Emotional experiences beyond the classroom: Interactions with the social world
PDF

Keywords

emotions
enjoyment
hope
frustration
ESL

How to Cite

Ross, A. S., & Rivers, D. J. (2018). Emotional experiences beyond the classroom: Interactions with the social world. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 8(1), 103–126. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2018.8.1.5

Number of views: 1293


Number of downloads: 868

Abstract

Research into the emotional experiences of language learners and their impact upon the language-learning process remains relatively undernourished within second language education. The research available focuses primarily on emotions experienced within the classroom, rather than in the daily lives of learners within various social contexts. This article contends that the focus placed upon emotions within the relatively structured environment of the formal classroom is problematic, particularly within an ESL environment, as the target language is more frequently experienced beyond the classroom. Drawing on data collected within Australia, the study explored the emotional experiences of a small cohort of eight university-level ESL learners experienced within their various social interactions beyond the classroom with a specific focus on the emotions of hope, enjoyment and frustration. Semi-structured interviews revealed that their emotional experiences beyond the classroom were particularly intense in comparison to emotional experiences within the formal language-learning classroom.

https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2018.8.1.5
PDF

References

Ahmed, S. (2010). The promise of happiness. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Arnold, J. (1999). Affect in language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Baynham, M., & De Fina, A. (Eds.) (2005). Dislocations/relocations: Narratives of displacement. Northampton, MA: St. Jerome Publishing.

Benson, P., Barkhuizen, G., Bodycott, P., & Brown, J. (2012). Study abroad and the development of second language identities. Applied Linguistics Review, 3(1), 173-193. doi: 10.1515/applirev-2012-0008

Block, D. (2007). The rise of identity in SLA research, post Firth and Wagner (1997). Modern Language Journal, 91(5), 863-876. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00674.x

Campbell, E., & Storch, N. (2011). The changing face of motivation: A study of second language learners over time. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 34(2), 166-192. doi: 10.1075/aral.34.2.03cam

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education (7th ed.). London: Routledge.

Dewaele, J.-M. (2010). Emotions in multiple languages. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Dewaele, J.-M. (2015). On emotions in foreign language learning and use. The Language Teacher, 39(3), 13-15. Retrieved from https://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/articles/4467-jalt2015-conference-article-emotions-foreign-language-learning-and-use

Dewaele, J.-M. (2016). Why do so many bi- and multilinguals feel different when switching languages? International Journal of Multilingualism, 13(1), 92-105. doi: 10.1080/14790718.2015.1040406

Dewaele, J.-M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 237-274. doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5

Dewaele, J.-M., & Nakano, S. (2013). Multilinguals’ perceptions of feeling different when switching languages. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34(2), 107-120. doi: 10.1080/01434632.2012.712133

Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Dörnyei, Z. (2009a). The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 9-46). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Dörnyei, Z. (2009b). The psychology of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ellis, R. (2004). Individual differences in second language learning. In A. Davies and C. Elder (Eds.), The handbook of applied linguistics (pp. 525-551). Oxford: Blackwell.

Fredrickson, B. L. (1998). What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 300-319. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.300

Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218-226. doi: 10.1O37/0OO3-O66X.56.3.218

Fredrickson, B. L. (2003). The value of positive emotions: The emerging science of positive psychology looks into why it’s good to feel good. American Scientist, 91(4), 330-335. Retrieved from https://www.americanscientist.org/sites/americanscientist.org/files/20058214332_306.pdf

Granger, C. A. (2004). Silence in second language learning: A psychoanalytic reading. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Gregersen, T., MacIntyre, P. D., Finegan, K. H., Talbot, K., & Claman, S. (2014). Examining emotional intelligence within the context of positive psychology interventions. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 327-353. doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.8

Gregersen, T., MacIntyre, P. D., & Meza, M. (2014). The motion of emotion. Modern Language Journal, 98(2), 574-588. doi: 10.1111/modl.12084

Holstein, J. A., & Gubrium, J. F. (2003). Active interviewing. In J. F. Gubrium and J. A. Holstein (Eds.), Postmodern interviewing (pp. 67-80). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. A. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x

Imai, Y. (2010). Emotions in SLA: New insights from collaborative learning for an EFL classroom. Modern Language Journal, 94(2), 278-292. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4781.2010.01021.x

Kinginger, C. (2004). Alice doesn’t live here anymore: Foreign language learning and identity construction. In A. Pavlenko & A. Blackledge (Eds.), Negotiation of identities in multilingual contexts (pp. 219-242). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Kvale, S. (1996). InterViews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

MacIntyre, P. D., & Gregersen, T. (2012). Emotions that facilitate language learning: The positive-broadening power of the imagination. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2(2), 193-213. doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2012.2.2.4

MacIntyre, P. D., Gregersen, T., & Mercer, S. (2016). Positive psychology in SLA. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Menard-Warwick, J. (2009). Gendered identities and immigrant language learning. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Mercer, S. (2006). Using journals to investigate the learners’ emotional experience of the language classroom. Estudios de Linguistica Inglesa Applicada, 6, 63-91. Retrieved from http://institucional.us.es/revistas/elia/6/art.4.pdf

Miller, E. R. (2011). Indeterminacy in interview research: Co-constructing ambiguity and clarity in interviews with an adult immigrant learner of English. Applied Linguistics, 32(1), 43-59. doi: 10.1093/applin/amq039

Motha, S., & Lin, A. (2014). “Non-coercive rearrangements”: Theorizing desire in TESOL. TESOL Quarterly, 48(2), 331-359. doi: 10.1002/tesq.126

Noels, K. A., Pon, G., & Clément, R. (1996). Language, identity and adjustment: The role of linguistic self-confidence in the acculturation process. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 15(3), 246-264. doi: 10.1177/0261927X960153003

Norton, B. (2000). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

Pavlenko, A. (2005). Emotions and multilingualism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Pavlenko, A. (2007). Autobiographic narratives as data in applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics, 28(2), 163-188. doi: 10.1093/applin/amm008

Pavlenko, A. (2013). The affective turn in SLA: From “affective factors” to “language desire” and “commodification of affect’.” In D. Gabryś-Barker & J. Bielska (Eds.), The affective dimension in second language acquisition (pp. 3-28). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Plutchik, R. (1962). The emotions: Facts, theories, and a new model. New York, NY: Random House.

Prior, M. T. (2015). Emotion and discourse in L2 narrative research. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Reeve, J. (2005). Understanding motivation and emotions (5th ed.). Iowa: John Wiley and Sons.

Richards, K. (2009). Interviews. In J. Heigham & R. A. Croker (Eds.), Qualitative research in applied linguistics (pp. 182-199). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ross, A. S., & Stracke, E. (2016). Learner perceptions and experiences of pride in second language education. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 39(3), 272-291. doi 10.1075/aral.39.3.04ros

Schumann, J. H. (1997). The neurobiology of affect in language. Boston, MA: Blackwell.

Stern, H. H. (1992). Issues and options in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Swain, M. (2013). The inseparability of cognition and emotion. Language Teaching 46(2), 195-207. doi: 10.1017/S0261444811000486

Talmy, S. (2010). Qualitative interviews in applied linguistics: From research instrument to social practice. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 30, 128-148. doi: 10.1017/S0267190510000085

Talmy, S. (2011). The interview as collaborative achievement: Interaction, identity, and ideology in a speech event. Applied Linguistics, 32(1), 25-42. doi: 10.1093/applin/amq027