Further research projects at the Department of English Studies

Funding: none
Project members: Sarah Mercer, Dávid Smid, Gholam Hassan Khajavy, Carlos Murillo-Miranda
Project description: Language learning is a highly emotional endeavor. Most research to date has focused on anxiety but, recently, the scope and range of emotions investigated has begun to expand. One emotion which can potentially have a considerable impact on language learning and use processes is embarrassment. In this two-stage study, our aim is to explore the nature of embarrassment as experienced by language learners in different contexts seeking to understand which situations are more likely to induce embarrassment and why. Stage one of the study uses student-generated narratives to generate insights into the contexts and frames of reference influencing experiences of learner embarrassment in relation to language learning and use. In the second phase, we will develop a scale for measuring embarrassment in the foreign language classroom. This will be integrated into a global, international survey to better understand how embarrassment is experienced across contexts and populations as well as how it relates to other key variables known to impact on language learning processes such as engagement, mindsets, and self-concept.

Funding: none
Project members: Sarah Mercer, Dávid Smid, Gholam Hassan Khajavy, Carlos Murillo-Miranda, Giulia Sulis, Astrid Mairitsch, Salam Mairi, Sun Shin
Project description: Previous research on emotions has mostly focused on language learners and fewer studies have examined language teachers’ emotions. Yet, the act of teaching is replete with emotions, and teachers experience a full range of emotions in their professional lives. In general education, a powerful emotion for teacher wellbeing is experiencing a sense of pride in one’s job and professional experiences. In our research, we seek to investigate how this emotion is experienced among language teachers. Our first study in this regard established some of the characteristics of pride among English language teachers and revealed the extent to which it responds in domain-specific ways (Mairitsch et al., 2023). In our current research, we are working on developing a scale to measure language teachers’ pride. This will be integrated into a global, international survey to cast light on how language teacher pride relates to key variables such as engagement, wellbeing, and burnout in different contexts and across diverse populations.

Funding: none
Project members: Sarah Mercer, Dávid Smid, Carlos Murillo-Miranda, Miri Tashma-Baum, Julia Aigner, Christina Hölzl
Project description: It has been acknowledged that wellbeing is a crucial factor in achieving success in education and can be developed as a skill. In language education, research indicates that students who have higher levels of wellbeing are more likely to be engaged in the classroom, which can lead to greater success. Wellbeing literacy refers to understanding one’s own and others’ wellbeing. In our partnership with the local school “Bischöfliches Gymnasium Graz” (Augustinum), we explored what students know about and do in respect to their wellbeing, including different aspects such as physical or mental health, workload, family and friends, sleep, healthy nutrition, etc. In year 1 of the study, we interviewed 8^th grade students to investigate their wellbeing literacy and to develop a ‘Wellbeing Literacy Framework’ grounded in the data we gathered in these focus group interviews. This framework includes ‘can do’ statements, which allow learners to self-assess their knowledge and skills concerning wellbeing. In year 2, we are now currently expanding the research of year 1 with the goal of exploring wellbeing literacy throughout all secondary levels and developing hands-on material and resources for students. For this purpose, students from all secondary school levels are being interviewed in focus groups to find out which factors relating to wellbeing are relevant to students of different age groups and what support they feel they need in order to understand and improve their own wellbeing and that of others.

Funding: none
Project members: Sarah Mercer, Dávid Smid, Su-Yon Yim
Project description: In language education, teachers, who include language teacher educators, remain a neglected research population, especially concerning their psychology more generally and their emotions more specifically. One important aspect of language teacher psychology is emotional labor, which refers to how teachers manage their feelings, what emotions they express and how in the workplace. Emotional labor is known to be connected to teacher wellbeing and job satisfaction; however, these interrelationships are complex and require clarification to understand individual and socio-contextual variation. This empirical study seeks to understand how English language teacher educators from universities in Austria engage in emotional labor exploring in particular how this is related to their sense of agency and wellbeing. Our aim is to generate models of emotional labor that facilitate diverse understandings of its function and connection to wellbeing.  

Funding: none
Project members: Sarah Mercer, Dávid Smid, Su-Yon Yim
Project description: Compared to language learners, the motivational processes of language teachers have received little attention within the field of language education. This is unfortunate in light of the fact that motivation and engagement are considered to be key influences on pedagogical practices and learner motivation and engagement. As such, this empirical study seeks to examine language teachers’ motivation and work engagement and how these relate to their basic psychological needs including sense of competence, autonomy, and belonging. The study is conducted in two stages and involves an international sample of in-service language teachers. In the first stage, data is collected via an online questionnaire to explore key relationships and develop teacher profiles in terms of the core variables. For the second stage, interviews are carried out in order to clarify and elaborate on the process and contextual variables affecting these constructs and their relationships. The results have implications for language teachers’ professional development as well as language learner engagement given the interplay between learner and teacher psychologies.