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3 Seeing the World Through Your Eyes: Empathy in Language Learning and Teaching

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... Adult migrant learners may be exposed to situations of violence, racism and hostility that affect their ability to participate fully in language learning (Baynham, 2006). With these potential struggles in mind, Mercer (2016) outlines how promoting empathy improves group dynamics and cultivates cooperative and collaborative relationships among students, which, in turn, fosters an environment conducive to effective language learning and the strengthening of interpersonal and communicative skills. Despite these earlier contributions, a recent review of trainee teachers' practical experiences in their classroom interactions reveals that student teachers often harbor negative beliefs and concerns about working with learners of non-native backgrounds, while acknowledging the importance of empathy in their training to educate them (Hanna, 2023). ...
... Given that cultivating positive other-regarding emotions is thought to be one of the mechanisms for inducing empathy towards individual subjects, which can generalize to favorable attitudes towards other members of the target group (Klimecki, 2019) and which is essential for effective intercultural communication (Mercer, 2016), further research exploring these links has been encouraged. In this light, Martínez-Otero Pérez (2011) raises the need to promote empathy in university curricula for the training of education professionals, placing special emphasis on the incorporation of the empathic intersubjective educational style in the instructional process. ...
... questions about the adequacy of initial teacher education in preparing them for engaging effectively with migrant students. As Mercer (2016) points out, trainee teachers' awareness of the importance of interpersonal skills in language learning can help them to assess the potential effects that such skills have on classroom life and cross-cultural communication. Prospective empathetic teachers therefore require cognitive skills to interpret emotional cues, adopt diverse perspectives, and foster an inclusive and supportive learning environment (Underhill, 2013). ...
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The increasingly digital and multicultural 21st-century society requires future teachers to be prepared for the changes and challenges they may encounter. Not only language and digital competences, but critical-thinking and problem-solving skills are needed. Moreover, well developed socio-affective abilities, empathy among them, are also key when dealing with others. This is even more relevant when teachers are to work with a non-mainstream population, such as adult migrants with low literacy levels, and to design student-centered curricula or activities. Empathy is a multifaceted process involving, among others, perception, intellection, affect and other sensory aspects of the lived experience. It has been argued that the first-person perspective-taking involved in empathic engagement must necessarily involve rational computation and cognitively mediated processing. Training future teachers in the Pedagogy of Multiliteracies is a means to integrate multimodal digital instruction and aggregate cognitive as well as socio-emotional features to the education of future language teachers. Method A mixed-method pre-post study was conducted with 48 trainee teachers who participated in stand-alone digital multiliteracy interventions, in which they were encouraged to envisage themselves as future teachers of low-literate migrants. Policy documents such as the reference guide on Literacy and Second Language Learning for the Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants, journal articles, audiovisual resources as well as examples of existing educational materials aimed at the target audience, were made available to them on an online platform. In two separate studies, trainees were encouraged to collaboratively produce two different multimodal outputs. The Revised Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy was administered before and after the intervention, subjecting the data obtained to quantitative analysis. Qualitative data was also collected to gain a better understanding of the affective and cognitive processes experienced by the participants. Results Simple statistical analysis coupled with the comparison of means was used to respond to the research questions. Statistical hypothesis testing, including correlations and non-parametric statistics were used to analyze the relationship between each of the factors within the RSEE and the participants, considering the different interventions applied. Non-parametric tests (U-Mann Whitney) were used to compare the differences between the levels of ethnocultural empathy of the participants in the two studies. Significant differences were found in Factor 3 (Empathy) and Factor 5 (Anxiety) between the groups and their post-intervention results, with a p value of 0.053 and 0.038, respectively. The effect size r was calculated, obtaining a size effect of 0.625 for Factor 3 (Empathy) and 0.674 for Factor 5 (Anxiety). These results indicate that the significant differences and the size effect between both groups are large. U-Mann Whitney non-parametric analysis also revealed gender differences in Factor 3 (Empathy), showing females higher levels than males. Effect size r analysis showed a large size effect of 0.708 for Factor 3 (Empathy). The findings pertaining to gender-related differences in empathy levels confirm the conclusions drawn by previous studies. When contrasting study 1 and 2, statistical differences were also shown after the intervention for the ‘Anxiety and Lack of Multicultural Self-efficacy’ factor. The qualitative data analysis was carried out with Atlas.ti v.8, in order to isolate and categorize the broader themes and the most significant explanatory quotes extracted from the participants’ records and interviews. The results reveal the learning strategies that each group of learners applied to successfully complete the task at hand, as well as the participants’ deployment of their critical thinking skills and the awakening of a sense of awareness of their own professional competence development process. Conclusion This study set out to compare how effective two digital multiliteracy interventions were in developing future language teachers’ ethnocultural empathy and cognitive abilities when appraising the educational needs of low-literacy migrants. Despite the small sample size, the study certainly adds to our understanding of the impact of multimodal tasks involving critical thinking skills on trainees’ cognitive and affective abilities. Besides, it expands the growing body of research that points to the desirability of embedding digitally-based content creation tasks in training curricula for future language teachers.
... This idea is echoed by Oxford (2016, p. 13), stating that 'cognition and emotion are inseparable'. Contemporary conceptualisations describe empathy as a positive, complex, multidimensional construct (Mercer, 2016;Schutte & Stilinović, 2017). Recently, there seems to be concordance among researchers that empathy consists of 'three main components' (Mercer, 2016, p. 94). ...
... Recently, there seems to be concordance among researchers that empathy consists of 'three main components' (Mercer, 2016, p. 94). Whereas the literature is relatively consistent in terming the first two components affective/emotional empathy and cognitive empathy, the third element is characterised by inconsistent terminology: motivational empathy, empathetic concern, compassion or sympathy (Mercer, 2016;Zaki, 2019). Howe (2013, p. 14) mentions 'communicating the recognition and understanding of the other's emotional experience' as his third process of empathy. ...
... Another irony is that smartphones were originally invented to connect and communicate. Phubbing, however, shows how smartphones can lead to feeling lonely while not literally being alone but surrounded by friends -and their friends' 'friends', namely their phones' 2021; Golubeva & Guntersdorfer, 2020;Mercer, 2016) have stressed empathy as an integral part of intercultural communicative competence, which is still a primary goal of many foreign language curricula. ...
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Whilst representing a core component of any communicative context, empathy may be even more significant in foreign language teaching than other school subjects. Learners need interlocutors to use and learn a language, which makes the language-learning process even more dependent on relationships. How and where learners and users of foreign languages learn, interact and communicate with each other is increasingly shaped by digital technologies, virtual spaces and artificial intelligence-supported communication tools. This change in contexts and ways of communication also entails a change in where and how empathy is expressed. Consequently, our understanding of empathy needs to be broadened to encompass these developments and help our learners to express empathy in different contexts, media and modes. Therefore, this article will begin by delineating the etymological, empirical and theoretical background of empathy. In a second step, the significance of empathy in digital spaces will be explained, followed by a discussion of existing definitions of digital empathy and a necessary (de-) construction of (digital) empathy. Then, a preliminary model of (digital) empathising in foreign language learning will be suggested, comprising three processes: emotional, cognitive and communicative empathising. I define ‘communicative empathising’ as the process of communicating one’s emotional and/or cognitive empathising for the other to the other – in different contexts and using various ways of communication (medium, mode).
... In-depth, individual semi-structured interviews with the participating teachers, which were coded and analysed thematically, revealed the following three key themes: a) emotion regulation has strong potential to mediate stronger connections with students; b) emotion regulation is a highly collaborative and relational process as it often takes place together with others or through the help of others; and c) emotion regulation is not only performed together with others but also for others. We discuss these findings in light of recent calls to attend to collaborative processes in language education which have strong potential to lead to healthy and adaptive interpersonal relationships (Gkonou, 2022;Mercer, 2016). ...
... Teachersand in fact any individualhave a great degree of control over their emotions and can manipulate both how they feel and the outcomes of their emotions through emotion regulation, which comprises a set of cognitive and behavioral actions directing felt emotions (Gross, 2015;Koole, 2009). In the vast majority of cases, decisions on what can be regulated and how are conscious (Gross, 1998) and determined by intrapersonal and interpersonal motives and outcomes (Tamir, 2016;Tamir, Vishkin, & Gutentag, 2020), as well as by notions of best practice in teaching and institutional and sociocultural norms known as feeling rules (Mercer, 2016;Miller & Gkonou, 2018;Talbot & Mercer, 2018). ...
