A SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING-BASED APPROACH TO ENHANCING COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Abstract
The study examines the effectiveness of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)-based instructional approaches in improving communicative abilities within the process of second language acquisition (SLA). Traditional language teaching methods tend to emphasize grammatical accuracy and linguistic knowledge; however, they often overlook the crucial role that social and emotional factors play in language learning development. This research explores how fostering emotional awareness, self-regulation, and social competence through structured training can enhance students’ communicative performance, drawing on theories of communicative competence and SEL frameworks.
The study adopts a mixed-methods research design and involves undergraduate students at the intermediate (B1) level who have no philological background. An SEL-based language learning program was implemented during regular instructional sessions to examine its impact on learners’ communicative development. Qualitative data were collected through classroom observations, learner reflections, and semi-structured interviews, while quantitative data were obtained from pre- and post-tests designed to measure communicative competence.
The findings indicate that students exposed to the SEL-based intervention achieved statistically significant improvements in overall communication skills, particularly in sociolinguistic and strategic competence. In addition, the results show that the integration of SEL principles contributed to increased learner motivation, enhanced communicative performance, and a noticeable reduction in language anxiety.
The study emphasizes the educational benefits of integrating Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) principles into second language learning, as learners demonstrate improved language performance when taught in emotionally supportive environments. The findings contribute to the growing body of research suggesting that effective language education should develop not only cognitive abilities but also learners’ social and emotional competencies alongside linguistic skills. The study further offers recommendations for future research, as well as for teacher training programs and curriculum development aimed at promoting more holistic and effective approaches to language instruction.
Keywords
Second Language Acquisition,Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), communicative competence, language anxiety,willingness to communicate (WTC), learner motivation, emotional intelligence in education, student-centered learning, non-philological students, EFL/ESL pedagogy, classroom interaction
References
- Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1–47.
- Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). (2020). What is SEL? https://casel.org
- Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
- Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam Books.
- Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x
- Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics (pp. 269–293). Penguin.
- Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon Press.
- MacIntyre, P. D., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x
- Mercer, S., & Gkonou, C. (2017). Understanding emotional and social intelligence in language teaching. The Language Teacher, 41(1), 43–46.
- Oxford, R. L. (2016). Teaching and researching language learning strategies. Routledge.
- Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Savignon, S. J. (2002). Interpreting communicative language teaching: Contexts and concerns in teacher education. Yale University Press.