Recent research has shown that learner emotions, both negative and positive, are the fuel for foreign language learning and teaching (Dewaele et al., 2018) and they are linked to both learner-internal and learner-external factors (Dewaele et al., 2019). Emotions are at the heart of learner and teacher engagement and they can fluctuate wildly over different time scales (Gkonou, Dewaele & King, to appear). Teachers have to be able to handle their own emotions and to feel the emotional temperature in the class in order to create an environment where linguistic experimentation and play is possible. As such, the teacher plays the role of the discrete but competent conductor helping learners to sharpen their linguistic and communicative skills in the foreign language.
References
Dewaele, J.-M., Franco Magdalena, A. & Saito, K. (2019) The effect of perception of teacher characteristics on Spanish EFL Learners’ Anxiety and Enjoyment. The Modern Language Journal, 103(2), https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12555
Dewaele, J.-M., Witney, J., Saito, K. & Dewaele, L. (2018) Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety in the FL classroom: the effect of teacher and learner variables. Language Teaching Research, 22(6), 676–697.
Gkonou, C., Dewaele, J.-M & King, J. (to appear) Language Teaching: An Emotional Rollercoaster. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
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