In 2015, the United Nations (UN) introduced 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) designed to address common global challenges related to inequality, human rights, welfare, and living conditions worldwide. Research demonstrated that these SDGs help students develop social awareness and skills in comprehending global problems and finding solutions when they are implemented in English language classrooms (Alcantud-Díaz & LLoret-Catalá, 2023). Designing activities through the objectives of SDGs are also crucial for acquisition of critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving which are among the 21st century skills (Ülker et al., 2022). Mambu (2023) indicates that students have a chance to raise awareness for global challenges and gain communicative skills if teachers include collaborative and interactive activities about SDGs. Through activities about SDGs, it is important to let students have an autonomy in expressing themselves in talking about problems that the countries are currently facing so that they can become thoughtful individuals contributing to a sustainable society (Cordova, 2024). Therefore, schools, teachers and policy-makers should focus on providing educational contexts that will make students interested in global issues and development goals (Astawa et al., 2024).

Sustainable development goals include peace as an essential element to provide partnerships. Galtung (1969) made a distinction and  divided peace into two kinds: positive and negative peace. Positive peace intends to overcome fundamental and organized oppression by going under social and cultural changes where negative peace is the absence of the violence and conflict (Galtung, 1969; Sommers, 2001). Adams (2000) asserted that educational sources encourage overcoming violence and discrimination by peace education which leads to more sustainable, positive peace. When peaceful communication is integrated within language education, students can gain more confidence and this helps build up peaceful communities to pave the way for more sustainable peace (McVeigh, 2023). Peace education promotes sustainable peace and peacebuilding through supporting conflict resolution, consideration of diversity, tolerance and communication skills (Kester, 2008; Wintersteiner, 2015). These goals can take place by involving children as agents in transformation and making them gain awareness in peace-oriented skills at a young age, so that communities can become peace-conscious for a long period (Jager, 2014; Save the Children, 2008). Yastıbaş (2021) emphasizes that having units focused on peace education within coursebooks at elementary and secondary grades may provide students with inner peace, social peace and peace with nature. Classroom activities enriched with peace contents help provide a link between what students encounter in their everyday lives and the nature of their academic studies. Educational practices like theme-based instruction, and experiential learning may provide a connection of local and global problems with lesson content (Ruiz et al., 2024).

This study aims to design and implement peace education activities within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms to raise students' awareness of critical global issues such as poverty, well-being, and social justice. By incorporating these themes into sustainability-focused curricula, the research seeks to foster reflective thinking and critical engagement among learners. The project will further explore the transformative role of EFL education in promoting empathy, human rights, and global citizenship, with participant feedback guiding and enriching the development of these activities. Through this approach, the study highlights the potential of EFL classrooms as spaces for cultivating a deeper commitment to sustainable peace.

This study employs a qualitative research design to explore students’ reflections and creative outputs during peace education activities in an English language classroom. Qualitative methods are particularly suited to capturing participants' lived experiences, perspectives, and interpretations (Creswell & Poth, 2018). The research was conducted at a Science and Art Center, a specialized center for high-intelligence students in Turkey, which provides an enriched learning environment tailored to their advanced cognitive and creative abilities. The study involved 20 students from two grade levels: seven students from the 7th grade and 13 students from the 8th grade. These students voluntarily chose to participate in a language-focused classroom, where peace education was integrated into English language activities. Purposeful sampling was used to select participants, ensuring that they had the interest and capacity to engage with the activities (Patton, 2015). The activities were designed to encourage students to explore themes of peace, empathy, and conflict resolution through creative expression. The activities included creative tasks such as writing poems and stories and creating drawings, all designed to connect English language learning with peace education concepts. After each activity, students will be asked to reflect on their experiences and provide feedback in written or visual formats. These reflections will be collected and will be analyzed to identify recurring themes and insights. Reflective feedback, as a method of qualitative data collection, allows participants to articulate their thoughts and emotional responses, offering deeper insights into their experiences (Schön, 1983). The data analysis process involves a thematic analysis approach as outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006), which enables the identification, analysis, and reporting of patterns within qualitative data. Students’ reflective feedback, poems, stories, and drawings will be coded and categorized to uncover themes related to their understanding and engagement with peace education. Preliminary results will be presented as part of the ongoing research, but further analysis is required to draw comprehensive conclusions.

The primary aim of this study is to implement peace-related activities in an EFL classroom and gather reflective feedback from students. The preliminary results demonstrated that three main themes emerged from the activities conducted during the study: Awakening to Global Issues, Practicing Peace, and Bridging Perspectives. Under the Awakening to Global Issues theme, students reported gaining increased awareness of poverty, social issues, and inequalities through the activities. For example, students remarked on how the activities exposed them to the harsh realities of poverty and helped them critically examine global disparities in wealth and resources. This theme underscores the role of education in fostering a global mindset and encouraging students to reflect on their place within a broader societal framework. For the Practicing Peace theme, students emphasized the importance of incorporating more peace-oriented activities to better understand the essence of peace. They noted that the activities underscored the need for continuous efforts to understand and embody peace in their daily interactions. Some students called for more opportunities to practice these principles, suggesting that repeated exposure to such activities could help solidify the concepts of peace, justice, and collaboration. Finally, under the Bridging Perspectives theme, students noted that they developed an ability to understand others' perspectives, with some expressing this empathy through statements like "I felt like a Korean" or "I felt like a Syrian." These reflections suggest that the activities facilitated a transformative experience, allowing students to develop critical empathy which is an essential skill for building peaceful and inclusive societies. These preliminary findings suggest that the activities effectively support students in raising awareness of peace-related components, particularly empathy. Furthermore, these findings suggest that peace education can transform EFL classrooms into spaces where language learning intersects with mutual empathy, awareness, and understanding.

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