Shanara Mercer
Biographic Data
| ID | 376449 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Shanara Mercer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Shanara |
| FAMILY NAME | Mercer |
| SIGNATURE | MERCER S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Graz |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2558-8149 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 47 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 283 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 47 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 9 |
Pride in language teaching
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in research on language teacher emotions while relatively fewer studies have focused on language teachers’ professional pride. This study aims to develop and validate a scale for language teacher pride (LTP), and it seeks to understand how this critically important emotion may be linked to other central, conceptually related constructs including wellbeing, work engagement, and burnout. Data were …
A data-based model of language teachers’ psychological literacy
Few teacher education courses address the psychology of language learning and teaching explicitly, despite considerable evidence showing just how important such factors can be in determining the effectiveness of language teaching and learning. In this paper, we report on a study that sought to investigate what two sets of experts believe that language teachers at secondary-level schools might find useful to know about psychology for language lear…
Language teacher stress and growth during trauma throughout the Covid-19 pandemic
The teaching profession has undergone a dramatic shift in pedagogical practices due to COVID-19. Already facing numerous challenges prepandemic, language teaching in particular has become significantly more difficult, and the effect on language teacher stress and well-being is still being explored. Key to this study is the exploration of growth during trauma, an adaptation of post-traumatic growth. Following previous studies from MacIntyre et al.…
The role of institutions in language teacher educator well‐being
Although research on language teacher well‐being is expanding, that of language teacher educators (LTEs) remains scarce. Additionally, while investigation into the first two pillars of positive psychology (subjective emotion and individual traits) is thriving, little has been done to address the third pillar, institutions. To address this gap, this study examines the role of institutions in shaping LTE well‐being by adopting an ecological perspec…
Engagement with English beyond the classroom
Although there has been growing interest in researching engagement within the language classroom, comparatively less is known about how learners interact with and use the target language outside the classroom. To understand how learners in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting engage with English across different contexts of their lives, this qualitative interview study explored behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement with Engli…
It's Not You, It's the System
Although progress has been made with respect to the role and position of women in academia, overt and covert discrimination as well as structural and systemic bias persist. In this article, we report on research conducted with 14 women professors from 10 different countries to explore to what extent these issues affect women professors in TESOL. Based on the analysis of qualitative data drawn from semi‐structured interviews, the findings show tha…
Well‐Being and Language Learning
This chapter outlines definitional concerns surrounding the construct of well‐being, by considering both hedonic and eudaemonic perspectives. It takes a strongly socially situated understanding highlighting the interplay between personal, individual characteristics and socio‐contextual factors, and systemic structures. It emphasizes the need to take a holistic view when examining well‐being as teachers and learners lead complex lives beyond schoo…
Embarrassment in English language classrooms
This study is designed to understand embarrassment in the second/foreign language (L2) context. Following a mixed-method design, in Phase 1, a sample of 141 tertiary-level Austrian English language learners were asked to write a narrative about their experiences of embarrassment in their language learning histories. Analyzing the narratives showed that L2 embarrassment is a multidimensional construct that is frequently experienced by a range of l…
Language teachers’ capitals as resources for wellbeing across the career trajectories
Over their career trajectories, teachers experience diverse challenges and uplifts, which influence their sense of wellbeing.While research on teacher career phases provides important insights into their lives, studies exploring teacher wellbeing and capitals they draw on to cope are scarce; and, in the field of language education, virtually nonexistent.In this article, we explore the capitals of 58 language teachers from Austria and the UK in pr…
Research agenda on well-being and language education
This article advocates for the expansion of research into the topic of well-being in language education. It begins by outlining key definitional concerns and then moves to outline general issues and gaps in the current body of research such as a need for a diversification in research in social contexts, working conditions, languages, cultures, as well as a clarification of the domain specificity of the construct. In the main body of the paper, th…
The more languages you know, the better you are’
Teacher educators’ perspectives on global citizenship education and multilingual competences
This study reports on the unique and personal experiences of 17 teacher educators from five different countries when integrating global citizenship education (GCE) and multilingual competences (MC) into their teaching practices. The qualitative study employed in-depth, semi-structured interviews to capture the complex and individual nature of their attitudes and practices towards incorporating GCE and MC into teaching. Through reflexive thematic …
