Language and life:

A dual focus for 21st century

English language education

Sarah Mercer

University of Graz

Survey (Seligman et al., 2009)

In two words or less, what do you want

for (your) children in life? • ‘Happiness’, ‘Confidence’,‘Contentment’, ‘Balance’, ‘Good

Stuff’, ‘Kindness’, ‘Health’, ‘Satisfaction’, etc.

• In short, most want well-being for (their) children.

In two words or less, what do schools

teach? • ‘Achievement’, ‘Thinking Skills’, ‘Success’, ‘Conformity’,

‘Literacy’,‘Mathematics’, ‘Discipline’ etc.

• In short, most schools teach the tools of accomplishment.

Life skills

“Education is meant to supplement the upbringing provided by families and communities with a more systematic preparation for the future. That preparation involves cultivating the knowledge, skills, habits, attitudes, values and beliefs that we think young people are going to need if they are to thrive in the world that we foresee them living in” (Claxton, 2008, p. 27).

What are life skills?

“Life skills refer to a set of personal

characteristics and capabilities that are

thought to increase the chances of

success and wellbeing in life” (Steptoe & Wardle

2017).

This more than just being suitable for the

workplace... ‘how to flourish in life’

P21 definitions

5 interdisciplinary themes

Global awareness

Financial literacy

Civic literacy Environmental

literacy Health literacy

Health Literacy

Includes “understanding preventative

physical and mental health measures” (P21 definitions, p. 3)

Image from: https://web.iit.edu/shwc

The need for wellbeing as

21st century life skill

Increased depression and anxiety disorders amongst children and adolescents (see, e.g., Costello et al., 2006; Hidaka, 2012; Mojtabi et al., 2016; Skrove et al., 2013).

University students especially at risk (see, e.g., Eisenberg et al., 2007; Zivin et al., 2009)

WHO report (2017) ◦ around 322 million people worldwide suffering

from some form of depressive disorder and

◦ 264 million from some form of anxiety disorder and figures for both are on the increase.

In the UK alone, one in six adults has some form of common mental disorder (McManus et al., 2014)

Review of prevalence

of depression

“Modern populations are increasingly

overfed, malnourished, sedentary,

sunlight-deficient, sleep-deprived, and

socially-isolated. These changes in

lifestyle each contribute to poor

physical health and affect the

incidence and treatment of

depression”. (Hidaka, 2012, p. 205)

Why wellbeing in education

1. Wellbeing is a key 21st century life skill

2. Educational institutions key societal centres for promoting life skills

3. Education should be a positive experience

4. High wellbeing leads to better learning and higher achievement (Gilman & Huebner, 2006;

Haranin, Huebner & Suldo, 2007; Quinn & Duckworth, 2007; Verkuyten & Thijs, 2002)

Wellbeing & learning

Small selection of evidence – wellbeing & positive emotions in education linked to: ◦ Higher grades (Villavicencio & Bernardo, 2013; Pekrun, Goetz, Frenzel,

Barchfeld, & Perry, 2011)

◦ Broader attention (Fredrickson, 1998; Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005; Rowe et al., 2007)

◦ More creative thinking (Isen et al., 1987; Estrada et al., 1994)

◦ Fostering more trusting relationships with people from other cultural groups (Cohn & Fredrickson, 2009; Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008; Fredrickson, 2013a)

◦ More active participants in class activities (King, McInerney, Ganotice, & Villarosa, 2015; Pekrun et al., 2011)

◦ Better in-class behaviour, fewer discipline issues (Durlak et al., 2011; Zins et al., 2004)

◦ More effective use of learning strategies (King & Areepattamannil, 2014)

Promoting positive wellbeing

◦ Well-being is not just the opposite of stress, as

health is not the opposite of sickness (Holmes,

2005, p. 6)

Coping strategies to deal with and reduce stress

AND

Positive promotion of strengths and ‘uplifts’ (Kanner et al, 1984)

A framework for wellbeing (Seligman, 2011)

Positive emotions

Engagement

Positive relationships

Meaning

Accomplishment

V - Addition by Emiliya Zhivotovskaya

Positive emotions

Engagement

Positive relationships

Meaning

Accomplishment

Vitality

Positive Education

Explicit aims = Wellbeing

+ traditional academic goals

PE = good teaching principles

+ PP interventions

International Positive

Education Network (IPEN)

Positive Education

Example of Geelong school (Norrish, 2015)

PERMA + Positive health https://vimeo.com/99798574

Image Geelong School

PE – Strong or Weak forms

Strong Weak

Examples of wellbeing now in curriculums

Positive Language Education

CLT lends itself to language + _____?