... With respect to the latter, in Excerpt 1, the teacher elaborated on how their own experiences as student and the fact that they were an "average", "okay" student have helped them "to understand students who struggle to achieve" and squarely shaped their approach to empathizing with their own students as part of their practice. Mercer (2016) has indeed argued for the centrality of empathy in education and in forming meaningful teacher-learner relationships. ...
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Although previous research has shown that teaching is replete with emotion (Zembylas, 2004) and that emotion regulation should be viewed as a key teacher competence (Brackett, Palomera, Mojsa-Kaja, Reyes, & Salovey, 2010; Gkonou & Mercer, 2017),there is still much that we do not know about how such regulation is performed in teachers' day-today teaching practice. In this article, we explore the nature of emotion regulation among 50 language teachers working in four national settings, namely the US, the UK, Norway and Germany. In-depth, individual semi-structured interviews with the participating teachers, which were coded and analysed thematically, revealed the following three key themes: a) emotion regulation has strong potential to mediate stronger connections with students; b) emotion regulation is a highly collaborative and relational process as it often takes place together with others or through the help of others; and c) emotion regulation is not only performed together with others but also for others. We discuss these findings in light of recent calls to attend to collaborative processes in language education which have strong potential to lead to healthy and adaptive interpersonal relationships (Gkonou, 2022; Mercer, 2016).
... Moreover, teachers ought to make their learners' experiences more meaningful and personal in the classroom. In regard to this, teacher education should involve reflections on empathy, so that pre-service teachers can develop the ability to listen actively, welcome their students' perspectives, and put themselves in their shoes (Mercer, 2016). Teacher education should also entail reflection on autonomy, in a way that pre-service teachers can exercise their agency in their own education, as well as create conditions for the development of autonomy in their classrooms. ...
... so that pre-service teachers can develop the ability to listen actively, to make their students feel welcomed, and put themselves in their shoes (Mercer, 2016). Teacher education should also entail reflection on autonomy, in a way that pre-service teachers can exercise their agency in their own education, as well as create conditions for the development of autonomy in their classrooms. ...
... Empathy is important for our daily relationships in diverse contexts, including in language teacher education (Mercer, 2016). Language teacher education may benefit from fostering opportunities for reflections on empathy, as pre-service language teachers can develop the ability to listen actively and carefully and to make their students feel welcomed and accepted in the classroom. ...
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The complexity of language teaching and learning requires teachers to be able to reflect on their own practices, adapt to different situations, and seek solutions that may meet the needs and interests of their students (Borges, 2019; Borges & Magno e Silva, 2019). Moreover, teachers ought to make their learners' experiences more meaningful and personal in the classroom. In regard to this, teacher education should involve reflections on empathy, so that pre-service teachers can develop the ability to listen actively, welcome their students' perspectives, and put themselves in their shoes (Mercer, 2016). Teacher education should also entail reflection on autonomy, in a way that pre-service teachers can exercise their agency in their own education, as well as create conditions for the development of autonomy in their classrooms. With that in mind, this study aims to investigate pre-service language teachers' transformation during two teaching methodology courses at a university in Northern Brazil. Data were generated through teaching diaries and in-class reflections, which were then analyzed qualitatively (Saldaña, 2021). The findings indicate that pre-service teachers not only became aware of the importance of encouraging their learners' autonomy, but they also became aware of learning autonomously themselves. The diaries also revealed how considering empathy in their practices was pivotal to fostering learner autonomy in the classroom. Implications for language teacher education are discussed.
... As Fredrickson and Cohn (2008) state, positive affect is the major trigger of active engagement with the learners' environment and his/her will to participate in classroom activities. Following MacIntyre and Gregersen (2012) who posited that positive emotions tend to broaden a person's perspective, opening him/her to absorb the language, some researchers investigated the generalizability of previous studies to the domain of foreign language learning focusing on such factors as emotion (Abdolrezapour, 2017a(Abdolrezapour, , 2017b(Abdolrezapour, , 2018, resilience and positive reappraisals (Chaffee et al., 2014), empathy (Mercer, 2016), flow and anti-flow (Czimmermann & Piniel, 2016), optimism (Gregersen & MacIntyre, 2014), and empathy, emotional intelligence, emotion regulation (Bielak & Mystkowska-Wiertelak, 2020;Oxford, 2020) pointing that these features bring long-term benefits by broadening attention and thinking (Fredrickson & Branign, 2005). However, MacIntyre et al. (2019) called for more PP-inspired interventional studies using a wide variety of approaches that seek ways to boost EFL learners' skills. ...
... Miles and Stipek (2006) found a positive relation between kindergarten or first-grade teachers' ratings of children's prosocial behavior and their literacy achievement across the elementary school (through grade 5). Empathy has also been found to have an influential role in second/foreign language performance as it greatly influences interpersonal skills and social relationships (Guiora et al., 1972;Mercer, 2016). On the other hand, using empathy in the classroom can help teachers better understand and support struggling students. ...
... Previous studies on empathy (Guiora, et al., 1972;Mercer, 2016) pointed to its significant role in interpersonal skills and social relationships in the second/ foreign language context. In fact, empathy not only affects the social relationships and learning strategies applied by learners, but also affects the process of adapting to the foreign language culture. ...
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This study applies positive psychology to improve EFL learners’ listening comprehension ability. To this aim, two groups of EFL learners (N = 45) participated in the study. The learners in the experimental group received the positive psychology intervention based on four components of positive psychology including hope, gratitude, emotion regulation, and empathy and those in the control group received the usual listening comprehension activities. The results including listening comprehension scores along with the analysis of the semi-structured interviews and class observations showed the effectiveness of the intervention, highlighting an increase in the students' listening comprehension scores. It was found that the experimental group experienced a range of positive and negative emotions, with positive emotions more than twice as frequent as negative emotions. The findings also showed that the intervention informed the instructor regarding specific areas where the learners encountered difficulty and in so doing, it allowed for applying appropriate strategies to help them overcome such problems. Finally, the theoretical and pedagogical implications of integrating positive emotions in foreign language teaching are discussed.
... Oxford (2016) put forth a series of testable hypotheses related to each dimension of the model, and the preliminary empirical findings appeared to support the efficacy of the classroom interventions. Lake (2013Lake ( , 2016 and Mercer (2016), to name a few, also investigated a small number of constructs in this framework, such as courage, self-concept, and empathy and their initial findings provided support for the usefulness of these variables for L2 teaching and learning at both individual (in terms of enhancing positive L2 self, L2 self-efficacy, and L2 intended effort) and institutional level (in terms of promoting social relationships, positive group dynamics, and optimal classroom atmosphere). ...
... L2 researchers may also consider expanding the scope of positive characteristics investigated to include, for instance, courage, humor, resolution, open-mindedness, altruism, curiosity, and empathy. For example, empathy, as an important element in Oxford's (2016) EMPATHICS model, may play a vital role in shaping language learning emotions given that it relates to learners' competence to understand the minds and emotions of interlocutors and develop positive relationships with them during intercultural communication, social interaction, and language use (Mercer, 2016). L2 researchers can investigate the influence of empathy on a wide range of positive and negative emotions (e.g., enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, shame, and boredom) as well as the potential mediating role of empathy in the relationship between institutional factors and language learning emotions. ...
... L2 researchers can investigate the influence of empathy on a wide range of positive and negative emotions (e.g., enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, shame, and boredom) as well as the potential mediating role of empathy in the relationship between institutional factors and language learning emotions. Pedagogically, language teachers can employ various intervention tools (e.g., role-play, movies, drama, reflective journal, and reading literature) to help learners foster their empathy (Mercer, 2016). One effective method can be through the use of role-play, by using either real or imaginative characters. ...
Article
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Although emotion research and positive psychology (PP) have recently gained strong momentum in the field of second language acquisition (SLA), theoretical models linking language emotion and PP research, which offer insights for both research and intervention practice are lacking. To address this gap, the present article first introduces the origin, concept, and research around PP. Next, it summarizes recent research on PP and emotions in SLA. Finally, by triangulating emotion theories and research in the fields of psychology, education, and SLA, we propose a new model, which merges the three pillars of PP (positive institutions, positive characteristics, and positive emotions) with the antecedents, outcomes, and interventions of second language (L2) emotions (the L2EPP model). The value of the model to L2 pedagogy and research is highlighted in the context of the importance of integrating PP into the area of emotions and instructed SLA.
