Psychology-Based Activities for Supporting Anxious Language Learners

Kate Maher works in the Learning Support Department at Shoreham College, UK. Neil Curry is Learning Advisor at Kanda University of International Studies, Japan.

List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Contributors
Foreword
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction, Kate Maher (Shoreham College, UK) and Neil Curry (Kanda University of International Studies, Japan)
Part I: Assessing FLA: Identifying FLA and Causes in your Context
2. How are you Coping? A Tool for Identifying Situations that Cause FLA, Neil Curry (Kanda University of International Studies, Japan) and Kate Maher (Shoreham College, UK)
3. You are not Alone: Shining Light on FLA Perspectives through Classroom Data Collection, Jonathan Shachter (Kyushu Sango University, Japan)
Part II: The Classroom Environment: Creating a Positive Learning Space
4. ‘I am worthy and special; I am not afraid to speak.’: Creating a Sense of Belonging to Increase Students’ Self-Confidence, Shatha Talib Al-Ahmadi (University of Leicester, UK)
5. Creating Enjoyable Learning Environments: Student-Centred Socially Motivating Classrooms, Wendy Davis
6. Flowing Classrooms: Incorporating Principles of Flow in Classroom Activities to reduce FLA, Fernando D. Rubio-Alcalá (University of Huelva, Spain)
7. Making Speaking Tasks Emotionally Engaging: Incorporating Flow Principles in Task Design, Haydab Almukhaild (King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia)
Part III: Cognitive Techniques: Thinking through Anxiety
8. Stoic Sayings for Alleviating Anxiety: Epictetus, Stoic Philosophy, and the Art of Cognitive Distancing, Ian Gibson (Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, Japan)
9. Boosting your Students’ Confidence in Second Language Learning: The Confidence Building Diary, Jo Mynard and Scott J. Shelton-Strong (Kanda University of International Studies, Japan)
10. Facing Worries head on: Discussions for Raising Awareness and Tackling Communicative Anxiety, Amelia Yarwood (Kanda University of International Studies, Japan)
11. Positive Attributions: Using Attributional Retraining Techniques to Reduce Students’ Speaking Anxiety, David McLoughlin (Meiji University, Japan)
12. Looking for Evidence: Using CBT-Based Activities for FLA, Neil Curry (Kanda University of International Studies, Japan)
13. What Makes you Nervous? A Cognitive-Behavioural Theory-Based Approach to Identifying FLA Triggers, Kate Maher (Shoreham College, UK)
Part IV: Visualisation Techniques: Imagining Confidence
14. Imagine how I will Face up to Speaking Anxiety: An Imagery-Focused Mindfulness Approach to Preparing for Speaking Situations, Sarah Ng (University of Leicester, UK)
15. Rewrite your Inner Script: Make Friends with Oral Presentation, Zsuzsa Tóth (Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Hungary)
16. Focusing Attention Outwardly: A Coping Strategy for Tasks Based on Task Concentration Training, Jonathan Rickard (Lancaster University, UK)
Part V: Well-Being Techniques: Creating Mindful Foreign Language Speakers
17. ‘I see you, I hear you, I cheer for you!’: How to Overcome Speaking-Related Anxiety through Dialogue Skits with Positive Communication In Mind, Dorota Záborská (Osaka University, Japan)
18. Three Good Things about their English: A Positive Psychology-Inspired Evaluation, Building Confidence and Encouraging Learners to Speak, Katarzyna Budzin´ska (Lodz University of Technology, Poland)
19. Being Positive in the Present Moment: Mindfulness Meditation for Reducing Anxiety in Foreign Language Classes, Nihan Erdemir (Süleyman Demirel University, Turkey) and Sabahattin Yesilçinar (Mus Alparslan University, Turkey)
Index