ABSTRACT. As teachers expand their horizons through their career, teacher authenticity, the degree to which a teacher feels she or he is displaying their true self in the classroom, is related to psychological and subjective well-being, including greater autonomy, personal development, self-acceptance, happiness, and lower levels of anxiety and stress (Barnett and Deutsch, 2016; Wood et al., 2011). This presentation will examine changes in authenticity by comparing pre-service with in-service experience. We used qualitative methods to generate rich, retrospective data from interviews with sixteen foreign language teachers, eight from Poland and eight from the USA. Interviews ranged from 30 to 90 minutes. This presentation will focus on findings obtained when we asked teachers to draw and discuss two Venn diagrams representing the perceived relationship (overlap) between their true selves and their teacher selves, first as a pre-service and later as an in-service teacher. The results show substantial inter- and intra-individual differences in authenticity over time. At On the one hand, Polish teachers tended to report being more authentic during their pre-service practicum, but described feeling less authentic as time went by. On the other hand, American teachers described gains in authenticity with greater experience during in-service teaching. The teachers linked changes in their sense of authenticity to personal, cultural, educational, and institutional processes. Findings provide novel insight into the role played by various interacting factors, such as strict upbringing, culture shock, other people’s expectations, teaching experience, and lack of support from teachers (especially school leadership), plays in providing freedom or constraints in authenticity and emotional expression. Practical implications for ways in which teacher authenticity can be enhanced by supportive institutions and individuals (including parents and other teachers), and how greater authenticity is connected to well-being, are discussed and shown to be linked together in practice.

ABSTRACT. Language students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may be challenging to teach because of complex behaviours that stem from inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Teacher participants in previous studies considered ADHD a problematic educational issue, but the overall attitude toward the students with ADHD was positive. Yet, the emotions reported by teacher participants included a range of positive and negative emotions. In the present study, we adopted a novel approach to investigating teacher emotions. We examined the intensity of 34 emotions in the context of six hypothetical classroom situations (vignettes) in the primary and secondary school setting related to ADHD-like behaviours among 66 English as a foreign language (EFL) pre-service teacher participants from six countries: Croatia, Japan, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and Ukraine. The intensity was measured on an eight-point scale, with one being ‘very low’ and eight being ‘very high’. Additionally, the participants were asked to indicate the first emotion they experienced in each presented situation. It is currently an ongoing study. Additional data will be collected in the coming academic year. The so-far findings suggest that the most frequent first emotions experienced in the situations related to the inattention presentation of ADHD were sadness, wonder, disappointment, irritation, and frustration, whereas for the hyperactivity/impulsivity presentation, they were irritation and annoyance. The most intensively experienced emotions in the case of inattention manifestations were caring, tolerance, understanding, and patience, whereas in the case of hyperactivity/impulsivity manifestations, these were irritation and annoyance. The findings have strong pedagogical implications, which we will discuss in reference to language teacher education and teacher well-being in each participating country.

ABSTRACT. PLL is concerned with the individual differences (IDs) in learners (or teachers) of additional languages, and these include personality, language aptitude, motivation, learning styles and strategies (e.g., Dörnyei and Ryan, 2015). Even earlier on, it had been suggested (by Skehan, 1989) that multilingualism (and related multiculturalism) should also be viewed as an ID worthy of further research.

As regards multilingualism, a distinction needs to be made between societal and individual multilingualism, on the one hand, and on the other hand, between an objective approach and a subjective approach to individual multilingualism or plurilingualism (Kramsch, 2009; Piccardo, 2019). The objective approach focuses on tracing the development of an individual’s knowledge of languages, including grammar, lexicon, pragmatic and sociolinguistic aspects in any of the languages in the individual’s repertoire. In contrast, the subjective approach attempts to figure out how multilinguals themselves feel about becoming or being multilinguals (or plurilinguals), or what the different language or their use might mean to them personally.

As few years ago we asked our student teachers of English to envision “an English class of their dreams” to be given after graduation from our MA programme visually and verbally, or by producing a drawing and commenting on it in writing by answering a set of related questions. So far, we have analysed the pool of data from a number of perspectives, and this paper is a follow-up discussion (or reflection) of the findings and their implications considering the recent developments in ELT.

I will comment on the findings taking into consideration recent developments in our evolving notion of plurilingualism, updated national curricula, and the recent calls for taking social justice into consideration in ELT classroom and assessment practices, considering the increasingly plurilingual body of students (and possibly that of their teachers) within our education system.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the affordances and challenges, from a research methodology perspective, of using screencast technology to analyze L2 writers’ engagement with feedback provided in different timing and synchronicity conditions. Screencasts are considered “digital windows” (Séror, 2013) into learners’ writing processes, which include engagement with written corrective feedback. We will therefore describe the types of data obtained with screencast technology and how the analysis of these data may further our understanding of the linguistic, cognitive, and affective processes L2 learners engage with while acting upon different feedback timing conditions (immediate synchronous, delayed synchronous, and asynchronous teacher feedback). We will start with a brief outline of the aims guiding the empirical study within which our analysis of screencast technology is framed. Then we will provide a concise account of the rationale behind the aims and methodology of the empirical study, including data collection decisions and instruments. The central part of the paper will then focus on describing (i) the type of data we obtained via screencast technology concerning learner engagement with feedback (i.e., affordances), and (ii) the problems experienced during data collection and how those problems were addressed. We will close with methodological implications for future research aiming to use screencast technology to analyze learner engagement with feedback.

ABSTRACT. The present study investigated the impact of metacognitive instruction (MI) combined with written corrective feedback (WCF) on student engagement with that WCF and their functional adequacy (FA) in second language (L2) writing. Participants were 54 intermediate-level Korean secondary school students divided into two groups: the treatment group received WCF with MI, while the comparison group received WCF only. Over the course of 13 weeks, participants completed five argumentative writing tasks receiving WCF each time. Across the pretest, immediate, and delayed posttests, our results indicate a positive effect of combining MI with WCF on behavioral engagement with WCF over time. A significant main effect was observed for improvement of FA in students’ L2 writing over time, although no significant difference in FA scores emerged between the groups as time progressed. Lastly, student engagement with WCF was not a direct predictor of students’ FA in L2 writing for either group or in the posttest. Our results suggest an important role for MI in enhancing student engagement with WCF, and we discuss the degree of explicitness of MI and WCF, learners’ processing of the WCF provided, and the role of FA as a pedagogical target in students’ L2 writing.

ABSTRACT. Empirical research on the cognitive processing of written corrective feedback (WCF) (DoP) has grown in recent years (e.g., Caras, 2019; Cerezo et al., 2019; Manchón et al., 2021), with studies investigating levels of depth of processing (Leow, 2015) via a range of different introspective data collection instruments (e.g., think-aloud protocols, stimulated recalls, written languaging). Despite this research providing crucial insights into L2 learner’s engagement with WCF, more recent scholarly debates have focused on research methodology considerations, with some critics (e.g., Leow & Manchón, 2021) (i) problematizing the validity of data collection instruments, and (ii) advocating for an expansion of the populations under study. Attending to these calls, this study set out to explore the DoP of WCF by comparing the use of metacognitive think-aloud protocols (MTAs) and written languaging tables (WL) within two distinct populations: Law students (N=18) and Linguistics students (N=18). The study consisted in a pre-test/treatment/post-test design in which participants completed a problem-solving writing task, received direct WCF, and then processed the feedback according to the treatment group they were assigned to: (i) MTAs, (ii) WL, and (iii) simultaneous MTAs and WL. Main findings reflect that while MTAs provided a deeper insight into the levels of DoP, the combination of both introspective measures provides a more comprehensive cognizance and also leads to a deeper engagement with the feedback provided. Regarding the two populations under study, the linguistics students proved to be more resistant to accepting error corrections when compared to the law students.

ABSTRACT. Motivation for learning other languages than English has been an important research topic in recent years (Dörnyei & Al-Hoorie, 2017). The project German students’ cognition (Daryai-Hansen et al. 2020, 2022) examines motivation for learning German in Denmark, where German is the second most studied foreign language after English, but the motivation for learning German seems to be low. 4585 9th graders from primary schools and 5088 2nd graders from secondary schools participated in the survey. Based on Dörnyei (2009) and Pless et al. (2015), the questionnaire included items about Ought to L2 Self, Ideal L2 Self, interest for German language and culture, learning experiences in German lessons, mastery motivation. Descriptive statistics have shown that the primary school students think to a higher degree that it is important to learn German, than secondary school students. Primary school students scored higher on Ideal L2 Self items, showed greater interest for German language and culture, and had more feeling of success in German lessons than secondary school students. The proportion of students who wanted to continue learning German was higher among secondary school students. Regression analysis has shown that Ought to L2-Self was positively correlated with the willingness to continue with German among the 9th graders, but negatively correlated among 2nd grade secondary school students. Ideal L2-Self predicted higher willingness to continue with German in both groups, but the correlation was stronger among secondary school students. Learning experience and mastery motivation correlated with willingness to continue in both groups. In addition to the quantitative results, the paper will give insight into students’ answers to the open questions about what they liked about German lessons and what they missed.

ABSTRACT. Beyond study abroad and what additional language (Lx) Spanish means in the here-and-now for ten mixed-major ‘post-sojourners’ is explored in Machin and Tragant (2022). Less is known about Catalan in the same context. The present study offers insights into how former study abroad students articulate their past and/or ongoing choice to study Catalan as an Lx. Focus is on two post-sojourners who undertook a postgraduate degree, a modular course which could be followed entirely through the medium of English. The past locus is the bilingual Spanish-Catalan region of Catalonia. The post-sojourners complete written narrative tasks and semi-structured interviews. Analysis is thematic and inductive (Braun & Clarke, 2013). Dominant themes emerge: (1) Polite Adventurer; (2) Forming bonds; and (3) A mark of distinction. What Lx Catalan means for the post-sojourners is explored through the psychological concept of narrative identity (McAdams & McLean, 2013) and the sociological investment model (Darvin & Norton, 2015). This choice is expressed not so much as a struggle to be heard, but rather, more as a wish to navigate cultural pathways and make connections. In other words, to be cosmopolitan. Acquiring the local language also came with a certain kudos, allowing the post-sojourners to distinguish themselves from their contemporaries both then and in the here-and-now. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Sage. Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2015). Identity and a model of investment in applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 36–56. Machin, E., & Tragant, E. (2022). The L2 self and identity: Exploring what Spanish as a foreign language means for former mixed-major study abroad sojourners. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 34(2), 133–160. McAdams, D. P., & McLean, K. C. (2013). Narrative identity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 233–238.

ABSTRACT. Both Italian and Chinese hold a special position in Australian society due to the large-scale immigration to Australia from countries such as China and Italy (Armillei & Mascitelli, 2017; Xu & Moloney, 2014). Census data collected in the last three decades mirror a change in the composition of the non-Australian born population in the country. This phenomenon is reflected in the use of languages in Australian households. In the 1991 census, Italian was ranked as the first spoken language at home other than English (2.6%), while in 2021 Chinese resulted to be the first spoken language at home other than English (2.7%). This paper explores the extent to which changing socio-cultural dynamics have influenced the motivation of university beginner-level students to learn Chinese and Italian in the last three decades. A paper-based survey was completed by 109 students of Chinese and 84 students of Italian in 1997. In 2022 the same survey was completed by 39 students of Chinese and 40 of Italian via an online software. Descriptive statistics and independent-sample t-tests help identify the significance of diachronic and cross-language changes observed across these two language cohorts. Drawing on the most recent studies on motivation in learning Chinese (Xu & Moloney, 2020) and Italian (D’Orazzi & Hajek, 2021; 2022) at university level in Australia, quantitative data collected at very different time-points allow us to explore changes in university students’ motivations and attitudes towards these two languages. They highlight for instance complex motivational patterns and shifts that go beyond simplistic instrumental reasons often assumed by administrators and policy-makers to motivate language learners, regardless of L2. Indeed, the emergence of themes pertaining to students’ identity construction (cf. Norton & McKinney, 2011) appears to be often correlated with students intimate and personal experience of these languages contextualised between the 20th and 21st centuries.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the role of the Imposter Phenomenon (IP) in foreign language (FL) learning, a common experience in academic settings. It is characterised by a sense of incompetence and self-perceived intellectual inferiority due to being unable to acknowledge one’s own achievements and abilities despite objective success (Clance, 1985). While its detrimental effect on, e.g, learners’ achievement orientation (e.g., Cisco, 2020) and anxiety (e.g., Clance, 1985) have been identified more generally, research into its role in the context of FL learning remains scarce (Brauer et al., 2023). This study explores the experience of IP among 286 tertiary-level English as a Foreign Language learners, possible demographic effects, as well as the extent to which IP affects students’ Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE), their Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA), and engagement with FL learning. Statistical analyses of data gathered with a web survey revealed that younger, female participants were more likely to experience IP. In addition, latent modelling indicated that IP was linked to FLCA, with no relation found to positive emotion. Additionally, IP predicted the emotional and performance engagement of EFL learners. Overall, this study provides evidence as to the presence of IP in EFL classrooms and makes a case for the variable to be included in further studies of the nomological network of individual differences variables.

Brauer, K., Barabadi, E., Aghaee, E., Alrabai, F., Elahi Shirvan, M., Sendatzki, R., & Vierow, L.M. (2023). Impostor phenomenon and L2 willingness to communicate: Testing communication anxiety and perceived L2 competence as mediators. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1060091. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1060091

Cisco, J. (2020). Exploring the connection between impostor phenomenon and postgraduate students feeling academically-unprepared. Higher Education Research & Development, 39(2), 200–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1676198

Clance, P. R. (1985). The Impostor Phenomenon: Overcoming the fear that haunts your success. Peachtree.

ABSTRACT. In recent years, research on affective factors in language teaching and learning has flourished (Tsang and Dewaele, 2023). While anxiety, self-esteem, engagement, enjoyment, and boredom have been extensively explored, empathy, a critical factor in educational settings, has remained largely uncharted (Chaves-Pérez, 2022). Our proposal underscores the importance of integrating empathy into teachers' professional development (TPD) and focuses on perceived teacher empathy (PTE), which pertains to students' perceptions of their teachers' emotional understanding and connection.

Barret-Lennard (1993) delineates empathy as a three-phase process: recognizing and understanding feelings, expressing an empathic response, and receiving empathy that makes one feel heard and understood. While previous studies predominantly measure the first two phases, our primary interest lies in the third phase. Barret-Lennard suggests that unexpressed or 'silent' empathic responses may not influence others, emphasizing the need to assess the impact of perceived empathy.

Our proposal aims to elucidate how students perceive empathy from their Spanish teacher and its effects on their emotions in the classroom. We explore whether PTE mediates the increase in positive emotions and decrease in negative emotions towards the foreign language, impacting L2A and WTC.

We selected a sample of 200 undergraduate students enrolled in a Spanish course at an American university. Triangulation involved questionnaires and qualitative data obtained through open-ended questions. Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE), Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA), and Foreign Language Boredom (FLB) were assessed using established scales, while WTC was evaluated using items developed by MacIntyre et al. (2001). Students' L2A was measured using their most recent Spanish test scores. Qualitative analysis was conducted using NVIVO.

The results of our study extends the understanding of emotions in FL learning and holds theoretical and practical significance. The ongoing evaluation of results may pave the way for enhanced language learning strategies and TPD programs, fostering empathy in the FL classroom.

ABSTRACT. The process of developing an additional language (L+) is an emotional journey, recognized in the sharp upturn and broadening of empirical explorations in the past ten years (Dewaele, 2019). Nevertheless, work which takes sufficient account of the social context of L+ (study) emotions remains scarce. Such a state of affairs is highly problematic, for, as Atkinson (2019) urges regarding the ecosocial: “Are human environments not ... pervasively social – that is, does our embodied adaptive action not depend crucially on social action and cooperation with others? ... Is such social action/cooperation ultimately not what language and language learning are for?” (p. 726). In response, this presentation aims to illustrate the possibilities of a multimodal analysis (Norris, 2004) of the lived, social experience of L+ study emotions. The session will draw on one particular L+ groupwork episode captured from introspective (learner journals) and observational (video recording) angles. Rather than presenting an empirical fait accompli, participants will be encouraged to contemplate and discuss their own interpretations of a selection of the textual and video data. Via this process, participants will become more aware of the ways in which consideration of psychological timescales and multimodality might prove facilitative in locating intersections between the social and individual. The session thus aims to stimulate more nuanced, contextualized, and dynamic empirical work into the emergence and situated functions of L+ study emotions.

Atkinson, D. (2019). Beyond the brain: Intercorporeality and co-operative action for SLA studies. The Modern Language Journal, 103(4), 724–738. Dewaele, J.-M. (2019). When elephants fly: The lift-off of emotion research in applied linguistics. The Modern Language Journal, 103(2), 533–536. Norris, S. (2004). Analyzing multimodal interaction: A methodological framework. Routledge.

ABSTRACT. Using English as a medium of instruction outside English-speaking countries (English-medium instruction, EMI) is an unstoppable phenomenon. This includes Japan, which aims to diversify its campuses by attracting more international students. Many Japanese EMI programs do not require Japanese proficiency at the time of enrolment as it is assumed that study abroad (SA) experience in Japan will naturally motivate students to learn L3 Japanese. With more than 90% of the international students in Japan coming from non-English speaking countries, students take L2 English and L3 Japanese classes, in addition to courses related to their major. However, students' motivation to learn both L2 and L3 in EMI has not been extensively studied. Thereby, a study was conducted on a group of international students enrolled in an EMI program of policy studies in Japan and explored the role of L2 English and L3 Japanese motivation. It adopts the L2 motivational self-system (Dörnyei, 2009) and International Posture (IP)(Yashima, 2009) as theoretical frameworks. Quantitative data from surveys (n = 66) and qualitative data from eight semi-structured interviews with international students were collected. The results indicate that motivation to learn L2 plays a significant role and that the ideal L2 self was a beneficial predictor for their performance, with six of the participants intending to pursue a master's degree in EMI programs. Their IP, such as viewing SA in Japan as "an international learning environment" where they can "experience the world," is related to their use of English. In contrast, L3 motivation dropped for most participants due to a lack of integrativeness (Gardner, 1985), the dearth of opportunities to use L3 and negative learning experiences, indicating that SA in Japan does not automatically motivate students to learn Japanese. Therefore, teaching approaches in L3 need to be more intentional and systematic in the EMI context.