Transformative positive psychology in the acquisition of additional languages
Positive psychology (PP) is an approach to understanding language learning and teaching which focuses on the rights of everyone, whether teacher, learner, administrator, or caretaker, to flourish in the language learning ecology (Mercer 2021 [An Agenda for Well-Being in ELT: An Ecological Perspective. ELT Journal, 75(1), 14–21]). While it has stressed the importance of humanity and the individuals involved, it has not yet been employed from a cri…
Multilevel engagement in academic L2 reading
This study aimed to develop and validate four self-report questionnaires related to four contextual levels of academic L2 reading engagement, namely, activity, session, course, and out-of-class, each incorporating behavioral, cognitive, and affective dimensions of engagement. The activity-level scale measured students' engagement in an L2 reading comprehension activity, which lasted several minutes; the session-level scale assessed students' enga…
Teacher emotions and the emotional labour of modern language (ML) teachers working in UK secondary schools
The present paper seeks to explore the contextual factors shaping the emotional labour experiences of secondary school teachers and explain the ways these educators manage their emotions. Data were generated through a series of 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with modern language (ML) teachers in the UK. The findings showed that teachers experienced primarily negative forms of emotional labour and these experiences were driven by five int…
Teaching English on a desert island
System's 50th anniversary special issue
They Are our Future”
While the emotion of pride has received increasing attention in general psychology, it has gone largely overlooked in the field of education generally, and language education specifically. This study explores the sources of pride reported by 140 English language teachers from various contexts across the globe. Data were generated through an online survey using a series of open‐ended items addressing various dimensions of participants' professiona…
The wellbeing of language teachers in the private sector
The teaching profession has been characterized as having high levels of stress and record rates of burnout and attrition. Language teaching is no exception to this global trend. Indeed, it could be argued that it is subject to additional specific stressors such as high intercultural and linguistic demands as well as the frequent use of energy-intense methodologies. Generally, language teacher psychology has been relatively neglected in research; …
Putting the social into learner agency
While learner agency and self-regulation are known to be interconnected, the factors underlying their dynamic interplay have gone largely overlooked in educational research. This study explores the multifaceted nature of learner agency, focusing on the socially constructed and distributed dimensions of the construct. Data were generated through eight focus groups conducted with 13 secondary students over the course of one school year, and four fo…
Teaching and Learning English
Nowoczesny, wszechstronny podręcznik z zakresu metodyki nauczania języka angielskiego, łączący rozmaite perspektywy metodologiczne i dyscyplinarne. Niezbędnik dla początkujących nauczycieli, studentów anglistyki lub lingwistyki stosowanej oraz osób zainteresowanych najnowszymi metodami nauki języka angielskiego. “Teaching and Learning English - Education for Life offers a blend of old and new, where all those at every stage of their education and…
Retention and Attrition in Early‐Career Foreign Language Teachers in Austria and the United Kingdom
The issue of early‐career teacher attrition is a pressing concern across a variety of educational settings. Research in predominantly anglophone contexts has shown that rates of foreign language teachers leaving the profession are particularly high. Noting the important role that well‐being plays in fostering teacher retention, this study examines factors affecting the well‐being of early‐career foreign language teachers in the United Kingdom and…
Late-career language teachers in Austria and the UK
This article seeks to explore personal and socio-contextual factors that supported or hindered the wellbeing of 13 late-career language teachers from Austria and the UK. Data were generated through in-depth life-history interviews, and analysed following a Grounded Theory approach (Charmaz, 2006). Findings revealed the interplay of various personal and socio-contextual factors that influenced teachers’ wellbeing and willingness to stay in the pro…
The role of hope in language teachers' changing stress, coping, and well-being
School Teachers’ Perceptions of Similarities and Differences between Teaching English and a Non‐Language Subject
Teaching a language subject in school is often referred to as being different and unique compared to teaching a non‐language subject. However, the few existing studies examining this claim have mainly investigated the viewpoints of teachers who only teach one language, thus failing to achieve a comparison based on teachers’ actual lived experiences of teaching two different subjects. The present study was designed to address this gap by exploring…
Introducing positive psychology to SLA
Positive psychology is a rapidly expanding subfield in psychology that has important implications for the field of second language acquisition (SLA). This paper introduces positive psychology to the study of language by describing its key tenets. The potential contributions of positive psychology are contextualized with reference to prior work, including the humanistic movement in language teaching, models of motivation, the concept of an affecti…
Language teachers’ coping strategies during the Covid-19 conversion to online teaching
Stressors, personality and wellbeing among language teachers
