Speaker
Description
This talk explores the innovative ways we can incorporate positive psychology principles into SLA for adult learners to support their academic self-esteem, motivation, and performance. Positive psychology focuses on positive elements and well-being in human psyche and experience rather than only psychological problems and distress. It approaches human difficulties from the standpoint of strength instead of weakness.
Traditional models of language teaching mainly focus on cognitive abilities and language skills while paying less attention to the psychological and emotional needs of learners. Nevertheless, the study by Wang et al. indicates that positive psychology interventions in educational environments go beyond reducing anxiety and lead to academic flourishing (Wang, Y. L., Derakhshan, A., & Zhang, L. J., 2021).
Many adult learners in Vietnam come from exam- and performance-oriented educational backgrounds and bring the same expectations into language learning. Positive psychology interventions can help learners view learning as a process rather than focusing only on outcomes, encouraging greater autonomy and enjoyment in learning.
I will introduce some activities adopted from a model called EMPATHICS to influence learners’ academic motivation, self-esteem, and performance. The EMPATHICS model, proposed by Rebecca Oxford (2016), considers different psychological aspects including emotion and empathy; meaning and motivation; perseverance and resilience; agency and autonomy; time; habits of mind; intelligences; character strengths; and self-factors, especially self-efficacy.
This talk is based on my small-scale master’s dissertation research. The audience will leave the session with a good grasp of the model, as well as practical ideas they can utilize in their own classrooms.
Biography
Fateme Aghababaei has been an English teacher for the past 14 years. She holds a master’s degree in educational psychology and has the experience of teaching to a wide range of age groups, from primary students to adult learners. She also holds CELTA and Trinity TYLEC qualifications. She is originally from Iran, but has been living in Vietnam for the past four years and has been working for the British Council for three years. Her fields of interest include social equity, positive psychology, and SLA. She hopes to pursue further higher education and become a researcher in the multidisciplinary field of utilizing AI effectively in SLA.
| Affiliate type | Others |
|---|