ABSTRACT. Language learning motivation (LLM) research has offered abundant knowledge of LLM in various learning 'contexts' across the globe. Nevertheless, the meaning of 'context' in the field is often perceived as broad sociocultural backgrounds (e.g. in a collectivistic cultural context) under which the individual's LLM is circumscribed. We seem to know much less about LLM in personal processes of how learners act upon their external context and how this interacts with their motivation and engagement in language learning. Applying a ‘detailed’ lens (Ushioda, 2020), this longitudinal qualitative study takes a Person-in-Context Relational View (Ushioda, 2009), documenting eight Anglophone learners of Mandarin over their first academic year at a British university, with a focus on their learning engagement (i.e. how their motivation is manifested in action). Drawing on a social realist perspective (Sealey and Carter, 2004), the study endeavours to unpack students' lived experiences through both emic and etic viewpoints. This means involving a variety of data sources to capture holistically how and why their quality of engagement fluctuates. These include three rounds of in-depth interviews of student participants, a weekly motivation tracker where students rate their motivation and add comments, three semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders of the course, and twenty classroom observations along with interactional data and field notes. Preliminary analysis has shown while individual students differ in their engagement trajectories over the year, fluctuations in their engagement are often associated with environmental complexity (Shernoff et al.,2016), including (changes of) teaching style, peer relations, level of autonomy given in the course, and workload from other chosen subjects. It is also found that students whose initial motivations reflect stronger future language selves (e.g. future aspirations in relation to Mandarin) tend to be more successful in self-regulating their engagement when challenges occur and experience less fluctuations in the Mandarin course.

ABSTRACT. Language attitudes are the speakers’ evaluative responses to different languages and language varieties. Because languages mark and identify speakers as members of groups, they also activate attitudes towards group members, and many studies demonstrate that speakers are evaluated on a series of traits based on their linguistic behavior (Lambert, Hodgson, Gardner & Fillenbaum, 1960; MacGregor-Mendoza, 2020). Studies on language attitudes towards accented speech were developed already in the 1960s and 1970s (Anisfeld, Bogo & Lambert, 1962; De La Zerda & Hopper, 1975; Hopper & Williams, 1973; Hopper, 1977; Williams, Whitehead & Miller, 1972), and have shown that non-native accented speech affects speakers’ experiences with education, work, as well as in other social spheres. Thus, it is important to investigate language attitudes towards non-native accented English in different areas of the U.S. given that mobility has allowed finding non-native speakers of English more spread. This presentation discusses college students’ attitudes towards American English and five different non-native accented samples of English (Arabic-accented English, Chinese-accented English, German-accented English, Japanese-accented English and Spanish-accented English). In a verbal guise test, 198 students attending a university in South Texas listened to the recordings of six males. Each male recorded a speech sample in their native language and another one in English, except for the American English speaker. Participants rated each recording on a 4-point Likert scale on the following continua on status, and on solidarity traits. Results show that overall, the Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish-accented English speaker was rated significantly lower than the German, Japanese, and American English-accented speaker in most of the status and solidarity continua. The presentation also discusses how these results compare to and diverge from those of studies conducted in other communities with different demographics.

ABSTRACT. One of the major objectives of empirical research in language learning is to study the cause-and-effect between variables. To achieve this, one can rely on an intervention or longitudinal data. However, sometimes the directional relationship might not be very clear (i.e., does x affect y or does y affect x? Or do they affect each other over time?). Although the latent growth curve model (LGCM) can be used for longitudinal data, it does not answer the question of directionality. One way to accomplish this is to use the random intercepts cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM). The RI-CLPM is a statistical method that builds on the property of structural equation modeling (SEM) and can be used to study the longitudinal development of two (or more) variables and understand which variable depends on the other over time. The RI-CLPM estimates four elements: (1) the cross-lagged effects, (2) correlation, (3) the autoregressive, and (4) the intercepts. In this session, I expand on this method using a real example published in Applied Linguistics journal (Alamer & Alrabai, 2023) and show the importance of using the RI-CLPM in studying the causal relationship between latent variables such as the cause-and-effect between motivation and achievement.

ABSTRACT. Theoretical and empirical accounts of additional language learning focus predominantly on the nature of target language (L2) knowledge (What does the learner come to know as they develop?), on the psycholinguistic mechanisms involved in processing language in the mind/brain (e.g., How do learners come to know those things?), and independently, on the individual differences that lead to variability in learners’ rates and routes of development (Why do learners experience differential success?). The result is a bifurcated research agenda and literature in which language learning behavior remains largely neglected and under-theorized. To bridge this gap, this presentation proposes a proactive language learning theory, outlining the agentic and strategic behaviors that learners employ in order to learn an additional language. These behaviors include input-seeking behavior, interaction-seeking behavior, information-seeking behavior and feedback-seeking behavior. We propose that instead of viewing language learning as the result of the cumulative effects of a learning context or an instructional program, it is a task that is deliberately and consciously accomplished by an agent who thinks, makes decisions, acts, reflects on experiences, and reaches new insights. The proactive learning behaviors involve seeking, creating and/or using second language input, interaction, metalinguistic information, and feedback opportunities for the specific purpose of language learning. Each of these proactive behaviors are hypothesized to contribute to different dimensions of target language abilities in receptive and productive domains, including developing specific aspects of L2 knowledge. In this presentation, the four theoretical and empirical components of the theory are introduced, then hypotheses are formulated about how individual patterns of proactive learning behaviors contribute to qualitative and quantitative differences in L2 learning outcomes. Through a review of relevant research, the many contextual and psychosocial antecedents of learners’ proactive behaviors are outlined. Finally, potential implications of this theory for L2 researchers, practitioners, and learners are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Language engagement has received exponential attention for its significant role in the language learning process. Correspondingly, various definitions and operationalizations have been proposed, resulting in conceptual and methodological issues in this research domain. In this presentation, we propose an alternative approach to operationalizing engagement in the language classroom that can address some of the existing issues. Accordingly, we introduce a self-report instrument, the Language Classroom Engagement Inventory (LCEI) that fits this new operationalization. The LCEI focuses exclusively on behavioral variables as measures of language engagement and contains 21 items that uniquely form and define the following four behavioral sub-constructs: self, task, peer, and teacher engagement. The LCEI was developed based on the literature on engagement in educational psychology and language learning fields and by consulting language teachers’ experiences. To gather evidence of the validity of the LCEI, a series of steps were considered including expert views and pilot studies. The LCEI was then administered to a sample of Japanese university students learning English as a second/foreign language (N = 481). We endorsed the composite model to study the validity of the LCEI by applying the Confirmatory Composite Analysis (CCA). CCA allows items to independently form the constructs (i.e., it does not require consistency or equal weight of the items–a dilemma that the field has been facing for decades). Findings have indicated that the LCEI is internally valid as demonstrated by CCA, and externally valid in terms of its link with positive and negative language emotions (i.e., enjoyment and boredom). The results provide further support for the alternative operationalization of engagement and help to elucidate the role of engagement in language learning contexts. Methodologically, we think that CCA can be an optimal method to study language engagement. Empirically, we discuss the implications of using LCEI for research and pedagogy.

ABSTRACT. Various aspects and forms of foreign language, intercultural and global competences development can be enhanced via different ways of learners’ intercultural contacts (Stein-Smith, 2018). The goal of the present qualitative study is to gain insights into the idiosyncratic nature of various forms of intercultural contact and the related motivations of university students specializing in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). The data was collected during three focus-group interviews (N=21, n1=5, n2=8, n3=8) with university students. The semi-structured interview protocol focused on the participants’ interpersonal encounters via face-to-face and/or written interactions with native-speakers and also with non-native speakers in both off- and online environments as well as their non-interpersonal encounters through cultural products (books, newspapers, magazines, websites, online platforms and TV). Via the interviews information was gathered about the students’ perceived motivations for intercultural encounters integrated with their EFL skills development. The content analysis results revealed the pattern that online encounters both inter-personal and non-interpersonal are more omnipresent among the participants than offline contacts. Furthermore, it emerged that the participants are dominantly characterised by intrinsic motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2000) for integrated EFL skills and intercultural competence development via their intercultural encounters. It was also detected that the participants had exposure to various forms of intercultural contact and during these social interactions they experienced favourable impacts on their EFL learning motivation as well as their intercultural and even global competences.

References Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development and Well-Being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

Stein-Smith, K. (2018). Foreign language skills as the ultimate 21st century global competency: Empowerment in a globalized world. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 7(3), 71–86.

ABSTRACT. While investigations into language learning motivation have been flourishing in the past decades, previous studies tend to demonstrate a monolingual preference and focus on learners’ motivation to acquire English as their single second language (L2). With the rise of multilingual turn in L2 research, motivation researchers have recently begun to recognise the dynamic development of learners’ motivational systems in multilingual learning. However, given that only a few studies have integrated learner motivation with multilingualism, the significance of multilingual learners’ motivation still awaits further exploration. Therefore, this presentation aims to provide an overview of the emerging trends in researching multilingual motivation. The main characteristics of recent multilingual motivation research, such as the research aims, theories, settings, methodologies, and outcomes, are analysed through a scoping review. The review shows that although the current studies have adopted mainstream language learning motivation theories as the guiding framework, the theoretical foundation of multilingual motivation can be refined. Besides, analytical methods and tools need to be advanced with the expanding scope of multilingual motivation research. Furthermore, the relationship between multilingual motivation and other learner factors and achievement in multilingual learning should be considered in ongoing research. This review highlights the need for sustainable efforts to further investigate issues related to multilingual motivation with diverse multilingual learner populations and multilingual learning contexts.

ABSTRACT. This study explores the attitudes and motivations of multilingual learners toward learning Modern Greek (MG) as a Foreign Language in Catalonia, Spain. While there has been a notable increase in second language (L2) motivational research in the last decade, the majority focus on L2 English. Examining and interpreting the motivations for learning Languages Other Than English (LOTEs) across different settings could reshape researchers’ and teachers’ understanding of why students are motivated to study a particular L2 (Boo et al., 2015). Empirical studies specifically on the motivation to learn L2 MG, a less commonly spoken language in the European context, are scarce (Author, in press). Participants (n=20) were L2 learners of MG who studied at a language school in Barcelona. They belonged to two proficiency levels: intermediate and advanced, with ages ranging from 22 to 72 years (Mean: 46.9, SD: 16.96). All participants were multilingual, with a knowledge of at least three languages. Catalan and Spanish were their first languages. Data were elicited through semi-structured interviews in which participants reflected on and interpreted their learning experience with Modern Greek. A questionnaire has also been used in order to obtain biographical data. The data have been analyzed qualitatively adopting a narrative approach (Pavlenko, 2007, 2009). Results indicated a strong intrinsic motivation for learning MG, with participants recognizing its humanistic, linguistic and cultural value. They also perceived connections between learning MG and their own native language (Catalan), a minority language in the European context but also in the Spanish state. Participants expressed a strong predisposition against language hierarchies, challenging distinctions between “big” and “small” languages (Lasagabaster, 2017). Some individuals also seemed to embody an “anti-ought-to-self” (Thompson, 2017; Thompson & Vásquez, 2015), as their motivation to learn MG was self-determined and ran counter the external societal pressures emphasizing the utilitarian value of language learning.

ABSTRACT. Teacher status across the globe is low and continues to decline (Varkey Foundation, 2018). However, teachers’ tasks have become more complex and time-consuming (Kalin et al., 2017). Research has found that a lack of appreciation of the teaching profession can lower teachers’ morale and reduce their productivity (Troman, 2000), contribute to teacher stress, burnout, and attrition (Buunk et al., 2007), and can make teachers feel disconnected from society (OECD, 2005). In Austria, specifically, 49.5% of teachers feel their profession is undervalued and wish for a higher societal status (European Commission Final Report, 2013). One of the reasons teachers feel they are undervalued is due to their perceived negative portrayal in newspapers. In fact, newspapers “do not exist in a social vacuum” (Richardson, 2007, p. 112). Journalists shape and influence societal perceptions through their selection and display of news “whilst following their own agenda-setting role” (McCombs, 2014, p. 1). As such, the portrayal of teachers ultimately links to the status of the teaching profession, which – if low – can negatively affect teacher wellbeing, and even result in teacher attrition (Troman, 2000).

This presentation reports on data from an empirical study, which examines the most read paid-for daily newspaper in Austria (Kronen Zeitung) as to how the teaching profession and other educational stakeholders are portrayed during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis (10th March to 10th July, 2020). The corpus was analysed applying Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis (CDA) perspective (Fairclough, 1992) to understand how teachers were portrayed in this newspaper during this time of change and challenges. The findings from the analysis are discussed in terms of possible implications of how the public perception of teaching as a profession could be improved and its effects on teacher wellbeing.

ABSTRACT. In this talk, we outline the basics of Rahel Jaeggi’s examination of Alienation from a psychological perspective. Jaeggi defines Alienation as the “absence of a meaningful relationship to oneself and others” (2016). Jaeggi’s work is situated in the tradition of critical social theory, based on a revision of Hegelian-Marxist philosophies. These ideas will be familiar to anyone who has ever felt estranged from their own life, anyone who has wrestled with a sense of indifference, isolation or meaninglessness. We argue that these issues are of heightened relevance to foreign language teachers now in the aftermath of the global pandemic, which highlighted the precarity of international borders and redefined many of our social interactions. In particular, as foreign teachers working in Japan, we explore some of the issues that have led to feelings of Alienation in our own experiences, particularly the problem of burnout. In this talk, we will outline the types of research that could shed further light onto this issue, (such as autoethnography, introspective techniques, reflective practice) and describe a forthcoming project which is designed to examine the concept of Alienation first-hand from the perspective of foreign teachers living and working in Japan.

ABSTRACT. Teacher motivation, i.e., “the psychological force that enables action and underlies teachers’ involvement/non-involvement in every teaching activity” (Hassaskhah, 2016, p. 859), has been largely studied in school settings, disregarding tertiary education lecturers (Sahakyan et al., 2017). An example of these are English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers, who teach specialized/technical English in other disciplines, usually outside their expertise, which might be particularly challenging.

This study aims to explore and compare the motivation conglomerates (Dörnyei, 2009) –which include cognitive and affective components– of two ESP teachers. From a complexity approach, motivation interacts with other processes and is ever-changing, so our research question is: What are the two teachers-participants’ long-term and short-term motivations, and in what ways do they differ or align? The authors themselves, ESP teachers and researchers, serve as the participants of this study, as they share similar profiles and academic trajectories, but differ in ESP courses (media vs. optics/optometry), working conditions (part-time vs. full-time), and teaching contexts (conventional vs. polytechnic university). Duoethnography will be employed, as it enables two individuals, often the researchers themselves, to participate in a conversational exchange to explore their personal experiences about a shared phenomenon (Banegas & Gerlach, 2021).

To capture the complexity of motivation at different timescales (De Bot, 2015), the data collection includes an initial discussion on ESP teaching motivation (long-term scale) and diary entries before and after ESP sessions for a month (short-term scale to study fluctuations within motivation). Findings are expected to reveal insights into the multifaceted nature of motivation, its long-term trends (e.g., career promotion), as well as the dynamic fluctuations experienced by individuals in the short term (e.g., fun activity with students). Overall, this study will contribute to understanding ESP teacher motivation’s complexity and dynamism by analyzing longer and shorter-term teacher motivation, while filling a gap by examining teacher motivation in tertiary education.

ABSTRACT. Teacher professional development (TPD) has been shown to bring numerous benefits, such as, for example, greater self-efficacy, higher motivation and enhanced well-being (e.g., Kimura, 2014; Polin, 2023; Wang & Chen, 2022), and teaching additional languages is certainly no exception here. However, the extent to which teachers are willing and able to engage in TPD throughout their careers depends on many factors, some of which are related to the context in which they work (e.g., availability of resources, quality of TPD on offer, time demands) and others are reflective of their individual attributes such as attitudes, motivations and personality. The paper focuses on the latter by reporting the findings of a study that examined language teacher professional curiosity (TPC) which may constitute an important drive for capitalizing on TPD opportunities but thus far has barely been subject to empirical investigation. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews from 6 Austrian and 6 Polish language teachers at different stages of their careers. Qualitative/thematic analysis of the transcribed corpus of 125,084 words allowed valuable insights into the nature of TPC (i.e., its relationship to interest), curiosity-driven behaviors (e.g., seeking out diverse materials or tools) as well as factors influencing these behaviors (e.g., degree of autonomy). The analysis also provided a basis for the development of a tentative cyclic process model of TPC in which interest and curiosity interact to produce a focus of curiosity, which is impacted by motivation, agency, autonomy and social context, providing an impulse for specific actions translating into TPD. Limitations of the study and direction for future research directions are also discussed.

ABSTRACT. As a psychosocial profession, it is well-documented that emotion labour (managing one's emotional responses) is a regular occurrence for language teachers, with emotion labour having the potential to positively as well as negatively affect language teachers’ wellbeing. For this doctoral project, the emotion labour strategies and wellbeing of UK ESOL teachers, i.e. those teaching English language classes for migrant, refugee-background, and asylum-seeking learners residing in the UK was explored through a mixed-method approach. Questionnaire responses (n=98) indicated (1) the ESOL teachers used a variety of emotion labour strategies throughout their professional activities and (2) the ESOL teachers’ wellbeing and emotion labour strategy use were significantly correlated. Follow-up semi-structured interview analysis (n=10) indicated that the ESOL teachers often employed emotion labour strategies to build positive and rewarding relationships with students and colleagues. The teachers also recounted their sense of emotion labour when navigating appropriate emotional responses to their learners’ challenging or distressing circumstances. It has been well-documented that promoting teacher wellbeing is beneficial for language teachers and learners. Therefore, given the relationship between emotion labour and wellbeing for language teachers, and the additional student circumstances present in ESOL teaching, there are pedagogical implications for the complex role of emotion labour in relation to language teacher wellbeing, especially within the UK ESOL context.

