" Mindfulness-based practices for EFL teachers: sample tasks and insights to cultivate mindfulness"

Abstract

There has been a growing interest in the concept of mindfulness and how it can be used in foreign language (FL) teaching to promote the well-being of both teachers and learners. In FL education, mindfulness is a novel practice, and it can be used as a tool to positively transform negative arousal in the language classroom to create enhanced learning environments. Thus, implementing mindfulness into FL teaching and learning may affect the conscious management of reactions to events happening in a language classroom and establish a less stressful learning atmosphere. However, FL teachers may lack both knowledge and practical realizations of mindfulness; and hence, need guidance in how mindfulness can be incorporated into their own teaching contexts. Based on this insight, this paper presents the latest findings from mindfulness research in language teaching and offers ways to promote mindfulness in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms. For this purpose, several activities, including breathing exercises and meditation practices, to foster a mindful attitude for teachers are suggested along with mindfulness practices for the development of language skills. Moreover, this paper proposes insight into mindfulness-based language teaching with notable implications to enrich FL teaching/learning environments and highlights the importance of integrating mindfulness in FL teacher education. Keywordsmindfulness in FL mindfulness-based classroom practices for FL education, mindfulness techniques in FL.

Reflective thinking and self-evaluation in language learning: mirroring the impacts on Saudi Arabian EFL students’ growth mindfulness, resilience, and academic well-being

“…In general, practicing mindfulness promotes positive personal development in students and encourages them to notice and embrace their negative emotions, ideas, and experiences rather than trying to escape them (Morgan & Katz, 2021). Additionally, a mindfulness approach to learning fosters awareness of the learning process, raises preparation for the learning experience, and offers a comprehensive method of learning that incorporates thoughts and feelings (Kuru Gönen, 2022). In learning and teaching contexts, the use of mindfulness techniques may thus have a transformative influence on the conscious choice of reactions made to mental and physical acts and events that would directly impact learning.…”