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Jaime Mejia

ENGL 615

Spring 2017

“Emotions matter”: A research proposal on hope

Abstract

Learning a second language is both a cognitive and emotional endeavor (Swain,

2014). In the last decades, the body of research that investigates the emotional nature of

second language learning has increased (Aragão, 2011; Machata, 2013; Méndez López &

Cardenas, 2014; Oxford, 1995). Nonetheless, there are still gaps in the literature since many

emotions have not yet been studied. This research proposal intends to begin filling such gaps

by studying hope: an emotion that helps language learners persevere in learning the target

language. A brief literature review on emotions and second language acquisition is presented,

as well as an explanation of why a questionnaire, conversation analysis, and discourse

analysis have been chosen as data collection and analysis procedures. The proposal then

discusses limitations, considerations, expectations, and further research. It is hoped that this

study will help explore and understand how classroom interactions and experiences help

language learners gain hope which allows them to persevere learning the target language.
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“Emotions matter”: A research proposal on hope

Introduction

Understanding and explaining how people learn second or additional languages has

shifted from being an activity studied mostly from a cognitive perspective to one that also

takes into account emotions (Oxford, 2016; Prior, 2016). This new movement within the field

of second language acquisition (SLA) is part of the “emotional turn” that has been witnessed

in the humanities and social sciences (Swain, 2014). This paper proposes a research proposal

on hope, an emotion present in second language learning that promotes perseverance to learn

a second language. First, I will address the motivation for this research. Then, I will present a

brief review of the existent literature. After that, I will present the methodology for this study

by discussing the setting and participants, data collection and analysis, and the limitations and

considerations of the study. The following section will discuss the expectations for this study

and I will conclude the paper discussing further research.

Motivation for research

There is a dual purpose for this research. The first purpose is to contribute to the body

of research that investigates emotions in second language learning. The last few decades have

given the field a meaningful body of information that explains how emotions come to play

when learning a second or foreign language (Aragão, 2011; Horwitz, 1995; Machata, 2013;

McGregor, 2014; Méndez López & Cárdenas, 2014; Oxford, 1995; Teimouri, 2016).

However, there are still gaps in the literature in relation to specific emotions and how they

affect or promote language development. By studying how hope is present in classroom

interactions and how it is imprinted in language learners experiences, the study I propose is

an attempt to begin filling such gap.

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The second purpose has a more personal connotation. I am a strong advocate of

emotions and second language learning. I have witnessed and experienced, both as a learner

and as a teacher, how emotions are present when one is learning or teaching the target

language; I have seen how they can empower or detriment the performance of the one

learning, as well as the one teaching. However, these are very subjective and personal

attributions. I would like to formally study how emotions -- in this case hope -- are

experienced and how they contribute to language learning. With this research, I expect to

learn to what extent emotions are present when one embarks oneself in learning a second or

foreign language and to use that knowledge to inform my teaching practice. More

specifically, the study that I am proposing will try to answer the following research question:

● How do interactions between a teacher and student, as well as the student’s past

experiences in the second language classroom, promote or hinder hope to learn a

second language?

By answering this research question, I hope to accomplish the dual purpose of this

study.

Literature review

Nowadays, the body of research that has investigated emotions and the learning of a

second or foreign language is extensive; however, at the beginning SLA research did not

have in its agenda the study of emotions. The first attempt to include emotional aspects into a

theory of second language learning is found in the affective filter hypothesis (Krashen, 1982).

This hypothesis posited the idea that if students experienced anxiety, nervousness or felt

uncomfortable, they would not be able to appropriately receive and process input. Anxiety,

the emotion mentioned in the affective filter hypothesis, was studied more in depth,

specifically how it influenced and affected of learning a second or foreign language,

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resulting in a solid body of research that informed scholars and language teachers on how this

emotion interfered with the language learning process (Horwitz, et al, 1986; Horwitz &

Young, 1991; Huang, 2011; Young, 1990, 1991). This led to the categorization of emotions

as negative and positive proliferating the idea that emotions were detrimental or benign in

relation to second language learning.

