11/2/2010

Objectives

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT OF  This presentation aims to increase our

awareness of various affective factors related
SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION:
to SLA.
 Further, we will have the opportunity to reflect

PERSONALITY FACTORS on how personality factors have affected our

SLA.

Isabell C. Camillo and Andrea Castrogiovanni

November 1st 2010

Copyright Agenda
© Isabell C. Camillo & Andrea Castrogiovanni 2010  Introduction
This PowerPoint presentation is in copyright. Subject to  Affective Domain-Activity One
statutory exception and to the provisions, no
 Affective Factors-Activity Two
reproduction of any part may take place without the
written permission of Isabell C. Camillo & Andrea  Reflection

Castrogiovanni.  Class Discussion

 Conclusion
The opinions expressed herein are those of the
authors only.

Modern Psychology Modern Psychology

“If we were to devise theories of second language  According to the science of Psychology, there
acquisition or teaching methodologies that were are three parts to an organism:
based only on cognitive considerations, we would be 1. The cognitive (mind)
omitting the most fundamental side of human
2. The conative (behaviour)
behaviour”. (Brown, 2007, p. 152)
3. The affective (emotion)

What does this mean? It is our emotional side that makes us

HUMAN!

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Affective Domain Extended Definition

 What is meant by the term affective?  Provided by Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia, (1964)
in Brown (2007).
- Relating to moods, feelings and attitudes
Language is a part of virtually every aspect of
(Merriam-Webster). our behaviour.
 And affective domain as it relates to SLA ?

- The affective domain consists of the ACTIVITY ONE: Matching

 Receiving - acknowledgement of target language
emotional issues of human behaviour that are  Responding - willingly to the target language
key factors of the process of human interaction  Valuing - deep belief in the value of SLA

with language (Brown, 2007).  Organization - hierarchical formation of values in to belief

system
 Value System - self-identification in accordance with belief
system

Interpersonal Exchange Factors of the Affective Domain

“Second language learners need to be  Factors within the Affective Domain?

receptive to both those with whom they are ACTIVITY TWO: Definitions
communicating and to the language itself,  We will look at the following today-Maddie
responsive to persons and to the context of and Kelly will discuss motivation and affect
communication, and willing and able to place a next week:
certain value on the communicative act of
- Self-Esteem - Self-Efficacy
interpersonal exchange” (Brown, 2007, p.153).
- WTC - Inhibition
- Risk Taking - Anxiety
- Empathy - Extroversion

Factors of the Affective Domain Factors of the Affective Domain

Self-Esteem Self-Efficacy
 Value an individual places on themselves and the knowledge of one’s  One’s sense of being able to carry out a task will affect the
capabilities, significance and successes. effort put into achieving success.
 Essentially, a learner must believe in their writing abilities in
 Global Self-Esteem: general view a person holds of themselves
order to successfully produce an essay.
 Situational Self-Esteem: the view a person holds of themselves in a
specific context (i.e. academically, athletically, etc.)
Willingness to Communicate
 Task Self-Esteem: the view a person holds of themselves in relation
 Related to self-efficacy and self-esteem
to a particular task within a situation (i.e. Feel capable
academically but feel they are better at writing essays then
 “The intention to initiate communication given a choice” (Brown,
2007)
performing presentations)
 The capability to communicate does not correspond to a
 In relation to learning another language, self-esteem is willingness to do so
important in that high self-esteem may result in a student  Factors such as motivation and personality affect an individual’s
being more willing to communicate in the target language. willingness to communicate

2

Factors of the Affective Domain
Inhibition
 Related to self-esteem and self-efficacy
 Putting up barriers to protect oneself from being embarrassed
 Language ego is the identity a person develops in relation to
the language they speak. The more an individual feels a part
of the culture, the less inhibitions they have in learning the
language.
Risk-Taking
 Ties into all above mentioned factors
 More willing to take chances in the target language with the
possibility of being wrong
Factors of the Affective Domain
Extroversion
 In relation to SLA, extroversion is the need for reassurance from
other people
 In relation to SLA, introversion is the affirmation that comes from
inside oneself
 It is not clear if one is better than the other in relation to SLA
 It was originally thought that extroverts would be more willing
and frequent participants in class (and thus possibly better at
speaking), however a study testing oral skills showed that
introverts were significantly better than extroverts in
pronunciation
Conclusion
 We have learned that affective factors have a
significant influence on L2 learning. Do you think
any of these factors are more significant than
others? Why?
 As evident from the presentation today, affective
factors greatly influence the learning of a
subsequent language. Some factors might be more
significant than others for some people based on
their life experiences and personality. It is therefore
difficult to place emphasis on specifics and it may
be more realistic to generalize.
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Factors of the Affective Domain
Anxiety
 Language anxiety is a state level fear identifiable in communication
apprehension, worry of negative social evaluation and academic
evaluation apprehension.
 Facilitative (helpful) anxiety is a motivational factor that can lead to
working harder (competitiveness’)
 Debilitative (harmful) anxiety can have a negative effect on
performance
Empathy
 The ability to reach beyond the self and feel what someone else is
feeling
 In using a second language, empathising becomes difficult because the
learner is insecure and lacks fluency in the language
Reflection
 Individually, reflect on how affective factors played a role
in your learning of a subsequent language. Did it help or
hinder? In what way?
 In pairs, share your experiences. Do you have any in
common? What does your collective experience lead you
to conclude about affective factors and the role they play
in your SLA experience?
 If you were an SLA instructor, how could you use the
information you have learned regarding the affective
domain to help your students overcome the negative
aspects of these factors (i.e. low self-esteem, high
inhibition)?
References
 Brown, D. H. (2007). Principles of language learning
and teaching. White Plains, NY: Pearson
Education, Inc.
 Professor D. Hayes-Lecture Materials
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From Andrea and Isabell…

THANK YOU!!