... They cultivate meaningful dialogs with students to establish relations of care and trust, which helps to "achieve empathic accuracy" (Noddings, 2012, p. 775). Caring teachers are attentive to students' verbal remarks regarding their emotional state and try to decode non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and eye contact (Mercer, 2016; see also for theory of empathy). They listen and observe without judgment (Mercer, 2016), try to understand students' thoughts and feelings (Mercer and Dörnyei, 2020), and display "compassion and tenderheartedness" toward their students (Oxford, 2016, p. 18). ...
... Caring teachers are attentive to students' verbal remarks regarding their emotional state and try to decode non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and eye contact (Mercer, 2016; see also for theory of empathy). They listen and observe without judgment (Mercer, 2016), try to understand students' thoughts and feelings (Mercer and Dörnyei, 2020), and display "compassion and tenderheartedness" toward their students (Oxford, 2016, p. 18). ...
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Students’ academic engagement depends on a variety of factors that are related to personal learner characteristics, the teacher, the teaching methodology, peers, and other features in the learning environment. Components that influence academic engagement can be cognitive, metacognitive, affective, social, task-related, communicative, and foreign language-related. Rather than existing in isolated spheres, the factors contributing to an individual’s academic engagement intertwine and overlap. The relationships students cultivate with others are prominent in several of these areas. Positive interpersonal relationships enhance individuals’ enthusiasm for learning (Mercer and Dörnyei, 2020), which benefits sustainable learning success and self-confidence. The relationships between students and teachers and the perceptions students have of their teachers seem to be particularly influential on students’ engagement in academic undertakings. Problem-based learning (PBL), a teaching approach particularly suitable for tertiary education, involves students in authentic problem-solving processes and fosters students’ self-regulation and teamwork. Intensive relationship-building is one of the key characteristics of this student-centered approach (Amerstorfer, 2020). The study reported in this article explores the connection between the academic engagement of 34 students and their perceptions of three instructors in a teacher education program for pre-service English teachers in Austria. An online questionnaire was used to investigate the participants’ perceived academic engagement (effort, dedication, learning success) in a university course that implements PBL as its underlying teaching methodology in comparison to conventional teaching approaches. The study further examines how the students perceived the course instructors’ caring, credibility, communication style, and feedback, which leads to new information about how PBL shapes student-teacher relationships. Due to Covid-19, the otherwise face-to-face course was taught online.
... All these studies produced highly interesting findings and foretold the illuminating insights that PP could offer to research in language learning. As Dewaele et al. (Mercer, 2016), flow (Czimmermann and Piniel, 2016;Dewaele and MacIntyre, forthcoming), hope (Hiver, 2016), perseverance (Belnap, Bown, Dewey, Belnap and Steffen, 2016), love (Barcelos and Coelho, 2016;Pavelescu and Petrić, 2018) and the L2 self (Lake, 2016). Yet, the most exhaustively studied area has been learners' FLE and FLCA, with some of the studies using data from different timescales, which has been largely possible thanks to the influence of CDS theory. ...
... Teaching is innately interactive since it entails "making connections with an active, growing mind" (Tiberius, 1993-94) and, especially in language learning, it is through interacting, negotiating, collaborating and dialoguing with others that we learn (Barcelos and Coelho, 2016). This interpersonal side of language teaching began to be studied through research drawing on sociocultural approaches which understand teaching and learning as socially situated and which explore language learners in context, with a focus on relationships with people with whom they learn and use the language (Mercer, 2016). In the classroom, these relationships involve mainly studentstudent and teacher-student relationships. ...
Thesis
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Due to the ‘emotional turn’ (Pavlenko, 2013) in SLA – and particularly thanks to the advent of Positive Psychology – closer attention has been devoted to the role that emotions and related processes such as (self-)beliefs play in foreign/second language learning. The aim of this doctoral thesis is to explore the English language learning beliefs and emotions students display and have constructed in relation to (i) the teaching methodology and the type of tasks (particularly oral tasks), and (ii) the role of the teacher and student-teacher relationships. A qualitative approach has been adopted in four independent yet intertwined studies in which both observational (classroom audio/video-recordings) and non-observational (interviews, focus groups and open-ended items) data have been analyzed. Findings indicate that many students have constructed insecure self-concepts with interrelated dysfunctional (self-)beliefs and negative emotional experiences – especially regarding speaking tasks – largely due to a tradition of grammar-based approaches and scarce oral production. The analysis shows that change towards more positive mindsets is possible but the adaptation process involves difficult periods of transition for those students who appear to feel more insecure with their language abilities. During this process, the role of the teacher has been proven to be crucial in fostering positivity in class by promoting positive teacher-student contact and by creating a safe environment in which students respect and work collaboratively in order to overcome English speaking inhibition.
... In light of this, the role of teacher educators is crucial in helping novice teachers externalize, understand, and manage their emotions as they can be informative of what, how, and why pre-service teachers do what they do when learning to teach . Given that emotions can be transformed and can therefore change (Mercer, 2016), in SLTE there has been an increased interest in focusing on emotions in the classroom from a positive psychology lense, as it can help prospective tea- ...
... Positive psychology experts have stated that this type of activity can help future teachers increase their optimism, foster resilience, hope and hardiness, and increase well-being. (Hiver, 2016;Kalbot & Mercer, 2018;Mercer 2016;. ...
... Participants with lower MIP, on the other hand, were more likely to be dismissive or indifferent in the scenarios, suggesting a lack of empathetic engagement. Mercer (2016) and Freiermuth and Huang (2021), among others, have documented the significance of empathy in intercultural encounters. For instance, Mercer notes that languages help us "create bonds and form meaningful relationships with other people" and that "seeking to understand the mind of the person you are communicating with can greatly assist communication" (p. ...
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The study reported in this article examined the dynamics of plurilingualism, ethnicity, and effectiveness in intercultural encounters among a sample of 221 participants from Chinese universities via an online questionnaire and a situational judgement test comprised of three scenarios involving plurilingual and intercultural encounters. It employed latent profile analysis to identify distinct profiles based on participants' plurilingualism, including how they used their languages, their exposure to linguistic diversity in oral interactions, and their experiences with plurilingualism in society, school, and university. The study also considered participants' ethnic backgrounds and self-reported intercultural effectiveness. The findings revealed two latent profiles characterised by notable differences in ethnic background, language proficiency, language use, and experiences of plurilingualism in society, school, and university. Additionally, the most consistent predictors of participants' behaviour in the three scenarios were their fluid language use and exposure to linguistic diversity during oral interactions.
... Within the TEFLIN framework, where students navigate the complexities of acquiring English as a foreign language within their cultural context, language instruction caters a unique platform for nurturing character development. Research has shown that language learning activities, such as collaborative tasks, role-plays, and discussions, can serve as vehicles for promoting empathy, cooperation, and ethical awareness among learners (Buu & Thi, 2017;Mercer, 2016;Tipmontree & Tasanameelarp, 2018). ...
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The pedagogy of Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Indonesia (TEFLIN) underscores the significance of substantive content in language instruction. This paper elucidates the pivotal role of integrating culturally relevant materials into English teaching-learning curricula to effectively develop students’ linguistic competence and linguistic performance. Drawing upon the symbiotic relationship between language and culture, the discourse explores how native speakers' cultural nuances in instructional materials catalyze students' linguistic competence and character development. Central to this approach is the recognition that language acquisition encompasses understanding the cultural underpinnings inherent in communication. This study delves into the pedagogical framework wherein the exploration and elucidation of linguistic features within input texts serve as conduits for delving into students' indigenous wisdom, thereby fostering character-building opportunities. However, successfully integrating these materials for character development hinges upon educators' adeptness in devising contextually relevant teaching-learning activities. Emphasizing the intrinsic moral values interwoven within instructional materials, this paper delineates a structured approach to character development through TEFLIN. Based on experiential insights, this article delineates a procedural framework for leveraging learning materials and teaching-learning activities within TEFLIN to nurture character traits. The outlined phases encompass pre-teaching rituals to set a conducive learning environment, interactive pedagogical approaches during instruction, and reflective post-teaching assessments. Educators are empowered to cultivate a culture of ethical consciousness and character refinement among students by accentuating the integration of moral values throughout the instructional process.
... Pre-service teachers go through many emotional experiences in the process of planning lessons, teaching in real classrooms, and receiving feedback from their supervisors (Johnson & Worden, 2014). Fortunately, emotions are dynamic and thus can be managed (Mercer, 2016). Teacher educators can help prospective teachers verbalize their implicit thoughts and emotions so that they can reflect more fully on their experiences (Johnson & Worden, 2014;Zembylas, 2005). ...