ABSTRACT. The PERMA model (Seligman, 2011) has been very influential for describing how individuals can thrive and live meaningful lives. In applied linguistics, it has made its way through the increasing publications on positive psychology applications to language learning and teaching. This presentation describes the experiences and perceptions of ten pre-service and in-service language teachers about wellbeing in a program entitled “Dare to Care”. The program aimed at raising participants’ awareness of the importance of wellbeing by providing a safe space for sharing, reflecting on, and practicing wellbeing exercises together. Designed by the research group CARE in Northern Brazil, the 20-hour program consisted of weekly meetings centered on the five aspects of the PERMA model – positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and achievement – relating these themes to the pre-service and in-service language teachers’ personal, academic, and professional experiences. Data were generated through an open-ended questionnaire answered after each meeting, and a final oral presentation done by the participants at the end of the program. Data were analyzed following content analysis procedures (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach e Zilber, 1998), aimed at identifying participants’ experiences of change regarding their wellbeing. The findings suggest that the program impacted positively on participants’ lives, leading to inspiring changes about self-care and empathic concern towards students and peers. In addition, emotion regulation, self-knowledge of their character strengths, and empowerment to adopt new behaviors emerged among the experiences of transformation observed in the participants. Implications for teacher education will be discussed.

ABSTRACT. The trigger for this auto-ethnographic project was an awareness of a subtle change, downward, in my motivation for work. I recognized myself as a Category 2 late-career teacher in Babic et al.’s (2022) study, viz. ‘loved being a teacher [and researcher] but mentally preparing for retirement’. Before I entirely left the field to ‘new generations’, however, I realized that stored in my attic was a dataset that might yet contribute to our growing understanding of language teacher motivation over the life-span. This was a chest of personal diaries which covered the first 21 years of my teaching career, from 1982 to 2003. Although not written specifically to document my working life, they frequently record thoughts and feelings about personally significant teaching events and so offer a means, combined with memory and sometimes photos and letters, to reconstruct the evolution of my professional motivation and learning.

An initial analysis of diary entries in the period 1982-84, my first TEFL post in Sweden, shows that the most frequent types of entry are either reports of ‘stressors’ (self-reproach for poor teaching, or expressions of anxiety) or of ‘uplifts’ (satisfaction at good performance, or expressions of enjoyment) to borrow contemporary terminology from Gregersen et al. (2023). These are consistently associated with certain contextual factors. Alongside these emotional expressions are more cognitive observations about pedagogy and about the wisdom of my chosen career path. In the talk I will compare these findings to those from an analysis of diaries 10 years later (when teaching in Bulgaria) and to my reflections on more recent work experience.

ABSTRACT. Flow is defined by high interest, intense focus, sense of control, and challenge-skill balance, and has been identified as an optimal form of engagement leading to peak performance. Achieving flow is desirable for language learners as it can stimulate learning and motivate learners to seek out similar but more challenging tasks. The few flow studies that exist in language education have focused on tasks involving reading, communication via computers, and translation. There is currently a lack of research on flow in relation to listening tasks. The purposes of this study were to (1) investigate the extent to which learners experienced flow during a TED Talk listening task as part of EAP courses at an American university; (2) identify task conditions, including the content and features of the talk, that contributed to or inhibited flow; (3) whether there is a relationship between flow and listening comprehension; and (4) determine if proficiency level and the presence of English subtitles moderated these effects. The participants consisted of 63 learners. After completing the listening task, learners filled out an online questionnaire that included closed and open-ended items measuring their degree of flow and comprehension. Interviews were then conducted with 11 randomly selected participants. Results revealed a variety of task conditions and content features that were perceived to impact flow and comprehension: the storytelling element of the talk; meaningful themes relevant to learners’ lives; use of images; humor; the structure of the presentation; the speaker’s personal characteristics and presentation skills; and specific task conditions such as opportunities for multiple listenings and for pausing. Findings also revealed a positive relationship between flow and listening comprehension. Furthermore, these results were consistent for all learners and whether they had subtitles or not, suggesting that proficiency and the inclusion or exclusion of subtitles did not act as moderating variables.

ABSTRACT. Short forms of lengthy questionnaires provide an economic way of gathering data on a given phenomenon. In psychology, scholars have raised concerns about using factor analytic techniques to shorten measuring instruments by calling attention to the fact that items selected based on item-total correlations and high factor loadings tend to provide a narrow view of the construct under scrutiny (Singh, 2004) and as an alternatives, they suggest using other techniques such as Ant Colony Optimalization (ACO) techniques based on mathematical algorithms (Leite et al., 2008; Shroeders et al., 2016) or Rasch Rating Scale Analysis based on Item Response Theory (Bond et al., 2020). As part of a larger project, the aim of the current study was to create a short form of a Hungarian instrument measuring the flow experiences of language learners as used in previous language learning-related studies (Albert, 2022; Czimmermann, 2016; Bodó & Piniel, 2023). Ultimately, the short version of the tool would allow the researchers to investigate flow in the language classroom using the Experience Sampling Method, in subsequent parts of the project, by minimizing the time necessary to gather data about a classroom task during the language lesson. To fulfill our aim, we collected data online from adult learners enrolled in foreign language courses across Hungary. Close to 300 participants filled in the long version of the 35-item flow questionnaire tapping into the various aspects of flow. For data analysis, we used ACO code in R and Rasch Rating Scale Analysis using Winsteps. Results indicate that the short version of the flow questionnaire is a reliable tool to measure learners’ optimal experiences. Implications for language pedagogy and language learning research will also be highlighted.

ABSTRACT. The state of flow (i.e., complete task absorption– Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) has gained interest in applied linguistics; yet few studies have explored task characteristics that trigger this phenomenon in the language classroom. Existing research highlights novelty, autonomy, interactivity, and intercultural communication as flow-inducing characteristics (Aubrey, 2017; Egbert, 2003; Czimmerman & Piniel, 2016). However, the dynamic interplay of these characteristics and additional elements, such as visualization and identity negotiation, in ESL lessons remains understudied.

Aiming to address this gap, the researcher collaborated with a Canadian college ESL teacher to design 20 potentially flow-triggering lessons with varying characteristics. After each class, participants (n = 18) completed Experience Sampling Forms (ESFs) – a reliable measure of flow (Hektner et al., 2006). Likert-type scale items in each ESF explored cognitive efficiency, affect, activation and motivation, and open-ended sections yielded qualitative data regarding learners’ classroom experiences. Additionally, three rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted on differing timescales (half-semester, end-of-semester and one-year-after-the-end-of-the-study).

Findings identified nine flow-triggering lessons, with participants’ mean ESF scores exceeding 70% of the total possible score, and one lesson generating a mean ESF score of 75%, pointing to a more intense state of flow. Additionally, eight lessons induced moderate amounts of engagement and three lessons were found non-flow triggering. Multiple Regression analysis showed that cognitive efficiency was the strongest predictor of flow and qualitative findings highlighted learners’ deep and meaningful engagement with complementary flow-triggering characteristics in lessons that yielded higher flow (e.g., during a social activity that combined identity negotiation, visualization, social interaction and collaboration). The three lessons that were non-flow-triggering included one or more major obstacles to learner participation. However, overall, a dynamic relationship was observed among lesson characteristics, learner-internal variables and environmental elements that at times enabled learners to overcome participation barriers and experience flow. Implications regarding task/lesson design will be discussed.

ABSTRACT. The discussion that linguistic, personal, and sociocultural gains after studying abroad are largely influenced by individual difference (ID) variables such as cognition, motivation and personality (e.g., Baker-Smemoe et al., 2014) is well-documented in the literature. Yet, we need further research to explore the combined effects of such ID variables on increased interaction and consequently linguistic and intercultural gains of sojourners. This study aims to explore the role of initial proficiency in English, and several ID variables, like personality, and mental and emotional wellbeing on language and intercultural gains and sociocultural adaptation after a semester abroad. It also investigates the relationship among these variables and their predictive power on language and intercultural gains. This mixed-methods study analyses data from a group of tertiary level sojourners (n = 99) who participated in the ERASMUS program for a semester. The data were elicited via an online version of the Oxford-Quick-Placement-Test, the short form of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ, Van Oudenhoven & Van der Zee, 2013), the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale 100 (Tennant et al., 2007), and the Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (Ward & Kennedy, 1999) twice at predeparture and immediately post-sojourn. A subgroup of participants were also interviewed following a semi-structured interview concerning their experiences abroad in a way to triangulate our quantitative findings. The data from the ID variables were analyzed through a series of multiple regressions to understand the predictive power of ID variables on sociocultural adaptation.  The preliminary results suggest that an intermediate level of proficiency in English is significant to initiate interactions, and adapt the host environment, as well as openness to diversity as a personality trait. The results are anticipated to bring further insights into how future sojourners could make the most of their stays abroad for linguistic, personal, social, and cultural gains.

ABSTRACT. It has long been observed by many researchers that there is a particularly wide variation among language learners in terms of their ultimate success in mastering a foreign language caused by inter-individual variation in the process of foreign language acquisition. Although some aspects of personality seem to determine the extent of success in FLA (Dörnyei and Ryan 2015; Li and Dewaele, 2020; Ożańska-Ponikwia, 2018; Ożańska-Ponikwia and Dewaele, 2012; Ożanska-Ponikwia et al., 2023; Piechurska-Kuciel, 2020), relatively little research sheds new light on the possible interplay between higher-and lower-order personality traits and speaking in a foreign language. Thus, the present study aims to investigate not only the role of Emotional intelligence (EI) in the context of speaking a foreign language but also the relationship between EI and a higher-order personality trait of Extraversion, (a personality trait most often related to L2 speaking proficiency). The participants of the study were 140 first-year BA students at the Humanities and Social Sciences departments at several Polish universities who learned English as their foreign language. Obtained results suggest that there is a strong correlation between EI and objectively measured foreign language speaking proficiency. Additionally, a mediation model was applied to explore the pathway from Extraversion via trait EI to L2 speaking proficiency. The reported results show that the trait EI is not only a significant predictor of foreign language speaking proficiency but also a mediator in the relationship between Extraversion and the mentioned variable shedding some light on the complex interplay of personality variables linked to foreign language speaking.

ABSTRACT. The inherent diversity in bilingualism necessitates ecologically valid methods to characterize it as a vibrant, multidimensional experience (e.g., De Bruin, 2019; Gullifer et al., 2021, López et al., 2021). Addressing this, researchers must critically examine whether proficiency measures genuinely capture the broad spectrum of bilingual outcomes. This effort is particularly relevant when working with minoritized and racialized communities, such as heritage bilinguals (HLBs), given that failing to explicitly embrace the diverse and dynamic nature of bilingualism can result in the dissemination of misinformation and lead to the perpetuation of prescriptive and hegemonic views (e.g, Flores & Rosa, 2015; Ortega, 2020; Bayram et al., 2021). In this context, our study aims to: (a) evaluate the reliability and consistency of commonly used proficiency measures as representatives of the variability in learning outcomes among Spanish HLBs, and (b) understand how language experiences influence variability in outcomes. For this, we collected data from 93 HLBs, differentiating between those enrolled in undergraduate heritage language courses and those who were not. To assess objective proficiency, all participants completed the Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera (DELE; adapted from Montrul & Slabakova, 2003; Montrul, 2005). Additionally, the instructed group completed a Spanish Elicited Imitation Task (Ortega et al., 1999), targeting oral proficiency, while the non-instructed participants completed the LexTALE (Izura et al., 2014). Subjective proficiency and language experience were assessed via detailed language and history background questionnaires. Our preliminary findings indicate a positive correlation between our objective and subjective proficiency measures. Our next steps include a more in-depth examination of each measure's reliability, a detailed correlational analysis exploring the relationship between these measures and bilingual experiences, and a comprehensive cluster analysis. The results of this study have the potential to shed light on more ecologically valid ways to assess variability in outcomes of heritage bilingual research.

ABSTRACT. Speaking in a second language (L2) requires a fluid allocation of attentional resources to parallel linguistic processes (conceptualization, grammatical encoding, articulation; Levelt, 1999). However, speaking is also an emotional act, and theories depicting cognition and emotions as integrated processes (Damasio, 1995) would predict an interaction between speakers’ emotional states, attentional control and L2 oral fluency, that is the rapid, smooth, accurate translation of communicative intention during on-line processing (Segalowitz, 2010). Seen through the lens of the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 2001), while negative emotions hinder performance by triggering apprehensive behaviour and diverting attentional resources to non-task-related objects (e.g., performance-related worries), positive emotions enhance performance by fostering task engagement and broadening attentional resources and thought-action patterns. Supporting such predictions, Zuniga et Simard (2022) found strong negative correlations between language anxiety and L2 oral fluency during a narration task, but only among a subgroup of participants with significantly weaker attentional control. However, this study only considered negative emotions and had a relatively small sample size. The present study, therefore, aims to address those gaps by elaborating a large-scale experimental study examining links between both positive and negative emotions, attentional control, and L2 oral fluency as operationalized by the frequency of self-initiated self-repairs, that is “revisions of speech that speakers themselves initiate and complete” (Salonen & Laakso, 2006, p. 859). Accordingly, 75 French-speaking users of ESL completed a picture-cued narration task, yielding 2-minute speech samples that were transcribed and coded for self-repairs. Emotional states were measured immediately following the narration using a perception questionnaire (Raccanello et al., 2021), and attentional control was measured using the Trail-Making-Test (Reitan, 1958). Full and partial correlation analyses allowed us to paint a more fine-grained portrait of the interaction between emotions, cognition and oral fluency. We will present the result in view of enhancing affective conditions in the classroom.

ABSTRACT. Accessing the swearwords’ emotional content (SEC) in a second language (L2) is crucial to avoid misinterpretation between L2ers and native speakers (NS) of this L2 (Dewaele, 2010). Specifically, swearwords are a sub-category of emotional-laden words because they elicit emotions (Pavlenko, 2008). Emotions are shaped around the dimensions of valence (positive-negative) and arousal (low-high) (Barrett, 2006) and are triggered by external-internal stimuli interacting with cognitive processing (Damasio, 1994). In this regard, the emotional Stroop effect (ESE) shows that swearwords interfere with NS’s selective attention (e.g., focusing on a specific stimulus while tuning out the other) due to automatic access of high-negative SEC (see Mackay & al., 2004). In contrast, while higher L2 proficiency leads to greater emotional activation (Harris, 2006, p.274), studies suggest that advanced L2ers access SEC equally to the NS of this L2, showing an ESE (Eilola & al., 2007; Eilola & Havelka, 2010; Sutton & al., 2007). To our knowledge, no prior research has examined if ESE occurred with less advanced L2ers. To fill this void, 58 English NS having Quebec French as an L2 and 35 NS of Quebec French carried out an emotional Stroop task comprising 15 items. Stimuli came from Vincent’s (1982) swearwords list, which are Christian words used as verbal threats (e.g., tabarnaque; Dostie, 2015). Swearwords were mixed with neutral and positive words (30 distractors). Stimuli were shown randomly twice (in blue or green). We measured L2er's proficiency using a C-test (Renaud, 2010) and a word fluency task. L2ers were divided into three groups (beginners, intermediates, advanced). ANOVAs revealed a word type effect: positive and neutral words were treated faster than swearwords. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between proficiency groups and NS for latency responses, and interferences were found only. Our findings suggest that SEC activation in L2 is mediated by language proficiency.

ABSTRACT. Emotions are increasingly recognised as playing an important role in language learning, influencing learner cognition, motivation, beliefs and identity (Barcelos, 2015; Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2015; Mercer, 2005). Different studies have examined the role of emotions in second language development, with current efforts describing how they emerge in specific contexts of language learning practice (Sampson, 2018). However, studies which focus on how language learners understand the importance of emotions in the context of their learning efforts, or studies which examine ways this understanding is experienced from the perspective of a language learner, are scarce in the literature. To shed light on this matter, the present study examines how twenty-five Japanese university students experienced a course specially designed to explore emotions in language learning. Specifically, it investigates learners’ self-awareness of emotions related to language learning. To this end, a qualitative exploratory approach was used to analyze the learners’ final diary entries in which they reflected on their emotional experiences related to language learning, on what they learned and how they grew and developed as individuals throughout the course. This course focused on emotional literacy, motivation, character strengths, mindsets, emotion regulation, empathy, and confidence building connected to positive and negative affect. The coding of the diaries uncovered four areas key to understanding the participants’ experience which included social capital, self-awareness of emotions, personal growth, and transformation. The findings suggest the students profited in diverse positive ways through active engagement and reflection on the rich tapestry of emotion-related constructs connected to language learning, leading to the emergence of new perspectives and growth, related to an enhanced awareness of emotions in language learning.

ABSTRACT. A good performance of executive functions (EFs) is considered essential for the general wellbeing of a person. Aspects such as physical, mental and emotional health, academic success, as well as the general quality of life, have been proven to depend on these set of cognitive skills (Diamond, 2013; Thompson & Steinbeis, 2020; Ganesan & Steinbeis, 2021). As for factors that help the development of EFs, the literature mentions, for example, the correct functioning of motor skills (Roebers and Jäger, 2014) and avoiding, to the greatest extent possible, harmful elements such as stress or excessive tiredness caused by environmental factors (Tobar, 2014). Standing out amongst these helpful factors is bilingualism, which has been found to have an impact on both structure and functioning of the brain (Bialystok et al., 2012). Therefore, it seems that bilingualism, and by extension studying in a CLIL program, can be linked to enhanced development of EFs. As for the ideal period to focus on EF development, recent research has identified the early stages of life as a key moment in time, highlighting the importance of targeting the stages from early childhood to adolescence as a precursor for present and future emotional, social and behavioral wellbeing. As a result, various school-based approaches have been proposed as a way to target these phases of child development. Following this line of thought, this paper explores the role of bilingualism on EF development as a pathway towards wellbeing within the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach, widely applied in the education system in Madrid. By examining the ways in which bilingualism could potentially affect EFs and, consequently, children’s wellbeing, this paper aims to shed light on the effects of bilingualism on children’s EF development.

