“Everything Is Done with Hope”: The
Role of Hope*
in the Strategic Learner
Rebecca L. Oxford, Ph.D.
Professor Emerita/Distinguished Scholar –Teacher
University of Maryland
Situating Strategy Use: The Interplay of Language Learning Strategies and
Individual Learner Characteristics
16-17 October, 2015 - Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt Austria
*(and Related Factors)
The inspirations for this presentation came from . . .
My teaching in TESOL, ESL,
Learning Strategies, and
Psychology
Research and Theory on
Language Learning
Strategies
. . . and positive psychology
STRAND 1:
COMPLEX DYNAMIC
SYSTEMS
Complex dynamic systems



Hope and learning strategies are situated in a complex
dynamic system, in which relationships among factors
are nonlinear, organic, and multi-way (see LarsenFreeman & Cameron, 2008).
Hope and learning strategies interact with factors such
as time perspective, motivation, optimism, language
learning/use opportunities, and many other variables.
The image of interwoven strands conveys the meaning
of a complex dynamic system.
STRAND 2:
LANGUAGE LEARNING
STRATEGIES
Some trends in learning strategy
research and theory




(A) For SBI and teacher education, using visual
metaphors to show possible outcomes of learning
strategy use
(B) Recognizing the obvious link between learning
strategies and self-regulation
(C) Trying to get past idiosyncratic definitions of
strategies and working together on strategy research
and theory
(D) Exploring SBI in very useful ways
Trend A: Using visual metaphors to show possible
outcomes of learning strategy use
Trend A: Using visual metaphors to show possible
outcomes of learning strategy use
Trend A: Using visual metaphors to show possible
outcomes of learning strategy use
Trend B1: Self-regulation and
strategies - Vygotsky

Self-regulation concepts arose partly from
Vygotsky’s 1930’s sociocultural, ‘cognitive-historical’
work


He described self-regulated, higher psychological
processes (often now called ‘strategies’), e.g.,
analyzing, synthesizing, planning, monitoring, and
evaluating. Learners internalize these processes
/strategies through social mediation (interaction with
more capable others) and/or mediation from books,
technologies, etc.
The processes/strategies become inner speech (fully
self-regulated).The learner then strategically guides
himself/herself.
Trend B2: Self-regulation and
strategies – Boekaerts et al.



Boekaerts, Pintrich & Zeidner (2000) examined
self-regulation in learning, psychology, health, and
other areas. Their book described
learning/cognitive/self regulatory strategies in 14
of the 23 chapters.
The book explicitly argued that it is essential to
discuss specific strategies, not just self-regulated
learning or self-regulation, because strategies and
other phenomena at that level offer ‘clearer
psychological reference’ and situated meanings.
Consider our conference on Situated Strategy Use.
Boekaerts et al. would agree with our situated,
self-regulated, strategic focus.
Trend B2: Self-regulation and
strategies – Boekaerts et al.

Boekaerts et al. emphasized strategies such as:
setting goals, paying attention, organizing, rehearsing, establishing
a productive setting, using time and resources well, monitoring and
evaluating performance, seeking help, and managing emotions.


Some chapters in Boekaerts et al. even presented strategy
instruction steps.
Beyond Boekaerts et al., there are very many articles on
strategic self-regulation in educational psychology and
increasing numbers on strategic self-regulation in L2
learning. They will be summarized in my new book (2016).
Trend B3: Negativity has reduced about the
possibility of L2 strategic self-regulation


In spite of massive evidence about the strong links between
self-regulation and strategies, especially from Boekaerts et al.,
whom he quoted, Dörnyei (2005, 2009) declared that selfregulation and L2 strategies have nothing in common and that
learning strategies might not even exist at all!
Finally in 2015 Dörnyei, collaborating with Ryan, backed
away from his highly negative stance and showed more
favorable interest in L2 learning strategies. This is a good step.
Trend C: Clarifying and unifying
definitions and theories