Chapter
This chapter reports on a study exploring the value of preparing pre-service teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) to teach peace in their classrooms in an Argentine setting. The practicum approach drew on elements of the contemplative, holistic, and experiential learning modes to incorporate multidimensional peace language activities to raise awareness of peace and help pre-service teachers become peacebuilders. Four purposefully selected participants practiced peace language activities in the practicum and implemented similar activities in their EFL classrooms. Data were collected through various qualitative sources before, during, and after the practicum, and were subjected to thematic and content analysis. Results showed that the four participants felt the peace activities were transformational both for language students and for themselves. However, two participants were distinctly more adept than the other pair in weaving the peace activities into their teaching. The chapter offers explanations and draws significant educational implications.
... In her insightful article dedicated to the central role of empathy in language teaching and learning, Mercer (2016) emphasizes the need to train language teachers to promote their empathic skills. When we develop new materials and share them with other teachers, this generosity is an expression of our empathy. ...
Article
Drawing on research in positive psychology and second language acquisition, this article presents essential teacher qualities and behaviors that contribute to positive affect in second/foreign language learners in higher education. I argue that language teachers’ kindness, empathy, enthusiasm and professionalism (KEEP) build students’ trust and respect, and create a positive learning environment where students cooperate with teachers willingly; that is, attend class gladly, participate in learning activities, do homework and strive to get good grades. Teachers foster this positive affect starting from the first lesson, by consistently behaving in ways that nurture positive affect in every lesson. Thanks to their empathy and enthusiasm, teachers become more creative and are able to prevent boredom in their classes, paving the way to more motivated, engaged and resilient students. The scientific and practical evidence presented in this article will inspire second and foreign language teachers to adopt KEEP for their students’ and their own benefit. Researchers are invited to put to the test some of the claims I have made here as a practicing language teacher in higher education these past 36 years.
... Teaching is innately interactive since it entails "making connections with an active, growing mind" (Tiberius, 1993-94) and, especially in language learning, it is through interacting, negotiating, collaborating and dialoguing with others that we learn (Barcelos & Coelho, 2016). This interpersonal side of language teaching began to be studied through research drawing on sociocultural approaches which understand teaching and learning as socially situated and which explore language learners in context, with a focus on relationships with people with whom they learn and use the language (Mercer, 2016). In the classroom, these relationships involve mainly studentstudent and teacher-student relationships. ...
Article
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Positive Psychology was introduced in Second Language Acquisition research in order to explore how positivity can be experienced in the classroom so that learners can flourish in their language learning processes even in averse circumstances (see MacIntyre & Gregersen, 2012 ). Drawing on theories from Positive Psychology ( Fredrickson, 2001 , 2013 ), this study explores moments of positive contact between teacher and students (see Korthagen et al., 2014 ) via (1) students’ self-reported accounts of their experiences in English learning contexts through four interviews and three focus groups; and (2) observable classroom practices through audio/video recordings of six class sessions. Findings reveal that positive emotion, which is co-constructed by both teacher and student(s) in in-situ interaction, seems to benefit the learner at multiple levels (emotionally, behaviorally, motivationally and cognitively), to contribute to creating rapport between them, and to help fulfill various foreign language learning-related goals.
... Another promising incident was the way the students stretched their creativity and artistic abilities in demonstrating their language productivity. The various instances of generating creative linguistic expressions and manipulating digital tools for producing multimedia by the students may fit well with Fredrickson's (2013) 'broaden and build' hypothesis, which declares that positive emotions like interest, empathy, positive relationships in the class, engagement, and joy broaden individuals' mental resources and build their strengths and productive skills like creative thinking and novel thoughts (MacIntyre & Gregersen, 2012;Mercer, 2016). Correspondingly, Gómez (2018) reported that the Colombian students in her study deployed the 'multimodal semiotic signs at their disposal' (p. ...
Article
Not dissimilar to many other English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning English appear to be both under-implemented and under-researched in Iranian English education settings, particularly in the public sector. In this study, the researchers explored the challenges and opportunities of teaching English based on collaborative inquiry-based learning (IBL) in an Iranian EFL secondary school context. To that end, supplementary teaching materials and classroom practices were developed for one of the national English textbooks, drawing upon inquiry phases of engagement in the topic of inquiry, exploring various sources, explaining the collected information collaboratively, and extending understanding. The participants of the study were 60 students taking English, as a compulsory school subject, in a vocational high school. The data for the study were collected through multiple sources including a semester-long class observation, teacher reflective journals, student-generated documents, and focus group interviews. The analysis of the data revealed that the students initially faced several challenges in their shift of paradigm from conventional to IBL practices, chiefly among which was their lack of tendency to sing in tune as community members. Notwithstanding the challenges, the practices also provided them with several learning opportunities like developing a searching spirit, practicing autonomy, creativity, team working, as well as voicing the self in a foreign language. We hope the research findings and classroom practices will be inspirational for curriculum designers, materials developers, and English teachers both in the Iranian context of English education and other EFL contexts worldwide.
... Such research articles, which were published in prestigious journals in applied linguistics, drew on the tenets of PP. Examples of such seminal articles are those written by Mercer (2016), Oxford (2016), andMacIntyre et al. (2019). According to MacIntyre (2016), four of the most applicable contributions of PP to L2 education are (1) a shift from negativity to positivity, (2) the character strengths model including six components of humanity, courage, justice, temperance, transcendence, and wisdom (Park et al., 2004), (3) shift from the PERMA model to the EMPATICS model for explaining wellbeing within PP (Oxford, 2016), and (4) the concept of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) which pertains to a state of wellbeing occurring when an individual is completely absorbed in the task that (s)he loses track of time. ...
Chapter
In the previous chapter, based on the positive psychology movement and the rhetorical/relational goal theory, it was explained that the five positive teacher-related variables of care, clarity, credibility, closeness, and confirmation can contribute to students’ empowerment and learning outcomes. In this chapter, the theoretical and empirical backgrounds of the concepts of teacher’s 5Cs, learner empowerment, student affective learning, cognitive learning, and behavioral learning are presented.
... Such research articles, which were published in prestigious journals in applied linguistics, drew on the tenets of PP. Examples of such seminal articles are those written by Mercer (2016), Oxford (2016), andMacIntyre et al. (2019). According to MacIntyre (2016), four of the most applicable contributions of PP to L2 education are (1) a shift from negativity to positivity, (2) the character strengths model including six components of humanity, courage, justice, temperance, transcendence, and wisdom (Park et al., 2004), (3) shift from the PERMA model to the EMPATICS model for explaining wellbeing within PP (Oxford, 2016), and (4) the concept of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) which pertains to a state of wellbeing occurring when an individual is completely absorbed in the task that (s)he loses track of time. ...
Chapter
In the previous chapter, the findings of the study were discussed in light of the theoretical and empirical backgrounds of the work. In this final chapter of the book, conclusions are made based on the results, the study limitations are outlined, pedagogical implications are put forward, and avenues for further research in this domain are presented.
... Such research articles, which were published in prestigious journals in applied linguistics, drew on the tenets of PP. Examples of such seminal articles are those written by Mercer (2016), Oxford (2016), andMacIntyre et al. (2019). According to MacIntyre (2016), four of the most applicable contributions of PP to L2 education are (1) a shift from negativity to positivity, (2) the character strengths model including six components of humanity, courage, justice, temperance, transcendence, and wisdom (Park et al., 2004), (3) shift from the PERMA model to the EMPATICS model for explaining wellbeing within PP (Oxford, 2016), and (4) the concept of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) which pertains to a state of wellbeing occurring when an individual is completely absorbed in the task that (s)he loses track of time. ...
Chapter
In the previous sections, the theoretical and empirical backgrounds of the study were described. In the current section, the information about the aims and research questions of the study, its design, setting, participants, research instruments, data collection procedure, and data analysis are explicated. A group of 739 students studying English-related majors in universities in Iran was targeted to take part in the study. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were undertaken in this research to answer the research questions specified below.
... The latest thinking is that motivation, and conversely, DE-MOTIVATION (whether of teachers or learners) is intertwined with agency and affective factors such as EMPATHY. Mercer (2016) hints at this, when she argues for empathy as a 'fundamental human social capacity that we need to succeed' Brown & Flood (2018) argue that if teachers are encouraged to be professionals, engaging in research-informed practice, it is necessary to engage in capacity-building and trust them to create independent ways of researching. This connects with Kelchtermans (2004Kelchtermans ( , 2009Kelchtermans ( , 2016, who notes that teachers require professional support which goes beyond conveying content or pedagogic knowledge. ...
