Mindfulness and English language teaching: A practical approach to emotional development through Edemind

Abstract

[eng] This master's thesis aims to analyze and incorporate mindfulness in English as a Foreign Language classes in secondary education. Firstly, it presents a theoretical framework in which the bases of mindfulness as a psycho-pedagogical resource are explained together with its multiple application methods. Secondly, the practical framework introduces six mindful activities which have been integrated in several ESO and Baccalaureate groups from two secondary education schools: IES Calvià and IES Madina Mayurqa. The Edemind educational project has been the main source of inspiration and training to transfer these dynamics to IES Madina Mayurqa’s English classes, and this thesis will include an analysis of the work conducted in both scenarios. The usefulness and feasibility of each activity has been assessed not only through their insertion, but also by means of feedback from the students in each group, their opinions and performance. After a working period of more than three months, it has been observed that mindfulness exercises in English class favor the students' participation, their speaking skills and their vocabulary acquisition. In addition, they have been an effective resource for dealing with common issues in this subject, such as foreign language anxiety. Mindfulness has ultimately become an English language learning enhancer and a tool for emotional management and development in the classroom.