Strategy experts are trying to get past idiosyncratic
definitions of strategies and are working together on
strategy research and theory
Arguments in favor of unified definitions and
collaborative research started with Oxford and Cohen
(1992) and continued with Cohen and Macaro (2007)
and Griffiths (2013)
This conference will go a long way toward clarifying
definitions and theories
I hope the books coming out of this conference will
solidify some strategy definitions and theories
Trend C: Clarifying and unifying
definitions and theories



We are getting better at defining strategies. Carol
Griffiths (2013) helpfully listed the characteristics of
learning strategies.
She also said simply that learning strategies are
“activities consciously chosen by learners for the
purpose of regulating their own language learning”
(Griffiths, 2013, p. 36).
Some types of learning strategies (Oxford, 2011)
Cognitive
 Affective
 Sociocultural-interactive (SI) or social
 Metacognitive (=POEM acronym). However, what about the
strategies involve planning, organizing, evaluating, and
monitoring in affective and social domains?

Trend D: Exploring SBI in very useful
ways


Many models of SBI (Chamot, Grenfell & Harris,
Oxford, Macaro) have virtually the same steps
A few questions:
 Is
there a common underlying theory behind SBI? How
different is SBI from “regular” teaching?
 What makes some SBI successful and other SBI not so
successful, and under what conditions (content, length,
intensity, location)?
Trend D: Exploring SBI in very useful
ways

A few more questions:
How can we used differentiation in SBI, just as it is used in
many other forms of education?
 How should SBI change for the various skills (LRSW,
pragmatics, etc.)?




The SBI sessions at this conference will produce new
information
There is also an abundance of published research on
SBI in and outside of the L2 learning field, especially in
very recent years
We must pay attention to what successful SBI looks like
in other fields and our own
STRAND 3:
HOPE
Perspectives on hope


German religious leader Martin Luther famously
declared, “Everything that is done in the world is
done with hope.”
George Vaillant, writing about psychologist Erik
Erikson, said that for Erikson “[h]ope became the
very foundation block of all human development. . .
.”
Perspectives on hope


Poet Emily Dickinson colorfully wrote,
'Hope' is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—
Despite the pervasive importance of hope in life,
psychology, and spirituality, it has won little or no
attention from the language learning field. That’s
why I am here today.
Hope defined and applied


A goal-oriented, future-referenced desire
accompanied by (reasonable) expectation (Clarke,
2003)
Higher levels of hope are linked with academic
success, energy, inspiration, goal-orientation,
confidence, and self-worth, as well as less
depression (Snyder, 1994, 2000, 2002)
Hope theory (Snyder, 2002)

Hope . . .
 Involves
a cognitive set (not an emotion, he says)
 Includes beliefs in one’s agency (the power to act
volitionally to influence outcomes)
 Includes beliefs about one’s own capacity to produce
NEW, GOAL-DIRECTED PATHWAYS, also known as
“ROUTES” or “STRATEGIES”, in the face of roadblocks
It is possible to increase hope

“Hope interventions” (somewhat similar to SBI) help
students to do the following:
identify hopeful versus unhopeful language,
 devise goals and goal-oriented strategies .

form “hope partnerships” to share future goals, and
 write stories of hope (Brown Kirschman et al., 2011;
Pedrotti, Lopez, & Krieshok, 2008; Oxford, 2015).


These are just a few out of hundreds of ways to
increase hope. I will show others later.
Hope is related to optimism but is
usually viewed as broader/deeper

Optimists . . .

View defeat as only temporary and not their fault (Oxford,
in press)

Perform better academically, better physical and mental
health, persevere longer, and might even live longer
(Seligman, 2011)

Use approach-type coping strategies, such as problemsolving, acceptance, reframing, and humor, while pessimists
use avoidance strategies (Carver et al., 2011)
STRAND 4:
TIME
It’s time to talk about time! Is time
really linear (past-present-future)?