Later on, with the influence of poststructuralism (Norton & Morgan, 2013; Pavlenko,

2002) and with the sociocultural turn the field was experiencing (cite the article of Diane

Larsen in SLA), the research agenda started investigating topics such as identity, language

socialization, and emotions as well. Besides anxiety, other emotions were explored such as

fear, happiness, and embarrassment, among others (Aragão, 2011; Pavlenko, 2005, 2006;

Teimouri, 2016). With the understanding that learning was not only a cognitive endeavour,

but an emotional one as well, SLA started asking questions that tried to explain the role of

emotions in second language learning.

With an established interest in investigating emotions in second language learning,

scholars are utilizing discourse analysis and principles of positive psychology (PP) (McIntyre

& Mercer, 2014) in order to study this topic. Prior (2016) discusses how emotional learning

of a second or foreign language is and how the discourse used by language learners reflect the

heavy emotional load of this activity. Moreover, Oxford (2016) introduced a vision, which I

will also be calling framework with PP principles, that tries to explain how language with

high well being are aware of the emotions they experience when in the language classroom,

and how managing these emotions allow or disable students to fully take advantage of the

language learning experience. With these two theoretical and analytical frameworks, scholars

around the world are researching emotions in second or foreign language learning (Gabryś &

Gałajda, 2016; MacIntyre, Gregersen, & Mercer, 2016).

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In a nutshell, PP tries to understand “how people ​thrive​ and ​flourish​” (MacIntyre &

Mercer, 2014, p. 154, emphasis added), while SLA tries

“[to understand] why most second language learners ​do not achieve​ the same degree

of proficiency in a second language as they do in their native language; and why only

some learners appear to ​achieve native-like proficiency​ in more than one language.”

(Gass, 2009, p. 110, emphasis added).

PP and SLA, both try to understand, and consequently explain, why some people

thrive in achieving proficiency, as well as why some people flourish in achieving such

proficiency, Both fields find themselves working towards a common goal, which is about an

individual utilizing the target language and the implications this brings.

With that rationale in mind, Oxford introduced to SLA a framework that brings PP

principles to the second language learning scenario. She argues that such framework, which

she coined as the EMPATHICS vision, “[outlines] important psychological forces that help

learners achieve high well-being and progress rapidly, develop proficiency, and relish the

language learning experience” (2006, p. 10). She also mentioned that this vision will provide

“new vistas for theory and research, for language teaching practice and, of course, for

language learning itself” (p. 11). In fact, some of the themes the EMPATHICS vision frames

are themes that have been investigated in SLA, but others such as empathy, optimism, and

hope have not. Other themes such as the understanding of emotions, agency, and autonomy,

she argues, can be expanded in their understanding if studied from a PP perspective.

Hope, as mentioned above, is an emotion that has not being studied in SLA. It is

defined as “the feeling that something desired can be had or will happen” (Cambridge

dictionaries, 2017). It “propels language learners towards task completion and proficiency”

(Oxford, 2016, p. 29); “[it is] desire accompanied by (reasonable) expectation” (Clarke, 2003,
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p. 164). Oxford (2016) mentions that “it would be enlightening to use a discourse analysis of

the interactions between teachers and students to identify which types of vocabulary, syntax,

verbal images and body language promote hope or hinder it” (p. 34). This research proposal

intends to begin filling that gap. Having provided a brief review of the literature, I will now

address the methodological aspects of this proposal.

Methodology

For this study, I propose using a mixed methodology: a questionnaire and discourse

analysis. First, I will address the setting and participants. Then, I will mention the data

collection and analysis procedures. Finally, I will address limitations and considerations for

this study.

Setting and participants

The University of Arizona offers English language instruction to international

students in its Center for English as a Second Language (CESL). This center offer a range of

courses: from beginner to advanced language courses, as well as more academic oriented. Its

students are international students; however, middle eastern and asian students are the biggest

groups within the CESL population. Regardless of their nationality, though, English and the

desire of becoming fluent speakers of this language bring together CESL students.

With the University of Arizona’s CESL center being the setting for my study, I will

have its students as participants. I will select one intermediate level class and six (three

females and three males) of its students, who will be chosen as a convenience sample. The

language proficiency of students should be intermediate. I will not use an instrument to

measure their proficiency; nonetheless, it is important they are proficient enough for they will

have to narrate past experiences in the language classroom.

Data collection and analysis

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For data collection and analysis, I will use a questionnaire, conversation analysis, and

narrative inquiry.

