The Dynamic Interplay Between Reflective Thinking, Mindfulness, and Positive Orientation Among EFL Learners

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Prof in TEFL, Imam Reza International University, Mashhad, Iran

2 PhD in TEFL, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

3 MA in TEFL, Imam Reza International University, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

This study examines the interaction between Positive Orientation (PO), mindfulness, and Reflective Thinking (RT) among Iranian EFL (English as a foreign language) learners. Two hundred fifty-four EFL students comprised the sample, and three questionnaires were used as the survey tools: 1) Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS) 2) Reflective thinking questionnaire (RTQ) 3) Positivity Scale (PS). Fourteen questions comprising the LMS evaluate the three components of novelty seeking, novelty producing, and engagement. Sixteen items that evaluated four different types of reflective thinking—habitual activity, comprehension, reflection, and critical reflection—made up the RTQ.The eight-item positivity scalewas used to measure positive orientation. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to ascertain how EFL learners' mindfulness, PO, and RT interacted. The findings indicated that positive orientation considerably and positively enhanced mindfulness. One of the three mindfulness subscales, novelty production, in particular, showed the strongest correlation. Understanding, reflection, and critical reflection among the four characteristics of RT were all positively predicted by mindfulness, and the highest influence was exerted on reflection. Moreover, the second sub-construct of mindfulness, novelty seeking, was found have the highest correlation with RT. The findings also showed that reflection and PO displayed the strongest link.

