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“It’s Time, Put on the Smile, It’s Time!”: The Emotional Labour of Second Language Teaching Within a Japanese University

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New Directions in Language Learning Psychology

Part of the book series: Second Language Learning and Teaching ((SLLT))

Abstract

Interest in the emotional dimension of language learning has been growing in recent years as researchers try to understand what role students’ emotions play in the complex processes involved in second language acquisition. This chapter represents a new conceptual direction within language learning research because rather than focusing on learners’ emotions, it provides an in-depth account of the emotional labour performed by instructors. Emotional labour is the forced management of one’s emotions in order to conform to the social norms associated with a professional role. Teaching involves high levels of emotional labour as teachers are required to manage and display particular emotions in appropriate ways in front of students. Reflecting the dynamic and shifting nature of emotional states, the chapter draws from data collected during a series of semi-structured interviews to report upon the surface acting, deep acting and the suppression of emotions performed by a sample of language instructors teaching English within a Japanese university. As emotions are socially and culturally derived, the chapter examines issues surrounding emotional labour within intercultural contexts, and considers potential links between emotional labour, teacher stress and burnout.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to Michael Moraga for his invaluable assistance during the latter stages of this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Jim King

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  1. Jim King
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Correspondence to Jim King .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Language and Linguistics, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom

    Christina Gkonou

  2. Luftfahrt / Aviation, FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Graz, Austria

    Dietmar Tatzl

  3. Institut für Anglistik, University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    Sarah Mercer

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King, J. (2016). “It’s Time, Put on the Smile, It’s Time!”: The Emotional Labour of Second Language Teaching Within a Japanese University. In: Gkonou, C., Tatzl, D., Mercer, S. (eds) New Directions in Language Learning Psychology. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23491-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23491-5_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23490-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23491-5

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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