ABSTRACT. Given the events of recent years, it is unsurprising that topics like well-being and emotional health are receiving a significant amount of attention. This is particularly true in Japan, where college-age students have suffered from enormous emotional stress as a result of the coronavirus pandemic (e.g., Tahara et al. 2021). Emotion-related topics are clearly very important to learners’ lives, but few materials exist to support teachers to raise emotional issues in classes. The presenter currently teaches a content-based course to undergraduate learners in Japan entitled 'Emotions in Society, Culture, and Work'. Alongside supporting learners to think and talk about their emotions, the course also teaches core topics related to emotional health including emotion regulation, emotional labour, and stress coping. In this workshop, the presenter will share three practical, discussion-based activities adapted from the course. The activities will address (a) how emotional language informs our understanding of emotional events, (b) the symptoms and catalysts for emotional stress, and (c) how emotions can be regulated effectively. The broad aim of the activities is to increase learners’ understanding of how their emotions function and how they can more ably manage emotional stresses in their lives. The activities are informed by CLIL practices, and so attention in the workshop will be paid to the development of both linguistic and content-related knowledge. The activities have been designed for intermediate-level (B1/B2) undergraduate learners in Japan, but suggestions for adapting the activities to other levels and contexts will be provided.

ABSTRACT. Researchers have begun to explore the role of the learner in task-based language teaching (TBLT) (e.g., Lambert, Aubrey & Bui, 2023). This has led to a richer understanding of how individual differences constrain learning during task performance. To gain deeper insights into how learners engage with tasks and how their feelings and responses to the learning context can mediate their learning, it is necessary to explore the applicability of not only different theoretical constructs but also new and emergent methodological tools. This 1-hour symposium will consist of three parts. The first will provide a 5-minute overview of the importance of researching learners’ affective responses to tasks and the need to integrate different methodological perspectives into research. The second part will then consist of three 15-minute reports of empirical studies on the role of learner in TBLT from different perspectives. The first paper by Li, Dewaele, MacIntyre uses path analysis to examine the mediating role of ‘flow’ in the relationship between L2 writing proficiency, task control, and L2 writing performance in tasks of differing complexity. The second paper by Aubrey employs discourse analytic methods to explore task engagement in a computer-mediated communication environment by analysing oral task performances in terms behavioural engagement (words, turns), social engagement (affiliative backchannels) and cognitive engagement (negotiation of content, language-related episodes). The third paper by Lambert uses electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the extent to which psychophysiological variation in learners’ affective states impacts subsequent recall of the language that they are exposed to during pedagogic tasks. The final part of the symposium will be a 10-minute chaired panel discussion between the audience and the presenters. This panel will provide a summary of take-home points and future directions before opening the floor for audience questions.

ABSTRACT. In intensive longitudinal studies (variably called Experience Sampling Method [ESM], diary methods, or event sampling), data are collected through frequent, repeated completion of the same instruments by research participants at random or fixed intervals over multiple days or weeks. These approaches enable deeper insight into how psychological processes unfold over time, within and between individuals, and the co-evolution between language-related variables across time and different contexts. Additionally, intensive longitudinal data are highly contextualised, which facilitates a more comprehensive and holistic understanding of the processes that underly language learning. The contributions in this symposium will each showcase different state-of-the-art methods for quantitative or qualitative analysis that can help researchers take advantage of the unique characteristics of intensive longitudinal measures.

In the first presentation, Freeborn uses temporal network analysis to explore interactions between six individual difference constructs throughout a 32-week Dutch language course, and how these interactions relate to language development. Next, Pfenninger proposes a combined approach, using generalised additive mixed models, time series clustering and qualitative analysis, to examine changes in cognitive and socio-affective individual differences in older adults, and how variation is related to language learning performance. Vlaeva demonstrates how multilevel modelling of ESM data can provide insight into habit formation in vocabulary learning, fitting individual growth curves to visualize the dynamics of learners’ habit-forming behaviour over six weeks. In addition to analyses focusing on dynamic changes, intensive longitudinal data aggregated across time can also provide an exceptionally rich, contextualized picture of language-related factors, such as language contact, motivation, or cognitive and affective processes and the physical and social context in which they occur. This will be illustrated by Arndt, Gullberg, and Granfeldt, who apply mixture modelling to ESM data to investigate various aspects of situated language exposure and use in the context of study abroad and migration.

ABSTRACT. There have been many recent studies on language teacher emotions (e.g. Her & De Costa, 2022; Yang et al., 2022) that have been conducted in different socio-political contexts. Missing from these recent studies is, however, an explicit focus on these different cultural contexts. In other words, do language teachers in different cultural contexts feel different emotions about teaching or are the emotions about language teaching somewhat universal? In this talk we discuss results of a study which aimed at investigating the emotions and beliefs of language teachers in a Brazilian and Finnish context, using visual narratives. The results have shown differences and similarities in the kinds of emotions and in how they are expressed by these language teachers. Whereas Finnish teachers emphasized expertise and responsibility of their pupils, Brazilian teachers were more prone to resort to the more emotional, loving, and personal aspects of teaching. The two very different socio-political contexts of these countries and well as teacher status on both countries help explain some of the differences. We discuss the contributions of the findings for research on language teacher emotions and how it can help us understand language teacher emotions in different social contexts and cultures.

ABSTRACT. The present study aimed to address the scarcity of research on the relationship between enjoyment and anxiety in the context of Polish EFL learners. In line with previous research, it was hypothesized that the level of FLE would increase and the level of FLA would decrease during secondary grammar school education. Nonetheless, the findings obtained corroborated the hypothesis only partially. That is to say, the quantitative results revealed that the level of FLA decreased during secondary grammar school education, yet so did the level of FLE. It was shown that older EFL learners declare significantly lower levels of FLE and FLA than their younger colleagues. A low level of FLE in the final class of the school might be attributed to the specificity of Polish education, an overloaded curriculum, stress associated with the Matura exam, boredom, and lack of curiosity, among others. As revealed in the interviews conducted for the needs of the study, English lessons in the final class became predictable and monotonous, and there was very little place in the classroom that would allow learners to discover new ideas and foster creativity, so they tended to lose interest in the content of the lesson and enjoyment was naturally replaced with boredom and/or other unwelcome emotions. These findings suggest that FLE is a dynamic and context-sensitive emotion, and its level is likely to decrease in unfavorable circumstances. To sustain enjoyable learning, teachers should do their best to tailor the level of difficulty of the task to learners’ increasing competence in FL to prevent boredom. Moreover, as the research shows, a degree of unpredictability, combined with an extensive use of the FL, may boost learners’ enjoyment and lower boredom, without affecting learners’ anxiety.

ABSTRACT. A positive psychology intervention is “any intentional activity […] based on the cultivation of valued subjective experiences, the building of positive individual traits, or the building of civic virtue and positive institutions” (Meyers et al., 2013).

Research in progress on interventions to support language learning in the organisational context are explored in this Symposium. Drawing on practices in Canada, Wales, and Ireland, panellists compare and contrast the dynamic intersection of positive and negative emotions in French, Welsh, and Irish - official and minoritized languages. The intention is to open a discussion about practical applications of positive psychology principles and enabling factors that nurture the development of positive institutions. Opening remarks situate the participants’ professional practice in the literature: Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Meyers et al., 2013; Cameron, 2021; and Mercer & Gregersen, 2023. Following this overview, Varagnolo explores peer coaching for executives in the Canadian public sector; Gruffydd considers preliminary findings from a Welsh language support initiative piloted on a university campus in Wales, and Ní Loingsigh discusses the participatory design, delivery and review of a professional development Micro-Credential called Language Coaching in the Workplace in Ireland.

An action-oriented support system, coaching and peer support for language learning and improvement, and wellbeing in the institutional context are Symposium themes. A multilayered, integrated, and collective approach to the management of language learning and language use among employees is promoted so that organisations can move beyond individual benefit (Berg & Hertin, 2014). Given that positive practices and organisational effectiveness require more empirical investigation and evidence (Chun, 2005; Wright & Goodstein, 2007) presenters suggest how language initiatives and institutional approaches in Canada, Wales and Ireland might be nurtured further. The session closes with a structured Q&A, facilitated by Quell in the role of discussant, on ideas raised, and solutions and arguments posed.

ABSTRACT. Self-determination theory (SDT) is a broad theory of motivation grounded in psychology. It has been used to explore motivation to learn languages since the late 1990s, with continued robust applicability in numerous linguistic contexts worldwide (Al-Hoorie et al, 2022). However, aspects of the theory have not been fully explored. Here, we present the first study to use Goal Contents Theory (GCT) in a language learning context. To adequately test this theory in this domain, a new instrument called the Language Goal Contents Survey was developed based on the Goal Contents for Exercise Questionnaire (Sebire et al., 2008). Undergraduate language students in England and Japan completed the new questionnaire at the beginning of the academic year to establish the extent to which students’ goals for undertaking their studies were extrinsic, and the extent to which they were intrinsic. Based on the literature on GCT in other domains, we hypothesised that intrinsic goals would be associated with the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and extrinsic goals would be associated with need frustration. The LGCS demonstrated adequate internal validity and reliability, and correlated with measures of proficiency and need satisfaction. Given the established links between need satisfaction and outcomes such as increased engagement, motivation and attainment, understanding students’ goals in undertaking language learning is of critical importance. Our cross-cultural sample allows a detailed initial understanding of the importance of language learning goals in both Eastern and Western contexts as well as in anglophone and non-anglophone populations. Al-Hoorie, A., Oga-Baldwin, W. Q., Hiver, P., & Vitta, J. (2022). Self-determination mini-theories in second language learning: A systematic review of three decades of research. Language Teaching Research, 13621688221102686. Sebire, S. J., Standage, M., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2008). Development and validation of the goal content for exercise questionnaire. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 30(4), 353-377.

ABSTRACT. Flow is defined as a positive experimental state in which individuals are deeply involved in an enjoyable and intrinsically motivated activity (Csikszentmihalyi, 2008). Previous research regarding flow in language learning has found a correlation between flow and high task engagement, positing that flow states potentially enhance learning, language development, self-confidence, and resilience. However, much of the research has primarily concentrated on flow experiences outside the classroom, typically associated with learners’ personal interests. This leaves a gap in our understanding of flow experiences specifically within the language classroom setting. The purpose of the present study is twofold: firstly, to investigate the existence of flow in English as foreign language (EFL) classrooms among Japanese students; and secondly, to explore the characteristics of flow experience in these settings. Data was elicited from 41 students, comprising intermediate and advanced-level English learners from Japanese universities and postgraduate schools. Participants completed an online questionnaire, adapted from Egbert’s (2003) flow perceptions survey, focusing on their flow experience in EFL classrooms and their attitudes towards English learning, both inside and outside the classroom. The results showed that about the majority of participants (39 out of 41) encountered flow-like experiences both within and outside the classroom, particularly during reading activities. This suggests the real possibility of learners experiencing flow within the EFL classroom environment. A nuanced analysis of the four dimensions of flow (control, focus, challenge, interest) as advocated by Egbert (2003) indicated a close interrelationship. Nevertheless, the pattern of association differed based on the deep flow experience. This study supplements flow research in language learning with its focus on classroom settings, providing new insights into Japanese EFL learners’ flow experiences. It thereby enhances our comprehension of creating more engaging, effective, and enjoyable language learning environments.

ABSTRACT. The concept of mindset in language learning refers to learners' beliefs and attitudes regarding their ability to acquire a new language (Dweck, 2006). Research suggests that a growth mindset, characterized by resilience, a willingness to confront challenges, and openness to new experiences, offers distinct advantages in language acquisition compared to a fixed mindset, and individuals with a growth mindset tend to exhibit higher motivation for learning and derive satisfaction from the language learning process (e.g. Demir & Arisoy, 2022; Dweck, 2006; Lou & Noels, 2017; Mercer & Ryan, 2010; Yan, 2021). This study addressed the gap in the existing literature by examining the interplay between mindset, self-regulation, academic self-concept, and directed motivational currents (DMC), all significant factors in language learning. Conducted during the 2021-2022 academic year at a state university, the study involved 355 preparatory class students selected through convenience sampling. Employing a mixed-method research approach, data were collected using Likert scale-based questionnaires and subjected to rigorous statistical analysis. The findings revealed that a majority of participants displayed a growth mindset, albeit with mindset scores slightly exceeding the threshold for a mixed mindset. Additionally, the study established that self-regulation plays a full mediating role in shaping the influence of mindset on directed motivational tendencies. In summary, this research underscores the importance of a growth mindset in language learning, highlighting its positive impact on motivation. It also emphasizes the role of self-regulation as a mediator in the relationship between mindset and directed motivational currents. These insights provide valuable pedagogical implications and offer directions for further research in the field.

ABSTRACT. Epistemic curiosity (EC) – defined as the desire for gaining knowledge – plays a key role in (educational) psychology (Grossnickle 2016; Loewenstein 1994; Pluck & Johnson 2011), being a core concept of intrinsic motivation. Mahmoodzadeh and Khajavy (2019) recently transferred EC to the framework of SLA and elaborated the concept of language learning curiosity (LLC). In their theory, they suggest that LLC encourages students to willingly learn a foreign language. Within the realm of plurilingual pedagogy, the importance of students being curious about learning languages has also been emphasized: However, according to several awakening to languages approaches (Perregaux 1999; Candelier 2005) as well as mentioned in the FREPA (Candelier et al. 2012), the aim of plurilingual teaching, in contrast to LLC, is not to foster curiosity about just one but multiple foreign languages. Yet research still lacks a specific concept elucidating curiosity regarding students’ plurilingual language learning. As importantly, EC further represents a genuine, not negligible part of the motivational structure of (video-)games and is thus a central part of game-based learning (Huck et al. 2020).

Consequently, the present contribution pursues two main objectives: (1) Based on the psychological works on curiosity, the theory of LLC and the competences mentioned in the FREPA, a new concept is developed, namely epistemic curiosity for plurilingual learning (ECPL). Moreover, it is shown how ECPL is theoretically linked to other psychological constructs who positively correlate with language learning, more specifically interest, intrinsic motivation, flow, language learning enjoyment and student engagement. (2) Given the high motivational and affective learning potential of game-based environments, it is argued in what ways these environments might promote ECPL when integrated into a plurilingual language classroom.

ABSTRACT. This study aims to explore language mindsets among language-teaching educators, considering cultural differences. Educators from both individualistic and collectivistic cultures participated in the Language Mindset inventory and took part in semi-structured interviews. A total of nine educators, teaching either English or Korean at the university level, were included in the research. Three native English teachers are from the USA, three English as a second language (ESL) teachers are from Asia (1 Chinese and 2 Japanese), two Korean teachers are instructing Korean, and one Japanese teacher is teaching the Korean language in university in Japan. Interestingly, Asian ESL teachers exhibited the highest levels of incremental beliefs according to the Language Mindset inventory, although their second language aptitude beliefs (L2B) did not significantly differ from those of other teachers. Native English teachers expressed stronger beliefs in the malleability of general language intelligence (GLB) compared to the other teachers. Additionally, Korean teachers demonstrated notably distinctive age sensitivity beliefs (ASB) in contrast with other educators.

ABSTRACT. This poster comprises some references to the main theoretical frameworks and results found in a dissertation study addressing the impact that affective factors (e.g., emotions and beliefs) have on teachers and students in their processes of teaching and learning a foreign language. The research aimed at analyzing how certain affective factors -namely anxiety, motivation and self-concept– influence students’ and teachers’ interactions in an Argentinean secondary school context. The participants were 61 EFL teachers and 1,522 secondary school students in their 5th year from the city of RÍo Cuarto and the surrounding towns in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. The study was framed on the Positive Psychology theory (Seligman, 2011) and followed a mix-method approach. The comparative results showed the existence of certain incongruencies between teachers’ and students’ beliefs in relation to students’ anxiety and their self-concept. Less than half of the surveyed students considered anxiety as a learning obstacle, in opposition to the teachers’ beliefs. Outcomes related to the self-concept category revealed that while students regarded English as a difficult language to learn, teachers expressed agreement on the certainty of their students’ full capacity for learning the foreign language. As regards motivation, similarities and differences were also found. A great number of students and teachers expressed their beliefs that knowledge of the English language would render future benefits. However, both groups differed in relation to the motivational sources reported. Unlike teachers’ beliefs, students considered that it was the teacher’s role to generate learning incentives. The study led us to conclude that affective factors appear as core aspects that help improve the foreign language classroom atmosphere, and promote not only academic success but also mutual wellbeing in the development of EFL learning and teaching processes.

ABSTRACT. Due to the hegemonic position of English in the academic field, English-medium-instruction (EMI) has been increasingly promoted in higher education systems worldwide (Lasagabaster, 2022). In bilingual communities such as the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) in Spain, the stronger presence of the foreign language (FL) coexists with the two official languages (Basque and Spanish) in the curriculum, which creates a truly multilingual scenario (Lasagabaster, 2017). Despite the widespread educational interest in fostering multilingualism, language learning can be an anxiety-provoking process (Gkonou, et al., 2017). In fact, while English is learned as a FL in the BAC, Basque is a minority language and the L2 of many students, and therefore, learning these two languages may cause anxiety episodes in the classroom (Santos, 2023).

In this paper we will present a study exploring the interaction between anxiety and two languages of instruction, i.e. Basque and English, in the BAC. To date, very few studies (De Smet et al., 2018) have analysed anxiety in two target languages, which is why this is an innovative piece of research. 216 undergraduate students’ anxiety levels were examined, as well as the effects of students’ gender, linguistic repertoire and language proficiency on their anxiety. In this sample, Basque was the L2 of 110 students (51%), and all of the participants were learning English as their L3. This investigation employed a mixed methods approach by means of the well-known Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire (Horwitz et al., 1986) and interviews, which allowed us to triangulate the data. Results indicated that participants experienced significantly more anxiety in their subjects taught in English than in Basque. Moreover, female learners and Spanish speakers were the ones suffering the most from anxiety. Due to the challenging nature of anxiety in multilingual contexts, we will wrap up by drawing some pedagogical implications.