Article
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Practitioner research is a flourishing area with a significant body of theoretical and empirical research, but often researchers remain isolated, unaware of impactful work by colleagues in related fields. Exploratory Practice (EP) is one innovative form, uniting creative pedagogy and research methods. The potential contributions have hitherto been neglected. EP's emphasis on puzzling and understanding is a means of demystifying occluded practices which place learners, teachers and researchers as co-investigators at the heart of the research-practice nexus. EP's radical positioning of learners as co-researchers, alongside teachers, teacher educators and others, means crossing boundaries – (re-)negotiating identities, in language learning/teaching/researching – thus raising epistemological challenges for the field. The contribution of this state-of-the-art article is to provide a meta-analysis of these themes and challenges, critically analysing the complexities involved as the paradigms of research, practice and practitioner research shift from research-as-practice towards practice-as-research.
... This is clearly congruent with the importance of intuitive personal relationships in Steiner education. Likewise, some interest has been shown in positive psychology -or 'happiness studies' (Helgesen 2019, Mercer 2016) as applied to the teaching of English. ...
Article
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The article discusses MELT (Mainstream English Language Teaching) in relation to the author’s perception of Waldorf education. It first attempts a definition of performance. It goes on to describe the recent history of MELT with particular regard to performative and creative elements. It then considers those teacher qualities needed for successful in-depth learning and relates this to performance. The major differences between Steiner and MELT are then set out, in particular the encroachment of regulation on MELT. It argues that, while MELT may be imperfect in many ways, not least in the current preference for control, it has nonetheless produced a rich variety of creative work much of which is compatible with Waldorf philosophy and practice. Waldorf likewise has much to offer MELT in helping to restore physical, emotional and spiritual aspects which it currently neglects. It suggests there would be mutual benefit in a better knowledge and understanding between MELT and Waldorf systems.
... Such research articles, which were published in prestigious journals in applied linguistics, drew on the tenets of PP. Examples of such seminal articles are those written by Mercer (2016), Oxford (2016), andMacIntyre et al. (2019). According to MacIntyre (2016), four of the most applicable contributions of PP to L2 education are (1) a shift from negativity to positivity, (2) the character strengths model including six components of humanity, courage, justice, temperance, transcendence, and wisdom (Park et al., 2004), (3) shift from the PERMA model to the EMPATICS model for explaining wellbeing within PP (Oxford, 2016), and (4) the concept of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) which pertains to a state of wellbeing occurring when an individual is completely absorbed in the task that (s)he loses track of time. ...
Book
This book argues that, in line with the tenets of positive psychology in SLA and the rhetorical/relational goal theory, positive teacher-student interpersonal relationships are deemed to be of great significance for empowering students to accomplish favorable academic outcomes and to successfully learn a second/foreign language (L2), whether at its affective, behavioral, or cognitive levels. Therefore, understanding the role of teacher interpersonal behaviors and their effect on students' learning gains in the domain of SLA is of utmost importance, particularly as this line of research is at its nascent stage of development, and, as a result, available empirical evidence is still inconclusive. To address this issue, drawing on the mixed methods design, this book mainly aims to, first, empirically scrutinize the role of “5Cs” positive teacher interpersonal variables (i.e., care, clarity, closeness, confirmation, and credibility) in L2 students' affective, behavioral, and cognitive learning outcomes through the mediation of student-perceived learner empowerment in the L2 context of Iran. Second, it is intended to show how L2 teacher educators, teachers, and materials developers, among other key educational stakeholders, can facilitate the provision of interpersonally rich language learning environments with the ultimate goal of enhancing students' L2 learning.
... Finally, EFL teaching practices should be strongly linked to EI owing to the core objective of teaching a foreign language which aims at equipping EFL learners with intercultural competences as a part of the global communicative competency (Karabinar & Guler, 2013). Such competence is assumed to oblige both teachers and learners to develop higher sympathy and empathy which are key components of Trait EI (Mercer, 2016). on the other hand regarding the aspects of pedagogical skills, classroom management and creativity. ...
Article
Teacher emotions form a cornerstone of classroom teaching practices. The study investigated the impact of EFL teachers’ traits emotional intelligence, teaching qualifications, teaching experience, teaching stage, gender and age on their self-reported classroom teaching practices. An online survey was administered to 115 EFL teachers. The findings confirmed a significant positive correlation between emotional intelligence and classroom teaching practices. Teaching experience was found to influence classroom management and pedagogical skills, but not teacher creativity and teacher predictability, which was in favour of the most experienced teachers. Teaching qualifications affected creativity, classroom management and pedagogical skills which was in favour of PhD holders. No effects were detected for teaching stage, age or gender on EFL teachers’ classroom teaching practices. The findings are discussed in line with the previous relevant research and the related theories.
... In the affective subsystem, the model encompasses the interrelation between autonomy and empathy in language teaching and learning. They are both dynamic and context-sensitive skills that can be nurtured and developed throughout life (Krznaric, 2014;Mercer, 2016). In this regard, autonomy and empathy are essential in language teaching contexts because they demand from teachers the sensitivity in respecting others' learning process and their decision to exercise their autonomy in and beyond the classroom (Borges & Castro, 2022). ...
Article
Full-text available
Over the last years, language learning has been described as a complex dynamic system, encompassing different interacting subsystems, such as autonomy. In this article, I argue that autonomy development is a complex, dynamic and fluctuating process in which a point of arrival cannot be defined, as autonomy is experienced in a nonlinear and continuous way throughout life, with moments of advances, stability and setbacks, involving the interaction between a large number of processes, elements, agents, among other subsystems. In this paper, I present the Complex Dynamic Model of Autonomy Development (CDMA). This model explains the dynamics of autonomy in learners’ language learning trajectory in light of the complexity paradigm. The model has been used in research and activities with a focus on language learning and language teacher education. It has been discussed with language majoring students, pre-service and in-service language teachers as a tool for reflection, self-awareness and self-regulation, as it enables a comprehensive view of the dynamism and complexity involved in the process of developing both learner autonomy and teacher autonomy.
... This, therefore, presents an opportunity to change attitudes around Emilian in a positive way by leveraging on feelings that are inherently valuable rather than approaching it from a negative angle. In practice, the scope is to foster values of empathy and solidarity towards Emilian by exposing the community to new ideas of what it means to be a speaker of Emilian with a focus on commonalities (Mercer 2016): a shared history, an ancestral ecological knowledge, a rediscovered appreciation of the local nature through a new tool in the spatial repertoire of the community. This, to me, seems to be both a practically and morally desirable path of reconnection for Emilian. ...
Article
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This paper takes a pragmatic approach to the issue of language maintenance and revitalization and constructs its argument through an ecological lens. Electing Emilian – a minoritized language of Italy, as a case study, this article analyzes folk stories related to the more-than-human world. Employing an ecolinguistic framework and focusing on key theoretical concepts of evaluation, salience, and identity, this paper proposes that these folk stories can serve a dual purpose. Firstly, they can be used as materials to re-introduce the use of Emilian in the public domain by creating local spaces where the language can be spoken organically thus escaping the social stigma usually attached to it. This would help raise awareness of Emilian as a language intrinsically valuable. Secondly, by using these texts as materials, users would be exposed to new ways in which the local environment can be looked at and rediscovered. The results of the analyses are used illustrate how ecolinguistics can be used to identify materials for language revitalization efforts in Emilian and other similar communities where the connection with heritage language, place, and identity is either partial or missing.
... When it comes to emotionality, teachers with high emotionality scores are equipped with key skills to be empathetic, take their students' perspective (Mercer, 2016). These kinds of teachers should be able to fully understand their students, help them cope and adapt to various situations. ...
