Building Problem-based Learning English Curriculum to Enhance Chinese College Students’ English Reading, Writing Proficiency and Sustainability Awareness

Abstract

Amid accelerating globalisation, English has become the default medium for cross-border collaboration, yet Chinese undergraduates continue to underperform in reading and writing. Anchored in Problem-Based Learning theory, this study embedded United Nations Sustainable Development Goals within a five-unit, eight-step reading-and-writing curriculum to lift both language proficiency and sustainability literacy. A five-member expert panel validated the syllabus, confirming that authentic socio-environmental problems, scaffolded inquiry cycles and peer-review protocols create a secure, student-centred milieu which markedly heightens engagement, argumentative accuracy and critical awareness of global-local sustainability challenges.