Emotional Intelligence
in Foreign Language Acquisition
Eva Trumpešová-Rudolfová
Masaryk University
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Emo Int in the classroom
 showing the students how to become
lifelong learners rather than studying
for being able to pass the exams
 constantly challenging their learning,
assumptions and views
Comfort zone
Panic zone
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Howard Gardner
Multiple Intelligences
www.sitemaker.umich.edu
Feelings
 our messengers
 the need to „take our emotional
temperature“ (Goleman)
 Whatever you do, there is an
undercurrent of feeling going on with
crucial information.
…so our students need to
 be aware of their comfort zone
 be able to detect the boundaries
 learn to CONSCIOUSLY step out of
them
 be emotionally literate to decode the
feelings and do something about them
Emotional Intelligence
 the ability to identify and manage your
own emotions and the emotions of
others
 a set of skills that use the information
system of emotions
Key points
 access to this system (being aware
of those emotions)
 ability to identify emotions in
oneself and other people (verbal or
nonverbal cues)
 understanding emotions – how they
blend together and change (language)
Most importantly
 managing emotions - regulating
them (calming or motivating oneself,
or, with others - engaging them) and
 using emotions for production of
something creative
Elements of Emotional Intelligence that make
a difference in language learning
 Ability to take direction and
feedback (not getting offended) and
then self-direct oneself
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Elements of Emotional Intelligence that make
a difference in language learning
 Self-reflection, self-assesment and
self-confidence
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Elements of Emotional Intelligence that make
a difference in language learning
 Perseverance (it´s good to do things
you are not good at)
https://ottomat3ch.wordpre
ss.com/tag/perseverance/
Elements of Emotional Intelligence that make
a difference in language learning
 Ability to concentrate – “Attention is
our most precious resource.”
(Goleman)
fakeplus.com
Elements of Emotional Intelligence that make
a difference in language learning
 Ability to survive change and keep
adapting to it – innovators (highly
prized now) are open to more
possibilities and therefore
 our aims as educators should be
widening our students´ horizons
and encouraging creative and
innovative solutions with an array of
strategies (angel´s advocates)
Elements of Emotional Intelligence that make
a difference in language learning
 Finding a mentor, or someone to
practice with (useful in language
learning)
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Elements of Emotional Intelligence that make
a difference in language learning
 Willing to try harder:
“In scientific work, excellence is not
about technical competence, but
character.” (Ernest O.Lawrence, a
Nobel Laureate)
Elements of Emotional Intelligence that make
a difference in language learning
 Grounded intuitions – secret
weapon now much sought after
(whether in management or in
deciding the correct tenses)
Elements of Emotional Intelligence that make
a difference in language learning
 Emotional awareness – fundamental
(how I am feeling and why, realize the
links between feelings and behaviour,
recognize how they affect my
performance)
All these competencies are LEARNED
so we can learn better and we need to
start by being AWARE...
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By FOCUSing. Our ability to focus
determines how well we perform any
task.
“Attention in all its varieties represents a
little-noticed and underrated mental
asset.” (Goleman: Focus)
Works like a muscle. Your focus is your
reality (Yoda)
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Test question
 Are you all paying attention now?
or
 Are you in a state of continuous
partial attention?
Herbert Simon Nobel-winning
economist in 1977: what information
consumes is “the attention of its
recipients. Hence a wealth of
information creates a poverty of
attention...”
And the winner is…
 Re-focus: from negative to positive,
(from tv to the textbook). We learn
better if we feel positively.
Conclusion
 Emotional intelligence as the corner
stone of any learning.
 Emo Int – mother intelligence
…and in Languages?
 Combining language learning and
emotional intelligence boosts both
(e.g. Self-reflective exercises), grows
exponentially
What is the best way to learn a
language?
Ellen Bialystock (bilingualism expert at
York University, Canada) who said:
“The truth is that there is no easy
way to pick up a language – you
have to live it, study it, read it, eat it
and breathe it.”
What is the best way to learn a
language?
 to do all this hard work, you need to
be emotionally intelligent
 And find your own way
or just be plain stubborn …
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THANK
YOU
FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION
qtrumpes@fi.muni.cz
Sources
Armstrong, T 2002, You Are Smarter Than You Think, Free Spirit
Publishing, Minneapolis.
Brooks, D 2011, Social Animal, Random House, New York.
Brown, B 2013, Daring Greatly, Penguin, London.
Gladwell, M 2005, Blink. Penguin, London.
Goleman, D 1996, Emotional Intelligence Why It Can Matter
More Than IQ, Bloomsbury, London.
Goleman, D 2000, Working With Emotional Intelligence,
Random House, New York.
Goleman, D 2013, Focus, Bloomsbury, London.
Honoré, C 2008, Under Pressure, Orion, London.
Hood, B 2014, The Domesticated Brain, Penguin, London.
Lipton, BH 2008, The Biology of Belief, Hay House, New York.
McTaggart L 2001, The Field, HarperCollinsPublishers, London.
http://ei.yale.edu