Language Teacher Emotions in Game-Informed Teaching

This thesis follows the (emotional) experiences of ten language teachers of English in Greece when integrating game-informed practices in their classrooms and explores their emotions in a longitudinal manner. The English language teaching context in Greece is a characteristic example of test-centric and results-oriented educational practices, while the field of game-mediated teaching is in its infancy. Teachers’ emotions and their wellbeing are most of the times side-lined, while the focus is on students being entertained and staying motivated in language learning. This thesis recognises the importance of attending to teachers’ emotions in order to develop sustainable practice but also engages them in professional development to meaningfully adopt game-informed practices. An Action-Research cycle was followed, training teachers on game-informed teaching, guiding them in designing game-informed lesson plans and employing interviews and classroom observation to explore their emotions during and after this practice while contextualising emotions with teachers’ (and students’) behaviour. Thematic Analysis of the qualitative data uncovered the nuanced nature of teachers’ emotions, while it shattered binary-based theories and understanding of teachers’ emotions. Teacher-student relationships were found to be triggers of teachers’ happiness, enthusiasm, and pride, especially when witnessing the engagement and accomplishments of their students. At the same time, the involvement of teachers in creative practice seemed to have boosted said emotions, but also triggered slight anxiety and frustration when teachers were not convinced of their conduct in game-informed tasks. Following Positive Psychology theory, integrating game-informed practices in language classrooms seems to be a catalyst to fostering both teachers’ and students’ engagement, accomplishment, and strengthening the positive relationships and interactions of the two. Involving teachers in non-prescriptive research while offering them reflexive professional development is the way forward for promoting change in language classrooms. Game-informed practices can foster teachers’ wellbeing and we might need to start small before going radical.