WELLBEING OF THE LANGUAGE TEACHER

“Positive teacher wellbeing is one of the key ingredients to being not just a good teacher, but a great teacher.”

Sarah Mercer

Sarah Mercer’s current research is particularly interested in exploring language teacher wellbeing and positive psychology. In her work, she looks at teachers as a whole person, understanding the interrelations between different life domains as well as the interconnections between the social and psychological. Her focus on teacher wellbeing is grounded in the belief that everyone deserves to enjoy positive wellbeing but also that mentally and physically healthy teachers are more engaged, motivated, and more effective teachers.

Sarah’s research into teacher wellbeing has also examined more specific circumstances, such as the wellbeing of CLIL teachers or during the Covid-19 pandemic transition to online teaching.

Sarah hopes to support and inspire others with her work. Her aim is to enrich and add to the academic research in her field and subsequently to advocate for more serious attention to wellbeing across the community. She also hopes to empower teachers directly providing them with practical insights into their own and their students’ wellbeing.

If you like to read more on this topic, here is a link to an open source publication that expands on some of these issues.

Take a look at the homepage of the Research Group for Wellbeing in Language Education, based in Graz, Austria.

WELLBEING OF THE LANGUAGE LEARNER

“Self-concept is a powerful construct that lies at the centre of an individual’s psychology connecting various dimensions such as motivation, affective attitudes, motivation, goals, and strategic behaviours”

Sarah Mercer

Sarah Mercer’s ongoing passion for learner psychology is apparent throughout her research. Her earlier publications explore the topics of self-concept, mindsets, and social emotional learning. These factors impact on student wellbeing and their academic engagement as well as their ultimate learning successes. Sarah has also investigated learner agency, motivation, and engagement. An aim of this body of work is to better understand the social and psychological factors which impact on learners' experiences of and willingness to engage in language learning within and beyond the classroom. Sarah believes that a positive socio-emotional climate and sense of agency are key for learners' successes and wellbeing.

Sarah’s recent projects focus on preparing learners for the challenges of life beyond school and the workplace by teaching global skills, such as empathy, compassion, emotional regulation, and global citizenship. Her goal is to raise awareness and develop materials that support teachers in sustainably incorporating global skills into their language teaching.

If you are interested in finding out more, please go to publications.