By Kong Xianyu

Having been struggling for years to explorehow to help students of low proficiency level to improve their English study, Iwas getting lost and about to give up when I read a book, Positivity, writtenby Barbara Fredrickson, one of the most influential contributors to positivepsychology. It is full of deep insights about human behavior as well as usefulsuggestions for how to apply them in everyday life. It is the book thatinspires me to regain the confidence and passion to go on with my ambition andhelps me understand my students more deeply.

To achieve my goal of enhancing students’English learning ability, I read a wide body of literature on pedagogy and triedapplying various teaching strategies. However, the result was not assignificant as I had expected, which made me confused and frustrated. Fortunately,I happened to have the chance to read the book, Positivity, one year ago. Whatimpressed me most was the analogy Dr. Fredrickson had drawn between positiveemotion and the sunshine. According to Dr. Fredrickson, positive emotion islike the bright sunshine that makes flowers bloom and it can bring our lifemore possibilities and openness. Touched so profoundly by this metaphor, I couldeven feel the sun shine warmly in my heart and I was eager to share thesunshine with my students and plant the seeds of hope in their heart. Just asDr. Fredrickson mentions that we will share our insights with those around usif we experiment with raising our positivity. Thus, together, we can createlight, love, and potential and unlock more joy and gratitude.

However, what troubles me most is how I canstimulate this positivity to release the courage and energy of my students inEnglish study, even in the face of setbacks, and how the motivation of changescan be awakened. Luckily, Dr. Fredrickson has given the answer, that “It is thesparkle of good feelings”. She enumerates ten forms of positivity, arrangingfrom joy, gratitude, serenity, and interest, to hope, pride, amusement,inspiration, awe, and, last but not least, love. And she also emphasizes that eachof these ten forms of positivity can change our life and your future.

I keep asking myself questions whetherstudents have experienced all these ten forms of positivity in my class and howI can instill the forms in, at least some of them. Take “joy” as an example,have my students ever experienced it through obtaining success of their Englishstudy? If not, what can I do to create opportunities for them to feel it. Besides,Dr. Fredrickson explains that “gratitude” can bring about the impulsion thatpeople are eager to do something to give back to those who help them. In thissense, if a student is grateful to his teacher, what he wants to do most isprobably his hard-work and progress in what the teacher has taught. Thequestion is how many of the students in my class appreciate what I have donefor them. Furthermore, “hope” is defined as an exception of all ten forms, asit is the only aspect that originates from difficulty and despair, but notsecurity and satisfaction. It is in the predicament that that our hope might bestimulated. Nevertheless, the problem is whether I know my students are introuble and how I can help them acquire confidence and hope in trouble. I havebeen exploring these forms and asking and answering questions to improve myteaching.

Deeply convinced that positivity can makean enormous difference in our life and we can see new possibilities, bounceback from setback, connect with others, and become the best version ofourselves with positivity, I am determined to help my students develop positiveemotion. In the past semester, in my class, I do find the light of joy and hope,which has improved its value by students’ obvious improvement.

Based on my personal experience, positivitybroadens and builds. So, there are good reasons for us to believe that it cantransform students and help them become their best. As teachers, we should alsobuild positivity ourselves, believing that we can help each student realizetheir potential to be new.