SARAH MERCER

Professor, Researcher, Educator

Sarah Mercer is a Professor for Foreign Language Teaching and the Head of the ELT Research and Methodology Department at the University of Graz. Find out more about her research projects, publications, and upcoming events on this website.

Link to the book

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

The Psychology of Language Teachers

This Element has three main aims. First, the authors wish to synthesize research on language teacher psychology to provide state-of-the-art insights into the topic and identify possible avenues of scholarship. They do so by adopting a trilogy of mind perspective, which helps organize aspects of teacher psychology into three domains: cognition, affect, and motivation. Second, the overview of the literature outlines key issues, identifies gaps in current understandings and scholarship, and it also introduces less common constructs (e.g., flow, collective efficacy beliefs, and attributions) to inspire future research in this area. Third, the authors intend to reflect on practical implications for practitioners, language teacher educators, preservice teachers, and policymakers of the research to date. Rather than offering a definitive account, the authors seek to open dialogue and encourage further research and practice to ensure language teachers in all contexts receive the recognition and thus support they deserve.

Reference: Smid, D., & Mercer, S. (2026). The Psychology of Language Teachers: Cognition, Affect, and Motivation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

RECENT ACADEMIC PAPERS

A data-based model of language teachers’ psychological literacy

Dávid Smid, Carlos Murillo-Miranda, Giulia Sulis, Gholam Hassan Khajavy, Gökhan Öztürk, Jasrael Stokes, Mahdieh Vaziri & Sarah Mercer

While a growing body of research has focused on learner engagement, teacher engagement remains largely underresearched. The purpose of this study is to examine how the engagement of teachers and learners develops in real-time throughout three English language lessons, and how they interrelate over time. Participants in the study were six students from one fourth-year English class at an Austrian middle school and their teacher. Experience Sampling Method (ESM) data were collected through the M-Path app which prompted learners and their teacher to chart their real-time levels of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement at 7-minute intervals throughout three English lessons. ESM data were complemented by classroom observations, video-audio recordings of the lessons, and stimulated recall interviews cued by ESM data for both teacher and learners. Findings revealed the dynamic and multifaceted nature of learner and teacher engagement, and their complex reciprocal interactions.

The study highlights revealed that learner and teacher engagement were highly dynamic over time, with their behavioral engagement often following a seesaw trajectory. Moreover, the interplay between teacher and learner engagement varied across different dimensions of engagement, such as emotional and cognitive aspects.

Reference: Smid, D., Murillo-Miranda, C., Sulis, G., Khajavy, G. H., Öztürk, G., Stokes, J., Vaziri, M., & Mercer, S. (2026). A data-based model of language teachers’ psychological literacy. Language Teaching Research, 0(0).

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The role of institutions in language teacher educator well-being: Unpacking the third pillar of positive psychology

Sarah Mercer & Tammy Gregersen

Although research on language teacher well-being is expanding, that of language teacher educators (LTEs) remains scarce. Additionally, while investigation into the first two pillars of positive psychology (subjective emotion and individual traits) is thriving, little has been done to address the third pillar, institutions. To address this gap, this study examines the role of institutions in shaping LTE well-being by adopting an ecological perspective that explores how institutional structures, cultures, and practices help or hinder LTEs’ capacity to flourish within their professional contexts. Dyadic and individual semi-structured interviews generated data from 12 LTEs working across geographically, culturally and institutionally diverse settings worldwide. The interviews were analysed thematically using iterative coding to identify patterns related to well-being, institutional affordances, and sources of tension. Findings reveal that LTE well-being is influenced by complex interactions of personal values, institutional expectations, as well as broader national and global ecologies. Central themes include workload intensity and multiple roles, disjointed institutional and personal values, notions of status and recognition, and the effects of institutional norms combined with formal policies. The study contributes to positive psychology in language education by reconceptualizing institutions not as static backdrops but as dynamic, meaning-laden ecologies that interact with individual psychologies. Implications are discussed for theory development, institutional practice and future research on educator well-being in applied linguistics.

Reference: Mercer, S., & Gregersen, T. (2026). The role of institutions in language teacher educator well-being: Unpacking the third pillar of positive psychology. The Modern Language Journal, 110(1), 312–334.

Link to the article