Introducing positive psychology to SLA
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 1 January 2014
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan in Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching
- Vol. 4 (2), 153-172
- https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.2
Abstract
Positive psychology is a rapidly expanding subfield in psychology that has important implications for the field of second language acquisition (SLA). This paper introduces positive psychology to the study of language by describing its key tenets. The potential contributions of positive psychology are contextualized with reference to prior work, including the humanistic movement in language teaching, models of motivation, the concept of an affective filter, studies of the good language learner, and the concepts related to the self. There are reasons for both encouragement and caution as studies inspired by positive psychology are undertaken. Papers in this special issue of SSLLT cover a range of quantitative and qualitative methods with implications for theory, research, and teaching practice. The special issue serves as a springboard for future research in SLA under the umbrella of positive psychology.Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- The complex dynamics of wishful thinking: The critical positivity ratio.American Psychologist, 2013
- Reflecting on ESL teacher expertise: A case studySystem, 2013
- The humanistic psychology–positive psychology divide: Contrasts in philosophical foundations.American Psychologist, 2013
- The beliefs of two expert EFL learnersThe Language Learning Journal, 2011
- Positive Psychology in Cancer Care: Bad Science, Exaggerated Claims, and Unproven MedicineAnnals of Behavioral Medicine, 2010
- A mindset for EFL: learners' beliefs about the role of natural talentELT Journal, 2009
- A Dynamic Systems Theory approach to second language acquisitionBilingualism: Language and Cognition, 2007
- Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought‐action repertoiresCognition and Emotion, 2005
- The Negative Side of Positive PsychologyJournal of Humanistic Psychology, 2004
- Positive psychology: An introduction.American Psychologist, 2000