A questionnaire is a set of questions that have been previously designed in order to

get information from participants (Foddy, 1993). The questionnaire I will use is the one

designed by Snyder et al (1991; Snyder, 1994; 2002), which measures hope (see appendix A).

I find it imperative to know first hand the levels of hope my participants have and/or show.

This will help me corroborate if past classroom experiences have influenced their levels of

hope.

Also, I will use conversation analysis and narrative inquiry as analytical tools. I will

record classroom interactions and take field notes in order to analyze the discourse used by

the teacher and the participants. I will see if such interactions promote or hinder hope to learn

a second language by using conversation analysis as an analytical tool (Grice 1975; Goffman,

2006; Sacks, Schegloff, & Jefferson, 1974). Also, I will analyze the participants’ past

experiences in the language classroom in relation to hope. For this, I will facilitate

participants with a writing prompt (see appendix B) in order to instigate the narratives I will

analyze in order to interpret their experiences in regards to hope when in the second

language classroom (Edwards, 2006; Labov, 1972; Rymes, 2016; Prior, 2016). Both set of

texts will be carefully and repeatedly read, as well as coded. Having these three sources will

allow me to triangulate the data and answer my research question in a valid and reliable way.

Limitations and considerations

A limitation for this study might be not having the cooperation of the CESL

instructor. It is well-known that teachers are afraid of being observed and recorded; however,

I hope that the instructor collaborates by giving me permission to access her class and record

it. This study will not only fill a gap in the literature or inform my teaching practice, but the
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instructor’s one as well. Moreover, I might not count with enough time to conduct this study.

In the following semesters, I will be taking four and three courses respectively. I am afraid

that such academic load will not allow me to engage myself in this study as I should.

A consideration for this study is the lack of experience I have as a discourse analyst. I

am a novice discourse analyst: the only experience I have comes from the discourse analysis

course I took this semester. I address this as a consideration because I think that with the

debrief and tutoring of a more experienced discourse analyst, I will be able to conduct the

study in a correct way; hence, I do not consider it a limitation. Another consideration is the

amount of data I might collect. Recording classrooms interactions, watching the recordings,

selecting the segments that are relevant for my study, transcribing and analyzing such

segments along with the field notes, as well as analyzing the narratives and questionnaires

can be a daunting endeavor. Time, organization, and patience from my part are going to be

required.

Expectations

I am proposing this study in order to understand how classroom interactions and

experiences allow learners to persevere, by having hope, on learning a second or foreign

language. I am certain that the data that I will collect will be explicitly showing how

interactions and experiences promote or hinder hope. Also, I am certain that the emotional

content of the narratives will be heavy. Also, I expect as well that hope is usually promoted in

the language classroom, but I do not want to completely believe that because that belief can

skew my analysis.

Further research

As a English teacher from Honduras, I suggest that this kind of research should be

studied in EFL contexts. It would be beneficial to investigate this same topic in settings
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where English is a foreign language and to compare such findings with the ones of it ESL

counterpart. The fact of being in a setting where English is the language spoken by most of

the people can influence the way in which language learners persevere in learning the target

language as well as their levels of hope.

Another potential extension of this research would be having as participants members

of the refugee population. Because of their sociopolitical and cultural baggage, understanding

how hope is built and how perseverance is important for learning a second or foreign

language can be completely different if compared to international students or domestic

students learning a foreign language.

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References

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International Journal of Educational Technology and Applied Linguistics, 39​(3), 302.

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Cambridge University Press. (2017). ​Definition of hope​. Retrieved May 1, 2017, from

Cambridge Dictionary:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/hope?q=Hope

Edwards, D. (1997). ​Discourse and cognition​. London: Sage.

Foddy, W. (1993). ​Constructing questions for interviews and questionnaires: Theory and

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Appendix A

Snyder’s hope questionnaire.

Source: https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/resources/questionnaires-researchers/adult-hope-scale
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Appendix B

Writing prompt to instigate student’s narratives.

Thanks for agreeing to participate in this study. The texts you will provide will be treated

confidentially. Please, read the writing prompt and follow its instructions carefully.

● Narrate an event or experience that you remember propelled you to complete a task

and/or become a proficient language learner. Describe the place, the people that were

with you, and the words or actions that happened which made you feel a reasonable

desire to keep learning English. If you have not experienced something like that but

the opposite, feel free to narrate an event where you felt discouraged or depressed.