Maximise your impact: Sustainable Development Goals-Focussed content in communication intervention and teaching

Abstract

Purpose

Communication specialists strive to develop communication skills of students and clients using evidence-based practices. There is limited discussion of the topic content of speech-language pathology interventions and language education strategies that act as the vehicle to deliver intervention/education. In this commentary we demonstrate ways materials based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; United Nations, 2015) can be integrated into daily practices when working with people with communication disability and people acquiring additional languages.

Result

Examples are provided as to how any or all SDGs can be used as the content base within speech-language pathology interventions and language education. A number of situations are presented illustrating SDG-focussed content across diverse settings.

Conclusion

This commentary paper focusses on how content from all 17 SDGS that can be embedded into speech-language pathology and language education services to enhance the speech, language, and literacy skills and SDG knowledge of both children and adults. In addition, educational and therapy resource developers are called to rise to the challenge of creating materials based on the SDGs.

Keywords:

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• communication disability
• no poverty (SDG 1)
• zero hunger (SDG 2)
• good health and well-being (SDG 3)
• quality education (SDG 4)
• gender equality (SDG 5)
• clean water and sanitation (SDG 6)
• affordable and clean energy (SDG 7)
• decent work and economic growth (SDG 8)
• industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9)
• reduced inequalities (SDG 10)
• sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11)
• responsible consumption and production (SDG 12)
• climate action (SDG 13)
• life below water (SDG 14)
• life on land (SDG 15)
• peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16)
• partnerships for the goals (SDG 17)

Specialists working to develop the communication skills of students and clients focus on delivering effective, evidence-based services. For speech-language pathologists (SLPs), this work is targeted towards improving the functional communication skills of people with communication disability. For language educators, this work is focussed on developing skills in a new language. Evidence-based practice and best-practice guidelines generally focus on how this intervention/education is provided, for example the target skills, the required dose, and the hierarchy of skills (Baker & McLeod, 2011). While this focus is key to providing quality intervention/education, SLPs rarely think about intervention as an opportunity to change the world beyond individuals’ communication skills. In this commentary, we propose that SLPs and language educators can maximise impact by choosing materials based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; United Nations, 2015) for: (a) implementing evidence-based intervention/education, and (b) providing a context for discussing issues and taking actions that are key to a better future the planet. In this commentary, we discuss use of all SDGs in SLP intervention and/or language education settings and provide illustrative examples of the implementation of SDG-based content: vocabulary intervention (SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 6, SDG 7, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 14, SDG 15), problem-based learning projects (SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 8, SDG 10), university curriculum (SDG 6, SDG 9, SDG 12, SDG 16), and intelligibility enhancement (SDG 4, SDG 11, SDG 17).

Pre-school-aged vocabulary intervention

World of Words (WOW; Neuman, 2017; Neuman, Samudra, & Danielson, 2021) is an example of an evidence-based vocabulary intervention that incorporates materials relevant to the SDGs. WOW uses a semi-scripted, shared-reading approach to promote children’s vocabulary size, vocabulary depth, conceptual knowledge, and science content knowledge in the pre-school and early school years. The teaching, books, and support materials provide students with rich semantic understandings that can be anchored in their mental language and knowledge systems. The focus thematic topics of WOW lend themselves well to broader education on the SDGs through supplemental play-based activities and discussion. Table I links the thematic units of WOW to individual SDGs as an example of how SLPs and language educators can use intervention activities to both support children’s language development and engage children with foundational knowledge about the SDGs.

Table I. Proposed relationship between World of Words (WOW) thematic units and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SDG	WOW thematic units
2. Zero hunger	Healthy foods, human body
3. Good health and well-being	Exercise, healthy foods, human body, motion
5. Gender equality	Human body
6. Clean water and sanitation	Water conservation
7. Affordable and clean energy	Simple machines
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure	Simple machines
12. Responsible consumption and production	Healthy foods, water conservation
13. Climate action	Deserts, seasons, ecology, extreme weather, water, water conservation, universe and stars, animal adaptations
14. Life below water	Marine animals, oceans, habitats, ocean zones, water
15. Life on land	Pets, plants, deserts, rainforests, habitats, water, animal adaptations, landforms, underground ecosystems

