Positive Psychology in Sla

Positive psychology is the scientific study of how human beings prosper and thrive. This is the first book in SLA dedicated to theories and research methods in positive psychology and their implications for language teaching, learning and communication. Chapters examine the learner characteristics that facilitate learning: positive emotional states such as love, enjoyment and flow, and character traits such as empathy and perseverance. The contributors present several innovative teaching ideas to bring out these characteristics among learners. The collection thus blends new teaching techniques with cutting-edge theory and empirical research undertaken using qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods approaches. It will be of interest to SLA researchers, graduate students, trainee and experienced teachers who wish to learn more about language learning psychology, individual differences, learner characteristics and new classroom practices.

Peter D. MacIntyre is Professor of Psychology at Cape Breton University, Canada. His research examines emotion, motivation and cognition across a variety of types of behavior, including interpersonal communication, public speaking and learning.

Tammy Gregersen is Professor of TESOL at the University of Northern Iowa, USA. She studies emotion and affect as it relates to second language learning, methodology and nonverbal communication.

Sarah Mercer is Professor of Foreign Language Teaching at the University of Graz, Austria. Her research interests include all aspects of the psychology surrounding the foreign language learning experience, focusing in particular on self.