Affective Factors in English Teaching

【Abstract】 Affective factors play a significant role in language teaching and learning. This paper argues that learning-cognition and emotion-are now separated from each other in English teaching in China, which attaches too much importance to cognitive side of language learning while neglecting the function of affective factors. Some relevant problems are exposed in English teaching with a questionnaire. A detailed analysis is given in this paper about the functions of affective factors on language learning. Some suggestions are put forward on this basis.

【Key Words】Affective Factor;  Cognitive Factor;  English Teaching

Ⅰ. Introduction

Foreign language teaching has being highlighted the rationality of brain and the function of cognition while neglecting the development of irrationality for so many years, resulting in the emotional illiteracy. As the development of humanistic psychology, the affective factors are paid more and more attention to the language teaching. In order to make the English teaching develop more smoothly and ideally, the English teachers must focus on the affective factors in the English teaching and are hoped to take actions into practice to enhance the quality of English language teaching by using the theory of the affective filter hypothesis. (项茂英，2003)

Ⅱ. Affective Factors

2.1The Definition of Affect

One’s affect toward a particular thing or action or situation or experience is how that thing that action or that situation or that experience fits in with one’s needs or purposes, and its resulting affect on one’s emotions(Dulay,Burt&Krashen,1982).In English teaching, affect will be broadly considered as aspects of emotion, feeling, mood or attitude which condition behavior(Arnold&Brown,1999).Researchers have shown the learners’ affect and state directly influence their study’s behavior and results.

2.2The Scope of Research for the Affective Factors

 There are so many affective factors influence the English teaching, such as motivation, self-confidence and anxiety, Krashen calls them “the affective filter factors”. But in the practical English teaching, there are some other factors influence the English teaching, including attitude, inhibition, self-esteem, extroversion and introversion, empathy, classroom transactions and cross-cultural processes and so on. The following will show the four main factors of them which affect the foreign language teaching.

2.2.1 Motivation

It can be defined as an inner drive, impulse, emotion or desire that moves one to a particular action(Brown,1987).In the early work of Gardner and Lambert(1972),motivation was seen to be divided into two very general orientations: integrative and instrumental. The former refers to a desire to learn the language in order to relate to and even become part of the target language culture, such as passing an exam or finding a job. The latter has to do with practical reasons for language learning, such as getting a promotion(Arnold,1999).  Ellis(1994:508-517)  made a comprehensive induction, besides the two above kinds, there are also result motivation(deriving from the successful study),target motivation(inner motivation, when the learners do different tasks they will enjoy different interest),control motivation(in order to control the learners of the target language, they have to learn the language).The better the achievement is, the more intense the motivation is, the more actively the students perform. When the students themselves can make the aims and ways of study and appraisal the process of study, the inner motivation is more motivated. Arnold and Brown made a general difference: extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. The former comes from the desire to get a reward or avoid punishment; the focus is on something external to the learning activity itself. With intrinsic motivation the learning experience is its own reward. Research indicates that, while extrinsic motivation can also be beneficial, learning is most favorably influenced by intrinsic orientations, especially for long-term retention. It is clear that motivation is a group of factors which stimulates one’s behavior and points out one’s direction, it is crucial to the second language acquisition.(戴曼纯，2000)

2.2.2 Self-confidence

It is another important affective factor for the foreign language teaching, it is the basis of psychology that one gets to success and self-rate to worthiness, no matter cognition or affect, self-confidence is crucial to them. A large number of studies have been shown that when self-confidence is protected and encouraged, the students’ cognitive activities are best, so whether we can cultivate the students’ self-confidence or how much we can cultivate will decide whether the teachers teach them successfully, a successful teacher who firstly must foster the students’ enthusiasm and confidence to their study.（梁梧生，2005）

2.2.3Anxiety

Anxiety is quite possibly the affective factor that most pervasively obstructs the learning process. It is associated with negative feelings such as uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, apprehensive and tension(Arnold,1999:8).Heron(1989:33)makes reference to he terms existential anxiety, which arises out of a group situation that are relevant to the language classroom: will I be accepted, liked, wanted, will I understood what is going on? Will I be able to do what I have come to learn?

Ellis differs three kinds of anxiety: dispositive anxiety, once anxiety and situational anxiety. Dispositive anxiety is a more long-runned anxiety, it’s also one aspect of character. Once (or state)anxiety happens in a moment, it is the product of the combination of dispositive and situational anxiety, situational anxiety is a kind of anxiety mood which happens in practical situation or events( such as attending public speech, taking exams and so on).The competitive nature of students usually derives from anxiety, because students like comparing themselves with classmates, once they find others have more ability and performance than themselves, anxiety will come. Another reason is culture impact that students worry about they will lose themselves in the target culture. Under the circumstances of classroom, students often meet three anxieties: worry about they will not fluent or right when communicating with the target language; afraid of taking exams and bring low appraisal. As for the effect of anxiety, we can divide it into two kinds: facilitative and obstructive anxiety. The former activates the students to overcome difficulties, challenge the new study tasks and strive to overcome the feeling of anxiety, while the latter leads to the students avoid the source of anxiety, who use the way of escaping the task of study(Ellis,1994:479-482).The view of Arnold and Brown are different from it. They think when anxiety is presented in classroom, there is a down-spiraling effect. Anxiety makes us nervous and afraid and thus contributes to poor performance; worry wastes energy that should be used for memory and processing on a type of anxiety, it should be a extent about anxiety, although it is difficult to decide the anxiety level. People often have anxiety before learning a new curriculum or a language, but if one worries about he can’t master it well. Maybe it will result a longer time motivation for him, so our ideas about anxiety should not only stop on the disadvantages.（戴曼纯，2000）

2.2.4Empathy

Empathy is the process of ‘putting yourself into someone’s shoes’. One need not abandon one’s own way of feeling or understanding, nor even agree with the positive of the other. It is simply an appreciation, possibly in a detached manner of the identity of another individual or culture. It is closely related to cultural relatively, which frees us from our conditioning and helps us to recognize that our way is not the only way and possibly not even the best way (Arnold,1999).Under the condition of classroom, empathy benefits the language study and communication; which makes them develop harmoniously.

Ⅲ. The Resolution of the Affective Factors

All above illustrate the four factors that affect the foreign language study, so how can we overcome these factors to serve for the foreign language teaching?

3.1Motivation and English Teaching

Teachers should activate the learners’ motivation and foster their interest of study

According to the theory of Krashen, motivation is the key factor which decides whether the study successes and the significance of study as a whole. Interest is an energetic experience, it decides the significance of study from micro of view. Study motivation helps interest comes into being, and it also promotes consolidation and adjustment of motivation.（胡东望，郑黎明，2003）

In the English teaching of classroom, one way is external praise, we use it to activate student’s motivation; the other is establish all kinds of study activities to activate their inner motivation. Examples for the former are gaining good achievement, getting reward or praise from teachers and parents. That is true for all of us. One gains higher points than he expects or the usual, which brings him a lot of happiness, the teachers will praise him in oral or an object, the parents may also do like that, it enhances the learners the confidence and finds his worthiness, hence motivation is increasingly intense and interest becomes highly. Vice versal, if a student’s achievement is just so so, if the parents say to him, “if you get a higher point next time, I will give you ten yuan.” The student may diligent to do his study and listen to the teacher carefully in class. If the parents keep their promise, he may have a bigger motivation, this may be called result motivation, which belongs to the extrinsic motivation, which also benefits the second language study.

The latter and the most important is inner motivation, which can last a longer time, so it decides whether the language study can gain a longer success. The inner motivation is setting up explicit aims of study by learners themselves, and do it with strict plan and step, joining in study actively and cooperatively, if they achieve success, their self-worthiness will be realized, so this practice provides them with enjoyable experience of study.

Take for instance, if a student wants to pass the College Entrance Examination and even steps into the first level of the important undergraduate universities of our country which bring him glories future, so he must give up the chances of playing and squeeze time to revise his lessons. The process of doing is the effect of inner motivation.

3.2Self-Confidence and English Teaching

Teachers should respect every student, encourage them actively to try to do everything of study; protect their self-esteem and self- confidence

In the process of teaching, teachers firstly must respect and believe students, when communicating with students, the wisest way is do not hurt their self-esteem. Besides creating all kinds of chances of performance and encouraging them to say more and practice more, the teachers also give them affirmation in time and praise them make a progress or innovation , even though it is just a little. As for the errors, they should not deny them simply, but guide them to think it over, rectify and make supplement by themselves as much as possible.

Treat every student fairly, do not treat them by their qualities of study. As for the students who make higher points we encourage them with more difficult knowledge while for the poorer students, we must enhance their self- confidence by offering them some easier questions, only in that way can they get the sense of success and find the motivation of study.

If teachers do not allow the students to make mistakes, once they make a mistake, the teacher criticizes them rigidly and loudly, their self-esteem will be damaged, and the self-confidence will be reduced.

In order to reduce errors, teachers must say something cautionally and correctly. For example, if a teacher knows the name of the student who will be asked to answer the question, but in the short time of a class, the teacher maybe can not memorize her name, the teacher maybe say one student’s left or right to her, a student who has high self-esteem hears that, her self-esteem will be destroyed.

So a large number of studies showed that when the self –esteem and the self-confidence are protected and encouraged, the cognition of students is best.

3.3Anxiety and English Teaching

It is said that one has no stress, he may has no motivation. So in order to get greater motivation, one has stress may get success one day. However, a person has heavy stress is not a good thing, on the contrary, the light stress is also not a good thing, so there is a question that how the teachers control the degree of stress, the stress we say before is also called the anxiety.

In order to reduce the sense of high anxiety, teachers should set up harmonious and democratic relationship with students.In the process of teaching, teachers should full of love to their students, know them and take care of them like their own children, when teachers face to  the students they should always smile, praise them more and criticize them less, they should full of confidence to the students. It is known that a relax surroundings, a graceful face, some warm words and two expectful eyes, all these can encourage them to learn English very well. So in that case the sense of fear will become less, the distance between them will become shorter; the relationship between them becomes more harmonious and democratic.

The most suffering is placing for the English exam, in order to relax and weaken anxiety of taking exams, the effective way is ceasing that way of doing. While teachers should pay more attention to the process of students’ study not the achievement of some exam. After taking an exam, teachers should help them to analysis the reasons why they make so much mistakes, and encourage them to rectify them and catch up with the other students.

Here is an example for anxiety. Once there was a foreign teacher came to China for teaching, boys liked sitting behind the classroom because they did not like answering the questions given by the teacher voluntarily, they all were very passive, they thought if he asked them, they would answer the question. How about the teacher? He thought if they did not say something voluntarily, he would not ask them to do it. In that case the atmosphere in his class was very depressing, his expression on his face was very stiff as if he did not know smile at all. So the students and the teacher did not cooperate well, at last they could not tolerant each other any longer, they quarreled and the college fired him.

It shows the students in his class had high anxiety, they did not like him or feared him because of his expression and the way of teaching even hated him naming them to answer questions, they lacked for confidence to themselves, and the teacher did not give them any reward or encourage at any time, so the relationship between them is full of incompatibility. So in order to enhance the quality of foreign language teaching, we must strive to overcome and use these affective factors actively.

Reassign the vigor of whole class, create the relax atmosphere to reduce the anxiety of students. For example, mountaineering or hold football/tennis/the speech/the singing match and so on.

3.4Empathy and English Teaching

Teachers should put themselves into students’ shoes, take omni-directional consideration for them, so empathy is also very important to English teaching.

As for the students, empathy embodies teachers should know the level of cognition comprehensively to their students, take themselves into students to consider the similar condition and give proper questions to experience the affect of students.(古向阳，2005)

To teachers, empathy embodies students should have acute observation and thinking, cooperate with teachers actively in class, and have rich affect at the same time. They should understand and master the teachers’ guide, indication and implication quickly and well. That is to say they should feel and know teachers’ affect quickly and get the explicit aims of study.(古向阳，2005:54)

The above example for anxiety also shows empathy between them does not exist at all, the teacher did not put himself into the students’ shoes, the students also did like that, in a word, they did not consider something for each other, so in the end they all intrigued and failed in teaching and studying.

Ⅳ. Conclusion

This paper is brought into four parts, the four affective factors: motivation, self-confidence, anxiety and empathy, which relate to each other closely, each one can not depart the others to exist independently. When facing a new language, not everyone has interest, if he has interest he may have confidence, motivation or anxiety or may not. If self- confidence is enhanced, motivation maybe more intense, anxiety may be reduced; if anxiety is reduced, confidence may be higher, motivation may be consolidated. For the teachers and students, empathy is embodied in every aspect of teaching.

All above four affective factors illustrate their influence to the English teaching and the solution from the perspective of motivation, self-confidence, anxiety and empathy, the writer does not analysis it very deeply and comprehensively, in fact they are some other affective factors influence the foreign language teaching, such as inhibition, introversion/extroversion, classroom transactions and so on. Because Krashen advanced the theory of “affective filter hypothesis”, some researchers set about studying it, but this is only a simple analysis on the basis of theory and practice, the affective factors are not carried out much in teaching or are not carried out at all , so this is one of directions for the teachers to develop.