Note. Information on the thematic units of WOW can be found at www.worldofwordswow.com

Problem-based learning projects

Problem-based learning can be used with children, adolescent, and adults to address communication needs as well as knowledge of the SDGs. Students or groups can choose one or more SDG as the focus of all materials, activities, and assessments over the semester. Students can plan, execute, and evaluate an action-based project that will make a meaningful contribution towards their chosen SDG(s). For the SLP/educator, goals embedded into each step of the project can be related to language form (e.g. grammar, punctuation), content (e.g. reading comprehension, vocabulary), use (e.g. appropriate registers, presentation skills) and cognitive skills (e.g. problem-solving). Examples of SDG goals/targets, action projects, and communication goals are provided in Table II.

Table II. Example problem-based action-projects and areas of focus based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SDG	Identified problem	Action project	Communication focus for Client/Student
1. No poverty	Lack of access to transport is a major barrier to gaining work in poor areas of the city	Bicycle donation drive in support of a local charity that provides free bicycles to needy children and adults in their city to reduce transport inequality	Adolescent with developmental language disorder (DLD): Understand identified written and spoken texts Identify and understand key vocabulary in texts Generate texts describing the project suitable for different audiences and situations (e.g. written request to school principal, letters to parents, posters advertising the bicycle drive for students).
2. Zero hunger   (Target 2.3: double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers … including through secure and equal access to land etc.)	Black farmers have historically and systemically been marginalised and discriminated against	The student will collaborate with a community organisation to organise a farm visit for their group to learn about marginalised farmers and small-scale food producers.	Deaf college student with literacy difficulties: Identify key information in texts Make concept maps describing key vocabulary relevant to this topic Present summarised information from written text using sign language Use new vocabulary in written texts related to project (e.g. essays, emails, presentations). Use of inflexional morphemes in written texts.
8. Decent work and economic growth	Domestic financial institutions need to encourage and expand access to banking for all (SDG 8.10)	Petition local bank for better access for people with communication difficulties	Adults with aphasia group: Identify communication breakdowns that occur in different interactions with the bank (e.g. understanding written information, making phone calls, face-to-face interactions). Identify strategies for resolving communication breakdown and improving access Advocate for communication needs.
10. Reduced inequalities    (Target 10.2: …     inclusion of all)	Children are frustrated when it is not their turn for show and tell and disrupt the class	Make class rules and schedule for show and tell	Pre-school class including children who have autism Understand roles, responsibilities, and rules Make choices involving cause and effect (e.g. consequences for different behaviours). Engage with social stories related to different behaviour choices Make visual planner for class show and tell schedule and rules.

University curriculum

Adults learning an additional language also can have SDG materials integrated into teaching practice. These adult learners typically arrive in the classroom with a rich understanding of the world and a high level of linguistic competence, but limited skills in their new language for communicating ideas and knowledge. Within the classroom, the typical focus is on understanding and use of the new language, with language educators often having free rein over the thematic content of lesson materials. Use of SDG-related materials in the classroom is an opportunity to draw on learners’ world knowledge and assist them to apply this knowledge in a new language, while encouraging reflection on how their previous world experience relates to the social and cultural context of their new language. Table III presents examples of how SDGs can be integrated into four different subjects taught at a B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR; Council of Europe, 2022b). B2 learners

Table III. Examples of embedding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into university language education curriculum for language learners at B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

