The Effect of Empathy-enhancing Techniques on EFL Learners’ Empathy, Language Proficiency, and Perception of Classroom Activities
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction: Learning English as a foreign language has been affected by new teaching approaches in the field of teaching. There is a keen shift from studying teachers’ teaching to learners’ learning and learners’ psychological and social factors. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the impact of empathy-enhancing techniques on EFL learners’ language proficiency, perception of classroom activities, and empathy.
Methodology: To do so, three main variables were measured among 60 participants, divided into two groups of control and experimental. The Empathy Formative Questionnaire, Students’ Perceptions of Classroom Activities’ Scale, and Nelson English Language Test were utilized in order to evaluate students’ level of empathy, perceptions of classroom activities (interest, challenge, joy, and choice), and measure learners’ proficiency in both experimental and control groups. Unlike the control group, the experimental group was subjected to empathy-based tasks and activities.
Results: The obtained result indicated that empathy-enhancing techniques had a positive and significant effect on learners’ empathy and language achievement but not on perception.
Conclusion: Therefore, it can be suggested that enhancing empathy in learners and concentration on emotion positively affects language learning and diminishes recklessness.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Bearman, N., Palermo, C., Allen, L. M., & Williams, B. (2015). Learning empathy through simulation: A systematic literature review. Simulation in Healthcare, 10: 308-319. https://doi.org/10.1097/SIH.0000000000000113
Brown, H. D. (1973). Affective variables in second language acquisition. Language Learning, 23(2), 231-244. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1973.tb00658.x
Cairns, P., Pinker, I., Ward, A., Watson, E., & Laidlaw, A. (2021). Empathy maps in communication skills training. The Clinical Teacher, 18, 142-146. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13270
Dewaele, J. M. (2007). The effect of multilingualism, sociobiographical, and situational factors on communicative anxiety and foreign language anxiety of mature language learners. International Journal of Bilingualism, 11(4), 391-409. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069070110040301
Dewaele, J. M., Chen, X., Padilla, A. M., & Lake, J. (2019). The flowering of positive psychology in foreign/second language teaching and acquisition research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2128. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02128
Dorniye, Z., & Otto, I. (1998). Motivation in action: A process model of L2 motivation. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics, 4, 43-69.
Downs, V. C., Javidi, M. M., & Nussbaum, F. (1988). An analysis of teachers’ verbal communication within the college classroom: Use of humor, self‐disclosure, and narratives. Communication Education. 37(2), 127-141. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634528809378710
Epstein, M., Atkins, M., Cullinan, D., Kutash, K., & Weaver, R. (2008). Reducing behavior problems in the elementary school classroom. IES Practice Guide, 20(8), 12-22.
Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. Basic Books.
Gaumer Erickson, A. S., Noonan, P. N., Brussow, J., & Carter, K. S. (2017). Measuring the quality of professional development training. Professional Development in Education, 43(4), 685-688. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2016.1179665
Gentry, M., & Gable. R. K. (2001). From the student’s perspective—my class activities: An instrument for use in research and evaluation. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 24(4), 322-343. https://doi.org/10.1177/016235320102400403
Ghanizadeh, A., & Jahedizadeh, S. (2015). An exploration of EFL learners’ perceptions of classroom activities and their achievement goal orientations. Journal of Research Studies in Education, 4(3), 33-45. http://consortiacademia.org/wp- content/uploads/ IJRSE/IJRSE_v4i3/1032-3745-1-PB.pdf
Gläser-Zikuda, M., Seidel, T., & Rohlfs, C. (2013). Mixed methods in empirical educational research. BoD - Books on Demand.
Hascher, T. (2010). Learning and emotion: Perspectives for theory and research. European Educational Research Journal, 9(1), 13-28. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2304/eerj.2010.9.1.13
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.2307/327317
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (2014). Cooperative learning: Improving university instruction by basing practice on validated theory. Journal on Excellence in University Teaching, 25(4):1-26. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=7c9bb2ffc69f3b8c3a5968c5eb70fcddaa11eb2f
Lewis, M. (2005). Bridging emotion theory and neurobiology through dynamic systems modeling. Behavior and Brain Science, 28, 169-194. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X0500004X
MacIntyre, P. D. (2002). Motivation, anxiety, and emotion in second language acquisition. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 45-68). John Benjamins. http://faculty.capebretonu.ca/pmacintyre/research_pages/journals/motivation_chapter_2002.pdf
MacIntyre, P., & Gregersen, T. (2012). Emotions that facilitate language learning: The positive- broadening power of the imagination. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2, 193-213. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=72835
Elliot, R., Bohart, A. C., Watson, J. C., & Greenberg, L. S. (2011). Empathy. Psychotherapy, 48(1), 43-49. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0022187
Espelage, D. L., Mayberry, M. L., & Koenig, B. (2009). Multilevel modeling of direct effects and interactions of peers, parents, school, and community influences on adolescent substance use. Youth Adolescence, 38, 1038-1049. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-009-9425-9
Fitzmuarice, L. (2017). Walk the line. In Empathy in your classroom. The teachers’ guild. https://www.oakland.edu/Assets/Oakland/galileo/files-and-documents/Empathy%20in%20Your%20Classroom%20Teachers%20Guild.pdf
Guiora, A. Z., & Schonberger, R. (1990). Native pronunciation of bilinguals.
