ELT and the Science of Happiness: Positive psychology in the classroom

January 16, 2010 by Sendai Chapter

Bonus Pre-session (12:30pm-1:45pm): Join us to watch and discuss the PBS special, "Happiness 101," featuring Tal Ben-Shahar (formerly of Harvard), which introduces some of the key ideas behind "Positive Psychology," which Marc will be expanding on in his session. Feel free to bring a bento and have lunch as we watch.

Regular meeting (2pm-5pm) Positive, motivated students -- engaged in what they are studying and with each other -- learn more. How do we facilitate that positive attitude in the classroom? This activity-based session looks at ways positive psychology (TIME magazine calls it “the science of happiness”) can be combined with clear language learning goals for active, invested learning. This is more than “positive self-talk”. It is sharing with our students the concrete behaviors that happy people engage in. We’ll look at the set-point of personal affect and the tipping point of positivity.

Bio-data: Marc Helgesen is author of more than 100 professional articles, books and textbooks including the popular English Firsthand series and has led teacher development workshop on 5 continents. He is a professor at Miyagi Gakuin Women's University, Sendai and adjunct at Teachers College Columbia University, MA Program, Tokyo. He maintains a website on this topic at http://ELTandHappiness.terapad.com.

Check the JALT Sendai website http://jaltsendai.terapad.com/ for updates/info.