Growing interest in PP in SLA (MacIntyre &

Gregersen, 2014; Gabryś-Barker & Galajda, 2016; MacIntyre, Gregersen & Mercer, 2016)

PERMA in SLA (e.g., Helgesen, 2016; Fresacher, 2016; Oxford &

Cuellar, 2014; Oxford et al., 2014) See also EMPATHICS (Oxford, 2016)

First evidence of wellbeing and language learning in approaches and coursebooks (e.g., Kosior, 2017; Strambi, Luzeckyj, & Rubino, 2017; THiNK! Cambridge University Press; OPEN MIND, MacMillan)

No pre- or in-service specific teacher training in promoting wellbeing? (See BPS, 2017)

But it’s not my job!

Graphic: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/its-my-jobattitude-new-course-4-may-2016-rebecca-broad/

Do PP interventions work?

Yes

◦ Meta-analysis of 49 studies of positive

psychology interventions (PPIs):

PPIs significantly enhance WB [well-being], and

are also effective for treating depressive

symptoms. The magnitude of these effects is

medium-sized (mean r = .29 for WB, mean r =

.31 for depression), indicating that not only do

PPIs work, they work well. (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009, p. 482)

◦ See also Bolier et al. (2013)

Caveats

Lyubomirsky and Layous (2013)

◦ Features of the activities themselves (such

as duration, dosage and variety)

◦ Characteristics of the person (such as their

motivation and effort)

◦ ‘Person-activity fit’

◦ Cultural context (Lu & Gilmore, 2004)

Let’s look at examples in each area

Positive emotions

Engagement

Positive relationships

Meaning

Accomplishment

Vitality

Positive emotions: Gratitude Expressing gratitude and noticing the

positives leads to improved wellbeing,

more positive feelings and even better

health! (Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Rash et al., 2011; Seligman

et al., 2005; Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009)

Three things I am grateful for today

T

i

n

y

B

u

d

d

h

a

Importance of writing it down for many of the interventions

Engagement: VIA Character Strengths

Knowing & building on strengths (Gander et al., 2012; Proctor et al., 2011; Quinlan et al., 2012;

Seligman, Steen, Park & Peterson, 2005)

◦ In learners and ourselves

◦ Share a ‘strengths-in-action’ story

◦ Find new ways to use your strengths

◦ Do task you don’t like using your strengths

Positive relationships: Empathy (Noble & McGrath, 2012; Weisz & Zaki, in press)

Find as many things as you can that you have

in common with your neighbour

Types of empathy tasks

(1) Reflective tasks ◦ E.g., discuss real-world scenarios; engage in deep

active listening dialogues; conversation meals; imagine world through eyes of someone dislike

(2) Experience other people’s world ◦ ‘Experiential adventures’– learn a new FL, visit

another class where you don’t know anybody

(3) Enact another’s world ◦ Role play and drama – Getting into character

(4) Imagine other lives and perspectives ◦ Use literature, music, art, film etc – for pupils and

teachers (YAL) – to reflect and discuss

Source of some of these ideas and for more: (Krznaric, 2014)

Quality of relationships

Give the gift of time! (Gander et al., 2012; Peterson, 2006)

Meaning: Purpose, value, efficacy (Baumeister & Vohs, 2005)

Finding meaning or purpose in one’s life – relationships, personal values, work, causes, spirituality...

Drawing on our strengths to find our place ◦ Photographs to notice daily things that make

life meaningful (Steger et al., 2014)

◦ Writing your life summary – Focus on positive events in life (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009)

Accomplishment: I can

Savour accomplishments daily

Growth mindsets & attributions (Yeager &

Dweck, 2012;Yeager et al., 2014)

https://www.inacol.org/resource/teaching-with-a-growth-mindset/

Vitality: Embodied mind Sleep, nutrition, and exercise

(Park, 2017; Ratey & Hagerman, 2009)

Wellbeing

A key 21st century life skill

For learners AND teachers

Enhances ability to learn/teach

Can be developed (empirically proven!)

Can use on strong/weak continuum

Language perfect partner for developing this

Nothing can be more important than your physical and mental wellbeing – whoever you are, whatever your age, and wherever you live

Thank you

Mercer, S. (2017). Positive psychology in SLA: An agenda for teacher and learner wellbeing. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 40(2), 110-122.

If you wish to read more about teacher & learner psychologies, please see:

Please feel free to get in touch via email:

sarah.mercer@uni-graz.at