STRESS MANAGEMENT DURING LANGUAGE LEARNING PROCESS OF TO-BE-ESL TEACHERS

Abstract

Exams, tight deadlines & interpersonal conflicts are just a few examples of the many events that may result in high levels of stress in language learning for both students and teachers. Recent evidence further indicates that stress may hamper updating of memories.Together, these stress-related changes may explain some of the hardships of learning & remembering under stress in the classroom. Taking these insights into consideration from psychology and neuroscience could bear the potential to facilitate processes of education for both students and teachers. Stressful events are very common in educational settings, both for students and for teachers.A variety of exams, non-professional subjects, evaluations and deadlines create an enormous pressure to perform. This stress, however, can have a critical impact on learning and memory processes, which are at the heart of our educational system. Beyond their relevance in educational contexts, stress-induced alterations in learning and memory are also thought to contribute to stress-related mental disorders, such as major depressive disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder. Therefore, a large number of studies has been conducted to better understand how stress affects learning and memory. The effects of stress were found to be complex, though, with stress having both enhancing and impairing effects on memory, depending on the specific memory process or stage that is affected by stress and the activity profile of major physiological stress response systems.