Exploring the Relationship between Mindfulness and Second Language Teaching
Date
2024-01-15
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Abstract
Previous research on mindfulness in the second language (L2) context took root in the mid-2010s (e.g., Fallah, 2016) with the focus of study primarily on the benefits of mindfulness on L2 learners. However, only since the early 2020s has research started to focus on how mindfulness affects the L2 teacher, with some theoretical studies addressing its positive influence on the learner-teacher relationship (Song & He, 2021) and on teachers’ identity and motivation (Zhu, 2022). Emerging experimental research relates teachers’ mindfulness levels to their well-being (Pan & Liu, 2022) and to job sustainability (Yuan et al., 2020). Using novel approaches, the current project aims to shed light on the views and experiences that teachers have regarding mindfulness in L2 teaching. This thesis consists of three studies. In the first, a survey was developed to gather the views of 98 teachers, primarily located in the USA and Canada, on the integration of mindfulness in L2 teaching and the mindfulness practices that some of them bring to the classroom. The findings showed a preference for breathing practices. Teachers’ disapproval of mindfulness integration mainly stemmed from their considering mindfulness to be either inappropriate or an impediment to teaching and learning. In the second study, mindfulness practices in and out of the classroom of two L2 university professors in the USA are analyzed. The framework used to examine the mindfulness experiences as related to their well-being resulted in several similarities between both professors’ use of mindfulness to enhance their well-being. In the third and final study, an 11-week mindfulness intervention on the mindfulness levels and teaching practice of seven university L2 instructors located in Canada resulted in an increase in the mindfulness levels of the L2 instructors after the intervention. This thesis has implications for L2 teachers, L2 learners, and administrators.
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mindfulness, contemplative pedagogy, second language teaching, teacher well-being, positive psychology, PERMA, Langerian mindfulness, journaling, meditation, mindfulness intervention
Citation
Fano-Trabanco, A. (2024). Exploring the relationship between mindfulness and second language teaching (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.