Abstract
In addressing the recent special issue in Frontiers in Psychology, namely “Positive Psychology in Foreign and Second Language Education: Approaches and Applications,” calling language education researchers around the globe to study positive emotions, positive personality traits, and positive institutional tendencies and their implications for language education systems, stakeholders, and policy practices, the present conceptual review paper aims to acquaint language education researchers, practitioners, instructors, and learners with the main tenets of positive psychology and their application in second/foreign language (L2) education research. Accordingly, by drawing on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, we explain how individuals' positivity can result in their flourishment and development in any aspect of life, including L2 learning and teaching. Then, we introduce and conceptualize seven instances of positive psychology variables, namely academic engagement, emotion regulation, enjoyment, grit, loving pedagogy, resilience, and well-being and explain how these positive factors contribute to desirable L2 learning and teaching experiences. Subsequently, potential theoretical and pedagogical implications are drawn to enhance the quality and effectiveness of language education systems and their respective stakeholders. In the end, the limitations of the studies in this area are explicated, and suggestions for future research are provided to expand the extant literature on positive psychology in the domain of L2 education.
Highlights
In addressing the recent special issue in Frontiers in Psychology, namely “Positive Psychology in Foreign and Second Language Education: Approaches and Applications,” the present conceptual review paper aims to acquaint language education researchers, practitioners, instructors, and learners with the main tenets of positive psychology and their application in second/foreign language (L2) education research
Positive Psychology in Language Education contributions of positive psychology in L2 education, we introduce some key factors which are in need of further empirical investigations and evidence in light of the positive psychology perspective
Having explicated the prominence of positive psychology in the domain of L2 education, we introduce and review seven instances of positive psychology factors, which are in need of dire attention by researchers in the domain of L2 learning and teaching research
Summary
In addressing the recent special issue in Frontiers in Psychology, namely “Positive Psychology in Foreign and Second Language Education: Approaches and Applications,” the present conceptual review paper aims to acquaint language education researchers, practitioners, instructors, and learners with the main tenets of positive psychology and their application in second/foreign language (L2) education research. Grit has been found to be positively associated with academic outcomes such as achievement (Akos and Kretchmar, 2017), enjoyment, and willingness to communicate (Teimouri et al, 2020) While this non-cognitive concept has recently grabbed the attention of language education researchers (e.g., Khajavy et al, 2020), the number of studies in this domain is still scanty and more investigations are demanded to expand our understanding of the role of this factor in language learning, which is a prolonged process replete with trial and errors, challenges, and difficulties.
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