EMU Foreign Languages and English Preparatory School Takes the First Place in Cambridge Sustainable Classroom Challenge

Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), Foreign Languages and English Preparatory School (FLEPS) won the Cambridge Sustainable Classroom Challenge with its “Community Service Project”. The achievement brought international recognition to the School’s educational approach, which combines language learning with social responsibility and sustainability awareness.

The Cambridge Sustainable Classroom Challenge encourages language educators to share practices designed to develop students’ sustainability skills through the Cambridge Sustainability Framework for English Language Teaching. The framework, which forms the foundation of the competition, provides educators with guidance on how to foster sustainability awareness and related skills through language learning.

Success through the Community Service Project

As part of the award-winning Community Service Project, students were first introduced to the Sustainable Development Goals and invited to consider the goals and issues most relevant to their own communities. They then researched the challenges they had identified and worked collaboratively to develop possible solutions.

Throughout the project, students actively used English while developing not only their language skills but also their critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, research and communication abilities. The project concluded with presentations in which students shared the issues they had addressed and the solutions they had developed.

A Sustainability-Focused Education Approach

Commenting on the achievement, EMU FLEPS Director Assist. Prof. Dr. Mutlu Kale stated that the School carries out its activities in line with EMU’s sustainability goals. Noting that the curriculum and teaching methods are continuously developed in this direction, Assist. Prof. Dr. Kale emphasized that, alongside improving students’ language skills, they place great importance on helping students become individuals who are sensitive to global issues and have a strong sense of social responsibility.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Kale added that the international award is a tangible outcome of the shared vision embraced by the team and demonstrates that they are moving in the right direction with their sustainability-focused educational initiatives.