Conference Paper
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Today’s schools are constantly engaged by various new experiences, challenges, difficulties and opportunities. Nowadays it is well known that for a school to be successful in both academic and social development it must be opened to use new strategies and methods in order to adapt to these constantly upcoming challenges. It is known that students with special educational needs usually find it harder to function socially, academically, they also tend to undervalue their quality of life. In recent years it has been discovered that student emotions can play a huge part for one’s development in the mentioned areas. In order to fully understand and dispose emotional powers one must be emotionally intelligent. In recent decades research has revealed that emotional intelligence can play a key role to increase the potential of students with special educational needs. These children usually struggle to socially adapt and communicate, to create new relationships, tend to be emotionally unstable, etc. It is also stated that in order to develop student’s emotional intelligence teachers should be highly emotionally intelligent as well as emotional intelligence is developed through social interactions, and the control of social interactions in the emotional level. Thus, the development of their emotional intelligence in a school environment is majorly important, especially if this kind of development is being conducted by highly emotionally intelligent teachers. It is because of these statements the aim of this study has been formulated – to evaluate the trait emotional intelligence of primary school teachers who work in special education schools. In order to reach this goal several research questions were raised: what are the global EI and its factor scores of our sample, how do these scores distribute between themselves, how do they contribute for the development of EI? Also, several research methods were used. A sample of 66 primary education teachers who work in special education schools form Lithuania and Latvia were asked to answer the TEIQue-SF questionnaire. Their scores were evaluated according to the questionnaires scoring key. Their score validity was conducted by using Cronbach’s alpha score and KMO factorial analysis scores all by using SPSS v23. Although the Cronhach’s alpha and KMO scores show no significant research data it has been partly discovered that the teacher’s from our sample global emotional intelligence score should be at a higher than intermediate-high level.
... Students may not change their interest in learning English, but they may respect the teacher as a professional and this can foster their good behavior in class, affecting teacher motivation positively (Gadella Kamstra, 2020a). In support of this finding, researchers agree that there should be understanding between teachers and learners since good relationships depend on the capacity to empathize with others (Mercer, 2016) and communicating with students is a positive practice that fosters better relationships (Jiang et al., 2019). This beneficial solution can avoid excessive negative feelings and trigger respectful and trustworthy teacher-student relationships (MacIntyre et al., 2019;Mercer et al., 2016). ...
Article
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This article explores in-service EFL teacher (de)motivation in secondary state schools in Spain. Possible solutions to teachers' negative professional experiences and demotivation were proposed by 23 Spanish EFL teachers. These suggestions are examined applying Ecosystems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1993). Using this framework, the present qualitative study offers an ecological understanding of the improvements needed in the EFL teaching profession, in which the importance of the context is reinforced since they were found to affect teachers and their motivation. Data were collected through in-depth online and face-to-face semi-structured interviews and recurrent classroom observations. Innovation and training, teaching support, a reduced teacher-student ratio and empathizing with students were some solutions proposed to solve teachers' motivational problems. This ecological standpoint shows that teachers are negatively affected by factors beyond their control and therefore, the intervention of policymakers to upgrade teachers' working conditions was found to be key to protecting teachers' extrinsic motivation and to preventing the deterioration of their intrinsic motivation.
... Yuta's initial period of being a teacher, the so called 'survival and discovery stage' (Huberman, 1992), was mainly survival. Teachers' self-efficacy, or belief in their capacity to handle the duties of their job, can help them overcome the initial growing pains experienced by first-year teachers (Mercer, 2016). In Lines 13 to 15, Yuta says that the other teachers have prepared for class and intimates that he cannot; he can only survive. ...
Article
Reflective practice (RP) is known as a cyclical process of identifying issues, discussing how to resolve them, and acting. RP is not supposed to be solitary but rather collaborative between teaching colleagues or supervisors and teachers. Thus, research on teacher development advocates a dialogic approach for mentoring novice teachers in which the participants mutually construct knowledge. The culture of the feedback event, though, can interfere with the participants’ intentions for collaborative discussion given the status of the supervisor. In an 18- month ethnographic research project on three first-year teachers, I attempted to engage in dialogic RP with them to identify issues they were experiencing and discuss how to resolve them. In ethnographic research, the researcher is part of the field being studied. Through field notes and interview transcripts, I constructed three critical incidents, or episodes, in which dialogic RP was not attained. Through my recounting of critical incidents with these teachers, I argue that collective understanding of issues and use of the teacher’s expertise are important, and that pushing for quick solutions is ill advised. The study shows the subjective side of conducting dialogic RP in a school setting in which participants have different backgrounds and educational perspectives.
... Morris, S. (in press Morris, S. (in press "Empathy" is the most important word that spoke to me from these excerpts as I reviewed my journal. It plays a crucial role in the relationships between teachers and learners, as well as in reducing frustrations (Mercer, 2016;Morris & King, in press), and my completion of the cognitive change section of the journal helped to remind me of this. Reflecting now, I was too worked up about the issue I was experiencing, but at the time it was something that really Morris, S. (in press). ...
Article
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Teachers and advisors involved in the emotional business of language education feel frustrated from time to time, and if such emotions are not managed healthily, they may lead to negative outcomes such as stress and burnout. One important system for taking control of frustration is emotion regulation, the cognitive and behavioural strategies through which individuals manage their emotions. In this short article, I define frustration and discuss its negative impact on the language classroom. I then introduce a structured reflective journaling tool, built upon Gross’s Process model of emotion regulation (Gross, 2014, 2015) which may help teachers and advisors develop greater awareness and control over experiences of frustration. Accessible at https://kuis.kandagaigo.ac.jp/relayjournal/issues/sep19/morris/
... The interventions in the current period are focused less on linguistic outcomes and more on learners' (and teachers') wellbeing, engagement, agentic feelings, emotional awareness, sense of control over their lives and ability to surmount obstacles. Such a mindset can play a crucial role in linguistic development for learners and professional development for teachers (Fresacher, 2016;Gabryś-Barker, 2016;Guz and Tetiurka, 2016;Helgesen, 2016;Hiver, 2016;Mercer, 2016;Oxford, 2016b). Interventions can include poetry (Piasecka, 2016); music (Fonseca-Mora and Herrero Machancoses, 2016), walking in the classroom space music (Mitchell et al., 2019), a combination of music, laughter, gratitude , gratitude, altruism, music, pets, exercise and laughter (Gregersen, 2016) or even helping others in order in order to get out of a self-focus (Murphey, 2016). ...
Article
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The present contribution offers an overview of a new area of research in the field of foreign language acquisition, which was triggered by the introduction of Positive Psychology (PP) (MacIntyre and Gregersen, 2012). For many years, a cognitive perspective had dominated research in applied linguistics. Around the turn of the millennium researchers became increasingly interested in the role of emotions in foreign language learning and teaching, beyond established concepts like foreign language anxiety and constructs like motivation and attitudes toward the foreign language. As a result, a more nuanced understanding of the role of positive and negative learner and teacher emotions emerged, underpinned by solid empirical research using a wide range of epistemological and methodological approaches. PP interventions have been carried out in schools and universities to strengthen learners and teachers’ experiences of flow, hope, courage, well-being, optimism, creativity, happiness, grit, resilience, strengths, and laughter with the aim of enhancing learners’ linguistic progress. This paper distinguishes the early period in the field that started with MacIntyre and Gregersen (2012), like a snowdrop after winter, and that was followed by a number of early studies in relatively peripheral journals. We argue that 2016 is the starting point of the current period, characterized by gradual recognition in applied linguistics, growing popularity of PP, and an exponential increase in publications in more mainstream journals. This second period could be compared to a luxuriant English garden in full bloom.
Article
At a time of acrimonious debates globally about gender identity and expression, students who identify as transgender (including those who are nonbinary, genderqueer, and gender fluid) are particularly affected. Although erased from the curriculum, they (and the ontological challenge trans people pose to the cisheteropatriarchal gender order in general) are omnipresent in political and media discourse. This can be particularly challenging for teachers who are often unclear about the issues involved and unsure how to support these students to whom they have a duty of care. Despite decades of legislative reform across much of the world with regard to transgender rights, education sectors globally have been hesitant to include gender (and sexual) diversity in the curriculum. This article explores the complex set of reasons as to why this erasure persists in English Language Teaching. In doing so, it addresses the concepts of “reproductive futurism,” “hyper‐reactionary neoliberalism,” “postfascism,” “biological essentialism,” and the commercial logic of global edu‐business as key factors. The article concludes by considering some of the options for teaching and teacher education.
