INTEGRATING MINDFULNESS PRACTICES IN EFL/ESL: ENHANCING TEACHER AND STUDENT OUTCOMES

Abstract

Mindfulness is becoming a popular practice around the world, due to the myriad benefits it offers. Although mindfulness has been applied in educational contexts, the emphasis on the role of mindfulness in language learning is still inadequate. For this literature synthesis, a search was conducted using Google Scholar to identify empirical and conceptual papers on mindfulness applied in EFL/ESL contexts. Studies identified in this review indicated that higher mindfulness among students was associated with favorable outcomes on general measures such as mental wellbeing, resilience, stress, and anxiety, and specific learning-related outcomes such as higher engagement, critical and reflective thinking, better cognitive abilities, as well as lower anxiety in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, leading to better scores on language tests. Better teacher outcomes fostered by mindfulness included psychological wellbeing, coping skills, emotional competence, and work engagement. Mindfulness also promotes better student-teacher interactions. Based on the findings of this review, it can be recommended that integrating mindfulness practices such as breathing exercises and guided meditations would benefit both students and teachers.