ABSTRACT. Over the past thirty years, the concept of foreign language anxiety (FLA) has received attention from Applied Linguistics researchers and theorists due to its relevance in the domain of foreign language teaching, learning and use (HORWITZ et al 1986, 1991; HORWITZ, 2001, 2008; KRALOVA, 2017; DEWAELE, MACINTYRE, 2014; DEWAELE, 2019; SILVEIRA 2012, 2021, 2023). FLA has been considered the affective variable which most negatively influences foreign language learning. It is best described as a sort of situation specific anxiety, inextricably related to the learner’s feeling of apprehension and tension when using or learning the foreign language. The theoretical background which supports this research includes the conceptualization, subtypes, and instruments to analyse FLA as well as its relations with Exploratory Practice (ALLWRIGHT, 2003; ALLWRIGHT, HANKS, 2009; MILLER, 2012), regarding its principles, and purposes. It is known that most studies focus on either FLA theory or quantitative data, which shows the urge for more qualitative and interventional research. Thus, this intervention study aims to present the results of an ongoing research which is being carried out at the English language department of the Rio de Janeiro State University. The focus of this investigation lies on promoting a reflection space in which undergraduate students who have just started their Bachelor in English have the opportunity to build understandings regarding their anxiety when it comes to using the English language at the university, and as future English teachers. Participants have been selected from the subject “English I”, which is taken in the first semester of the course, after responding to the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (HORWITZ, 1986), and going through an interview. The data presented in this work have been generated during exploratory conversations (MILLER, 2012), in which these undergraduates could revisit their emotions, beliefs and fears related to using and teaching English.

ABSTRACT. This presentation discusses two case studies from a two-phased research study on the promotion of learner autonomy conducted in an EFL Malagasy setting. In line with the belief that promoting learner autonomy involves reflection on the learning process, goals, and outcomes of learning (Little et al., 2017, Little, 2020), and self-regulated learning (SRL) results in increased learner autonomy (Griffiths and Soruç, 2020), the first phase of the study aimed to help 22 student teachers (STs) improve their writing and develop their SRL skills through journal writing in a reflective writing course. Data consisted of the STs’ journal entries related to each writing task and reflections on the course. The data were coded following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis. The findings from the first phase showed that the STs gradually became aware of their abilities to identify difficulties, improvements, and learning strategies that work or not for them. That awareness resulted in their sense of responsibility towards their learning. They seemed to develop the criteria that learners with a growth mindset have, according to scholars (e.g. Oxford, 2017; Williams et al., 2021): motivation, confidence, the belief that they can improve through effort and use of strategies. The second phase of the study, which took place two years after the first, involved a questionnaire and email exchanges that aimed to investigate the long-term impact of the reflective writing course on the STs’ ways of learning, writing, and on their preparation for their teaching practice. One finding showed that most of them had been using strategies they had learned from the course such as goal setting and planning, and self-correction. To generate in-depth examination (Duff, 2008) and insights into students’ behaviors, feelings, intentions and interpretations of their actions (Gillham, 2000; Woodside, 2010), this presentation focuses on two case studies, Naia and Fidy.

ABSTRACT. and the dynamics within and outside the language classroom, but less research has been directed to understanding how it can be useful for understanding learners’ psychological well-being and thriving. Ryan, Huta and Deci (2004; Ryan & Martela, 2017) maintain that process of living well, or eudaimonic living, can be described in terms of four characteristics, including the pursuit of intrinsic goals (e.g., kindness, communal relationships) rather than extrinsic goals (e.g., wealth, fame, power); (2) striving to satisfy the psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness; (3) acting in volitional or consensual rather than controlled ways; and (4) being mindful in one’s actions. This survey study examines these four aspects of living well in university-level language learners, and their relation not only with engagement in language learning, but also life satisfaction, growth, meaning in life, and vitality in the context of language learning and in life generally. It was hypothesized that the aspects of eudaimonic living, particularly the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, would be strongly and consistently positively related to indices of eudemonic well-being but less strongly related to indices of hedonistic pleasure (e.g., language learning as “fun”, “exciting”, “escape/adventure”, “avoiding pain”). Correlational and multiple regression analyses largely confirmed these hypotheses, although eudaimonia and hedonia were not unrelated. These results are discussed in terms SDT’s theoretical contribution to positive psychology in language learning, as well as the findings’ potential for application in teaching practice.

ABSTRACT. Research in second language teacher education (SLTE) has recognized the importance of wellbeing in helping future teachers’ to flourish (Gregersen & Mercer, 2023). Similarly, wellbeing has been found to be fundamental among language learners, as it leads to more meaningful and enjoyable learning in the classroom. Framed within positive psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000), this presentation reports on a study that explored EFL pre-service teachers’ experiences with a pedagogical intervention in the practicum aimed at helping participants enhance their wellbeing and promote wellbeing during their teaching practices. The teacher educators carried out the positive psychology intervention (PPI) experientially in the university practicum sessions in an Argentine EFL teacher education program during one semester. The following research questions guided the study: What were pre-service teachers’ experiences, including their beliefs and emotions, concerning the PPI in university practicum sessions? To what extent did the pre-service teachers incorporate positive psychology activities in their EFL classrooms during their teaching practices, and what were their experiences? Data were collected throughout the practicum semester through journal entries and focus groups, and were subjected to thematic analysis. Major findings indicate that participants believed that the PPI promoted emotion self-regulation; increased their confidence to teach; and equipped them with tools to foster wellbeing in their own teaching contexts. Moreover, the findings showed that all the participants chose to integrate positive psychology activities into their own EFL lessons at elementary level, mainly activities that did not involve the use of L2 and aimed at helping young learners focus their attention and regulate their emotions. The presenters address research and pedagogical implications for SLTE by highlighting the value of integrating PPIs as a means for enhancing teacher wellbeing and development, as well as for preparing future teachers to integrate positive psychology based pedagogies into the EFL curriculum.

ABSTRACT. This study examined the role of motivational teaching strategies (MotS) and individualized support in enhancing students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2) in a high school setting in Japan. Drawing on previous research (Antoku, 2020) and utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study focused on three teachers who adopt communicative teaching methodologies. The findings indicated that the extent and timing of support provided by teachers vary depending on the unique characteristics of the student groups. Teacher A, who taught local public high school students enrolling from various junior high schools, utilized numerous MotS to motivate and support students in speaking the target language. Conversely, Teacher C, who instructed government-experiment high school students who come from the same junior high school, did not require as many MotS to facilitate student engagement in class. Teacher B, who taught at a private high school, used more MotS than Teacher C, but not so much to individual students as Teacher A. The study highlighted the importance of giving support according to the characteristics of the group, for example, tailoring support to individual students during task completion as demonstrated by Teacher A, or the limited individual support provided by Teacher C. Overall, this research underscores the significance of providing both MotS and individualized supports that the learner group needs in fostering students’ WTC in an L2 classroom.

ABSTRACT. Is your happy the same as my happy? Do emotions exist within me or “between us” (Mesquita, 2022)? This presentation will introduce ongoing research that uses written reflections, interviews, and Q-methodology to explore experiences of, beliefs about, and desires for “happiness” in Japanese university students. Previous research (e.g., Achor, 2010; Peterson, 2006) shows that higher levels of student well-being led to better, more effective learning. For this reason, teachers strive to design curricula with students’ enjoyment, engagement, and well-being in mind. However, much of what is known about positive education comes from research conducted in WEIRD (White, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) nations (Henrich et al., 2010). Although research into Japanese happiness and well-being has increased (Coulmas, 2008), little research has been done regarding the nature of happiness of Japanese English language learners. As language learning is essentially an intercultural pursuit, it is necessary to understand how well-being may be affected by this lingua-cultural experience. This project collects data from both Japanese nationals who have not studied abroad and from bilingual (English-Japanese) and bicultural (Japanese nationals who have spent 6+ months living in an English-speaking country) people. The purpose of the research is to gain a better understanding of the well-being needs of university English language students, and how these may shift, as levels of language ability and intercultural experiences increase. Knowledge of this would help teachers of English to more effectively design their pedagogical approach to English language learning in Japan. This project may also gain insight into the applicability of the PERMA+ model and positive interventions based on it, to non-WEIRD contexts such as Japan.

ABSTRACT. Summer international language courses in target language (TL) countries are a popular way to study a foreign language, as they are thought to provide favorable conditions for advancing TL development. Although such schools run formal, intensive language courses, important learning also takes place outside the classroom, during social interactions with peers and other TL users. The study abroad (SA) context has been found to promote the development of oral skills thanks to increased opportunities for TL use. It has not been sufficiently explored, however, to what extent SA programs provide conditions for TL interactions. Short study abroad programs are also little researched. Moreover, research is needed in a new SA context, where English is used for communicative purposes as a lingua franca. Finally, although adolescent are among the most common participants in SA programs, more research has been called for on this group. This qualitative study addresses these gaps in the literature, by evaluating the program of an international summer school in Malta, where teenagers from all over the world come to study English in the lingua franca environment for several weeks. The data were gathered through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with fifteen learners, eleven instructors, two managers, four activity leaders, and two coordinators, in addition to participant observation. Several aspects of the program promoting as well as hindering student interactions in English were identified. TL interactions were found to stem mostly from the multilingual context, school facilities, mealtimes, and accommodation shared with learners of different nationalities. The formation of cliques of students with the same mother tongue, insufficient social activities and institutional efforts to mix nationalities hampered TL interactions. The results of this study are used to draw practical implications for enhancing interactions in English as a lingua franca, which could contribute to increase the effectiveness of SA language education.

ABSTRACT. Second language acquisition during study abroad (SA) has been a burgeoning field of enquiry over the last three decades. One line of research has investigated students’ social networks. This contribution analyses the longitudinal development of the social interaction network and its influence on L2 gains of 41 U.S. sojourners enrolled in a 3-month intensive study abroad Arabic program. Unlike extant research, the current study i) focuses on students’ interactions with their alma mater classmates as well as other agents ii) reconstructing a complete network of the former, iii) traces the impact of each individual student’s position in the social graph using established centrality metrics, and iv) includes a dynamic developmental perspective with three measurement points at 4-week intervals each, gauging the extent to which changes in the network configuration translate to changes in both self-perceived and objectively measured progress along a range of dimensions. The learners formed mostly same-gender cliques changing minimally, with gender homophily strengthening over time. Closeness centrality significantly correlated with TL use and self-perceived gains in linguistic and cultural competence, suggesting communication with classmates might facilitate L2 use and development. The best peer-connected students tended to be highly motivated females with high starting L2 proficiency. Interaction with classmates aligned with initial Arabic proficiency and multilingualism. Motivation to learn Arabic, degree of multilingualism, more central and popular positioning in the network, and self-reported progress in reading, writing, listening, vocabulary, grammar, and overall Arabic abilities were positively correlated. The level of motivation itself in turn seemingly may have been predetermined by prior competence in FLs. The strongest predictors of objective proficiency gains were the degree of multilingualism and of closeness to classmates (F = 3.386, p = .0045, predicting 12.4% of variance in objective progress). We also discuss non-trivial changes in the interaction network and progress over time.

ABSTRACT. While many language teachers leave the profession early, others thrive and teach until retirement. Understanding how these teachers maintain their passion can help identify the support needed for their personal and professional growth. However, research on the factors behind their sustained happiness in the teaching profession is limited.

The main objective of this qualitative study was to explore the beliefs and career stories of three recently retired German language teachers in Norway, recognized for their sustained motivation and effective teaching over several decades. Data were generated from in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed through the lens of self-determination theory. The analysis revealed that the teachers shared several key characteristics. First, they enjoyed a high degree of autonomy related to the choice of subject contents and teaching approaches. Second, they perceived themselves as highly competent in the subject and expressed a passion for it. Third, they cherished being with students and managed to establish good relationships with them. The findings suggest that teachers should be aware of their basic psychological needs and reflect on how they can be fulfilled. Furthermore, school administrators should foster trust in teachers as autonomous professionals and actively support their competency development and relationships with students and colleagues.

ABSTRACT. While extensive research has explored teacher demotivation, burnout and their consequences within the field of education and second language acquisition, teacher engagement remains relatively under researched, particularly in terms of its interaction with burnout. This study addressed this research gap by examining the impact of burnout on teacher engagement. Burnout, as conceptualised by its three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment (Maslach & Jackson, 1981; Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996), can have several negative consequences, including losing interest and enthusiasm towards various tasks (Farber & Miller, 1981) and changes in emotional and social dynamics, all of which can significantly influence teacher engagement.

This qualitative research focuses on the interplay between teacher burnout and engagement. The study involved conducting interviews with 31 secondary school teachers in Hungary who teach English as a foreign language. The data collection was followed by thematic analysis, investigating the impact of burnout on various dimensions of teacher engagement, i.e., cognitive, emotional, and social aspects (Klassen et al., 2013), exploring tasks or obligations that teachers could more readily shed during periods of burnout, as well as those they were unable to abandon. Furthermore, the study discovered some of the strategies employed by teachers to reengage themselves after experiencing burnout.

ABSTRACT. Language teacher well-being is a concept gaining popularity. This is because there is a lot of work done regarding the psychology of language teachers with an emphasis on a positive psychology perspective (MacIntyre et al., 2016; MacIntyre et al., 2019; Mercer & Kostoulas, 2018). Additionally, teachers’ well-being may significantly affect both their level of enjoyment and their capacity to instruct students efficiently (Gregersen et al., 2020). Moreover, positive well-being is not only crucial for teachers but also for learners as it can have a positive effect on learner outcomes and happiness (Mercer, 2021; Talbot & Mercer 2018). However, since teaching is both psychically and emotionally demanding (Ebadijahal & Moradkhani, 2022; Eva & Thayer, 2016), teachers are open to a diversity of issues, such as stress, burnout, and attrition. (Kinman et al., 2011; Mercer, 2020; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2010; Yorulmaz & Altınkurt, 2018). In this regard, the current systematic literature review aims to provide a comprehensive insight into language teacher well-being research by combining peer-reviewed articles on the concept. The following databases were searched to find as many relevant articles: ERIC, Elsevier, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Taylor & Francis, and Wiley Online Library. The terms “language teacher(s’) wellbeing” and “wellbeing of language teacher(s’)” were searched in the databases. All studies found were included in the present review regardless of the year of publication. As a result, 38 articles between the years 2018-2023 were reached with a total of 7929 participants. The characteristics of the studies are demonstrated. Additionally, the definitions of language teacher well-being in the articles are discussed. Lastly, the correlates and predictors of language teachers’ well-being for pre-service, novice, and experienced language teachers are also presented and discussed. The research recommends further research on language teachers’ well-being to examine the complex, dynamic, and context-dependent feature of language teachers’ well-being.

ABSTRACT. The COVID-19 pandemic had an enormous impact on the lives of teachers worldwide (e. g., Chen, 2021). Changes due to the pandemic provided opportunities for professional growth while also heightening teachers' vulnerabilities. Vulnerability in teaching refers to the lack of control that teachers have over working conditions and outcomes of their work (Blase, 1988; Bullough, 2005; Kelchtermans, 1996, 2005, 2009; Kelchtermans et al., 2009). The marginal status of part-time English language teachers in Japanese universities (Brown, 2019; Whitsed & Wright, 2011) exposed them to increased vulnerability because of the ongoing uncertainty of their work situations during the pandemic. In particular, lack of decisiveness and poor communication on the part of universities undermined leadership trust and left teachers to rely on their own efforts to cope with the situation (Authors et al, In Press). The research reported here builds on a previous well-being study using weekly surveys of part-time English language teachers carried out from April 2020 to March 2021 (Authors et al, In Press). Twenty of 95 participants from that study agreed to participate in semi-structured interviews in autumn 2023 that followed up on their responses in the original surveys and asked about what has changed in their lives and working conditions post-pandemic. Analysis of the data employed codes and categories developed in the original study. Results revealed ongoing issues of institutional trust, though mitigation efforts by universities were also reported. At the same time, teachers reported having clearer ideas of how they wanted to balance life and work, and also gaining greater professional skills, especially related to online teaching, through the communities of practice. Implications for what actions teachers can take individually and collectively to build resilience and manage vulnerability, as well as suggestions for what universities can do to reduce the vulnerability of part-time teachers will be discussed.

ABSTRACT. Classrooms are places where boundary crossings take place between teachers and students when they share and negotiate their different beliefs and perceptions about language learning. The literature shows, however, that few teachers or students share or negotiate their views on language learning in language classes. Drawing from the theoretical framework of language learning and teaching situated at a meso level of social activity (DFG, 2016), and Wenger’s boundary crossings (Wenger, 1998, 2003), the present study explores boundary-crossing experiences where teachers’ and students’ perceptions, beliefs, and goals in learning and teaching English as an additional language are shared. A total of 10 English teachers and 21 students in Korean high schools were interviewed to discuss their views on teaching and learning speaking and writing in English in their classes. Two tables with the survey results about their perceptions of speaking and writing practices were provided as boundary objects for both groups to have immediate boundary-crossing experiences. The transcribed interviews were analyzed and discussed based on the understanding that the four mechanisms of identification, coordination, reflection, and transformation (Akkerman & Bakker, 2011) are pivotal. The presenter will suggest pedagogical implications to promote continuity (continued boundary crossings) for the two groups and improve students’ language learning.

ABSTRACT. Mindfulness—the practice of intentionally paying attention to the experience of the present moment without judgment—has been shown to contribute positively to the well-being of L2 teachers. Within positive psychology, which studies human flourishing, the PERMA framework proposes that human well-being is achieved through 5 areas: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement. Although all PERMA areas were found to be relevant to a positive L2 teaching experience, it is unclear how mindfulness enhances the PERMA areas of L2 teachers. This study explores mindfulness as practiced by L2 professors beyond the general notion of well-being, delving into how it connects to the PERMA areas. The two aims of this article are, first, to analyze the experiences of two L2 professors with mindfulness and, second, to examine how these relate to PERMA. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through reflective thematic analysis. The findings showed several parallels between the mindfulness experiences of both professors, such as the relevance of first practicing mindfulness in one’s personal life to then integrate it into one’s professional life and considering mindfulness practice in the classroom as a self-care technique. It was also found that mindfulness mainly enhanced professors’ PERMA areas of relationships and meaning, and that professors felt that mindfulness promoted the PERMA areas of relationships and positive emotion in students.

