Using Character Strengths to Address English Writing Anxiety

Gregersen, Tammy; MacIntyre, Peter D.; Buck, Rachel Hall

doi:10.31261/tapsla.8431

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Follow-up experimental or complexity-based research should be conducted to investigate this further, however. Gregersen et al (2021) point out the need to examine the fit between the individual and the PP activity being used (p. 11). The individualized nature of the intervention meant that the learners could choose tactics that they had self-rated themselves lowly on.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, there is a need for more intervention studies that demonstrate how teachers can help learners to maximize their well-being and their learning (MacIntyre et al, 2019;Mercer, 2021). Further, research has shown such interventions may be most effective when they are individualized (Gregersen et al, 2016;Gregersen et al, 2021), with Gregersen et al (2021) stating that "we need to examine in detail the fit between the individual and the PP activity, and document the process by which it exerts its effect" (p. 11). Rebecca Oxford has proposed the EMPATHICS theoretical framework (Oxford, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increasing L2 Learners’ well-being: An EMPATHICS intervention study

Stewart

2023

AJAL

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This article reports on an intervention related to L2 learner well-being based on Oxford’s (2016) EMPATHICS theoretical framework. The intervention was conducted at a women’s university in Tokyo in three of the researcher’s own first-year, compulsory, four-skills English-language classes. Forty-six learners agreed to take part in the study. To operationalize Oxford’s (2016) framework, the author drew on several areas of the literature, including grit, trait-EI, self-efficacy, L2 motivation, L2 learner autonomy, mindsets, and language-learning strategies. Data collection instruments used consisted of a forty-five item self-assessment tool, a six-item mini-survey to indicate learners’ pre-existing levels of L2 well-being, a self-report homework handout to facilitate learners’ overall reflective process, and an End-of-intervention Evaluation Report. The ten-week intervention consisted of: (1) having the learners self-assess their use of strategy-related tactics in class one and completing the L2 well-being mini-survey; (2) learners providing a written reflection and/or taking action and providing a written report about their actions after class five times across the term related to tactics in the self-assessment with the help of written advice from the researcher; and (3) the researcher providing guidance about multiple tactics in class and having the learners focus on those tactics when completing relevant activities in class. It was hoped that the overall intervention would encourage positive change in learners’ L2 well-being. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed, and avenues for future research are suggested.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing L2 Learners’ well-being: An EMPATHICS intervention study

Stewart

2023

AJAL

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“…Using Signature Strengths and EAL writers EAL writers are also vulnerable as they experience the disruptive and unwelcome negative effects of anxiety arousal. Similar to the above research using the AI approach, Gregersen et al (2021) conducted a mixed-methods case study to explore whether an individual EAL writer using their signature strengths in novel ways could set anxiety aside to work on interventions that psychologically build up their strengths. Several reasons supported our use of an N-of-1 study.…”

Section: Appreciative Inquiry and Preservice Language Teachersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In continuation, I briefly describe two studies the results of which both support the implementation of PP in combatting anxiety; in particular, a focus on the positive through the feedback process of appreciative inquiry in preservice language teachers (Gregersen & Mercer, 2022; Gregersen et al, 2022) and the recognition and utilization of one's signature strengths in learners of English as an additional language (EALs) (Gregersen et al, 2021).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Feedback matters: Thwarting the negative impact of language anxiety

Gregersen

2023

Ann Rev Appl Linguist

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Elaine Horwitz et al. (1986), in their seminal article that helped jumpstart our current interest in language anxiety, characterized this affective malady as composed of three elements: fear of negative evaluation, communication apprehension, and test anxiety. Notably, all three of these components are linked in different ways to learners’ perceptions about others’ assessment of their linguistic competence. Over the years since Horwitz et al.'s influential publication, research has only reinforced the idea that feedback provided to language learners has a powerful impact on their emotional well-being and levels of linguistic confidence. This article explores research on the various ways that learners can be supported via assessment practices and feedback techniques that not only counter the debilitating effects of language anxiety but also may even work preventatively to increase learner well-being. Among these is Appreciative Inquiry, a feedback technique that focuses on what learners are doing effectively, as well as other nondeficit, strengths-based approaches that concentrate on assets rather than fixing what is broken.

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