Meditation in the ESL
Classroom
By: Nix Wurdak
St. Cloud State University
Who am I?
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Teacher
Master’s Student
200 Hour RYS Instructor
Meditative struggler since 2007
Me.
Practice What You Preach
Jargon
• Meditation: anything a person does to calm and center
• Mindfulness: “the ability to pay attention to what you’re experiencing from
moment to moment—without drifting into thoughts of the past or concerns
about the future, or getting caught up in opinions about what is going on”
(President and Fellows at Harvard College, 2004, p. 1 ).
• MBSR: 8-10 week meditative program devised by Jon Kabat-Zinn
• TM (Transcendental Meditation): A frequently used method of meditation
What does meditation do?
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Decreases anxiety (and cortisol)
Decreases suicidal ideation
Improves information retention
Improves concentration
Higher GPAs
Higher scores on GRE
Pain reduction
Improves skin conditions
• Improves executive functioning
• Increases ability to deal with physical
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pain
Decreases need for sleep
Boosts immune system
Lowers blood pressure
Moderates effects of PTSD
Increased vaccine efficacy
My favorite bit…
Images by Andrew Newberg, Thomas Jefferson University, Information by Richard Davidson, University of Wisconsin - Madison
My Research
• Studied impact of single session meditation on writing in IEP.
• Looked at passage length, diversity of vocabulary, and cohesive markers.
• Findings:
• One session doesn’t cut it, statistically.
• Students want it!
“With
meditation you are not wandering every time about the thing that you have in
your mind. It makes you focus on the thing ongoing.” 24 year old, Burkina Faso
A Few Methods of Meditating
• Breathing
• Yoga
• Guided Meditation
• Walking meditation
• Mantras
• Tactile aids
• T’ai Chi
• Qi’Gong
Ways to Bring Meditation Into Your Classroom
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Start slowly and start small.
Know your student base.
Elementary: yoga, guided imagery
High School: breathing, mantras, music
Adult: breathing, walking meditation
Pull Out: use headphones
Great Sources for More Information
- http://www.marc.ucla.edu
- Online Guided Meditations
- Resources
- http://www.kidsrelaxation.com
- Guided meditations for young children
- Common Ground Meditation Center (http://commongroundmeditation.org/)
- Online Guided Meditations
- Events and classes
- Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn
- Anything by Richard Davidson (University of Wisconsin – Madison)
Questions?
Feel free to contact me: nwurdak@gmail.com
References
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Albrecht, Nicole J.; Albrecht, Patricia M.; and Cohen, Marc (2012) "Mindfully Teaching in the Classroom: a Literature Review," Australian Journal of Teacher
Education, 37(12), Article 1.
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Barwick, N. (1995). Pandora’s box: An investigation of essay anxiety in adolescents.Psychodynamic Counseling. 1(4), 560-575.
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Moore, M. (1992). Using meditation in the classroom. Hispania, 75(3), 734-735.
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Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S., et al. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by
mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(4), 564-570.
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Mrazek, M., Franklin, M., Baird, B., Schooler, J., & Phillips, D. T. (2013). Mindfulness training improves working memory capacity and GRE performance while
reducing mind wandering.
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Fredrickson, B. (2009). Positivity. New York: Crown Publishers.
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Hall, P. D. (1999). The effect of meditation on the academic performance of African American college students.Journal of Black Studies, 29(3), 408-415.
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Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373-386.
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Heeren, A., & Philippot, P. (2011). Changes in ruminative thinking mediate the clinical benefits of mindfulness: preliminary findings. Mindfulness, 2(1), 8-13.
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Soons, I., Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2010). An experimental study of the psychological impact of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program on highly
sensitive persons.Europe's Journal of Psychology, 148-169.
Horwitz, E. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 21, 112-126.
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Johnson, D., & Johnson, L. (2010). Reinventing the stress concept. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 12(3), 218-231.
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Kabat-Zinn, J. (2009). Full catastrophe living: using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Delta Trade Paperbacks.
(Original work published 1990)
Van Dam, N. T., Earleywine, M., & Danoff-Burg, S. (2009). Differential item function across meditators and non-meditators on the five facet mindfulness
questionnaire. Personality and Individual Differences, 47(5), 516-521.
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Keogh, E., Bond, F. W., & Flaxman, P. E. (2006). Improving academic performance and mental health through a stress management intervention: outcomes and
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