discourse and anthropocentric reasoning reflective of the consumerist age guiding the ecosophy of the texts. The results contribute to a proposal of suggestions addressed to educators in general, and EFL teachers and curriculum designers in Egypt in particular, as well as recommendations for future research.