Positive psychology research of the last two decades has shown again and again the beneficial effects of positive emotions on our health and longevity as well as our performance in all walks of life. Studies exploring the role of positive psychology in second language acquisition have observed that positive emotions improve academic performance and that students report higher levels of foreign language enjoyment when teachers create a positive emotional atmosphere. It follows that positive psychology can encourage language teachers to adopt qualities and practices that contribute to the wellbeing of their students. This talk will focus on four important teacher qualities to foster the ten most common positive emotions. Language teachers’ kindness, empathy, enthusiasm and professionalism (KEEP) can nurture many of these ten positive emotions in students. Thus, teachers do not only ensure the wellbeing of their students, but they also help them develop the kind of adaptive resilience conducive to successful language learning.
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