A Decadal Systematic Review of Sustainability Integration into English Language Teaching

As part of its 2030 Agenda implementation, UNESCO has introduced the Education for Sustainable Development roadmap, an initiative that advocates integrating sustainability at institutional levels, educational settings, and professional development aspects. Subsequently, several initiatives have been investigated and reported regarding the extent to which this integration is achieved, the challenges perceived, and the gaps identified. Although English Language Teaching is pivotal in sustainability teaching as the English language is the lingua franca of all sustainability domains and communication, there is a paucity of research regarding how sustainability is integrated in the ELT setting. This study reviews the literature on integrating sustainability in English Language Teaching that has been published since the launch of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations in 2015 and up to the end of 2025, forming a decade of scholarly work on the topic. Using a mixed-methods systematic review design guided by PRISMA procedures, with qualitative and quantitative analysis conducted in MAXQDA across 64 studies, the study yielded findings that point to an uneven body of literature that has increased noticeably in the last three years, with research concentrated mainly in Japan, China, Spain, Iran, Indonesia, and other upper-middle- and high-income contexts. Further, the review demonstrates that sustainability integration into English Language Teaching is mostly operationalized through different approaches, concentrated mostly in higher education settings, and follows three major patterns. Thematic coverage was dominated by sustainability awareness, global citizenship, and gender equality, while human rights, culture of peace, and cultural diversity received comparatively limited attention. With implications and recommendations based on these findings, the review contributes to enhancing the role of English Language Teaching as a transformative tool for achieving quality education.

English language · Higher education · Lingua franca · Operationalization · Sustainability · Sustainability science · Sustainable development · Thematic analysis · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Sustainability in Higher Education