"The Secret Ingredient of Effective Language Teaching: Teacher Wellbeing"
Sarah Mercer
Professor, University of Graz, Austria

Teachers are the key to effective teaching. What they do matters enormously to their effectiveness as educators, but also who they are as a person matters possibly even more. Typically, professional development courses focus on what teachers can do for learners and the kinds of techniques and methods they can use, with an almost total neglect of the teacher as a person. However, as teachers, our attitudes, emotions, and motivations are defining for how we approach our professional roles. As Palmer states, "we teach who we are" (2007, p. 1). 
In this workshop, we will focus on our professional wellbeing and sustainable steps we can take to ensure we are in the best possible frame of mind to teach to the best of our abilities. In particular, we will focus on combating stress, promoting positive emotions, enhancing physical wellbeing, addressing work/life balance, and managing workplace relationships. Positive teacher wellbeing is not an indulgent luxury; it is the foundation on which effective and engaging teaching is built. 

Bio: Sarah Mercer is Professor of Foreign Language Teaching at the University of Graz, Austria, where she is Head of ELT Methodology and Deputy Head of the Centre for Teaching and Learning in Arts and Humanities. Her research interests include all aspects of the psychology surrounding the foreign language learning experience. She is the author, co-author, and co-editor of several books in this area including Towards an Understanding of Language Learner Self-Concept, Psychology for Language Learning, Multiple Perspectives on the Self in SLA, New Directions in Language Learning Psychology, Positive Psychology in SLA, Exploring Psychology for Language Teachers (Winner of the IH Ben Warren Prize), and Language Teacher Psychology. 

Join us live on Zoom: https://cornell.zoom.us/j/721802314

Light lunch will be served. Please RSVP.