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable. . . .
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.
T.S. Eliot
Future self-guides and possible selves



The ideal L2 self is a motivational “future self-guide” that is built
on largely on images from the past (Dörnyei, 2009b) and that
helps shape our present and future behavior.
Another future self-guide is the ought-to self (Dörnyei, 2009b) .
Possible selves exist not only in the future but also in the past and
present.
Ryan and Irie (2014) explained that our interpretations of past
events, and therefore our possible past selves, continue to change.
 These interpretations help us form theories about our present selves,
which then help shape our future selves

“Temporal appraisal”


Boehm and Lyubomirsky (2011) argued that happy and
unhappy people look differently on past life experiences.
 Happy people savor past positive life experiences and
think how much better off they are today
 Unhappy people ruminate about past negative
experiences and think how much worse off they are
today
Negative rumination on the past relates to depression, low
self-esteem, unhappiness, and aggression (Lyubomirsky &
Nolen-Hoeksema, 1995), but positive rumination on the
past reflects an ability to enjoy life (Bryant, Smart, & King,
2005).
Time perspective definition


Time perspective is defined as a preferential
trajectory or direction of an individual’s thought
toward the past, present, or future, which exerts a
dynamic influence on his or her experience,
motivation, thinking, and behavior (Boniwell, 2011).
Time perspective has cognitive and affective
aspects
Types of time perspectives

Positive psychologists generally view time perspectives as
follows:
past-positive (focusing on happy memories)
 past-negative,
 present-hedonistic (pleasure- and excitement-oriented, living
for the moment) – Isn’t there any other kind of present time
perspective?
 present-fatalistic (tending to be hopeless and attributing
control to outside forces rather than the self)
 future (not yet broken down into positive and negative
aspects, though Boniwell correctly called for future-positive
and future-anxious dimensions)

Benefits/detriments of future time
perspective (FTP)

FTP is associated with positive outcomes (Boniwell, 2011)




Self-efficacy, high motivation, strong responsibility, organizational
and planning ability, academic performance, delayed
gratification, and even eating healthful foods and flossing teeth
General well-being, some say
FTP is negatively correlated with depression and
hopelessness (Breier-Williford & Bramlett, 1995).
BUT extreme FTP might lead to being a workaholic,
ignoring friendships and cultural/community traditions
(Boniwell & Zimbardo, 2004)
Balanced time perspective


Although academic success is often burnished by
having a future time perspective and though a pastpositive time perspective makes us feel happy, a
“balanced time perspective might be useful”
(Boniwell, 2011).
As Zimbardo (2002) stated, “In an optimally
balanced time perspective, the past, present and
future components blend and flexibly engage,
depending on a situation’s demands and our needs
and values” (p. 62).
STRAND 5:
QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE
LINK BETWEEN STRATEGIES
AND HOPE
IN THE CONTEXT
OF TIME PERSPECTIVE
AND SELF-REGULATION
Strategies, hope, time perspective, and
self-regulation


Would the balanced time perspective be most likely to
fit a self-regulated, strategic learner, who (as we have
seen in Boekearts et al.) tries to manage emotions, seeks
help, plans, organizes, and monitors and evaluates
performance, as well as using a host of cognitive
strategies?
I think so. A balanced time perspective allows learners to
savor the good from the past and in the present while
imagining the future positively. It is a great basis for
hope and strategic self-regulation.
Strategies, hope, time perspective, and
self-regulation



Would a future time perspective foster greater strategic
self-regulation than a balanced time perspective?
I do not think so. A strictly future time perspective would ignore
the value of the present and the past and drive the learner to
workaholism or loss of friends.
With a balanced time perspective, learners can reflect on their
past strategies, learn and apply new ones in the present, gain
language proficiency benefits now and in the future, positively
re-imagine their past selves, and so on. Valuing all the phases
is crucial.
Strategies, hope, time perspective, and
self-regulation