ABSTRACT. Good oral production skills are fundamental to integrating non-native speakers into their host society. In particular, L2 oral fluency (OF), i.e., the rapid, smooth, accurate translation of communicative intention during on-line processing (Lennon, 2000, p. 26; see also Segalowitz, 2010), has been shown to be of great importance in maintaining listeners’ attention (Lennon, 2000; Suzuki & Kormos, 2020). However, it represents a distinct challenge for L2 speakers as it requires a real-time efficient allocation of cognitive resources. Specifically, working memory (WM), which refers to the limited capacity system responsible for the temporary storage and manipulation of information (Baddeley, 2012), appears to be most important in OF (Wen & Li, 2019). These cognitive resources are limited and vary from one speaker to another (Kormos, 2006). Additionally, they have long been shown to interact with emotions (i.e., the subconscious physiological responses triggered by reactions to internal and external stimuli; Damasio, 1994, 2011; Phelps, 2005), and in particular foreign language anxiety (FLA) and enjoyment (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014), which interacts with various aspects of L2 oral production. To our knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the relationship that might exist between L2 OF, WM and FLA. To fill this gap in knowledge, 70 ESL French-speaking adults were subjected to a picture-based narration task. Each narration, lasting on average three minutes, was recorded. Three judges holistically assessed OF using a flowchart scheme adapted from Turner and Upshur (2002). An interrater agreement of .94 was obtained. Participants’ WM was measured using a numerical span test targeting both temporary storage and information manipulation (Highest-Number Task; Oakhill et al., 2011). A questionnaire measuring participants’ FLA and enjoyment as traits was also used (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014). Factorial analysis results show a distinct relationship between the three variables. These results are discussed in light of previous studies.

ABSTRACT. Foreign language anxiety (FLA) can have detrimental impacts on language production and dire consequences for students completing a degree in a non-native language. Although there is extensive research on FLA in the language classroom, there is limited research on FLA for those living abroad long-term using the target language both in the classroom and for daily life. The current study investigates the impact of FLA on the English oral fluency of international students undertaking a degree in the UK and examines how listener behavior may ameliorate or exacerbate this relationship. Participants partake in a video-recorded speaking task through Zoom while receiving either positive, neutral, or negative behavioral feedback from four confederate listeners. Upon completion, participants rewatch a video recording of themselves completing the task and rate their moment-to-moment anxiety from beginning to end. They are then interviewed and asked to provide an explanation for their feelings of anxiety throughout. The speaking tasks are further transcribed and analyzed for utterance fluency measures. Current trends among thirty participants suggest that FLA reflects not only participants’ inner struggles to choose correct grammar and vocabulary but also by specific behaviors of listeners. Participants report spikes in FLA when listeners display distraction and disinterest, leading them to falsely assume they are making mistakes in the target language. On the contrary, spikes in anxiety due to struggles speaking can be ameliorated by positive behavior such as nodding or smiling and encourage participants to continue. Furthermore, preliminary statistical analyses show a trend for significant differences in oral fluency depending on the experimental condition. Participants display a higher percentage of total disfluencies in speech in the negative condition compared to both the neutral and positive conditions, suggesting that behavior can not only affect how the speaker feels but also the way in which they are able to communicate.

ABSTRACT. Self-regulated learning has been a topic of substantial interest in the educational field (Oxford, 2017). However, the regulation of emotions has been scarcely considered in foreign language (FL) contexts. The advent of the ‘affective turn’ paradigm (Pavlenko, 2013) has shed light on the impact that beliefs and emotions have on students’ learning processes. This acquires importance especially in complex contexts like the one portrayed by public Argentine high schools, where students come from different socio-educational backgrounds and different levels of linguistic competence. In this scenario, the development of oral skills becomes a challenge that needs to be addressed in a multi- dimensional manner. As suggested by the Argentine Educational Ministry guidelines, FL learning should include the consideration of affective factors and the promotion of self regulation strategies. To respond to this demand, in 2020 we proposed a qualitative action-based research that sought to analyze how these principles could be enacted in teaching proposals that promoted the development of oral skills mediated by technology. To this end, four workshops were designed and almost fifty English FL teachers participated in the sessions between 2022 and 2023. The participants were provided with some theoretical foundations on the importance of affective factors in FL teaching and learning. In addition, self regulation strategies were presented along with some practical tools for the implementation of the proposals. Moreover, in an attempt to foster true communities of practices, high school teachers and members of the research team in charge of this study worked collaboratively in a dialogic and reflective environment to ultimately achieve meaningful teaching proposals suited to specific contexts. In this presentation we will show different ways in which the ‘affective turn’ can be promoted in the high school classrooms as well as share students and teachers’ perceptions on the pedagogical innovations carried out.

ABSTRACT. In Mexico, public universities aimed at population groups that traditionally do not have access to higher education and have a low level of English proficiency have been established under the Bilingual, International, and Sustainable model (U-BIS). The design of this research is non-experimental, cross-sectional, with a correlational-causal design. A total of 178 university students participated. To determine the factors influencing the outcomes of the Oxford Placement Test, the school and family contexts of the students were analyzed. School factors included variables such as academic performance in high school, the type of high school from which they graduated, and the type of high school funding, public or private. Family factors considered the education and occupation of the parents. The objective of the study was to determine the factors that explain the results of the Oxford Placement Test obtained by new students at the Bilingual, International, and Sustainable (U-BIS) universities. The results of this study show that socioeconomic factors such as the education and occupation of the parents explain the outcomes of the Oxford Placement Test, unlike school factors such as the type of high school the student graduated from and their academic performance. However, students graduating from private high schools achieve better scores on the Oxford Placement Test than those from public high schools.

ABSTRACT. Though most teachers see the inherent value of professional development (PD), seeking it out is often a matter of expending time and resources they may not have at their disposal. Many in Japan report feeling isolated and thus struggle to seek out opportunities for participation in effective PD (Huang, 2018; Yamada & Hasegawa, 2010). Despite recent government initiatives that push for more teachers to pursue PD, little guidance is provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT). With no formalized structure or guidelines, many teachers look both within and beyond their institutions to connect with others and pursue teacher development. One example of PD that fills this gap is the critical friendship, a relationship that can provide support and encourage a growth mindset through reflective practice. A “critical friend” or “trusted other” is someone with whom an educator can engage reflectively and collaboratively about their beliefs, practices, and identity (Hatton & Smith, 1995; Stenhouse, 1975). This presentation will make the case for critical friendships being a dominant form of PD between EFL professionals in Japan while highlighting exemplars of such relationships. By applying the critical friendship continuum (Petroelje Stolle, et al., 2019; Petroelje Stolle & Frambaugh-Kritzer, 2022), the researchers will share their approach to researching and categorizing critical friendships before showing how educators can foster their own grassroots relationships, encourage attendees to seek them out, and create environments that will facilitate the natural emergence of collaboration and critical friendships. Readings and resources to help teachers get started on their critical friendship journeys will also be provided to attendees.

ABSTRACT. Elementary school teachers, unlike junior high school and high school teachers, are not specialists in a particular field and are expected to teach a number of subjects across a wide range of levels. In many educational contexts, including Japan, English as a foreign language (EFL) has been introduced into formal education at increasingly younger ages and now elementary school teachers are sometimes expected to teach a subject in which they may not have received specific training. Self-efficacy has been shown to be a strong predictor of performance (Bandura, 1997), and teacher self-efficacy is ultimately key to students’ academic success. Despite this, there is a shortage of research investigating teacher self-efficacy, particularly regarding EFL in elementary school contexts. This paper reports on a mixed-method study that designed and validated a questionnaire of elementary school English teaching self-efficacy administered to 138 practicing elementary school teachers in Japan. Rasch analysis was used to validate the questionnaire, regression analysis was carried out to examine potential predictors of self-efficacy, and teacher interviews were conducted to better understand their beliefs towards teaching English. Results of the Rasch analysis suggested that the questionnaire had suitable dimensionality, and that most items were functioning according to the Rasch model. The regression analysis showed that experience teaching English was a significant predictor of English teaching self-efficacy. Analysis of the interview data revealed that generally teachers in this context felt that their English abilities were insufficient to effectively teach English, that they had concerns about preparation time and assessment, and exposed complications of having specialist English teachers in elementary schools. We discuss the findings and talk about possible implications for teacher training and the role of specialist English teachers in this context.

ABSTRACT. Boredom as one of the most pervasive and distressing emotions experienced by second and/or foreign language (L2) students has recently attracted the attention of second language acquisition (SLA) researchers (e.g., Derakhshan et al., 2022; Li et al., 2021; Nakamura et al., 2021; Pawlak et al., 2020). However, studies delving into boredom experienced by L2 teachers rather than learners are few and far between. This is a major oversight in view of the fact that learners’ and teachers’ emotions are bound to interact and feed into each other in classroom settings. In order to address this gap, the present research aimed to examine factor structure and psychometric properties of the L2 Teacher Boredom Scale (L2TBS). It was administered to 225 L2 teachers from different countries (e.g., Poland, Turkey, Hungary, Iran, USA). Data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and the exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). The results identified the ESEM solution as the optimal model for measuring L2TBS. Five factors underlying TB boredom were extracted: (F1) repetitiveness and monotony, (F2) inefficient communication, (F3) lack of satisfaction, (F4) lack of creativity, and (F5) lack of interest. The analysis also provided evidence for measurement invariance across gender, age, education and years of teaching experience.

ABSTRACT. Teaching has long been viewed as an emotional taxing profession (Hargreaves, 1998), and emotion labor frequently arises when teachers have to negotiate their performance under institutional rules and power relations (Benesch, 2018). Despite emerging research that explores language teachers’ emotions labor, particularly that of English language teachers, the emotion labor experienced by world language teachers has been given much less attention by comparison.

In this study, we examine the experiences of two teacher candidates from China in a Chinese language teacher residency program. This Chinese language teacher residency program features a long-term partnership between a local K-12 dual immersion school and a U.S. university. In particular, we focus on our focal teachers’ apprenticeships with their assigned mentor teachers and their co-taught experience. Data informing this study include semi-structured interviews with the two teacher residents about their mentorship experience, reflective teaching journals kept by the teachers as a part of their university coursework, as well as observations of the teachers’ classroom teaching at a K - 12 dual immersion school. Our findings revealed that much of our teacher participants’ emotion labor stemmed from the extremely rigid hierarchical mentoring relationship with their mentor teachers. Specifically, we observed a misalignment in their pedagogical identities and agency constraints, as their mentors emphasized teaching practices rooted in Confucian ideologies that prioritize conformity to authority, while the teacher candidates held differing beliefs. Based on our findings we discuss (1) the impact of emotion labor on transnational world language teachers (TWLTs), and (2) how the process of producing and perpetuating emotion labor in relation to mentoring programs preclude TWLT teachers from achieving their imagined transnational teacher identities. We close this paper by putting forward recommendations for future research related to TWLTs’ emotions, and advocate for a renewed focus on their mentoring experience during their teacher preparation programs.

ABSTRACT. Understanding and clarifying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ mindsets is essential for facilitating an effective and progressive language teaching process. This research endeavours to incorporate mindset theory, one of the psychological theories, within the context of secondary school EFL education, in Turkey. Specifically, the focus is on exploring the mindset beliefs of EFL teachers regarding their teaching competences in language classrooms. The purpose of this study encompasses investigating EFL teachers' mindset regarding their teaching competences and uncovering the rationale behind their mindset beliefs concerning teaching competences. The research design employed in this study is exploratory qualitative research, which aims to elucidate and explicate the mindsets of the participating teachers and explore the justifications underpinning their perspectives. A purposive sampling method was utilized to select 20 EFL teachers from secondary schools. Initially, semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify mindsets among the participants and make second interviews to be more personalized. Subsequently, a Q-Sorting Activity was administered to gauge their mindsets about their teaching competences. Lastly, semi-structured interviews were employed to further supplement the data obtained from the Q-Sorting Activity and elicit the teachers' mindset beliefs regarding their responses to statements about various teaching competences. The findings of this study reveal that the teachers substantiated their specific mindset beliefs by referring to locus of control. This study seeks to underscore the importance of expanding research endeavours in the field of foreign language education (FLE), particularly within the domain of the psychology of language teaching.

ABSTRACT. Background

Research into L2 learners’ emotions has grown rapidly in recent years. The spectrum of investigated emotions is greatly expanded. However, despite multiple studies, special issues, and conference symposia, emotions have rarely been examined beyond the classroom (Myhre et al., 2022). Construct development reflects this bias. Curiosity (Mahmoodzadeh & Khajavy, 2018) is one example. Both conceptually and empirically, work on curiosity has been limited to the construct’s epistemic dimensions, and curiosity has been investigated in relation to L2 tasks and knowledge generation (e.g., Mahmoodzadeh & Khajavy, 2018; Nakamura et al., 2022; Takkaç-Tulgar, 2018). However, curiosity also encompasses interest in and the direction of attention to novel stimulation. Perceptual curiosity can motivate visual and sensory inspection (Berlyne, 1954). For languages rarely encountered beyond the classroom, and at the early stages of L2 learning, perceptual curiosity can play an important role in understanding an L2 learner’s engagement with language.

Method and findings

This study presents the L2 perceptual curiosity construct and its measurement. A 7-item scale was developed and administered to 212 upper secondary students in Sweden learning French, German or Spanish (languages rarely encountered beyond the classroom). On ordinal five-point scales, participants indicated the likelihood that curiosity would be aroused in various out-of-class situations. Responses varied across the entire range of the scale categories, with an internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) equal to 0.80. All items had loadings larger than 0.5 on a single factor, and the overall fit of the model was good (Comparative Fit Index = 0.987).

Conclusion

In an age where L2 learning takes place in networks where the classroom can be but one of several nodes (Reinders & Benson, 2017), L2 perceptual curiosity can play an important role in explaining engagement with language. The scale presented here provides a means by which it can be measured.

ABSTRACT. Qualitative research is no longer a methodological newcomer in the psychology of language learning. Most journals welcome qualitative manuscripts. This is good news for researchers interested in lived experience. What is concerning, however, are qualitative outputs that barely exceed claims that "themes emerged" or that "narratives were constructed" in their description of analytic procedures. Thus, the flexibility of qualitative methods has led to ambiguity in methodological reporting practices, with readers often left in the dark as to how researchers actually conducted their analyses and interpretations. To address the aforementioned concerns, this presentation will introduce a narrative methodological innovation on Smith et al.’s (2009, 2022) Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The variation, Narrative IPA (NIPA), is a methodological exemplar of slow, rigorous, and transparent qualitative research on lived experience. Participants are considered experiential experts who provide rich descriptions of existential concerns relevant to the psychology of language learning (e.g., strategies, anxiety, motivation). Analyses are inductive and guided by philosophical principles grounded in phenomenology, hermeneutics, and idiography. In NIPA, raw transcripts are rewritten with the aid of narrative smoothing and presented as condensed Descriptive Narratives from each participant’s first-person perspective. These narratives are checked by participants and then replace the raw transcript as the data for analysis. Interpretive Narratives are also written—from the third person perspective—representing the researchers’ interpretations of each piece of data before aggregating those reports for the main-text findings. Descriptive and Interpretive Narratives are included as supplementary material to address calls for open science in a way that qualitative researchers can adhere to ethically. Such procedures leave an audit trial and make analytical texts available for additional interpretations. This presentation will walk attendees through a “best practices” study to show how NIPA can be used in research on lived experience in the psychology of language learning.

ABSTRACT. The foreign language classroom offers a fertile ground for cultivating creativity, especially in the realm of oral expression. This process unfolds in the present moment, engaging students and teachers alike in a meaningful educational journey. To harness the potential of this creative endeavor, educators must assume the role of group leaders, drawing on theoretical insights from luminaries in educational creativity. Building upon Ketonen's learning model and Kurtz's insights into oral creativity, this study outlines a structured approach involving progressive activities that foster complexity, decision-making, improvisation, and freedom of expression. These elements operate in harmony, enhancing inner storytelling and playfulness levels without contradiction. Ketonen advocates for a teaching approach characterized by active listening, student-centeredness, acceptance, and purposeful guidance. The teacher's role extends to fostering a nurturing attitude, emphasizing the ethical dimension of education, and upholding the dignity of every learner. This pedagogical philosophy encourages dynamic group learning, where interactions are forged through mutual acceptance, even in the face of contradictions and conflicts. Over a six-week period, sixteen students aged 10-11 participated in action research aimed at fostering their oral creativity in the English classroom. Data collection involved questionnaires (students’ feelings about their English learning progress, motivation, acceptance, oral skills); focus group interviews with the students; and field notes. The results highlight spontaneity and freedom of expression as common threads that underpin both the goals of nurturing oral creativity and establishing a supportive classroom environment. Initially, students predominantly employed their L1 to express themselves, reflecting their initial comfort levels. However, as the process unfolded, a transformation occurred, showcasing the potential of this creative approach in the English classroom. This study underscores the significance of nurturing oral creativity in the foreign language learning settings, providing a comprehensive framework for teachers to foster creativity while creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment.

ABSTRACT. This presentation describes learners’ and teachers’ reactions to the use of WhatsApp to extend language learning beyond the classroom. The findings are drawn from an ongoing, long-term collaboration between the language school and researchers at a large Spanish university, in which MA students work together with full-time teachers to set up pedagogical interventions under the supervision of an experienced researcher.

Although the potential of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) for language learning has long been acknowledged (Hockly & Dudeney, 2014), relatively few studies have explored the affordances this medium provides (e.g. Andujar, 2020; Kartal, 2019). Of these, a limited number have examined learners’ attitudes and feelings about using WhatsApp and even fewer have so far analysed teachers’ reactions and feedback.

We will focus in particular on one study within this collaboration, which took place during the period of online teaching due to COVID-19 restrictions, with the resulting implications for student and teacher well-being (Cranfield et al., 2021; MacIntyre et al., 2022). Our findings suggest that using WhatsApp provided a sense of community, opportunities to communicate outside learners’ immediate bubbles and increased engagement with the target language. Students generally enjoyed the activities and perceived the benefits for their language learning. Nevertheless, some age differences were observed as older students found the immediacy and frequency of WhatsApp messaging could be stressful.

Teachers enjoyed the consultation and collaboration with researchers. As the WhatsApp groups were moderated by MA students, their learners had the opportunity for meaningful practice without increasing teachers’ workloads. Both students and teachers saw research as a commitment to quality and development. Consequently, teachers’ interest in participating in research increased, suggesting that collaborations of this type may mitigate some of the negative associations of the teacher – researcher relationship, suggested by prominent figures in ELT (Maley, 2016; Medyges, 2017).

