Archive: THIRD Research Bulletin (Spring 2025)

Welcome to the 2025 research bulletin from Dr.J (a.k.a. Joshua John Jodoin)

Spring 2025 Edition

You’re receiving this because you attended one of my talks and actually checked that box saying, “Sure, I’d like to hear more about LESD stuff.” So—thank you! This bulletin brings you the latest updates from my research world, particularly around Language Education for Sustainable Development (LESD).

If you find this work useful, inspiring, or worth a forward to that one colleague who gets it — please share it with your networks!

Not your cup of tea anymore? No hard feelings — there’s an unsubscribe link waiting patiently for you at the bottom of this message.

📬 P.S. I only send these updates once a year max. No spam. No nonsense. Just research with roots.

🌱 LESD Updates, New Role, and Free SDG Materials: The 2025 Research Bulletin.

Dear colleagues and friends,

Hope this message finds you well — maybe even out on a trail, soaking up some nature.

It’s been a year full of movement and milestones. I’m thrilled to share a few highlights from my work in Language Education for Sustainable Development (LESD) — from Tokyo to Singapore to Kobe, classrooms to conferences.

📸 Teaching, Mountains, and a New Home

As of April 2024, I joined Konan University as a tenured Associate Professor. It has been a big step for me, gives me space to grow the Global Environmental Project courses, and finally give the LESD book the attention it deserves. You can learn more about my faculty at the Hirao School of Management (甲南大学 マネジメント創造学部)  HERE.

🌍 LESD Around Asia

The image above was from the RELC 2025 Conference in Singapore (March 17-19, 2025), where I gave a talk entitled, “Language Education for Sustainable Development (LESD): A Path to Intercultural Communication in the Language Classroom.” Many thanks to the conference organizers for a very well run conference with lots of interesting speakers. I am happy to report that LESD will be one of the themes in RELC 2026. I am hoping to attend again next year. If you are interested in RELC, please check out the website HERE.

I also attended and co-presented at Lakeland University Annual Conference on Global Higher Education in Tokyo (June 7th, 2025) with my colleague Stewart Markel, where we presented a talk on, “A Comparison of Environmental Accountability in Japanese Higher Education: Moving Beyond the Recycle Bin.” This is a new area of research I am exploring with Stew and we published an article that introduces a new Funding Vs. Accountability Scale (FEAS). The article can be found HERE and will be available for download in April 2025.

🛢️ COP29 & Classroom Conversations

Yes, COP29 wrapped up in November — and it was not exactly an inspiring climate summit, especially with the backdrop of new leadership shifts in the U.S. Many global leaders seem to be stepping back from climate commitments, which is deeply concerning.

Still, I remain an optimist. The price of solar, wind, and other renewables continues to fall, increasingly reaching (or beating) price parity with oil and gas — which is genuinely good news.

Unfortunately, 2024 was another record-breaking hot year for the planet. For compelling, classroom-ready visual data, check out:

https://showyourstripes.info/. And for an overview of COP29 itself, you’ll find summaries and resources here:  https://unfccc.int/cop29

If you found this update useful, please pass it along. I’ll be sending more LESD-related resources, events, and collaborations in the future — and I’d love to include your work too. Please get in touch if you have anything interesting to share.

I’m currently over halfway through writing my book on LESD and looking for a publisher. With any luck (and a few more quiet mornings), I’ll have more to report in 2026 as I work to finally get it out into the world.

Thanks again for being part of this growing community.

Warmly,

Dr. Joshua Jodoin (ジョシュワ・ジョーダン)

Associate Professor, Konan University

Global Environmental Studies

mrj@konan-u.ac.jp  |  jodoin.john.65m@kyoto-u.jp

We support フードバンク関西 and GiveWell

Konan University Frontier Research Organization for New Themes (FRONT)

JODOIN Joshua John Interview (Japanese)

Konan University FRONT published an interview with me in Japanese that discusses my background, what I teach, and my research. If you want to read it in Japanese, Google translate works wonders. You can find that here: https://www.konan-u.ac.jp/front/researchers/interview-25

Dr. Jodoin’s research: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7905-2449 (email Dr. Jodoin for copies of any publications behind a paywall)

Sustainable Development Goals Information: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) information: http://www.env.go.jp/policy/entaku06_ref03_1.pdf

Jodoin, J. J., & Singer, J. (2018). An Analysis of Environmental Content Found in English-Language Textbooks in Japanese Higher Education Using a Corpus. The International Journal of Sustainability in Economic, Social and Cultural Context, 14(4), 39-55. https://doi.org/10.18848/2325-1115/CGP/v14i04/39-55

Jodoin, J. J. (2020) Promoting language education for sustainable development: a program effects case study in Japanese higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 21(4), 779-798. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-09-2019-0258

Jodoin, J. J. (2022). Re-envisioning English Language Teaching in a Post-COVID World: Using Language Education for Sustainable Development. In R.Khan, A. Bashir, B. Lal Basu & E. Uddin (Eds) Local Research and Glocal Perspectives in English Language Teaching - Teaching in Changing Times. Springer.

Jodoin, J. J. (2023). Opportunities for English for Academic Purposes in a Post-Pandemic World through Language Education for Sustainable Development. In E. Kantarcıoğlu, H. Mengu, & C.Thomas (Eds) Life After the Pandemic: ReVision and ReForm in EAP Contexts. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

If you find anything behind a paywall or want to know more, please send me an email or get in touch through the social sites.

Many thanks for taking the time to read and share. All the best to you in your Spring Semester. Keep up that important work of providing our students meaningful content in the language classroom!

Dr.J