Conference Paper
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The transfer of national and universal values to the next generation is essential for the survival of societies and individuals to adapt the society and lead a healthy and peaceful life. Undoubtedly, the values acquisition process of individuals begins in the family. However, school and social environment have also significant impact on the shaping of values. Since values education is not taught as a separate course in Turkish schools, the values that students should gain according to their grades are placed in the curriculum. For this reason, textbooks, which provide the systematic processing of course subjects, are educational tools that undertake many tasks such as teaching values. Ten values were determined as honesty, friendship, justice, patience, self-control, love, respect, patriotism, altruism and responsibility to be able to promote the humane, ethical, universal and cultural values of the students in the 9th-12th grade new English curriculum prepared by the Turkish Ministry of National Education in 2018. Textbooks are basic teaching tools examining and explaining the knowledge on the subjects in the programs in a planned and systematic way and a source of knowledge guide to educate the students in line with the aims of the course. The reading passages, exercises, activities and visuals in the textbooks can also cover values education either explicitly or implicitly. On the other hand, values education is also done in foreign language teaching either overtly or covertly by virtue of the fact that language is a tool that reflects the way of thinking of the society to which it belongs. Two different high school 9th grade English textbooks, Teenwise written by the authors of the Ministry of National Education and Relearn developed by a private publishing house, based on 2018 9th-12th grades English curriculum were evaluated on the basis of units, using the document analysis technique and the extent of values in the books was examined. According to research results, it was deduced that both of the books includes all the values presented in new 9th-12th English curriculum. However, values are included more frequently and more regularly distributed in the Relearn English textbook prepared by a private publishing house. Moreover, in both of the books, the most repeated value is friendship, while the least mentioned value is altruism.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The transfer of national and universal values to the next generation is essential for the survival of societies and individuals to adapt the society and lead a healthy and peaceful life. Undoubtedly, the values acquisition process of individuals begins in the family. However, school and social environment have also significant impact on the shaping of values. Since values education is not taught as a separate course in Turkish schools, the values that students should gain according to their grades are placed in the curriculum. For this reason, textbooks, which provide the systematic processing of course subjects, are educational tools that undertake many tasks such as teaching values. Ten values were determined as honesty, friendship, justice, patience, self-control, love, respect, patriotism, altruism and responsibility to be able to promote the humane, ethical, universal and cultural values of the students in the 9th-12th grade new English curriculum prepared by the Turkish Ministry of National Education in 2018. Textbooks are basic teaching tools examining and explaining the knowledge on the subjects in the programs in a planned and systematic way and a source of knowledge guide to educate the students in line with the aims of the course. The reading passages, exercises, activities and visuals in the textbooks can also cover values education either explicitly or implicitly. On the other hand, values education is also done in foreign language teaching either overtly or covertly by virtue of the fact that language is a tool that reflects the way of thinking of the society to which it belongs. Two different high school 9th grade English textbooks, Teenwise written by the authors of the Ministry of National Education and Relearn developed by a private publishing house, based on 2018 9th-12th grades English curriculum were evaluated on the basis of units, using the document analysis technique and the extent of values in the books was examined. According to research results, it was deduced that both of the books includes all the values presented in new 9th-12th English curriculum. However, values are included more frequently and more regularly distributed in the Relearn English textbook prepared by a private publishing house. Moreover, in both of the books, the most repeated value is friendship, while the least mentioned value is altruism. Keywords: Values education; English Textbooks; English curriculum
Conference Paper
This paper aims at examining EFL teachers’ perceptions of Alpha generation learning styles. To that end, an online survey was conducted with 42 middle school EFL teachers who volunteered to participate in the study. The questionnaire was developed from the literature and sought to identify Alpha generation characteristics and their preferred learning styles. Descriptive data revealed that pupils of the Alpha generation learn in special ways that depends a lot on technology. Thus, the inclusion of their preferred methods of learning will be of great help for their motivation. The findings of the study could be particularly significant for material designers and educators to consider the needs and preferences of the Alpha generation in order to cope with the new demands of digital learners and improve teaching methods for more effective outcomes. Keywords: Alpha generation, Learning styles, Digital natives, EFL teachers, Perceptions
Book
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We, as editors, are pleased to introduce this book, which serves as a scholarly platform for a collection of research papers exploring the significance of Language Teacher Psychology and emphasizing the crucial role of teachers. The study of language teacher psychology delves into the psychological factors that impact the teaching and learning of a second language. This includes examining the attitudes, beliefs, and emotions that language teachers hold, as well as the influence of these factors on their instructional practices. In language learning, teachers play a crucial role in shaping students' attitudes, motivation, and engagement. Thus, it is essential for language teachers to possess a thorough understanding of both the language they are teaching and the psychological factors that impact language learning. Key factors that can affect language teacher psychology include their language learning experiences, cultural and individual beliefs, and their sense of efficacy in the classroom. Understanding these factors can assist language teachers in creating a positive learning environment that enhances students' language acquisition and success. In spite of the indispensable role that teachers assume in the realm of education, the majority of research in language learning psychology has predominantly concentrated on learners. Such neglect of teachers' psychological dimensions is tantamount to overlooking the needs of learners themselves. The psychological aspects encompassing teachers' well-being, resilience, motivation, and other influential factors are of utmost significance. In essence, the impact of teachers cannot be understated. The objective of this book is to offer a distinctive platform, uniting research endeavors pertaining to the psychology of language teachers, thereby providing a forum for their contributions to be heard. As editors, our primary objective is to comprehensively address an extensive array of topics pertinent to teachers, including emotions, agency, identity, burnout, self-concept, and self-efficacy. This book represents the culmination of a collaborative endeavor involving scholars from diverse regions across the globe. We extend our sincere gratitude to the reviewers, members of the international editorial board, the publisher, and those involved in the technical aspects, as this book is a testament to their collective efforts. It is a product of teamwork, and we express our appreciation to all who contributed throughout each stage of its development. We trust that the research papers contained within this book will provide valuable insights and captivating reading material for you.
Article
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Emotion regulation is increasingly positioned as a skill that is developed ontogenetically across careers as language teachers come to recognise the impact that their emotional behaviour has on themselves and their classrooms. While recent research has attended to the connection between a teacher's regulation strategy choices and well-being, a broad view that recognises the full impact of emotion regulation actions on language teacher and student outcomes in highly contextualised circumstances is urgently needed. Adopting the position that emotion regulation is a motivated activity employed to achieve dynamic, contextually relevant goals, this study investigates the instrumental emotion regulation of 15 experienced non-Japanese EFL teachers at a university in Japan. Drawing on a corpus of 300,000 words obtained from 45 interviews and stimulated recall sessions, findings analysed through a complexity-informed approach demonstrate how emotion regulation strategies were employed to achieve a range of instrumental outcomes pertaining to identity projection, behavioural management, content engagement, and relational development. The data further illustrates that this emotion regulation was contextually dependent, informed by macro-level and internal factors, and that the participants' motive and strategy choices had a direct impact on their well-being.
Conference Paper
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The purpose of the study was to analyse the relationship among CoI online presences, which are categorised as cognitive, social and teaching presences. The participants were 55 Turkish EFL students attending English language classes at a foundation university in Istanbul, Turkey. An undergraduate-level blended learning course was created for this. In order to support the participants’ online presence, the blended learning course included certain useful traits of a CoI environment. Three hours of synchronous online instruction were provided by the instructor each week. Collaborative synchronous talks were held throughout these three hours and were designed by the lecturer. When the online collaborative tasks are integrated with a learning environment, they strengthen the correlation among social, cognitive and teaching presences of the CoI framework. A teacher’s positive attitude in online synchronous/asynchronous sessions is essential while creating online collaborative environments. The current study findings imply that feedback sessions promote and enhance learner satisfaction, and that organising virtual office hours and feedback sessions with small groups of learners (four to five students) can be an effective implementation of CoI to foster more learner presence – participants reported that they learned a lot by interacting with the teacher and the other learners during feedback. Creating a successful CoI environment is not only a challenging task but also a truly collaborative project in which all the stakeholders work together towards a common goal. Course designers and educators should consider ensuring interactive online teaching techniques and including opportunities for dialogue. Instructors need to be a part of the classroom discussions as the more involved the instructor is the more likely the students are to be involved. Some suggested activities for improving rapport and therefore involvement could include playing some music before the class starts or during the break times or having a short chat with the participants at the beginning/end of the class. Timely checking of assignments and immediate response to students in email, chat, or discussion is important in online collaborative courses to increase the social presence of the learners. Encouraging students to ask questions and share their beliefs is important to foster a more social presence in the class.
Technical Report
Mercer, S., Hockly, N., Stobart, G. & Lorenzo Galés, N. (2020). Global Skills: Creating empowered 21st Century Citizens. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed from https://elt.oup.com/feature/global/expert/global-skills?cc=fr&selLanguage=en Full pdf avialable at: https://elt.oup.com/elt/general_content/global/expert/global-skills-toolkit.pdf?cc=fr&selLanguage=en&mode=hub
Chapter
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Language learning is a social practice. At a minimum level, it involves interaction with others. As applied linguistics shifts into a social era, psychological constructs such as motivation and willingness to communicate are being reframed as relational phenomena.
