表象文化学部 英語英文学科

MA（Intercultural Communication） University of Jyväskylä

Intercultural Communication  Gender Studies  Positive Psychology in Education

The Impact of Study Abroad on Beliefs about Happiness

Previous research (e.g., Achor, 2010; Peterson, 2006) shows that higher levels of student well-being led to better, more effective learning. For this reason, teachers strive to design curricula with students’ enjoyment, engagement, and well-being in mind. However, much of what is known about positive education comes from research conducted in WEIRD (White, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) nations (Henrich et al., 2010). Although research into Japanese happiness and well-being has increased (Coulmas, 2008), little research has been done regarding the nature of happiness of Japanese English language learners. As language learning is essentially an intercultural pursuit, it is necessary to understand how well-being may be affected by this lingua-cultural experience. My current doctoral research project collects data from both Japanese nationals who have not studied abroad and from bilingual (English-Japanese) and bicultural (Japanese nationals who have spent 6+ months living in an English-speaking country) people. The purpose of the research is to gain a better understanding of the well-being needs of university English language students, and how these may shift, as levels of language ability and intercultural experiences increase. Knowledge of this would help teachers of English to more effectively design their pedagogical approach to English language learning in Japan. This project may also gain insight into the applicability of the PERMA+ model and positive interventions based on it, to non-WEIRD contexts such as Japan.

#Positive psychology  #well-being  #happiness

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