Abstract:

This study extends a previous project titled Flourishing in a Second Language (FL2). As part of the original FL2 project, an innovative approach to second language teaching and learning which integrates positive psychology, transition pedagogy and CLIL (Culture and Language Integrated Learning) principles was trialled with two cohorts of beginning-level students of Italian language. Also as part of the FL2 project, educators’ workshops were offered to disseminate information about the project approach, and preliminary results of the trial. Details regarding the theoretical background, instructional design, trial implementation and dissemination activities for the FL2 project are available elsewhere (Strambi, Luzeckyi, and Rubino, 2017a; 2017b; project website: http://L2flourish.org).

The first and second authors of this paper participated in two separate FL2 workshops. As a result of their participation, they decided to adapt some of the FL2 activities, and trial them with two cohorts of beginning-level students of Spanish language – one at Flinders University, and the other at the University of Western Australia. In this paper, we discuss the results of their evaluations, both from their own perspectives as instructors and curriculum designers, and from the participating students’ perspective. We then relate these results to those obtained in the Italian trial, with a view to evaluate the effectiveness of the FL2 approach and learning activities within the four contexts in which they have been trialled.

Keywords:

Language Learning, Positive Psychology, Transition Pedagogy, CLIL, Wellbeing, Spanish.