Page 33 - ELG1704 Apr Issue 446

PEOPLE

A man of

(love)

letters

Jean-Marc Dewaele talks about the
power of emotions - and swear words

ove, anger, anxiety: this is not a sum-
mary of Wuthering Heights, but some on global warming,’ he adds.
I won’t of the key words on the publication This approach can help particularly with the daily
change list of Dr Jean-Marc Dewaele, profes- grind of language learning, such as grasping key
sor of applied linguistics and multi-
aspects of grammar. It has to be learnt in context, De-
the world, L lingualism at Birkbeck, University of waele says, and in a fun way. That will show them that
London. This quadrilingual Belgian-born academic
grammar is not something abstract, but relevant and
but I am has interests ranging from foreign language anxiety necessary. ‘If you write a love letter, you’d better make
to code-switching. And one of his core interests
sure you get the grammar right!’ he points out.
having fun is how we express a range of emotions, from love And how about the teacher’s emotions in the class-
to anger, in another language. Given the signif-
icance that his research could have for teachers, room? ‘When I started teaching I had a chagrin d’amour
[heartbreak],’ he says, ‘and I noticed that the only time
the Gazette met him to chat about the power of I was less miserable was when I was in the classroom,
emotions in the classroom. when I was totally focused on teaching.’ Teachers are
People’s feelings are a key to learning, but how actors, according to Dewaele. They need to convince
can teachers harness their power? Interest is vital, their audience and be in the present.
Dewaele explains, and if students are not emotion- This is also key in establishing a good relation-
ally invested they will not learn as well. It is crucial ship with the students, the basis for good classroom
to arouse our students’ interest in the foreign management. Arguments of authority don’t work.
language in a way that is not too obvious. The aim ‘Can you win them over with your bare hands?
is for them to forget they are doing an activity in a That’s the task,’ he explains.
foreign language at all, he says. ‘We should teach But is there a secret formula? ‘Confidence,
our students to write love letters more than essays optimism, modesty, humour – and knowledge, of
course,’ he says. ‘And it is easy for non-teachers to
underestimate how tiring this is.’ But in the end all
CLAUDIA CIVININI this pays off. If you pretend you are having a good
time, chances are you’ll end up having a good time
– and your students will, too.
Sometimes, though, students experience neg-
ative emotions. One of them is foreign language
anxiety (see page 12). How can teachers manage it?
According to Dewaele, the most important thing is
to establish a culture of respect and solidarity in the
classroom, where everyone is respected for who they
are, even if they are anxious.
A second tip, after having created a safe environ-
ment, is to encourage anxious students to con-
tribute step by step, and to then specifically praise
them for their contributions. This step-by-step
approach with positive feedback can also help with
Jean-Marc Dewaele in his office at Birkbeck, University of London the increased cognitive load that anxiety can create

34 April 2017

p34-35_ELG0417.indd 1 3/27/2017 11:28:07 PM