{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T18:30:02Z","timestamp":1786473002572,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786406400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigates how African leaders linguistically construct sustainability discourse in their United Nations General Assembly (UNGA-2025) speeches and demonstrates how these linguistic patterns can be transformed into a pedagogical model for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). A 50,644-token corpus of 21 African leaders\u2019 UNGA-2025 English speeches was analyzed across five linguistic levels\u2014lexical, morphological, syntactic, pragmatic, and discourse\u2014using a mixed quantitative\u2013qualitative approach. Results show that sustainability meaning is built predominantly through lexical items (48.6%) and discourse organization (26.5%), supported by pragmatic strategies (16.5%) emphasizing urgency and collective agency. Key grammatical resources\u2014including modal verbs (must, should), conditional statements, passive constructions, collective pronouns, and problem\u2013solution sequencing\u2014map systematically onto sustainability competencies: normative, systems-thinking, interpersonal, anticipatory, and strategic. Strategic and interpersonal competencies dominated, reflecting Africa\u2019s emphasis on governance, multilateral partnership, innovation, and climate action. Based on these mappings, the study proposes the Grammar-for-Sustainability Instructional Cycle (GSIC), a five-phase task model (noticing, analysis, transformation, production, reflection) that operationalizes authentic UNGA discourse for language instruction. GSIC supports simultaneous development of grammatical control and sustainability competencies, positioning grammar as purposeful social action. The findings contribute a novel linguistic\u2013competency mapping framework and demonstrate how corpus-informed pedagogy can enrich ESD, particularly within African English language education.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0355457","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T17:33:46Z","timestamp":1786469626000},"page":"e0355457","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["From grammar to sustainability: A corpus-informed pedagogical model (GSIC) based on African Leaders\u2019 UNGA-2025 English speeches"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4244-4852","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Olusiji Adebola","family":"Lasekan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Margot Teresa","family":"Godoy Pena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4750-5463","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Blessy Sarah","family":"Mathew","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]]},"reference":[{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355457.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"509","DOI":"10.22219\/englie.v6i2.40901","article-title":"A critical review of post-pandemic ELT intersections: Language, identity, and sustainability","volume":"6","author":"J Ngo","year":"2025","journal-title":"englie"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0355457.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3325","DOI":"10.3390\/su16083325","article-title":"Sustainability in English Language Teaching: Strategies for Empowering Students to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals","volume":"16","author":"B Yu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sustainability"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355457.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.5539\/ies.v18n4p39","article-title":"Promoting Sustainability Through Language Learning: Analysing English Textbooks in Thailand","volume":"18","author":"KK Sachdev","year":"2025","journal-title":"IES"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0355457.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.6007\/IJARBSS\/v14-i12\/24095","article-title":"Mandarin Language Learning for Education for Sustainability to Promote Global Citizenship and Cultural Understanding","volume":"14","author":"N Jafri","year":"2024","journal-title":"IJARBSS"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0355457.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8145","DOI":"10.51891\/rease.v11i5.19151","article-title":"Rela\u00e7\u00e3o entre educa\u00e7\u00e3o, sustentabilidade e ava","volume":"11","author":"SDS Monteiro","year":"2025","journal-title":"Revista Ibero-Americana de Humanidades, Ci\u00eancias e Educa\u00e7\u00e3o"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355457.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.51726\/jlr.1537547","article-title":"Exploring Research Trends in Sustainability in English Language Education from 2014 to 2024: A Bibliometric Analysis","volume":"8","author":"S Zaimo\u011flu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Journal of Language Research"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355457.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.20355\/jcie29484","article-title":"The Connection of Education for Sustainable Development and Language in African Educational Institutions \u2013 A Systematic Literature Review","volume":"17","author":"N Ulmer","year":"2022","journal-title":"JCIE"},{"key":"pone.0355457.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.4771056","article-title":"A corpus-based, critical discourse analysis of Imran Khan\u2019s address in United Nations General Assembly\u2019s 74th session","author":"M Mazhar","year":"2024"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355457.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1803","DOI":"10.63056\/ACAD.004.02.0291","article-title":"Voicing the Unvoiced and Constructing the national narrative; 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