A Social-Affective Perspective On Risk-Taking Behavior In An EFL Classroom

A SOCIAL-AFFECTIVE PERSPECTIVE ON RISK-TAKING BEHAVIOR IN AN EFL CLASSROOMAbstract: The present study intends to investigate the factors affecting Chinese college English majors' risk-taking behavior from a social-affective perspective, a humanistic point. The author attempts to answer the following research questions:l.What are the students' perceptions towards risk-taking behavior for English proficiency, particularly for oral proficiency in an EFL classroom?2.1s there any statistical significance of difference between high proficiency learners and low proficiency learners concerning risk-taking behavior?3.Are there any correlations between risk-taking behavior and social-affective factors? If any,4. What are their respective correlations? And5.What social-affective factors can predict learners' risk-taking behavior, and then predict their English proficiency?The study explored the social-affective factors, which may facilitate or debilitate students' active participation in English classroom. 30 senior English major students from one regular class in Xi'an Foreign languages University participated in the research, 14 out of whom were chosen at random, based on SPSS software, for the in-depth study, which was conducted by using descriptive research techniques including diary entries, a self-report questionnaire, 3 activities, interviews as well as the cumulative scores of mid-term and final term exams together with daily performance. As a result, some social-affective factors such as anxiety, T-S rapport, etc., which are likely to predict students' risk-taking behavior, were identified. Based on the findings, recommendations for more productive and humanistic teaching and educational design and practice were provided for EFL instructors and learners in China.