• Oxford’s EMPATHICS model

    Oxford’s EMPATHICS model: well-being in language learning

    Rebecca Oxford’s EMPATHICS framework brings together interconnected dimensions of language-learner well-being. It invites us to consider feelings, meaning, relationships, learner choice and the conditions for sustained learning. It is a conceptual lens for reflection, not a checklist for diagnosing children or evidence that one book improves well-being.

    Nine dimensions, with questions for picturebook teaching
    Dimension A question for our planning
    E — Emotion and empathy How can readers consider a character’s perspective while allowing different interpretations?
    M — Meaning and motivation What makes the story and response task meaningful for this group?
    P — Perseverance, including hope, optimism and resilience What support makes a demanding reading task manageable without treating difficulty as a lack of effort?
    A — Agency and autonomy Which choices genuinely affect the learner’s contribution?
    T — Time Is there time to look again, rehearse, respond and revise?
    H — Hardiness and habits of mind How can the task support reflection and flexible responses to uncertainty?
    I — Intelligences Which different strengths and ways of making meaning can learners bring?
    C — Character strengths How might curiosity, fairness or kindness be explored without grading children’s character?
    S — Self factors, such as self-efficacy and self-concept What feedback helps learners recognise a specific contribution and possible next step?

    Connect the model with the collection

    The collection’s six themes are teaching perspectives; they are not the nine EMPATHICS dimensions. Emotion and empathy and agency are direct points of connection. Diversity, ambiguity, possible futures and rights can be explored through several dimensions. Select one or two relevant dimensions and justify the link through a book scene and a teaching decision.

    Example: in All Are Welcome, distinguish the welcoming image from what a child needs to participate. An offer that the recipient can accept, change or decline connects empathy with agency. Rehearsal and several response modes support access; neither the image nor the activity proves a gain in empathy.

    Read and investigate

    External links open in a new tab. The planning questions above are original course applications, not Oxford’s assessment items.