Language learner self-concept
Understanding learner agency as a complex dynamic system
You just appreciate every little kindness’
Being a student, becoming a teacher
Language teacher perspectives on stress and coping
Every person's response to adversity is unique. Whereas some come out stronger as a result of responding to a challenge, others find their fundamental assumptions about themselves and their lives severely challenged. In education, while some teachers might burn out and leave the profession precipitously, many survive the challenges and transform teaching into their lifelong passion. What factors help explain why some language teachers remain resi…
Pre-service language teacher wellbeing as a complex dynamic system
Pre-service teachers face a number of challenges which might threaten their wellbeing, including negotiating their student and teacher roles, and difficulties in managing their pupils and workload (Day & Gu, 2010). Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they have been confronted with additional challenges resulting from the transition to online learning and teaching, as well as social problems caused by lockdowns. In this study, we explore the wellbeing o…
Psychology for language learning
There is a wide body of research that shows how vitally important teachers are to successful learning processes. What they do, think, feel and believe are central to what happens in their classrooms, and, essentially, what happens to their learners. It is perhaps, therefore, surprising that the field of language learning psychology has focused so predominantly on the psychology of learners with so little attention devoted to teachers in compariso…
Teacher educators’ perspectives on global citizenship education and multilingual competences
This study reports on the unique and personal experiences of 17 teacher educators from five different countries when integrating global citizenship education (GCE) and multilingual competences (MC) into their teaching practices. The qualitative study employed in-depth, semi-structured interviews to capture the complex and individual nature of their attitudes and practices towards incorporating GCE and MC into teaching. Through reflexive thematic …
The role of hope in language teachers' changing stress, coping, and well-being
Fifteen years of research on self & identity in System
Transformative positive psychology in the acquisition of additional languages
Positive psychology (PP) is an approach to understanding language learning and teaching which focuses on the rights of everyone, whether teacher, learner, administrator, or caretaker, to flourish in the language learning ecology (Mercer 2021 [An Agenda for Well-Being in ELT: An Ecological Perspective. ELT Journal, 75(1), 14–21]). While it has stressed the importance of humanity and the individuals involved, it has not yet been employed from a cri…
Multiple Perspectives on the Self in SLA
Teaching English on a desert island
Research agenda on well-being and language education
This article advocates for the expansion of research into the topic of well-being in language education. It begins by outlining key definitional concerns and then moves to outline general issues and gaps in the current body of research such as a need for a diversification in research in social contexts, working conditions, languages, cultures, as well as a clarification of the domain specificity of the construct. In the main body of the paper, th…
They Are our Future”
While the emotion of pride has received increasing attention in general psychology, it has gone largely overlooked in the field of education generally, and language education specifically. This study explores the sources of pride reported by 140 English language teachers from various contexts across the globe. Data were generated through an online survey using a series of open‐ended items addressing various dimensions of participants' professiona…
School Teachers’ Perceptions of Similarities and Differences between Teaching English and a Non‐Language Subject
Teaching a language subject in school is often referred to as being different and unique compared to teaching a non‐language subject. However, the few existing studies examining this claim have mainly investigated the viewpoints of teachers who only teach one language, thus failing to achieve a comparison based on teachers’ actual lived experiences of teaching two different subjects. The present study was designed to address this gap by exploring…
Expanding HIV testing and counselling into communities
Improving HIV testing and counselling (HTC) requires a range of strategies. This article reports on HTC service delivery by Village Health Teams (VHTs) in Uganda in the context of a model integrating this new component into pre-existing family planning services. Eight health centres from matched pairs were randomly allocated to intervention or control. After being trained, 36 VHTs reporting to selected facilities in the intervention group started…
A mindset for EFL
This article explores the role of the psychological construct of ‘implicit theories’ or ‘mindsets’ in the context of foreign language learning. It considers psychology-based research of the construct in respect to the EFL context and reports on a small exploratory study using interviews carried out with tertiary-level learners in Austria and Japan. The authors wish to argue for the relevance and importance of the construct for ELT, explore some o…
Understanding learner agency as a complex dynamic system
Language learner self-concept
Multiple Perspectives on the Self in SLA
Re-imagining the Self as a Network of Relationships
Social Network Analysis and Complex Dynamic Systems
Introducing positive psychology to SLA
Positive psychology is a rapidly expanding subfield in psychology that has important implications for the field of second language acquisition (SLA). This paper introduces positive psychology to the study of language by describing its key tenets. The potential contributions of positive psychology are contextualized with reference to prior work, including the humanistic movement in language teaching, models of motivation, the concept of an affecti…
