Page 8 - ELG2312 Dec Issue 487

RESEARCH NEWS .

Authorship

Projects with purpose: writing for children boosts language learning
and wellbeing.

he experience of authorship
in a book project boosts
wellbeing, self-efficacy, and
Tmotivation of language
learners, according to a study by
Riccardo Amorati and John Hajek
at the University of Melbourne,
Australia.
The project at the heart of
this study follows the principles
of the Deep Approach to World
Language Education, as well
as the EMPATHICS model of
wellbeing. The Deep Approach to
World Language learning proposes
that students’ learning experience
should be personally meaningful
and socially engaging, while the
EMPATHICS model highlights
the role of emotions, empathy and
autonomy.
The students in this study
were 21 native English-speaking
Australian undergraduates taking
upper-intermediate/advanced
Italian during 2019-2020.
The ‘I am an author’ project
sought to combine these approaches
and test their effect on student
outcomes, such as wellbeing.
Students were instructed to write
and illustrate a short story in have been reworded to be less being. On the one hand, this young children could be prepared
Italian. These books were to be leading. Fortunately, data was kind of project offers a great deal by elementary students. These
self-published and some would also collected from answers to of autonomy and creativity and simple books can be printed and
be selected to be given to Italian open questions, which were more questionnaire responses indicated stapled together as a form of ‘self-
children, thus addressing a real neutrally phrased to elicit a fuller improvements in students’ self- publishing’. For students that
social need; resources for Italian- range of responses, such as: ‘Did image associated with seeing might struggle more with aspects
speaking children in Australia are you experience any positive or themselves as ‘authors’. such as autonomy and creativity,
scarce. negative emotions while working On the other hand, the additional there could be an option to work
As well as reflective commentary on the project/please explain.’ context of writing for a real-world in pairs or groups.
on their experience of the project, While the questionnaire audience, that can benefit from Although there is a great deal
students also answered a 21-item scores indicated overwhelmingly the books, adds a dimension of of satisfaction to be had from
Likert scale questionnaire based on positive experiences, it is the connectedness, community and holding a physical book in hand
the EMPATHICS model to assess responses to the open questions meaningful purpose that is seldom with your name on the cover,
emotion and empathy (‘the project that really illustrate the student associated with educational tasks. other digital outputs could also
improved/enhanced my mood’) experience of this project. For The key elements in designing be considered, as well as a range
motivation (‘the project made me example, ‘It gave me a glimpse projects of this kind to support of other creative outputs such
more optimistic about the value of into the potential practical both wellbeing and language- as comics, podcasts, short films,
language learning’), perseverance outputs that could be achieved learning appear to be autonomy drama and games. In all cases,
(‘the project increased my through learning a language, (freedom of choice with regard the extra key ingredient is an
motivation to persevere in beyond merely being able to to some, if not all, aspects, such audience outside the classroom
language leaning’), meaningfulness engage within the classroom’ and as topic choice), challenge (but that can genuinely benefit in some
(‘I liked that I could show what I ‘To see a published piece of work in the Goldilocks zone; not way making language learning a
know by producing something in my own name that was created too much, not too little), and more meaningful experience.
meaningful for others’), and entirely by me was extremely community engagement (the very
wellbeing (‘the project made me fulfilling.’ effective extra ingredient that this REFERENCE
reflect on my capacity to rise to a The satisfaction and positive particular project incorporated). n Amorati, R. and Hajek, J. (2023)
challenge’). emotions experienced by students In this study, students were Fostering well-being in the university
The phrasing of these questions undertaking this project had young adults at upper-intermediate L2 classroom: the “I am an author’’
does not leave much scope several components which could or advanced level, but projects project. International Review of Applied
for expressing more neutral, tap into different sources of like this are highly adaptable to Linguistics in Language Teaching.
negative experiences, and could personal motivation and well- all levels. ‘First books’ for very doi/10.1515/iral-2023-0051
8 December 2023