World Languages and Eudaimonic Flourishing: Communicative Pedagogy Enhances University Learners' Well-Doing and Well-Being

• In Event: Second Language Research SIG Poster Session

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the pedagogical antecedents of university language learners’ flourishing during their language learning experiences. Flourishing was conceptualized through self-determination theory and the Eudaimonic Activity Model, which argues that flourishing entails both feeling well and doing well. Thirteen native English-speaking undergraduate world language learners at an American public university were interviewed. Results indicated that communicative language learning environments in which learners were consistently engaged in the interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes of communication were more conducive to flourishing than noncommunicative environments. Results from the study support recommendations from the field of world language education that the language acquisition experience is particularly suitable for supporting learners’ human development and well-being.

Authors

• William Davis, University of Oklahoma

• Freddie Elizabeth A Bowles, University of Arkansas