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Positive Psychology and L2 Motivation in ESP

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Abstract

This chapter focuses on psychology in language learning and provides an overview of theoretical and empirical work and proposals for further study in the literature on Positive Psychology (PosPsy) in the field of foreign language learning. Positive Psychology (PosPsy) may be defined as the empirical study of how people thrive and flourish. In other words, it is the study of the ordinary human strengths and virtues that make life good (Csikszentmihalyi & Nakamura, Designing Positive Psychology: Taking Stock and Moving Forward, 3–8, 2011; Snyder & López, 2009; Peterson, 2006; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, in MacIntyre & Mercer, Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4, 153-–172, 2014). In this sense, PosPsy is gradually becoming quite a popular focal point for research in the field of language learning and teaching, and although not a lot of work has centred on English for specific purposes (ESP) teaching and learning contexts, its potential for the field of ESP is considerable. A second focus of this chapter is L2 learning motivation in ESP. The evolution of L2 motivation theories to current-day constructs, such as the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005, Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Multilingual Matters, 2009a) and related concepts, is detailed and, again, an overview is provided of empirical studies within ESP contexts and the potential for deepening understanding about learners’ attitudes and learning behaviour in these contexts.

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  1. Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain

    Imelda Katherine Brady

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  1. Faculty of Humanities, National University of Distance Education, Madrid, Spain

    Linda Escobar

  2. Faculty of Humanities, National University of Distance Education, Madrid, Spain

    Ana Ibáñez Moreno

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Brady, I.K. (2021). Positive Psychology and L2 Motivation in ESP. In: Escobar, L., Ibáñez Moreno, A. (eds) Mediating Specialized Knowledge and L2 Abilities. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87476-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87476-6_6

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