ABSTRACT. This study focuses on an out-of-class podcast project undertaken by second-year Bachelors students enrolled on an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) vocabulary course in Belgium. The aim of the project was to provide students with the opportunity to use English more frequently and authentically while creating something tangible together through interaction. Research is beginning to emerge demonstrating the advantages of engaging students in collaborative podcast production, such as an improvement in spoken performance and a reduction in foreign language anxiety. This study contributes to the current wave of applied linguistics research which aims to explore learners’ foreign language learning experiences through the coexistence of multiple emotions. We present data from 38 students who were tasked with creating a podcast in small groups. The first set of data comprised students’ perceptions of making a podcast at two time intervals to examine emotions 1) in anticipation of the project and 2) upon completion. The second set – an online survey – contained Likert-scale items from validated foreign language anxiety and enjoyment instruments as well as open-answer questions to gain insights on the wider-ranging emotions students experienced during 1) their formal language learning education and 2) the podcast project. The thematic analysis identifies which particular aspects of the podcast project invoked emotions in students to better understand what worked, in what situations, and why. Furthermore, the approach of comparing two time periods and two conditions helped us to demonstrate how emotions evolve across time and context, thus informing pedagogical implications especially with regards to teaching a podcast project. In response to the need for increased researcher reflexivity in qualitative research, the methodological challenges we encountered while investigating something as interpretative and multidimensional as emotions are also deliberated.

ABSTRACT. The topic of language mindsets has recently garnered substantial interest among researchers in the field of second language acquisition. However, very few studies have examined the effect of language mindset interventions on language learning outcomes. Considering this, the present study aimed at investigating the effect of a brief intervention targeting growth language mindset on L2 vocabulary achievement. Employing a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design, two distinct groups including an experimental group (n=50) and a control group (n=45) were formed. Participants completed language mindset questionnaires and a vocabulary test both before and after the intervention. After the pre-test, both groups were provided with a list of sixty words with the understanding that a vocabulary test would be administered three weeks later. Moreover, the experimental group engaged in an approximately forty-minute language mindset intervention after the pre-test. The intervention included two phases. Firstly, participants read a translated article supporting growth language mindset. Secondly, a presentation was delivered, covering topics related to brain structure and functions and strategies to promote a growth mindset. Results of 2 (control vs. experimental) × 2 (pre-test vs. post-test) repeated-measures ANOVAs indicated that priming a growth language mindset through the intervention significantly improved the growth language mindset among participants in the experimental group supporting the effectiveness of the intervention. Furthermore, it was evident that fostering a growth language mindset had a profound impact on participants' vocabulary learning. This effect was observed both within individuals, as evidenced by higher post-test scores compared to pre-test scores for the experimental group, and between individuals, with the experimental group outperforming the control group. These findings suggest that the implementation of a brief growth language mindset intervention in language classrooms has the potential to enhance students' growth language mindset and vocabulary achievement.

ABSTRACT. Collaborative writing (CW) tasks may offer many L2 learning opportunities, but only if learners are equally willing to contribute to interaction (Storch, 2021). Among the learner psychology variables that may explain unequal participation, interaction mindset (IM) (Sato, 2017) has emerged as a useful construct to predict learners’ social interactions, being positively correlated with language-related episodes (LREs), and negatively with talk about content (McDonough, Ammar & Sellami, 2022). Proficiency is another variable affecting the quality of peer interaction in CW tasks (Basterrechea & Leeser, 2019), with higher proficiency leading to more LREs. Moreover, there is evidence that learners’ attitudes towards CW may fluctuate across time as a result of repeated practice (Chen & Yu, 2019). Yet, the interplay between IM and proficiency in relation to peer interaction needs to be explored in children, whose L2 learning process is marked by general developmental changes and is primarily driven by intrinsic motivation (Rokita-Jaśkow, 2021).

The current study investigates the impact of IM and proficiency on child learners’ contributions to a CW task, carried out over eight weeks. Fifty-eight Spanish EFL children (ages 11-12; A1-A2 level) completed an IM questionnaire before and after the pedagogical intervention. Learners’ task perceptions were also tapped in pre- and post-task focus group interviews. Their video-recorded interaction from weeks one, six and eight was coded for frequency of each learner’s contributions regarding content, language and task management. Preliminary findings revealed that in Week 1, learners’ proficiency was a stronger predictor of their general behaviour. However, in Weeks 6 and 8, its role diminished in favour of post-intervention IM, which was positively correlated with content-related talk. Finally, IM appeared to be dynamic, influenced by children’s personal experience with their partner and procedural repetition, as stated in the interviews. Discussion will include implications for both future research and teaching practices.

ABSTRACT. Although the benefits of emotion regulation on individual language teachers and their wellbeing have been well documented in previous research (e.g., Brierton & Gkonou, 2022; Mercer & Gregersen, 2020; Morris & King, 2018, 2020), we still know very little about whether and how individual teacher emotion regulation can morph into a collaborative and relational activity, involving and impacting upon their students and other teachers. In this talk, we report on interview-based data collected from 50 language teachers working in the secondary and higher education sectors across four national settings. Our thematic analysis of the data revealed the following three key themes: a) teacher emotion regulation can mediate stronger interpersonal relationships between teachers and students; b) teacher emotion regulation can be a highly collaborative and relational activity practiced together with their colleagues and/or through their help; and c) teacher emotion regulation is often performed for the benefit of their students. Our findings highlight that when individual teachers undertake emotion regulation, their colleagues and students often reap the benefits of this process too. Additionally, our findings are indicative of an other-oriented dimension of emotion regulation, one which shows that when teachers are able to manage their emotions, they are better able to care for their students and address their academic and psychological needs. We argue that such reciprocity is a fundamental building block of strong and adaptive teacher-learner relationships, and that such an approach to teacher emotion regulation holds potential to increase teacher empowerment and improve the conditions within teachers’ day-to-day, mundane teaching practice. We finally propose that emotion regulation be researched and practiced relationally.

ABSTRACT. Adopting a Positive Psychology perspective on foreign language production (Dewaele & Saito, 2022), the present study focuses on both the negative and the positive emotions that writers experience and the strategies they deploy to overcome obstacles. One such strategy is procrastination, which has been defined as the delay of responsibilities, decisions, or tasks that need to be done (Haycock, McCarthy & Skay, 1998). This behavior is related to self-confidence (Zhang & Zhang, 2022), beliefs, attribution styles (Haycock, 1993), and a lack of self-regulation (Tuckman, 1998). Researchers have found that procrastination is particularly common in academic writing (Kachgal et al., 2001). The current study extends the field by focusing on procrastination in academic writing in both the first (L1) and a foreign language (LX) adopting a mixed methods approach. Data were collected through an online questionnaire from 100 multilingual participants. The aim was to establish whether procrastination in their academic writing was linked to levels of enjoyment and self-confidence (RQ1), the strategies they use to overcome procrastination (RQ2), and the impact of using a foreign language (RQ3). Analysis of the quantitative data showed procrastination to be quite frequent (Mean = 3.32, SD =1.99, on a 5-point Likert scale). Statistical analyses revealed that procrastination was not significantly linked to enjoyment or self-confidence. Levels of procrastination were similar in the L1 and the LX. The qualitative data analysis using grounded theory showed five main categories: (1) personality traits, (2) emotions and physical conditions, (3) lack of self-regulation, (4) lack of motivation, and (5) beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes towards the task. Participants reported using multiple strategies to overcome procrastination, such as seeking emotional support, working on time management skills, and removing distractions among others. These results echo the findings from previous studies on L1 procrastination. In light of these results, pedagogical implications are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Language learner mindset has received much recognition for its critical role in language learning and achievement. Theoretically, it is postulated that learners with growth mindsets believe in the benefits of effort and thus are more likely to focus on developing their competence (i.e., mastery goals), which in turn increases positive emotional experiences. Learners with fixed mindsets, on the other hand, believe ability is innate and therefore are believed to focus on demonstrating their competence to others (i.e., performance goals), which in turn increases negative emotional experiences. However, empirical findings are inconclusive about these links. This could be, in part, due to the variable-centered approaches adopted in studies to date. In this presentation, we report on a study that used an alternative, person-centered approach to identify profiles of 689 Japanese EFL learners’ language learning mindsets and goal orientations as well as their links to nine types of positive and negative L2 classroom emotions. Latent profile analyses of the data obtained through a questionnaire generated three distinct profiles: 1) high growth mindset, high mastery goal, and high performance goal; 2) moderate growth mindset, moderate mastery goal, and moderate performance goal; and 3) low growth mindset, high fixed mindset, low mastery goal, and low performance goal. The characteristics of the subgroups were further explored using variables related to emotions. The findings indicated that the first group habitually experienced stronger positive emotions including enjoyment, hope, pride, and curiosity, while the third group experienced stronger negative emotions such as anxiety, hopelessness, and boredom. The second group showed weaker positive emotions compared to the first group, as well as weaker negative emotions compared to the third group. The results offer a unique insight into subgroups of language learners’ mindset systems. Suggestions for future mindset research and pedagogical implications are also discussed.

ABSTRACT. This study explores emotional dynamics experienced by multilingual university students and their teachers in the context of using English as a medium of instruction, shedding light on the bidirectional nature of emotion transmission between teachers and students (Dewaele & Li, 2020; Frenzel et al., 2021). This research combines insights from two semi-structured interview studies: one involving four interviews with Turkish university students pursuing diverse majors in Hungary and another featuring four interviews with one Hungarian university teacher of each student from the first study. As a result of a thematic analysis with a co-coder, among students, feelings of enjoyment, excitement, and pride were prominent, especially when they felt proficient in English. Challenges in understanding or expressing ideas due to limited vocabulary or academic knowledge evoked negative emotions like anxiety, boredom, and shame. Factors such as previous study-abroad experiences, duration of stay abroad, and teacher language proficiency significantly influenced their emotional experiences. Most students relied on self-initiated emotion regulation strategies, with acknowledging teachers’ assistance. Besides, teachers’ emotions of pride, happiness, enthusiasm, and motivation were linked to student engagement and positive feedback. Frustration primarily arose from language barriers about incorrect expression or word retrieval. Effective emotion regulation strategies for teachers included reformulating sentences, seeking student assistance, and focusing on the subject matter rather than English use. The presence of native English-speaking students, years of teaching experience, academic backgrounds, previous language learning, and study-abroad experiences also influenced emotional dynamics. Efforts to foster positive student emotions centred on creating a relaxed, enjoyable classroom atmosphere infused with humour. This study underscores the importance of integrating emotion regulation strategies into teacher training programs by emphasizing empathy and social interaction. Future research should delve deeper into the intricacies of teacher-student emotional dynamics and their impact on language use, classroom atmosphere, and overall educational outcomes.

ABSTRACT. This contribution, based on an analysis of pedagogically oriented practices, explores how, in the long term, projects rooted in authentic in structured community service learning for languages (CSLL) experiences, have contributed to the expansion of the language learning, and may have become a cornerstone transformative transversal competences experience.

As documented with an exploratory qualitative analysis based on a representative corpus of some one hundred logbooks (Autor, submitted 2023), CSLL enables to identify factors of autonomy, motivation, learning and self-confidence in language learning, allowing students to take on the role of social actors who use the target language by interacting and mediating with other members of the target language community outside the classroom.

A new research project is calling on students who have had a CSLL experience during their undergraduate studies and with a questionnaire, wishes to gather evidence of possible long-term impact, lasting over the course of their courses or having influenced their vocational and professional development. Positive psychology is the main theoretical framework helping the construction of the questionnaire, along with the identification of transversal competences. As valorizing transversal competency (TC) becomes an important asset in the personal profile of learners, we would like to try to have a sample of how training future generations to more sharing of experiences, skills, and goals in a respectful and open attitude to the other can be beneficial academically, professionally and have a positive impact on the community.

ABSTRACT. In the English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) literature, there is some debate as to whether ELF is a culture-free variety used for communicative purposes or whether it can be used for emotional identification and identity marking. This study aims to contribute to this debate by examining the perceptions and practices of multilingual graduate students in Brussels with a long history of formal and informal English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Seven participants (ages 24-32) with a range of self-identified L1s, all enrolled in an English-medium master’s program, were first asked to complete a language portrait (Busch, 2018), a type of visual representation of the modes of communication that they use in their lives. They mapped, labeled, and colored in their various languages onto a body silhouette, allowing them to reflect on their language practices as embodied and to give visual expression to experiences that might otherwise be difficult to verbalize. Each participant then took part in a semi-structured interview to reflect upon their portrait, using it as a springboard for uncovering their perceptions about, past experiences with, and future aspirations for all the languages mapped onto the body. The data indicate that English is experienced as an intricate, crucial part of their linguistic repertoires, and that it is foregrounded for its communicative purposes and efficiency. It however also serves as a conduit for emotional expression and is clearly associated with a professed multicultural/-lingual identity and sense of belonging. Interestingly, two participants actually described English as a vehicle that enables emotional expression, explicitly allowing them to overcome the (perceived) limitations of their native languages and cultures in this respect. The study thus challenges the notion that languages of communication and languages of identification are mutually exclusive, and that the lived experiences of ELF-users and EFL-learners can easily be disentangled.

ABSTRACT. In Indonesia, COVID-19 forced emergency online teaching upon teachers and students for nearly two years, from March 2020 until February 2022. Teenagers are often considered passive or quiet in class, and the online environment made engaging even more challenging. This action research investigated what factors under a teacher's control can support WTC in the classroom under the difficult circumstances of online teaching, focusing on middle school students' Willingness To Communicate (WTC). The setting was an International Baccalaureate (IB) International School that serves a diverse student population from Indonesia, South Korea, and beyond. As a teacher-researcher, I collected data from six teenagers, ages 13 to 15, enrolled in my Grades 7-10 in the English Language Acquisition classes in the Middle Years Programme. I administered a modified version of McCroskey and Richmond's (2013) WTC scale, observed class interactions, took field notes, and recorded online classes over nine weeks in the first term of the 2021-2022 academic year. Finally, I analyzed each student's WIDA Language assessments and summative assessments. The aim was to find evidence of their active participation and engagement relative to their measured WTC levels and to ascertain what might have predicted any observed fluctuations. The findings revealed that the students were more willing to communicate when in small groups, with their favorite teachers, and among close classmates. Allowing students more choices during assessments boosted their engagement and encouraged them to express their ideas. Teacher-student conferences to discuss their WIDA results and tailor their study plans were motivating. On the other hand, extra activities outside of the classroom added stress and anxiety. The findings counter the general perception of Asian teenagers as passive English learners, showing that even under less-than-ideal circumstances, students' WTC can be nurtured through strategies that improve group dynamics, teacher-student relationships, student agency, and perceived actual language progress.

ABSTRACT. Of the three main pillars of positive psychology identified by Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi (2000), research on positive institutions in the context of language learning is sparce (MacIntyre & Mercer, 2014). Research articles often give careful descriptions of the contexts in which the studies take place (focusing largely on classroom settings), but the evaluation of institutions as positive and the overall impact of these institutions is largely under investigated in many areas including language learning.

Positive institutions are largely looked at from two different viewpoints: the values developed in individuals and the institutional features that promote that development. For example, Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi’s (2000) mentioned that positive institutions should help people develop civic virtues including but not limited to “responsibility, nurturance, altruism, civility, moderation, tolerance, and work ethic.” Budzińska’s (2018) pioneering study yielded three core areas to evaluate when determining if an educational institute was a positive one: physical features, pedagogical practices, and psychological states.

Evaluation is often referred to as looking at where the construct being evaluated is in comparison to where it should be. Any theoretical framework for examining positive institutions needs a clear definition of positive institutions and clear ways to measure the components that make up such organizations.

In this presentation, we propose a succinct definition of positive institutions and an evaluation framework that considers both the development of individuals and the institutional systems and cultures that promote that development. We share preliminary data gathered about the efficacy, reliability, and validity of evaluation instruments and suggest future research regarding program evaluation and positive institutions.

ABSTRACT. This study describes the visions about the future use of English in twenty teenagers who are in their last year of secondary education. The study adopts Ushioda’s person-in-context relational view on motivation (2009) and follows a bottom-up process of analysis to identify student profiles, a procedure that is similar to the retrodictive qualitative approach used by Dörnyei (2014). Within each profile, the Ideal L2 Self (Dörnyei, 2009) is employed to describe the learners’ vision about their future use of English. Instead of using scales to investigate the Ideal L2 Self in school-aged learners as Henry and Cliffordson (2013) or Papi and Abdollahzadeh (2012) did in the past, the present study uses semi-structured interviews as the primary instrument to inquiry about students L2 vision in the near and long term future. In our analyses of learners’ near future visions, differences and commonalities were found across profiles in terms of the level of proficiency learners planned to get and their readiness to study abroad. Regarding learners’ longer term L2 visions, important variability was found among learners irrespective of their profile. Also, a majority of students were quite hesitant when asked about their future, especially in reference to their future careers. Learners’ difficulty in reflecting about their future selves seems to indicate that the L2 domain-specific Ideal self does not exhibit much stability yet at the age of 15/16. This observation is coherent with previous research with school-aged EFL learners (Pladevall-Ballester, 2019) and the literature on “generic” (not L2) Ideal Selves and age (Zentner and Renaud, 2007) and leads us to question the use of scales (structured questionnaires) to investigate the Ideal L2 Self with school-aged EFL learners.

ABSTRACT. Psychological aspects underlying foreign language learning have occupied the interest of scholars for decades. Despite the wealth of research, L2 motivation is one of the topics that does not cease to trigger curiosity. Regardless of this, certain groups of L2 learners and L2 motivation perspectives seem to be misrepresented. In particular, there appears to be a need to go in more depth as to the complexities of adolescent L2 motivation in relation to how learners perceive time. The complexity of L2 learner motivation might be best summarised by Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) L2 Motivational Self System model of motivation. Given the strongly future-oriented nature of the model, questions arise as to the potential role of time perspectives (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999) in relation to learners’ ability to envisage a language-related self. Each L2 learner has their own understanding of time and it is this perception and interpretation of time that might influence the relative salience and importance of their L2 selves.

