Affect In Foreign Language Learning-A Higher Vocational College Context

As a part of higher education, HVTE (Higher Vocational Technical Education) is playing more and more important role. It is of vital significance to pay more attention to learners'affective factors in English language teaching and learning nowadays. Firstly, attention to affective aspects can contribute to more effective language learning. Learners'potential may be compromised in the presence of extremely negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, stress, anger and depression. Secondly, focusing on affective factors is also a way to educate all-round development students in learners'emotional education.The thesis explores learners'affective factors: anxiety, motivation and personality respectively in terms of a survey to students in Shengli Vocational College, as research concerning this aspect is seldom seen. The thesis tries to explore the potential role of affective factors in language performance as well as its practical implications in FLT and FLL.Anxiety obstructs the learning process pervasively. As we have analyzed, there is a high negative correlation between subjects'anxiety levels and their English scores. Quite a number of subjects'anxiety level is high in the current English class and the subjects'anxieties are mainly communication anxiety, classroom anxiety, and examination anxiety rather than fear of negative social evaluation.Corresponding implications about anxiety for teachers and students are as follows: teachers should alleviate students'debilitating anxiety and promote group cooperation. Students should diminish anxiety spontaneously.As to motivation, most of the subjects have obvious learning motivation. Their extrinsic motivation is mainly for their further study, employment or promotion, and better life in the future. As for intrinsic motivation, most of the subjects are fond of learning English and interested in cultures and customs in English-speaking countries. Corresponding implications about motivation for teachers and students are as follows: teachers should arouse students'interest in English and foster students' integrative motivation. Students should develop their own intrinsic motivation steadily.And finally, there was no obvious difference among the subjects of different personality types. There was no significant relationship between different personality types and the subjects'final scores.Corresponding implications about personality for teachers and students are as follows: teachers should make the best of each Personality type's advantages, that is to say, make students of different personality types live up to their potentials as possible. Students should bear in mind that with the conscious development of both communicative and cognitive abilities, both extroverts and introverts will perform better in the later FLL.Affective factors are becoming more and more important in FLT and FLL nowadays. Teachers should integrate affect into language teaching as it has been a desirable goal for pedagogical and educational reasons. Students should know affective factors well and take advantage of the positive in their future FLL.