Are hopeful learners oriented toward the future, or are
they more likely to have a balanced time perspective?
I think hopeful learners often have a balanced time
perspective, savoring the past and present while imagining
the future positively (believing they can approach their
ideal L2 selves).
This is a very good basis for being self-regulated, strategic
learner.
Strategies, hope, time perspective, and
self-regulation


Are hopeful learners likely to be strategic and selfregulated, and if they are not, do they want to learn
how to be through SBI?
I think so. Even if hopeful learners have not developed
strategic self-regulation, they are likely to see its merit if it
is pointed out. SBI and the new strategies it teaches will
validate these learners’ positive feelings about themselves,
increase their self-efficacy, and enhance their proficiency.
Strategies, hope, time perspective, and
self-regulation




Are learners who feel hopeless likely to want SBI?
I do not think so. Learners who feel little hope for success in L2
learning will not see the point of self-regulated strategies and
will therefore not want to invest in SBI.
SBI that does not pay any direct attention to a learner’s
hopelessness (and learned helplessness) will probably not be
effective.
One of the reasons that education frequently fails is that it
does not pay attention to such cognitive-affective factors.
Strategies, hope, time perspective, and
self-regulation



Should SBI include some hope-enhancing elements? Should
we find some hope interventions that would be adapted for
SBI?
I think so. There are many hope interventions adaptable for
inclusion in SBI.
Differentiation of SBI seems essential to meet the needs of
learners regarding levels of hope, favored time perspective,
and attitudes toward self-regulated strategies!
Strategies, hope, time perspective, and
self-regulation




What will happen to learners who feel hopeless and
do not receive SBI?
Such learners, as the early strategy research showed (see
Oxford, 1990), will reach out for strategies in a
desperate, unsystematic, unconvinced way that will
achieve nothing.
Their teachers should start introducing SBI, but this SBI
should be differentiated to deal with their problems of
hopelessness/helplessness.
Let’s look toward the new books from this conference to
address differentiated SBI.
Why not teach these anxiety-reduction strategies to
increase hope and open the way to further SBI?

An increase in positivity and reduction of anxiety can
occur when students practice. . .
 Controlling
 Sharing
intrusive thoughts and images
their feelings through constructive self-disclosure
in a safe environment.
Why not teach these negativity-reduction strategies to
increase hope and open the way to further SBI?


In the “thieves” technique, students visualize locking up
the “thieves” of happiness, such as anxiety, depression,
shyness, anger, and resentment (Lykken, 2000).
The “Three-Good-Things Exercise” can increase
optimism. It involves . . .
“writing down daily three good things that happened each
day for a week” and
 writing beside each one the answer to one of the following:
“Why did this good thing happen?” “What does this mean
to you?” “How can you have more of this good thing in the
future?” (Seligman, 2011, p. 84).

Why not teach this visualization strategy to increase
hope and open the way to further SBI?


Hyper-reflection = gloomily anxious attention to
one’s hopelessness, failures, or difficulties (Frankl,
1984)
Instead of hyper-reflection, students can visualize
something interesting in the class activity or text.
Visualization is a powerful tool for guiding
emotions.
Why not teach this positivity-enhancing strategy to
increase hope and open the way to further SBI?

Positive psychology’s ABCDE macro-strategy (Seligman, 2006,
2011, adapted by Oxford, 2015) contains strategies to help
individuals overcome negativity.
 ABC = Adversity-related beliefs (“I must/should . . .,” “It’s
terrible!,” “I am a worthless/useless/bad person) cause negative
feelings (e.g., anxiety, depression)
 DE = Dodging these beliefs by giving myself counter-evidence
(e.g., “I can relax now. It’s not as bad as I thought. I am
worthwhile and a good person”) enhances my state of mind and
ability to act.

Variant: An additional step in dodging negative beliefs is to consider the
worst case, the best case, and the most likely case.
Hope springs eternal
for the strategic learner
Ideas? Arguments?
Questions? Need the references?
Contact me at:
 rebeccaoxford@gmail.com