The present contribution offers an overview of a new area of research in the field of foreign language acquisition which was triggered by the introduction of Positive Psychology (PP) (MacIntyre & Gregersen, 2012). For many years the field of second and foreign language acquisition had been dominated by a cognitive perspective. Around the turn of the millennium researchers became increasingly interested in the role of emotions in foreign language learning and teaching, beyond established concepts like foreign language anxiety and constructs like motivation and attitudes towards the foreign language. As a result, a more nuanced understanding of the role of positive and negative learner and teacher emotions emerged, underpinned by solid empirical research using a wide range of epistemological and