Current Issue

Social and Emotional Learning in the Language Classroom

November 2025

In chess, pawns that reach the opposite ends of the game board can be promoted to new roles–how the pawns feel about this journey doesn’t really factor into things. Not so with our students! Students enter our classrooms full of complex inner worlds, and as they journey through to graduation, teachers have to reckon with how best to support their students’ social and emotional needs. In this issue, let’s take a fresh look at social-emotional learning in the classroom.

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – often (and perhaps inaccurately) attributed to Aristotle

APA Reference for this issue

(author). (2025). (article title, sentence case). MindBrainEd Think Tanks: Social and Emotional Learning in the Language Classroom, 11(11), (pages).

Watch before you read...

In previous issues, we’ve highlighted the importance of non-academic factors in learning, including relationships and emotions. In this issue, we’re taking another look at the social and emotional aspects of learning. Our Main video provides an overview of a framework that identifies five social and emotional competencies we develop our whole lives. In our More podcast episode, educator Wendy Turner stresses the importance of modeling SEL behaviors for students and offers practical advice on incorporating SEL into teaching practices. Then, Heather Kretschmer introduces the issue.

In the Think Tank, Narjes Nasrpour shares inspiring anecdotes from her teaching experience, illustrating how children can learn essential life skills like kindness, confidence, and self-control. Next, Glenn Magee underscores the essential role of trust, empathy, and safety in classroom teaching and explains the underlying neuroscience. Kate Piatkowski discusses the importance of psychological safety in creating a classroom environment where students feel comfortable speaking up while Alice and Curtis Kelly’s stories give teachers a visceral understanding of SEL.

Finally in our Plus, Mirela C. C. Ramacciotti examines the influential work of developmental psychologist John Hurley Flavell in shaping our understanding of metacognition.

Social-Emotional Learning: Not Just for Kids

Wendy Turner

Our Thoughts on Social & Emotional Learning

Decisions, Decisions: Thoughts about Integrating Social and Emotional Learning Opportunities in the Language Classroom Heather Kretschmer

Imagine the following scenario in a second-grade classroom:

Charlotte Schollmeyer recently started working with a group of seven- and eight-year-old English Language Learners in the US. She was subbing for their regular teacher who was on leave until the end of the school year, which meant she’d be working with these students for another five months. The children were beginning to warm to her, and all seemed to be going pretty well.

“Mrs. Schollmeyer, can we use the virtual reality headsets today?” asked one of the kids eagerly…

Think Tank Articles

Teaching from the Heart: Stories that Shape Young Minds Narjes Nasrpour

These stories are from my five years of teaching experience at a kids’ institute. The first three stories focus on social awareness, the middle section is about self-awareness, and the final stories highlight self-management.

All names used are pseudonyms, and students’ personal information has been kept confidential.

Social awareness, in my opinion, means understanding society and recognizing that people are different in language, culture, and even skin color. But in the end, we are all human, and we must respect each other. Everyone faces challenges, but humanity still exists—so it’s important to empathize and understand what others are feeling…

The Power of Relationships in the Language Classroom Glenn Magee

A common assumption is that the primary driver of effective instruction comprises clear explanations, well-designed tasks, and high-quality materials, all encapsulated within a course syllabus and the visible classroom. In addition to these elements, there is a set of powerful social and emotional dynamics that determine whether learners feel safe, seen, and willing to engage in learning—no matter how motivated they may feel—the invisible classroom. For many learners, especially those in language classrooms, the difference between staying silent and speaking, between going through the motions and fully engaging, rests on how safe the classroom feels, how seen the students feel, and how well they can connect with their peers (Vidrine-Isbell, 2017).

Building Psychological Safety in the Language Classroom Kate Piatkowski

Every class is different. Some classes are full of students who are energetic and eager to participate, while in others there are students who hesitate to speak. I have had classes where hands shoot up to answer questions, then the same students avoid eye contact on another day. While I do worry that it may be due to the way I am teaching the lesson, I also believe that these shifts in engagement often relate to students’ confidence and anxiety. When students feel anxious about speaking in a foreign language, they may fear making mistakes, being laughed at, or receiving poor evaluations (Rizkiya & Pratolo, 2023). While there are strategies students can use to manage their anxiety on their own, much of it begins with the classroom environment, which is something teachers strongly influence. In my past papers, like in the Think Tank issue on emotions, I have written about creating compassionate and safe classroom environments for students to feel comfortable. But recently, I have come across a different concept that was originally meant for creating better office work environments. This construct is called psychological safety, and I think it can be integrated into language classrooms to reduce student anxiety.

SEL from the Eyes of a High School Girl Alice Kelly, with a foreword from Curtis Kelly

Curtis: I’m wondering. Is there something wrong with the way we study Social Emotional Learning? It seems almost everything in the literature, as well as in this Think Tank, is presented from a bird’s eye view of SEL: abstractions, theories, global conclusions, as we always do in the social sciences. Facts over experiences. We learn many useful things that way, but still I wonder. We know, but do we understand? I, for one, do not, as I found out last week. I often do presentations on the social brain and the need for students to connect, but I did not really understand what that meant until a few nights ago, when I was driving home with my daughter, Alice. She told me her story and I’d like to share it with you.

Think Tank Plus

Great Ideas from the Brain Sciences: The role of metacognition Mirela C. C. Ramacciotti

Saying that thinking about thinking is essential for self-directed learning seems today as obvious as two plus two equals four. But it was not always so. In fact, less than 50 years ago, it was considered a ludicrous idea! But how have we gone from that notion to the current view of metacognition as an essential skill for lifelong learning?

The idea of a mental process that hovers over what we are learning is akin to reflection. Now, that part dates back to our Greek ancestors, but the notion that metacognition is: (a) A cognitive process; (b) An ability to separate known from unknown; and that (c) It can be regulated or controlled, came with John Hurley Flavell.

Call for Contributions: Ideas and Articles Think Tank Staff

Become a Think Tank star! Here are some of the future issue topics we are thinking about. Would you, or anyone you know, like to write about any of these? Or is there another topic you’d like to recommend? Do you have any suggestions for lead-in, or just plain interesting, videos? How about writing a book review? Or sending us a story about your experiences? Contact us.

Spotlight on Our Editors Beyond the Think Tanks

Learning Cosmos Ep. 17 with Curtis Kelly

This Learning Cosmos podcast episode features an in-depth conversation between host André Hedlund and our own Curtis Kelly! Highlighting the importance of learning about neuroscience as an educator, Curtis shares his experience teaching English in Japan and his insights on language learning, including the role of emotions, motivation, and social interaction in the learning process. Check out the episode here!

ABC Journal: “Simulating Strife” by Afon (Mohammad) Khari

In the latest issue of the Amsterdam Brain & Cognition (ABC) Journal, our own Afon (Mohammad) Khari published a thought-provoking article entitled “Simulating Strife: Computational Models of Human Conflict.” Afon writes:

Can AI help us predict and prevent war? Agent-based modeling is integrating neuroscience, machine learning, and game theory to simulate complex social interactions and decision-making scenarios. This approach, beyond its limitations and ethical challenges, could offer valuable applications in real-world peace-making diplomacy and collective cooperation.

Read his article here, starting on page 24: link.

The MindBrained Think Tanks+

is produced by the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) Mind, Brain, and Education Special Interest Group (BRAIN SIG). Kyoto, Japan. (ISSN 2434-1002)

Editorial Staff

Stephen M. Ryan Curtis H. Kelly Julia Daley

Afon (Mohammad) Khari Heather Kretschmer Nicky De Proost

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