Emotional Literacy: The ABC of Understanding Emotions

Abstract

Emotions are an integral part of human nature and they form an essence of life. We respond to life in many different ways through our emotions which in turn influence our thoughts and actions, inspire our needs, have an effect on our body and impact our relationships. In order to understand any language, it becomes necessary to learn the basics or the building blocks namely ABC of that language. Similarly, to understand the language of emotions, one must get familiar with literacy which is the A B C of understanding emotions.Emotional Literacy (EL) plays a key role in learning to be smart with one's emotions. In order to understand this concept better, this paper reviews various research papers that contribute to the essence of EL. The sub-topics further help in getting in-depth knowledge of the concept.* Various approaches to learning EL* Emotional Literacy and it's definitions* Contribution of EL to various walks of life* Various approaches to learn intelligenceTo understand the effectiveness of the EL programme, it is necessary to understand the different approaches towards learning EL.Howard Gardner's approachGardner, in his Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983), explained that there are intra-personal and interpersonal intelligences. Intra-personal intelligence is an individual's understanding of how one gets along with others whereas interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand oneself. Both kinds require an understanding of emotions, and how people express them. Perhaps the two intelligences are innate abilities, but they are impossible without building a vocabulary and repertoire of skills to identify states in self as well as in others.The Steiner Model of EL: He breaks literacy into 5 parts :* Knowing your feelings.* Learning to manage our emotions.* Putting it all together: interactivityThe* Having a sense of empathy.* Repairing damageAccording to Steiner, EL is about understanding feelings in self and those of others to facilitate relationships, including using dialogue and self-control to avoid negative arguments. The ability to be aware and read other people's feelings enables one to interact with them effectively so that powerful situations can be handled in a skillful way. Steiner calls this emotional interactivity. Steiner's model of literacy is therefore primarily about dealing constructively with the difficulties we experience to build a sound future. He believes that personal power can be increased and relationships transformed. The emphasis is on the individual, and as such encourages one to look inward rather than to the social setting in which an individual operates.Goleman's Model 1997: Goleman's model explains the five 'domains'of EQ:* Knowing your emotions* Managing your own emotions* Motivating yourself* Recognizing and understanding other people's emotions* Managing relationships, i.e. managing the emotions of othersThe influence of Goleman's work is seen in the government's primary national strategy, Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning, whose core concepts are:* Self-awareness* Self-motivation* Empathy *Managing* Social skillsfeelingsThe Ruler Approach: The Ruler approach developed by researchers (Brackett, M., Rivers, S.E., Holzer, A., Stem, R., Patti, J.) at Yale University in 2005, is an evidence-based social and learning program dedicated to enriching the lives of educators, students, and families. The RULER Approach teaches 5 key literacy skills:* Recognizing emotions in oneself and others* Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions* Labelling the full range of emotions using a rich vocabulary* Expressing emotions appropriately in different contexts* Regulating emotions effectively to foster healthy relationships and achieve goalsThis research suggests that developing EL fosters a range of behaviours and attitudes essential to positive development and academic achievement. …