In Leather, J. & James, A. (Eds.), New sounds 90: Proceedings of the Amsterdam Symposium on the Acquisition of Second-Language Speech (pp. 26-36). University of Amsterdam.
Jones, D. (2017). Amazing empathy race. In Empathy in your classroom. The teachers’ guild. https://www.oakland.edu/Assets/Oakland/galileo/files-and-documents/Empathy%20in%20Your%20Classroom%20Teachers%20Guild.pdf
Méndez López, M. G., & Aguilar, A. P. (2012). Emotions as learning enhancers of foreign language learning motivation. Profile Issues in TeachersProfessional Development, 15(1), 109-124. http://www.scielo.org.co/pdf/prf/v15n1/v15n1a08.pdf
Mercer, S. (2011). The self as a complex dynamic system. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 1, 57-82. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=261697
Mind Tools. (2021, June 12). Improve your listening skills with active listening. Mind tools club. [video file].
Mortiboys, A. (2005). Teaching with emotional intelligence: A step-by-step guide for higher and further education professionals. Routledge.
Murley, D. (2007). Technology for everyone: Mind mapping complex information. Law Library Journal, 99, 175-183. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/llj99&div=14&id=&page=
Nelson, P. M., Ysseldyke, J. E., & Christ, T. J. (2015). Student perceptions of the classroom environment: Actionable feedback to guide core instruction. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 41(1), 16-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508415581366
Oxford, R. L. (2016). 2 Toward a psychology of well-being for language learners: The ‘EMPATHICS’ vision. In P. D. MacIntyre, T. Gregersen & S.Mercer (Eds.), Positive psychology in SLA (pp. 10-88). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783095360-003
Plonsky, L., Sudina, E., & Teimouri, Y. (2022). Language learning
and emotion. Language Teaching, 55(3), 346-362. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444821000434
Rodgers. M. A. J. (1983). Solvent-induced deactivation of singlet oxygen: Additivity relationships in nonaromatic solvents. Journal of
the American Chemical Society, 105(20), 6201-6205. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00358a001
Rutsch, E. (2013). Increasing empathy. Manual empathy training. The Center for Building a Culture of Empathy and Compassion http://cultureofempathy.com/References/Experts/Others/Files/Marieke-Kingma-Empathy-Training-Manual.pdf
Seli, P., Wammes, J. D., Risko, E. F., & Smilek, D. (2016). On the relation between motivation and retention in educational contexts: The role of intentional and unintentional mind wandering. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 23, 1280-1287. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-015-0979-0
Seligman, M. E. (2006). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. Vintage.
Seligman, M. E. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Simon and Schuster.
Shao, K., Nicholson, L. J., Kutuk, G., & Lei, F. (2020). Emotions and instructed language learning: Proposing a second language emotions and positive psychology model. Frontiers in Psychology, 11: 2142. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02142
Tyng, C. M., Amin, H. U., Saad, M. N. M., & Malik, A. S. (2017). The influences of emotion on learning and memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 8: 1454. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01454
Wambsganss, T., Söllner, M., Koedinger, K., & Leimeister, J. M. (2022). Adaptive empathy learning support in peer review scenarios. ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4050531
Wang, N. (2005). EFL teachers’ mindfulness and emotion regulation in language context. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 877108. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.877108
Wang, Q., & Jiang, Y. (2022). A positive psychology perspective on positive emotion and foreign language enjoyment among Chinese as a second language learners attending virtual online classes in the emergency remote teaching context amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12: 798650. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.798650
Wei, M., Wang, L. f., & Kivlighan, D. M. Jr. (2021). Group counseling change process: An adaptive spiral among positive emotions, positive relations, and emotional cultivation/regulation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 68(6), 730-745. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/cou0000550
Woo, C. W. I., Whitfield, T. S., Britt, L. L., & Ball, T. C. (2022). Students’ perception of the classroom environment: A comparison between innovative and traditional classrooms. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 22(1), 31-17. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1336482.pdf