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 Context2. 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 Space4. ‘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 Davis6. 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 Anxiety8. 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 Confidence14. 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 Speakers17. ‘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

A must-read source for anyone interested in language learner anxiety and how it can be addressed and mitigated in actual practice. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through each and every chapter!