Keywords

References

Albert, S. (1990). Mindfulness, an important concept for organizations: A book review essay on the work of Ellen Langer. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 11(3), 198-217. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030110305
Baumeister, R. F. (1993). Self-esteem: The puzzle of low. Plenum.
Baumeister, R. F., Campbell, J. D., Krueger, J. I., & Vohs, K. D. (2003). Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyle? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4(1), 1-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/1529-1006.01431
Bean, T. W., & Stevens, L. P. (2002). Scaffolding reflection for preservice and inservice teachers. Reflective Practice, 3(2), 205-218. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623940220142708
Birtwell, K., Williams, K., van Marwijk, H., Armitage, C. J., & Sheffield, D. (2019). An exploration of formal and informal mindfulness practice and associations with wellbeing. Mindfulness, 10(1), 89-99.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-0951-y
Boyd, E. M., & Fales, A. W. (1983). Reflective learning: Key to learning from experience. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 23(2), 99-117. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167883232010
Brown, J., & Langer, E. (1990). Mindfulness and intelligence: A comparison. Educational Psychologist, 25(3-4), 305-335. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.1990.9653135
Caprara, G. V. (2009). Positive orientation: Turning potentials into optimal functioning. European Health Psychologist, 11(3), 46-48. https://doi.org/10.1037/e511772009-007
Caprara, G. V., Alessandri, G., & Barbaranelli, C. (2010a). Optimal functioning: Contribution of self-efficacy beliefs to positive orientation. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 79(5), 328-330. https://doi.org/10.1159/000319532
Caprara, G. V., Alessandri, G., Eisenberg, N., Kupfer, A., Steca, P., Caprara, M. G., Yamaguchi, S., Fukuzawa, A., & Abela, J. (2012). The positivity scale. Psychological Assessment, 24(3), 701-712. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026681
Chiesa, A., & Serretti, A. (2013). Are Mindfulness-based interventions effective for substance use disorders? A systematic review of the evidence. Substance Use and Misuse. 49(5), 492-512. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2013.770027
Connelly, J. E. (2005). Narrative possibilities: Using mindfulness in clinical practice. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 48(1), 84-94. https://doi.org/10.1353/pbm.2005.0006
Daphne, M. D., & Jeffrey, A. H. (2012). What are the benefits of mindfulness? American Psychology Association, 43(7), 64. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021760
Deakin-Crick, R., Huang, S., Shafi, A. A., & Goldspink, C. (2015). Developing resilient agency in learning: The internal structure of learning power. British Journal of Educational Studies, 63(2), 121–160. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2015
Dewey, J. (1910). How we think. Boston: Heath and Co.
Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of reflective thinking to the educative process. Boston: D. C. Heath.
Facione, N. C., & Facione, P. A. (1996). Externalizing the critical thinking in knowledge development and clinical judgment. Nursing Outlook, 44(3), 129-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0029-6554(96)90029-1
Fatemi, S. M. (2016). Critical mindfulness of psychology’s mindfulness. In S. M. Fatemi (Ed.), Critical mindfulness (p. 124). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
Frewen, P. A., Evans, E. M., Maraj, N., Dozois, D. J. A., & Partridge, K. (2008). Letting go: Mindfulness and negative automatic thinking. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32(6), 758-774. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-007-9142-1
Gao, X. (2023). Mindfulness and foreign language learners’ self-perceived proficiency: the mediating roles of anxiety and burnout. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(10), 4182-4199. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2150196
Garland, E. L., Froeliger, B., & Howard, M. O. (2014). Mindfulness training targets neurocognitive mechanisms of addiction at the attention-appraisal-emotion interface. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 4(173). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00173. PMC 3887509
Ghanizadeh, A. (2017). The interplay between reflective thinking, critical thinking, self-monitoring, and academic achievement in higher education. Higher Education, 74(1), 101–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0013-x
Ghanizadeh, A., & Jahedizadeh, S. (2017). Validating the Persian Version of Reflective Thinking Questionnaire and Probing Iranian University Students' Reflective Thinking and Academic Achievement. International Journal of Instruction, 10(3), 209-226. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2017.10313a
Ghanizadeh, A., & Mirzaee, S. (2012). EFL learners’ self-regulation, critical thinking and language achievement. International Journal of Linguistics, 4(3), 451-468. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v4i3.1833
Ghanizadeh, A., Makiabadi, H., & Navokhi, S. A. (2019). Relating EFL university students' mindfulness and resilience to self-fulfilment and motivation in learning. Issues in Educational Research, 29(3), 695-714. https://doi.org/10.33225/ier.v29i3.2710
Jin, R., Wen, X., Zhang, Q., & Xu, W. (2023). Mindfulness and emotional experience in daily life among elementary school students: The role of mind‑wandering. Current Psychology, 42, 15052–15060. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02825-5
Jin, Y., & Dewaele, J. (2018). The effect of positive orientation and perceived social support on foreign language classroom anxiety. System, 74, 149-157.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.01.002
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Bantam Dell. 
Kee, Y. H., & Wang, C. J. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness, flow dispositions and mental skills adoption: A cluster analytic approach. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 9(4), 393-411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2007.07.001
Kember, D., Leung, D., Jones, A., & Loke, A. Y. (2000). Development of a questionnaire to measure the level of reflective thinking. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 25(4), 380-395. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930050006167
Khodadady, E., & Ghanizadeh, A. (2011). The Impact of Concept Mapping on EFL Learners' Critical Thinking Ability. English Language Teaching, 4(4), 49-60. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v4n4p49
Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330(6006), 932-932. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1192439
Langer, E. J. (1989). Mindfulness. Cambridge, MA: De Capon Press.
Langer, E. J. (2009). Counter Clockwise. New York, NY: Ballantine Books.
Langer, E. J., Hatem, M., Joss, J., & Howell, M. (1989). Conditional teaching and mindful learning: The role of uncertainty in education. Creativity Research Journal, 2(3), 139-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400418909534311
Leung, D. Y., & Kember, D. (2003). The relationship between approaches to learning and reflection upon practice. Educational Psychology, 23(1), 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144341030322
Linehan, M. (1993). Cognitive–behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press.
Lyddy, C. J., & Good, D. J. (2017). Being While Doing: An Inductive Model of Mindfulness at Work. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 2060. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02060
Ma, S. H., & Teasdale, J. D. (2004). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: replication and exploration of differential relapse prevention effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(1), 31-40. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006x.72.1.31
Moghadam, H., Ghanizadeh, A., & Ghonsooly, B. (2020). Differences in EFL learners’ burnout levels and receptive language skills with regard to the mindfulness-based instruction. Explorations in English Language and Linguistics, 8(2), 185-219. https://doi.org/10.1515/eell-2020-0016
Moon, J. (2008). Critical thinking: An exploration of theory and practice. London and New York: Routledge.
Nisbet, M. (2017). The mindfulness movement: How a Buddhist practice evolved into a scientific approach to life. Skeptical Inquirer, 41(3), 24-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12080-017-0292-5
Noone, C., & Hogan, M.J. (2018). Improvements in critical thinking performance following mindfulness meditation depends on thinking dispositions. Mindfulness, 9, 461–473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0789-8
Noone, C., Bunting, B., & Hogan, M. J. (2016). Does mindfulness enhance critical thinking? Evidence for the mediating effects of executive functioning in the relationship between mindfulness and critical thinking. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(2043).1-16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02043
Pirson, M., Langer, E. J., Bodner, T., & Zilcha-Mano, S. (2012). The development and validation of the Langer mindfulness scale—enabling a socio-cognitive perspective of mindfulness in organizational contexts. Fordham University Schools of Business Research Paper. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2026825
Schoeberlein, D. R., & Sheth, S. (2009). Mindful teaching and teaching mindfulness: A guide for anyone who teaches anything. Simon and Schuster.
Schön, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003- 066X.55.1.5
Shiota, M. N. (2006). Silver linings and candles in the dark: differences among positive coping strategies in predicting subjective well-being. Emotion, 6(2), 335. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.6.2.335
Song, H., & Koszalka T. A., & Grabowski. B. L. (2005) Exploring instructional design factors prompting reflective thinking in young adolescents. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 31(2). https://doi.org/10.21432/T2BC8X
Şükran, T. O. K. (2008). The effects of reflective thinking activities in science course on academic achievements and attitudes toward science. Elementary Education Online, 7(3), 557-568. https://doi.org/10.17051/ilkonline.2008.12663
Toneatto, T. (2013). Interventions for Addiction: Chapter 23. Mindfulness. Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-397040-1.00023-0
Tremmel, R. (1993). Zen and the art of reflective practice in teacher education. Harvard Educational Review, 63(1), 434-458. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.63.4.t6lh0j05g8n05115
van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Griffiths, M. D., & Singh, N. N. (2014). There is Only One Mindfulness: Why Science and Buddhism Need to Work Together. Mindfulness, 6(1), 49-56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-014-0379-y
Wertenbroch, A., & Nabeth, T. (2000). Advanced learning approaches and technologies: the calt perspective. Retrieved form http://www.insead.fr/CALT/Publication/CALTReport/calt-perspective.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics