Covid-19, climate change, political upheavals, pluralism of gender identities, increasing pressure to keep up with others on social media - today’s world harbours many conflict zones which put a severe strain on collective and individual mental health. In fact, amidst a growing sense of uncertainty about personal and social futures, serious mental disorders such as depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder have become leading health concerns among adolescents worldwide (World Health Organisation [WHO] 2021). In the United States, for instance, 17% of teenagers already suffer from depression on a regular basis (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] 2020), while in Germany the number of clinical treatments for adolescents increased tenfold since the early 2000s (Statistisches Bundesamt 2023). These alarming numbers furthermore coincide with an increase in teenage suicide cases by 56% over the past few years (Curtin 2020), which demonstrates that mental health (among teenagers) rapidly finds its way into the realm of global issues that need to be urgently addressed in the 21 st century. The urgency of this issue becomes even more apparent when considering that, despite rising numbers of mental disorders, knowledge about mental health and its current challenges is still rather limited. As Jorm points out, so far, mental health has been rather tabooed and “has received much less attention” than physical health in public discourse, leading to a significant lack of mental health literacy in the general population (2012: 231). In other words, many people still do not have the “knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management, and prevention” (Jorm et al. 1997: 182) and, therefore, are often ill-equipped to react appropriately and supportively when mental health issues occur in their own family or peer group. Instead, mental health concerns are perceived through the lens of misconception and cliché as, for example, the - Deutschland-Barometer Depression indicates: According to this survey, about one fifth of all participants believed that taking a holiday or eating chocolate might cure depression (Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe 2017). Despite the rise of mental disorders today, thus, there is a lack of awareness of what they actually are, and it is in this context of utterly disregarding the severity of contemporary mental health issues that the need for education becomes most visible - because, after all, confronting the current wave of mental disorders can only be successful if individuals are prepared for the task. In the context of this necessary mental health education, schools play a most pivotal role. Bagnell and Santor, for example, state that schools are the most prominent institution to accompany teenagers through puberty as a time of significant change and “life stress” (2015: 50). Since many mental disorders first manifest in adolescence (see, e.g., Weist et al. 2015), schools can therefore directly intervene when teenagers are most vulnerable. According to the Empfehlung zur Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention in der Schule by the Kultusministerkonferenz [Standing Conference of the Ministers of Culture, KMK] (2012) this educational intervention is to be fulfilled by all school subjects alike, with each subject making a specific contribution based on its topical and curricular framework. Every subject then, as Trumm adds, is tasked to address the “mechanisms by which young people are hindered in their developmental process and which have a long-term impact on their lives” (2014: 142; trans. D.B. & F.M.) and, in doing so, can support a more sustainable mental health awareness and education. Yet, since the KMK called to action more than ten years ago, not much has happened and the trail of mental health education in Germany went rather cold. Thus, next to individual public and extra-curricular initiatives (e.g., mind-matters.de) and a few most recent studies (see Becker et al. 2022; Ludwig et al. forthcoming), the question of how to implement mental health related matters in different school subjects has not been extensively addressed so far. In this context, the present volume is to be understood as an attempt to ‘refuel’ the call and, given the development of mental disorders over the last decade, to shed some new light on how mental health can be negotiated in the subject of English language education. For that purpose, the individual contributions take different theoretical and empirical perspectives on how mental health is already addressed in contemporary language education and, more specifically, how different areas and goals of the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom lend themselves to implementing mental health education in the future. The special issue thus combines insights from foreign language education research with developments in mental health education to provide a new perspective on the opportunities and necessities of English language teaching in the 21 st century. In the first contribution of this special issue, Sean Holt conceptualises ways in which hypertext fiction (HTF) could be included in EFL classrooms to discuss and promote Mental Health Literacy (MHL) with secondary school learners. Focusing on the potential of literary pedagogy, his paper first explores both the potential and the limitations of the concept of MHL, highlighting how digital fiction can serve as a resource for promoting positive mental health. He then offers valuable insights for both academics and educators working in the ELE context on how to approach and discuss such challenging issues related to mental health in current teaching and learning practices. In doing so, he also identifies the potential of HTF to facilitate both critical reflective reading and expressive writing approaches in which new multimodal designs can support engagement with mental health issues. In the second paper, Silke Braselmann starts from experiences of racism that can lead to a wide range of mental health problems for racialised learners. With a focus on raising awareness of the impact of racism on the mental health of racialised learners in the German secondary school context, she contributes to the establishment of anti-racist English language teaching. She uses graphic novels as multimodal, multi-semiotic and highly engaging texts to link mental health literacy (recognition and identification of mental health conditions) with racial literacy (deeper understanding of concepts of race and racism). Bringing these literacies together in the English classroom, she argues, can make the harmful effects of racism visible, promotes awareness and understanding, can destigmatise and actively address potential mental health disorders in racialised learners. Carolyn Blume and Jules Bündgens-Kosten approach the field of mental health through the lens of neurodivergent English language learners. Some forms of neurodivergence, such as Autism and ADHD, are associated with reduced mental health due to an absence of well-being. Their paper explores how the integration of digitally mediated communication can meet the needs of learners for agency to foster well-being, while at the same time promoting the development of communicative competence. While important for all language learners, they examine how both digitality and agency are particularly relevant for neurodivergent learners, who often use English as an online lingua franca to bridge their authentic interests and unique interactional preferences. Finally, the authors briefly consider some implications for the EFL classroom in their concluding section. In his contribution “Hearing, listening and mindfulness in the EFL listening classroom”, Jens Folkerts focuses on a specific area of competence and points out that when students are asked to focus on listening, they are engaged in cognitively very demanding tasks. The still predominant focus on students’ comprehension performance often involves the use of tasks and settings that may induce anxiety about listening to foreign languages and may increase mental distress. He therefore points out that the provision of a learning environment that is mindful of students’ mental health is central, as being constantly surrounded by noise can stress students and affect their ability to learn and work well. His paper aims to develop a mindful approach to EFL listening instruction in order to support students in coping with noise-related stress, learning to listen in a foreign language and reducing foreign language listening anxiety. Daniel Becker approaches the field of mental health from a different perspective, focusing on the representation of video games in contemporary German EFL textbooks in relation to gaming disorder. Using thematic discourse analysis, he examines the negative portrayal of digital games in current German EFL textbooks and demonstrates that they are portrayed as a matter of addiction and mental illness. In doing so, he unpacks the role of textbooks as gatekeepers that may discourage classroom teachers from including such games as learning materials in the EFL classroom, despite their great potential for language learning. Frauke Matz explores on a thematic level what it might take for the language classroom to be a space to supporting students in becoming (communicatively) resilient in times of polycrisis. Using three recent UNICEF studies as a starting point to illustrate the current situation and prospects of children and young adults globally, she examines the challenge of how English language education can aid language students in discovering their voice while building resilience during adverse times. Before all these contributors will present their ideas, this introduction closes with a short remark on terminology. When addressing the broad topic of mental health in English language education, the present volume refers to the definition of mental health as provided by the World Health Organization: Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. […] Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes. (2022: n. p.) Based on this definition, the volume furthermore uses related terms such as mental distress or mental disorder, which are defined according to the mental health pyramid as suggested by the initiative mental-health-literacy.org:  Mental distress: “Refers to the common, expected, and normal response to the stresses of everyday life. Mental distress is normal, expected, and happens to everyone”;  Mental Health Problem/ Issue: “Refers to the reactions we have to huge life challenges that may task our ability to adapt. Mental health problems may be substantial and prolonged but they are not mental disorders and they do not require medical treatment”;  Mental Disorder/ Illness: “Refers to clinically diagnosed illnesses. Mental illnesses require evidence-based treatments provided by properly trained health care providers” (2022: n.p.). World Health Organisation (2021). Adolescent Mental Health. [online] https: / / www.who.int/ news-room/ fact-sheets/ detail/ adolescent-mental-health [Februrary 2023]. Bagnell, Alexa & Darcy Santor (2015). The Future of Teaching Mental Health Literacy in Schools. In: Marc D. Weist, Stan Kutcher & Yifeng Wei (Eds.). School Mental Health: Global Challenges and Opportunities. Cambridge: CUP: 46-60. Curtin, Sally C. (2020). State Suicide Rates Among Adolescents and Young Adults Aged 10-24: United States, 2000-2018. National Vital Statistics Report 69 (11): 1-9. Jorm, Anthony F., Ailsa E. Korten, Patricia A. Jacomb, Helen Christensen, Bryan Rodgers & Penelope Pollitt (1997). Mental Health Literacy: A Survey of the Public's Ability to Recognize Mental Disorders and Their Beliefs About the Effectiveness of Treatment. The Medical Journal of Australia 166: 182-186. Jorm, Anthony F. (2012). Mental Health Literacy: Empowering the Community to Take Action for Better Mental Health. American Psychologist 67 (3): 231-243. [KMK] Kultusministerkonferenz (2012). Empfehlung zur Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention in der Schule. [online] https: / / www.kmk.org/ fileadmin/ ver oeffentlichungen_beschluesse/ 2012/ 2012_11_15-Gesundheitsempfehlung.pdf [April 2023]. Mental Health Literacy (2022). Language Matters: The Importance of When We're Talking About Mental Health. mentalhealthliteracy.org. [online] https: / / mentalhealthliteracy.org/ product/ using-the-right-words/ [February 2022] [SAMHSA] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2020). Highlights for the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. [online] www.samhsa.gov/ data/ sites/ default/ files/ 202110/ 2020_NSDUH_Highlights.pdf [February 2023]. Statistisches Bundesamt (2023). Immer mehr Kinder und Jugendliche leiden an Depressionen. [online] https: / / www.www.destatis.de/ DE/ Themen/ Gesellschaft- Umwelt/ Gesundheit/ depression-kinder-jugendliche-imfokus.html [July 2023]. Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe (2017). Deutschlandbarometer Depression 2017. [online] https: / / www www.deutsche-depressionshilfe.de/ forschungszentrum/ deutschland-barometer-depression/ 2017 [April 2023]. Trumm, Tanja (2014). Dem Schweigen Worte geben: Wege der Annäherung an Tabu und Tabuisierung im Deutschunterricht. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag. World Health Organisation (2021). Adolescent Mental Health. [online] https: / / www.who.int/ news-room/ fact-sheets/ detail/ adolescent-mental-health [February 2022]. World Health Organisation (2022). Mental Health. [online] https: / / www.who.int/ news-room/ fact-sheets/ detail/ mental-health-strengthening-our-res ponse [July 2023]. Daniel Becker and Frauke Matz English Department University of Münster