Merissa Ocampo
Fukushima Gakuin College, Japan
About
Currently, as a full-time lecturer at Fukushima Gakuin University, Dr. Ocampo’s interdisciplinary work combines linguistics and health, looking particularly at the impact of Anxiety, Burnout, and Stress (ABS) on learners and teachers of English as a Foreign Language. Currently, she is focusing on the effectiveness of positive psychology and mindful self-compassion to cope with ABS among teachers. Having direct personal experience guiding family members through the Japanese education system to the tertiary level, her current research explores the Family Environment Mode Approach (FEMA) in language teaching. Merissa is also able to draw upon her knowledge of both Japanese and Filipino languages and culture to support an intercultural perspective in her work. She is currently developing FEMA more extensively and coordinating a Positive Psychology Intervention-related modular Storybook project for teaching learners from young to adult, and health concepts in English.Sessions
Younger learners Positive-themed storybook reading: a literacy and well-being booster more
Tue, Aug 8, 09:45-10:20 Asia/Makassar
The presentation explains the impact of using Positive Psychology -Themed Storybook (PP-TS) reading in the classroom. This exploratory study-based procedure aimed to test the feasibility of PP-TS reading, motivate children with level A reading ability (RA) to recognize the alphabet and target vocabulary words, progress on different developmental timelines, and enhance their well-being. Four different topics of PP-TS were selected: kindness, gratitude, compassion, and connectedness. Forty participants from the Share Love Charity English Class in Fukushima city joined in classes for six months. As a result, 70% of the participants improved their reading ability, and 90% of children showed positive attitudes such as being grateful for what they have and having a 'jolly' attitude. Results suggest that the promotion of parent-initiated training to assist children reading at home, and the promotion of other PP-Themed activities among younger learners are highly recommended.