However, it seems that the model inadequately pays tribute to one aspect of the self that may be crucial in understanding the development of the self and thus motivational visions; past time period. This lack of adequate regard to past selves may exclude valuable information about L2 motivation of those L2 learners who may be motivated by the memories and recollections as represented by their autobiographies. Learners’ past selves may significantly influence their current self and the formation of future possible selves because a person’s interpretation of their past inevitably shapes the vision or images they believe could be possible in the future. The L2MSS model may potentially benefit from the inclusion of a retrospective L2 self that forms the foundation for how L2 learners perceive themselves and represents the grounds which other L2 selves are based on.

ABSTRACT. This talk bridges research into language learner motivation with that on rationales for language learning and teaching. Conventionally, rationales employed in official language education policies, serve to legitimize language teaching in the curriculum, referencing both societal and personal benefits of language learning. Oddly, such rationales have rarely been connected to the (by now vast) research on language leaner motivation, even though logical arguments are often employed to incentivize learners. In this talk, I first discuss where rationales and motivational dimensions overall (and where not), and provide a critical overview of language learning rationales, concluding that hitherto, rationales tended to be conceptualised as a) oppositional rather than complimentary b) benefitting individuals more than society more widely. Addressing these shortcomings, I propose a new, holistic matrix of rationales for language learning in the 21st century, emphasizing the interrelation of personal, social, material and non-material benefits of language study. The talk then discusses how well-chosen rationales of language study might support different learner groups to improve their motivation, and especially for learners learning languages other than English. To this effect, practical examples from teaching interventions are cited. I conclude with the provocative question In the age of Global English, why learn any languages other than English? , and in doing so, question the notion that Global English should be held solely ‘responsible’ for the lack of interest in learning languages other than English: it betrays a narrow understanding of the complex and holistic process that is language learning.

ABSTRACT. Emotional labor plays a key role in teachers’ emotional knowledge and emotional development. MacIntyre, Gregerson and Mercer (2020, p.1) claim teaching often is listed as one of the most stressful professions and being a language teacher triggers its own unique challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably changed our lives and professional practice, bringing with it several emotions as well as emotional labor (Benesch, 2017; 2020; Nazari; Karimpour, 2022; De Costa; Karimpour; Nazari, 2023) that language teachers had to deal with. Several recent studies have focused on these emotions in an online environment (e.g., Anderson, 2020; Bodenheimer and Shuster, 2020; Cipriano; bracket, 2020; MacIntyre; Gregersen; Mercer, 2020, to name but a few). These studies have mainly focused on in-service language teachers’ emotions. Few studies have investigated pre-service teachers and the emotional labor they go through during their initial language teacher education. To complement this current research, this study reports on an investigation that aimed at identifying the emotions as well as emotional labor that pre-service teachers of English in Brazil experienced during the pandemic. Based on a theoretical framework on critical approach to emotions (Benesch, 2017; White, 2018) and Exploratory Practice (Allwright; Hanks, 2008; Miller, 2013), dialoged reflexive diaries of 16 participants were analyzed according to content analysis (Bardin, 2011; Patton, 2002). The findings have suggested that these pre-service teachers experienced a lot of distress, apathy, anxiety and fear brought to the classroom by the increased inequality of opportunities among learners in the arid context of emergency remote teaching in Higher Education.

ABSTRACT. Successful learners and speakers of English typically reflect on their own psychological predispositions while learning languages, but they should also pay heed to how the language they use shapes and influences the psychology of their audiences when speaking in public. In particular, understanding the psychological and persuasive nuances of rhetorical techniques when making speeches will enable such speakers to better formulate messages which resonate with a global audience. While rhetoric has been the focal point of countless studies for thousands of years, there have been few recent studies analyzing the use of rhetoric by L2 public speakers. A rapidly globalizing world means L2 public speakers of English are now in the majority. Therefore, this study analyzes the rhetorical techniques and approaches currently used by a selection of prominent Japanese gender equality activists, in order to uncover the psychological moves underpinning their persuasive speeches. This study employed a qualitative research design and was framed by the key research question: What are the rhetorical techniques and strategies utilized by Japanese gender equality activists? Speech transcripts from five Japanese TEDTalk presenters were analyzed using MAXQDA 2020 software. Two stages of analysis were conducted to determine the overall (macro) framing approach (see Fairhurst, 2011), and to identify and code established (micro) language techniques (see Rowland, 2019). Findings indicate the speakers adhered to similar framing approaches and relied heavily on specific language techniques, such as repetition and rhetorical questions, to enhance the persuasive impact of their speeches. This presentation concludes with a discussion of how the use of rhetoric differs between L1 and L2 speakers, the psychological and cultural ramifications of this, and how language learners can study the use of rhetoric by accomplished public speakers in order to incorporate such techniques into their own speeches.

ABSTRACT. In the realm of teacher education, fostering a robust sense of agency among future educators has emerged as a pivotal challenge. This challenge, particularly in the Latin American context, has received limited research attention—particularly around the influential roles performed by teacher educators. Responding to this challenge, this paper reports on research that investigated the practices of a group of Chilean English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher educators, drawing on the affordances provided by cultural-historical activity theory. The outcomes were developed from the systematic analysis of the practices of 17 teacher educators across two Chilean teacher education programs. The data for the study was derived through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with teacher educators, and the analysis of their teaching materials. The analysis demonstrated eclectic conceptions of professionalism, shedding light on both enabling and constraining factors in the development of teacher professionalism and agency. These findings suggested that for teacher educators, professionalism is associated with the generation of a nurturing learning environment, one that embraces diversity, and fosters integrity in shaping the actions of future educators. Yet, a predominant directive approach—characterized by 'telling,' rather than through a more immersive pedagogical engagement—was found as characteristic of the enactment of professionalism. These outcomes underscore the imperative to foster reflective and critically engaged pedagogies that attempt to instill a conscious ethos of professionalism within teacher education practice. By demonstrating the dynamics in play within teacher educator practices, this research invites a re-imagination and re-invigoration of the pathways to cultivating impactful EFL teacher education.

ABSTRACT. Publications in journals of recognized academic prestige are becoming increasingly important in the careers of university researcher-teachers. This desire for internationalization has led the most prestigious journals to publish works only in English, which has become the lingua franca of scientific dissemination. In contrast to this trend, since the beginning of the century, there has also been an increase in scientific publications in Basque in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities. This study focuses on the motivations and beliefs of those members of the scientific community in these areas who, despite not having the Basque language as their mother tongue, choose to publish in this language. The aim is to find out what factors are determining when making this decision. To this end, the opinions of 43 researchers were analyzed using the Reinert method. For this purpose, a lexical analysis was carried out with the Iramuteq software. The results suggest that this preference is determined by a firm positioning toward the importance of disseminating knowledge in a minority language. This positioning is conditioned, fundamentally, by a desire to create a community, as well as by the topics of study. These results also make it possible to verify the validity of this tool for the study of beliefs and motivations in the field of second languages.

ABSTRACT. Linguistic insecurity refers to a speaker’s confidence in their ability to communicate in different scenarios in relation to other members of their linguistic community. Previous literature (e.g., Goble 2016) suggests that heritage speakers may feel more linguistic insecurity when interacting with members that are deemed as “keepers” of the language such as older family/community members or language professors. Given the crucial role linguistic insecurity plays in heritage language classrooms, Ortega (2022) called for the need for validated instruments to measure linguistic insecurity. To that aim we report on the initial development and validation of a questionnaire to quantify linguistic insecurity among heritage language learners. Using a 7-point Likert scale that ranges from Always confident to Not confident at all, the questionnaire elicits heritage language learners’ ratings on their confidence communicating across 30 language scenarios with different speakers in their social networks (e.g., family members) classroom settings (e.g., giving an oral presentation) and general language contexts (e.g., writing a post on social media). We report on quantitative and qualitative data from two initial phases of validation. Phase 1 included examining responses to the 30 scenarios for reliability and item-rest correlations for each item to make necessary adjustments to the questionnaire. Phase 2 required a new group of participants to complete the revised questionnaire while thinking aloud. Based on a cluster analysis on their linguistic insecurity scores participants were grouped to engage in focus group discussions to probe deeper into their questionnaire responses. Qualitative data from the think-alouds and focus group discussions were then analyzed as a way to triangulate findings from participants’ ratings on the Likert scale items in the questionnaire. Reliability item and exploratory factor analyses were also conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the questionnaire. Finally, next steps in validating the questionnaire will be discussed.

ABSTRACT. Directed motivational currents (DMCs) refer to highly intense, enduring, and goal-specific surges of motivation capable of energizing the study of a second/foreign language (L2). While positive emotionality is regarded as central to catalyzing the motivational intensity of DMCs, recent work suggests that the experience of DMCs involves highly mixed emotions and the failure to remain resilient against stressors results in the continuance of aversive feelings without relief, thereby jeopardizing one’s well-being and motivational progression. Such evidence indicates that emotion regulation (ER) abilities can play a potentially important role in coping with the lingering effects of negative emotionality within DMCs, an area which remains unexplored to date. Drawing on a sample of 5 English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners in Turkey, this qualitative study explored whether and how individuals regulate their emotions during DMCs and the potential role of ER in sustaining goal-directed behaviors. The data were collected by means of in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed in line with the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings revealed the interplay of various types of regulation aimed at both up-regulating positive emotions and down-regulating negative ones, which in turn facilitated goal-striving. Findings also showed inter- and intra-individual variability in the participants’ use of self-regulatory strategies to realize ER. Overall, the outcomes from this study contribute to a more nuanced picture of the affective properties of DMCs in L2 and provide implications for how to increase learners’ capacity to become more emotionally resilient in sustaining intense motivated behaviors in the study of an L2.

ABSTRACT. Recent advancements in the field of language learning psychology have underscored the crucial role of learner engagement across various hierarchical levels: the school, the classroom, and individual learning activities. Despite extensive examination of each of these layers of engagement in isolation (Hiver et al., 2021; Philp & Duchesne, 2016; Skinner & Pitzer, 2012), the interactions between these levels remain largely unexplored. This study, therefore, sought to elucidate the relationship between school-level and classroom-level engagement within the realm of language learning. To achieve this objective, we conducted a survey among 390 Japanese junior high school students, all of whom are engaged in learning English. They responded to a series of questionnaires designed to measure engagement within both the school and language classroom settings. These questionnaires assessed four key engagement dimensions: behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social. The students also provided information about their individual learner attributes and characteristics, painting a holistic picture of their learning experience. The findings revealed significant correlations within each dimension, both at the school level (r = .48 to .71) and the classroom level (r = .66 to .84), and notably, between these levels as well (r = .38 to .69). Furthermore, the results indicated that factors such as grade level and academic performance significantly influenced engagement levels. Our research suggests that engagement is not static—it is dynamically shaped by the interplay between the individual learner and their environment. This implies a bidirectional pathway of influence. Boosting school engagement could have a top-down effect, such as expanding students’ interest across various subjects. Simultaneously, it could stimulate bottom-up effects—by enhancing classroom engagement, it could enrich the overall learning experiences. These insights offer new viewpoints on effective teaching strategies for both general school contexts and specific language classroom settings. (289 words)

ABSTRACT. Positive attitudes are crucial for language acquisition to take place (Dewaele and Li, 2020). The status and solidarity dimensions have been previously examined with a focus on the functioning of attitudes. Nevertheless, there is a gap regarding attitudes formation which starts early in life. A wide amount of research has also considered the role played by gender (Piller and Pavlenko, 2007) and the socio-educational context (Sewbihon-Getie, 2020). However, further research is needed that explains the extent to which educational factors influence gender differences in multilingual settings (O’Rourke, 2022). Interviews may provide us with direct access to behaviour, affect and cognition (i.e. attitudinal construct), but there is a lack of methodological approaches including them in the analysis of young learners’ attitudes (Karatsareas, 2022). In an attempt to meet the above-quoted research needs, the present study examines children’s and teenagers’ (n=100) attitudes towards learning English in two multilingual state schools located in the Valencian Community (Spain). Our main goal was to identify (i) the attitudinal patterns of female and male learners and (ii) the representation of the status and solidarity attitudinal dimensions. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews conducted in English, Catalan or Spanish. The interviews were video-recorded for their subsequent transcription. A mixed methods approach has been adopted in the analysis of the data. In line with previous research, results show young learners’ positive attitudes towards EFL. Interestingly, attitudinal patterns vary and the home language has a clear effect in children whereas gender and media play a more influential role in teenagers. Unlike predicted by former studies, the solidarity attitudinal dimension is frequently raised in teenagers’ responses. These findings reveal how English plays an important role in multilingual teenagers’ identity construction even in settings where it is learnt as a foreign language but omnipresent in their leisure digitalised activities.

ABSTRACT. Given the complex language repertoire of a large number of students within Austrian schools (Statistik Austria, 2023), and European schools more broadly (European Commission, 2015), it would be critically important to understand their practices, attitudes, and beliefs towards the multiple languages they encounter across their different life domains. In this study, I redefine and expand the construct of engagement with language (Svalberg, 2009) to incorporate an investigation of the different languages (hereafter LX; Dewaele, 2018) learners come into contact with in and outside of school. I propose the construct of ‘engagement with LX’ to depict how learners utilise, reflect on, and relate to the LX in their repertoires in all contexts of their lives, including English as a language of formal L2 instruction and core subject in Austrian schools.

The participants in this study were nine learners from the same English class in an Austrian middle school. Data for this study were collected using a biodata questionnaire, classroom observations, video-audio recordings of the lesson, and semi-structured interviews. By holistically exploring learners’ engagement with all the LX they come into contact across the different domains of their lives, the study revealed the complexity of learners’ multilingual lives within and beyond the classroom, as well as the interconnections between these domains. Findings have also shed light on the ways learners’ engagement with LX beyond the classroom can support their learning in the English classroom and the kind of affordances for language learning they perceive across their multiple contexts. The study also offers practical implications in terms of how teachers can engage with learners’ whole LX repertoire to support their language learning process, while fostering a sense of inclusivity in the classroom and promoting learners’ intercultural competences.

ABSTRACT. Self-Regulated Learning has become one of the most significant research areas in the field of education. Recent studies in learning psychology confirm that students never learn as effectively as when they self-regulate-when they choose their study objectives, develop strategies to achieve them, and reflect on the results obtained (Bridget Murray, 2000). Cosnefroy (2011) argues that self-regulated learning is a decisive variable in skill development. Zimmerman (2000) clarifies that self-regulation is not an innate characteristic of the student but a skill that is gradually acquired and needs continuous reinforcement. Building upon Zimmerman’s cyclical model, we have developed an innovative and groundbreaking intelligent tutorial that supports students’ self-regulated learning. By integrating artificial intelligence techniques and advanced pedagogical design, this interactive tutorial serves as a personalized guide tailored to each student’s needs, helping them develop their self-regulated learning skills, enhance motivation, persevere, and actively engage in their own learning process. The objective of our study is to investigate the impact of this intelligent tutorial, designed to support self-regulates learning, on the SRL 4th-year students in the Department of Foreign Languages program at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Sétif. This tutorial recommends that students follow the three phases of the SRL support guide while completing the proposed learning tasks. The results obtained from end-of-semester tests reveal a significant improvement in self-regulation skills among these students, as well as an enhancement in their motivational dynamics and the development of their, sense of self-efficacy.

ABSTRACT. Extensive reading (ER) means reading a large amount of text for meaning fluently (Day & Bambord, 1998). With its linguistic benefits, creating reading habits, and motivating learners to read more, it has superiority over intensive reading (i.e., reading in detail) (Beglar et al., 2012; Yamashita, 2013). Despite its long-term benefits, ER has not received its deserved popularity in language education before, as there have been limited free online tools for keeping track of language learners’ out-of-class reading practices (Renandya & Jacobs, 2016). One of these few free platforms, MReader (https://mreader.org/), enables language teachers to successfully manage ER beyond the confines of the classroom with online quizzes of the graded readers (Cheetham et al., 2016). It also allows them to track their students’ English reading progress and verify whether students are doing ER successfully beyond the classroom. This research investigated the effects of a three-month MReader challenge on EFL students’ motivation to read beyond the classroom in a reading course. A quasi-experimental intervention study based on the self-determination theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2017) was conducted to test the MReader’s effectiveness. Forty-five students filled in SDT reading motivation questionnaires before and after the intervention. They replied to open-ended interview questions about the MReader challenge. The pre-test and post-test intervention research showed that EFL students’ pre- and post-test motivation scores differed significantly, and the students had higher autonomous motivation after the intervention. The students read in English primarily for inherent satisfaction and joy in their free time. MReader helped them extend their weekly reading hours beyond the classroom. In sum, this session will present the experimental research findings and provide implications on how to effectively set extensive online reading practices to intrinsically motivate students to read more and create a long-lasting English reading habit in language classrooms.

ABSTRACT. Motivation has long been considered a key element in the successful teaching and learning of languages. The nature of language teachers’ motivation holds implications for both teachers and their students: research in wider education suggests that teachers with less motivation or ‘a lack of vocation’, are less likely to engage professionally with their job, and have lower outcomes in terms of job satisfaction, well-being, and self-efficacy. Whilst altruistic and intrinsic motives are found to be the most influential for teachers within the field of general education, there exists limited inquiry into the nature of motivation of EFL teachers who complete short initial teacher education courses, such as the CELTA. Additionally, there is limited understanding about how motivation to teach may shift over time and what this may mean for EFL teachers’ engagement and professional development once in-service. This paper reports on a qualitative, longitudinal study of five CELTA-trained novice EFL teachers in their first year of teaching. Each had varying -largely extrinsic- initial motivations for choosing to move into EFL teaching, with four of the participants foreseeing EFL teaching as a short-term career option and only one envisioning it as a permanent career. Throughout their first year of teaching, however, these initial motivations shifted and fluctuated in response to a number of personal, professional, and contextual influences, with some level of intrinsic and/or altruistic motivation emerging for all of the participants at some point. These results suggest that other forms of motivation can develop in-service, potentially eclipsing initial motivations, thereby echoing existing research in reaffirming that motivation is not a stable construct. Furthermore, these shifts in motivation were generally seen to have positive impacts upon the engagement and professional development of the novice teacher participants, regardless of their intent to remain in the profession long-term or not.