Article
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English in-service teachers tend to encounter various challenges such as resources of teaching-learning (For example, book, additional support materials), learners' discipline, and classroom management. Hence, English in-service teachers are required to have the ability in managing their emotions. However, inadequate attention has been devoted to describing teachers' emotional management during teaching in the classroom. To fill this void, this study aimed at describing how the teacher manages her emotions during English language teaching in the classroom. One teacher of Vocational High school in Tasikmalaya participated as a research participant. The finding indicated that (1) Performing Entertaining activities as a strategy of mitigating saturated teaching routine, (2) Self-relaxing and avoiding harsh words during anger, (3) Strategies to reduce the annoyance. The fact is that the teacher has her way of managing their emotion during teaching in the classroom to continue to do her job professionally.
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In addressing the recent special issue in Frontiers in Psychology, namely “Positive Psychology in Foreign and Second Language Education: Approaches and Applications,” calling language education researchers around the globe to study positive emotions, positive personality traits, and positive institutional tendencies and their implications for language education systems, stakeholders, and policy practices, the present conceptual review paper aims to acquaint language education researchers, practitioners, instructors, and learners with the main tenets of positive psychology and their application in second/foreign language (L2) education research. Accordingly, by drawing on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, we explain how individuals' positivity can result in their flourishment and development in any aspect of life, including L2 learning and teaching. Then, we introduce and conceptualize seven instances of positive psychology variables, namely academic engagement, emotion regulation, enjoyment, grit, loving pedagogy, resilience, and well-being and explain how these positive factors contribute to desirable L2 learning and teaching experiences. Subsequently, potential theoretical and pedagogical implications are drawn to enhance the quality and effectiveness of language education systems and their respective stakeholders. In the end, the limitations of the studies in this area are explicated, and suggestions for future research are provided to expand the extant literature on positive psychology in the domain of L2 education.
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Positive psychology, with its focus on strengths rather than deficits and on individuals’ well-being and flourishing lends itself particularly well as an empowerment perspective on international higher education. Too often, in the scholarly discourse the emphasis lies on foreign students’ difficulties, weaknesses and problems. In addition to this deficit perspective, the role of educators in international education has been controversially discussed. Scholars differ on whether university teachers are responsible for the creation of an emotionally literate learning environment in the so-called international classroom. Here, it is understood to be a place for developing intercultural competence, for a variety of peer relationships and of socioemotional caregiving relationships between teachers and students. As such, it offers numerous opportunities for personal and intellectual growth, for well-being and flourishing. Teaching and learning at the university level will be discussed through two lenses: one being international education and the other being positive psychology. Focusing on the educator’s role, the aim of the chapter is to advocate for empathic teachers who are willing to question their own assumptions and to assume their roles and responsibilities for nurturing and nourishing teacher-student and student-student relationships.
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Consistent evaluation is an important prerequisite for quality assurance and continuous further development in the area of DaF/DaZ. With a focus on virtual learning, this volume deals with the evaluation of the Inverted Classroom Model for the training of teachers of German as a foreign language and specifically with language learning apps. A second focus is on the evaluation of exams and tests. In addition to the medical language examination and the qualification tests of future teachers, the focus here is on examiner qualifications. The critical discussion will present suggestions for solutions as well as new research approaches. This volume does justice to the claim that theory and practice are closely intertwined. Christina Maria Ersch studied German and Scandinavian Studies in Göttingen and German as a foreign language in Mainz, where she is a research assistant. She has been teaching German as a foreign language for several years, is a certified telc examiner and conducts advanced training courses in neurodidactics and action-oriented learning. Her research interests are, among other things, in general didactics with a focus on competence-oriented, digital learning and in intercultural communication.
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Quality relationships in education have been found to be associated with a range of affectively and cognitively positive outcomes, which seem to be beneficial to learners and teachers (e.g., Fredricks, Blumenfeld & Paris, 2004; Gkonou & Mercer, 2018). Gkonou and Mercer (2018, p. 161) maintained that: “We can have the best materials and resources available, but if as teachers we do not build the right connections with our learners, then we will not be able to reap the benefits of the affordances at our disposal.” The relational perspective on the foreign language classroom ecology regards teacher behavior as pivotal in building quality relationships with students. Given the paucity of research on the relational interactions of foreign language teachers and students, Gkonou and Mercer (2018, p. 173) call for an exploration of the nature of teacher–student relationships with an emphasis on “the relationship per se as an emergent quality of the interaction of the individuals involved”. One of the effective teacher behaviors for the development of teacher–students’ relational space is a teacher’s act of self-disclosure (SD). Teacher’s SD indicates affinity with their students, a close space for interpersonal connections as well as investment in these connections (Henry & Thorsen, 2018). Hence, the current study explores a language teacher’s SD and its effect on the students’ experiences of foreign language enjoyment (FLE). In particular, applying Tracy’s (2002) as well as Tracy and Robles’ (2013) framework of communicational identities for the exploration of emerging identity-work when a teacher discloses their personal information, we aimed to (a) build a relationally focused understanding of a foreign language teacher’s SDs within the ecology of the classroom and (b) explore and conceptualize the relational influences of these SDs on students’ foreign language enjoyment.
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With roots in social psychology, second language (L2) motivation has largely been investigated using self-report techniques. Studies drawing on observational data gathered in contexts where learning takes place are rare, and understandings of how motivation evolves in classroom interactions remain limited (Boo, Dörnyei, & Ryan, 2015). In a position paper in Language Teaching , Ushioda (2016) maps out an agenda for qualitative research examining motivation that emerges in language classrooms. With a focus on psycholinguistic processes, and with the aim of understanding how motivation ‘connects with specific aspects of second language acquisition [and] particular features of linguistic development’, Ushioda makes the case for researching L2 motivation ‘through a small lens’ (p. 564). Furthering this agenda, I make proposals for research with a relational focus where, through a somewhat wider lens, motivation and engagement generated through connections created by teachers in their classroom practice can be investigated. To frame these proposals, I use the concept of connective instruction (Martin & Dowson, 2009). Connective instruction holds that motivation and engagement increase when students can connect with the teacher as a person, with content that the teacher enables them to get involved with, and with the working methods that the teacher promotes.
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There remains a dearth of research on the effects of student perception of teacher happiness and the ramifications of those perceptions on student feelings and attitudes. Using an online questionnaire, data were collected from 129 adult students of ESL/EFL across the world who were enrolled in formal English classes of intermediate to advanced level proficiency. Participants were asked about their perception of various aspects of their teachers’ happiness, and about their own attitudes and motivation to learn English. Statistical analyses revealed that student perception of teacher happiness was significantly (and positively) linked with students’ Overall attitude and motivation, as well as students’ Attitude towards the teacher. This is interpreted as an illustration of the process of positive emotional contagion between teachers and students. Pedagogical implications of the results are discussed.
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Starting with an interest in basic psychological processes, whose complexity is matched only by the difficulty of their study, we developed what seemed to us to be more appropriate research strategies—the so-called transpositional research—and forged a link between the acquisition of native-like second language pronunciation ability and certain personality constructs, such as empathy. From there we pursued over the years a line of inquiry that studied the influence of language on person and person on language. While engaging in this basic research we were able to reap incidental pay-offs in the several instruments we produced: the STP, MME and the MIGIT.
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The study reported here represents the culmination of the development and application of a research strategy whereby hypotheses generated in the clinical circumstance are transposed to a behavioral realm where more rigorous, reproducible, reliable, and valid experimentation is feasible (Guiora 1970). Our concern has chiefly been to apply this strategy to the concept of empathy, choosing as the transposed realm of behavior, language, in particular, authenticity of pronunciation of a second language. In a series of studies we investigated the hypothesis that empathy plays a significant role in the ability to authentically pronounce a second language. The measure which proved to be most successful in predicting authenticity of pronunciation was the Micro-Momentary Expression (MME) test as modified by us. The present study confirms the original hypothesis that empathy as measured by the MME is positively related to the ability to authentically pronounce a second language. Essentially the MME measure coupled with the Verbal Mental Reasoning test of intelligence and a simple but apparently effective measure of motivation provide, we believe, a major contribution to the prediction of pronunciation ability. Adding the Army Language Aptitude Test as a linguistic measure, the combined instruments constitute a powerful predictive battery.