SDG	Subject	Topics/Tasks	CEFR competences and descriptors^a
6. Clean water and sanitation	Self-directed study	Choose an SDG goal or subgoal and complete the following tasks in relation to that topic. In this example SDG target 6.6 (protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes) was chosen by the student. •Write a review of a film or documentary related to the chosen SDG. •Write a short persuasive text to convince an audience of your point of view about the chosen SDG. •Write a diary entry describing what you have learnt about the language and the chosen SDG during this semester.	Oral comprehension •“Can follow extended discourse and complex lines of argument, provided the topic is reasonably familiar, and the direction of the argument is signposted by explicit markers”. Reading comprehension •“Can read with a large degree of independence, adapting style and speed of reading to different texts and purposes, and using appropriate reference sources selectively.” Oral production •“Can give clear, detailed descriptions and presentations on a wide range of subjects related to their field of interest, expanding and supporting ideas with subsidiary points and relevant examples”. Written production •“Can produce clear, detailed texts on a variety of subjects related to their field of interest, synthesising and evaluating information and arguments from a number of sources”. Oral interaction •“Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction, and sustained relationships with users of the target language”. Phonological control •“Can generally use appropriate intonation, place stress correctly and articulate individual sounds clearly; accent tends to be influenced by the other language(s) they speak, but has little or no effect on intelligibility”.
9. Industry, innovation, and infrastructure	Communication, history and society	•Research changes in a local industry over time. Give a short oral presentation on one industry sector. •Understand the local political parties’ policies on industry and infrastructure. Give a short oral presentation on two policies of your chosen parties. Write a comparison of the policies of two parties. •Write an analysis of a news article describing a new innovation.
6. Peace, justice, and strong institutions		•Describe the structure of the local government and compare it to government structures in other countries. •Examine how the local political system includes the ideas of inclusiveness, participation and representation in decision-making at all levels •Examine themes of equality, civil rights, and social justice within a country.
12. Responsible consumption and production	Effective language learning	Select an SDG target (e.g. target 12.3 reducing food waste). •Create a written script for 5-10 minute video presentation on your topic •Submit a 5-10 minute video recording of a presentation on your topic •Participate in discussion of other students’ presentations •Write an 8-page text about your SDG. •Submit a bibliography demonstrating you have read 100 pages related to your SDG.

^aCouncil of Europe (2022a).

Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options (Council of Europe, 2022c, para. 4).

Intelligibility enhancement

Intelligibility enhancement is a domain in which speech-language pathology and language education fields converge to focus on improving how an individual can make their speech production in a new language better understood (Blake et al., 2020). The texts and activities used in intelligibility enhancement can be drawn from SDGs and be used to engage clients/students in discussions about a vast range of topics. Table IV presents examples of three texts related to SDGs that could be used in intelligibility enhancement for English.

Table IV. Examples of intelligibility enhancement texts and targets for three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SDG	Student/client	Intelligibility goals	Example text
4. Quality education	University teacher	Produce vowels clearly Slow speech down for concept and words that are possibly new to the listener Put emphasis on concepts/words that may be new to the listener	The higher education we want: Youth voices on the futures of higher education (UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America & the Caribbean, 2022)
11. Sustainable cities and communities	High school student passionate about climate justice	Be aware of cues from the audience about whether they understand Self-monitor intelligibility and implement strategies to increase intelligiblity as appropriate (e.g. slowing pace)	Sacrifice zones 101 (The Climate Reality Project, n.d.)
17. Partnerships for the goals	Business person working for a non-government organisation (NGO)	Use stress correctly within words Speak with an appropriate pace and maintain this through the conversation	The SDG partnership guidebook: A practical guide to building high impact multi-stakeholder partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals (Stibbe & Prescott, 2020)

Summary and conclusion

This commentary seeks to advance the SDGs by asking SLPs and language educators to consider using SDG-based materials in their work with clients/students. One of the main challenges that educators and SLPs face in implementing such an approach is being able to quickly access materials related to SDGs that meet the specific communication goals of their students/clients. While resources based on the SDGs exist, such as games (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/student-resources/) and book lists (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdg-book-club-archive/), these are not developed or organised in ways that necessarily meet the needs of SLPs and language educators. This creates an opportunity for resource developers to focus on SDGs in the preparation of speech-language pathology and language education materials (SDG 4). Materials can be designed that take thematic inspiration from the SDGs and make explicit connections between the SDGs and common speech-language pathology and language education goals (e.g. picture cards for speech and language intervention, intelligibility enhancement texts, language textbooks). Therefore, our call to action is not only for SLPs and language educators to use the SDGs in their daily practice, but for therapy and education resource developers to rise to the challenge of creating materials based on the SDGs.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the reviewers for their helpful suggestions on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).