Nine Attitudes of Mindfulness and Their Implications for EFL and ESL Classrooms

Here are the nine attitudes of mindfulness and their implications for EFL classes, according to Kuru Gönen (2022).

Attitudes	Features	Implications for EFL Classrooms
🪶 Non-judgement	​Not labeling or categorizing the events, situations as good, bad, nice, awful, etc. Cultivating an ability to understand.	​Approaching English language learning by leaving the judgments about learning FL and adopting an objective perspective.
🪶 Acceptance	Accepting fear, anxiety, and sorrow as they are and not running away from them.	Accepting negative arousals related to FL learning and going through all with an open perspective. Being able to see solutions to language learning problems.
🪶 Beginner's mind	​Experiencing things like a child as if they are happening for the first time.	​Going through everything as they are related to FL learning with curiosity regardless of the concerns of the past and future.
🪶 Patience	Trying to control the plans of expectations of the future. Making negative consequences out of the things and situations that have not happened yet.	Being stuck in negative past experiences of learning English and jumping into conclusions. Language learning takes time, and it can only happen in the present moment.
🪶 Non-striving	Observing the feelings and sensations as they rise and fall and being in full awareness of the experience.	​Avoiding difficult situations and topics related to English, and expecting to learn everything at the end of a single lesson bring disappointment.
🪶 Trust	Taking your own responsibility. Trusting in yourself and what the present moment offers.	​Accepting everything as they are, awareness of one’s capacity and limits related to FL learning and directing attention to FL learning consciously.
🪶 Letting go	Having an awareness of ‘everything shall pass’ by conscious observation of the internal states.	​Letting go of negative FL learning experiences, choosing to focus on the present moment instead of living in the same worrisome story repeatedly.
🪶 Compassion	Having a friendly attitude towards feelings, thoughts, and all internal states.	Building emotional resilience for learning FL by acknowledging the reasons for failure and downfalls.
🪶 Gratitude	​Not taking everything for granted. Appreciating even the simplest things.	Being able to say ‘I am here, I am healthy, and I am in the class. I am here for language learning, and I am putting my effort into this.’

Direct link to the article

Reference:

Kuru Gönen, S. İ. (2022). Mindfulness-based practices for EFL teachers: sample tasks and insights to cultivate mindfulness. Focus on ELT Journal, 4(3), 78–93. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2022.4.3.6