Fifteen years of research on self & identity in System
Expanding HIV testing and counselling into communities
Improving HIV testing and counselling (HTC) requires a range of strategies. This article reports on HTC service delivery by Village Health Teams (VHTs) in Uganda in the context of a model integrating this new component into pre-existing family planning services. Eight health centres from matched pairs were randomly allocated to intervention or control. After being trained, 36 VHTs reporting to selected facilities in the intervention group started…
Factors Related to Incomplete Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among Adolescents Attending Three HIV Clinics in the Copperbelt, Zambia
Exploring University ESL/EFL Teachers’ Emotional Well-Being and Emotional Regulation in the United States, Japan and Austria
Teacher well-being has been shown to play a central role in the quality of teaching and student achievement (Day & Gu, 2009; Klusmann, Kunter, Trautwein, Lüdtke, & Baumert, 2008). However, the teaching profession is currently in crisis as it faces record rates of burnout and attrition (Borman & Dowling, 2008; Hong, 2010; Lovewell, 2012), including stressors specific to the changing nature of foreign language teaching (Hiver & Dörnyei, 2015; Wiecz…
Expanding Understanding of Community Health Worker Programs
With health worker shortages in rural areas, community health workers (CHWs) are instrumental to the sustainability of primary health care and to the ability to meet health needs. Identifying appropriate operational models and incentive structures is an important element of long-term success. This article reports on CHWs' work demands and affective response to their volunteer work within the broader context of their livelihoods in Madagascar. A c…
Psychology for language learning
There is a wide body of research that shows how vitally important teachers are to successful learning processes. What they do, think, feel and believe are central to what happens in their classrooms, and, essentially, what happens to their learners. It is perhaps, therefore, surprising that the field of language learning psychology has focused so predominantly on the psychology of learners with so little attention devoted to teachers in compariso…
Setting an Agenda for Positive Psychology in SLA
In this article we introduce Positive Psychology (PP), a relatively new subfield of psychology, and outline its development since the year 2000. We describe ways in which PP represents an exciting addition to the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) literature and the ways it is already influencing trends in education generally, thus creating promising expectations of its impact on language teaching and learning. After reviewing the progress made th…
Language Learner Engagement
Stressors, personality and wellbeing among language teachers
Engaging Language Learners in Contemporary Classrooms
This accessible book offers a fresh perspective on engagement, with an emphasis on how teachers can create the conditions for active engagement and the role learners can play in shaping the way they learn. Drawing on extensive theoretical knowledge, the book takes an applied approach, providing clear principles and practical strategies for teachers.
You just appreciate every little kindness’
Language teachers’ coping strategies during the Covid-19 conversion to online teaching
Being a student, becoming a teacher
Pre-service language teacher wellbeing as a complex dynamic system
Pre-service teachers face a number of challenges which might threaten their wellbeing, including negotiating their student and teacher roles, and difficulties in managing their pupils and workload (Day & Gu, 2010). Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they have been confronted with additional challenges resulting from the transition to online learning and teaching, as well as social problems caused by lockdowns. In this study, we explore the wellbeing o…
Language teacher perspectives on stress and coping
Every person's response to adversity is unique. Whereas some come out stronger as a result of responding to a challenge, others find their fundamental assumptions about themselves and their lives severely challenged. In education, while some teachers might burn out and leave the profession precipitously, many survive the challenges and transform teaching into their lifelong passion. What factors help explain why some language teachers remain resi…
Retention and Attrition in Early‐Career Foreign Language Teachers in Austria and the United Kingdom
The issue of early‐career teacher attrition is a pressing concern across a variety of educational settings. Research in predominantly anglophone contexts has shown that rates of foreign language teachers leaving the profession are particularly high. Noting the important role that well‐being plays in fostering teacher retention, this study examines factors affecting the well‐being of early‐career foreign language teachers in the United Kingdom and…
Late-career language teachers in Austria and the UK
This article seeks to explore personal and socio-contextual factors that supported or hindered the wellbeing of 13 late-career language teachers from Austria and the UK. Data were generated through in-depth life-history interviews, and analysed following a Grounded Theory approach (Charmaz, 2006). Findings revealed the interplay of various personal and socio-contextual factors that influenced teachers’ wellbeing and willingness to stay in the pro…
The role of hope in language teachers' changing stress, coping, and well-being
Psychology (34 works) · Pedagogy (22 works) · Sociology (19 works) · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning (17 works) · Social Psychology (16 works) · Mathematics education (15 works) · Computer Science (14 works) · Educational and Psychological Assessments (11 works) · Linguistics (11 works) · Political science (10 works)