The Roles Of Affective Factors In College English Teaching And Learning

Affect as a topic in second language acquisition studies has gained more and more attention with the development of humanistic psychology since the 1960s. The affective factors of the learner are extremely important in language learning process. The view that affect contributes significantly to the rate of success or failure of second language learning is gaining wide support in language teaching circles. However, most teachers fail to pay due attention to it in teaching practice, which may result in low language teaching and learning efficiency. Careful, systematic study of the roles of affect in second language learning may lead to greater understanding of language learning process and to improved language teaching effectiveness. In recent years, more attention has been directed to affective aspects in foreign language teaching and learning in China. Considering that most researches are conducted at the theoretical level, the empirical researches are desirable to testify the roles of affective factors and their proper applications in language teaching.In view of the complexity and variety of affective factors, this thesis mainly focuses on four affective factors, namely, anxiety, self-esteem, inhibition and motivation. The study aims to identify the most influential affective factor involved in non-English majors'English learning; to study the correlation between the four affective factors and to further explore the roles of affective factors which may lead to differences in students'learning performance. The study consists of both quantitative and qualitative methods by conducting a questionnaire among 166 sophomores of non-English majors at a University of Science and Technology. The results are analyzed and processed with the SPSS statistical analysis system. Based on the findings, practical suggestions are put forward concerning how to arouse students'positive affective factors in order to improve college English teaching effectiveness.