Pedagogical Implications of Positive Psychology: Positive Emotions and Human Strengths in Vocabulary Strategy Training

Abstract

To create flourishing students the learning process should be assessed and solutions which help to solve the problems should be proposed. The aims of strategy training are in compliance with the positive approach, as this intervention focuses on learning how to set learners’ own goals, analyze them and implement strategies that will help learners negotiate emotional responses to achieving or not achieving their goals. This article focuses on the use of strategy training in the context of positive psychology. The introductory part starts with an overview of the role of emotions in learning, and specifically SLA, and continues with a discussion of strategy training perceived as a positive intervention. The paper presents the empirical study comprising the pilot study validating Self-Regulating Capacity in Vocabulary Learning Scale, SRCVoc—Polish version and the quasi-experiment devoted to the implementation of vocabulary learning strategies. Then, the findings of the treatment with the use of the abovementioned instrument are discussed. The implications of the findings indicate that there is a need to train students in self-regulation of emotion strategies as it may enable them to reach optimal level of functioning.