Sessions

Positive conversations in the EFL classroom

Positive psychology in education has gained attention recently for its potential to enrich the foreign language classroom. With a focus on improving well-being, positive psychology is a natural fit for language learning. One way to think about positive classroom activities is with the PERMA model. Each of the five letters of “PERMA” stand for a different component that can be used to think about well-being and happiness. Teachers of foreign languages, though they may not be conscious of it, probably already include positive activities in their lessons. For example, Positive emotions are present when we attempt to make classroom experiences enjoyable, and we often encourage our students to reflect on their Achievements. These two elements can be included in guided conversation activities and can serve as an effective way to bring positive psychology into classroom activities. By suggesting topics and providing vocabulary and phrases rooted in positive psychology, we can make these activities meaningful for students. However, it is important to consider if students will “pick up” on our intention of making activities positive. Students (n=109) were surveyed to investigate their preference for using conversation starters rooted in positive psychology. This poster will share the results and also how guided conversation activities (including starting questions, vocabulary, and strategies) can be framed in such a way as to incorporate aspects of positive psychology.