On Affective Factors Of L2 Classroom Learners

Learning foreign languages has long been a boom in China. Taking English for an example, hi the current Chinese education system, English, as the most popular foreign language, is one of the three core subjects in six-year secondary education (The other two are Chinese and mathematics). It is also a compulsory subject for the first- and second-year non-English majors in colleges and universities. Primary schools may offer a foreign language course for the fifth- or sixth-year pupils and in some places even for primary school freshmen, if qualified teachers are available in their schools. The third- or fourth-year non-English undergraduates may take a foreign language as an optional course if they want to further improve their language proficiency. However, the low efficiency and unsatisfactory effect of L2 learning can hardly meet the learner's need adequately. This problem undoubtedly owes a lot to the negligence of the learner's affective state in the process of teaching and learning.As a matter of fact, experts in psychology and education have long been conscious of the significance of affect since 1960s when the humanistic psychology came to the fore. The main theories are: the affect is the basic human need; cognition and affect are inseparable; learner's language proficiency is fulfilled to the largest extent when both cognition and affect are involved, etc. Language experts and researchers in the west have also tried to explore the field of affect and made both theoretical and practical studies in the last several decades. They found that the learner's affective state influences learning behavior and learning effect directly. However, in the present foreign language classroom, esp. in China, the learner's affective factors in the learning process have not called enough attention or even been totally neglected. Inadequate job in affective domain has inevitably led to the present situation of inefficient and ineffective language teaching and learning.In view of the situation, this thesis aims to appeal for people's attention to affective factors in language teaching and learning, seeks approaches to helping learners avoid affective barriers and making full use of positive affect. So based on psychology and affective theories and studies, this thesis indicates that language learners possess affective factors which directly influence their language competency and language outcomes. In light of the historical development of the affective study, the theoretical framework and traditional teaching methods concerning affects, teachers should attach importance and attention to affects in language teaching, thus constructing positive affects and avoid negative ones to further improve language learners' competency and outcomes. Furthermore, positive learners' strategies and teaching approaches are suggested to help reach language success to the most.The framework for investigating individual learner differences is provided in thefirst chapter which is the theoretical base for the thesis. According to this framework, the affective factors, learners' strategies and language outcomes are interrelated and interact with each other. Chapter Two centers upon the four elements, fundamental for any language teaching and learning: language, teaching, learning and society which are the. The chapter covers the following topics such as, what is language and language nature, how the understanding of language directly influences approaches to teaching and learning, what is the interrelationship between society and classroom, how to make language in classroom as active as in society so as for learners to get language proficiency, what is the relationship between teaching and learning and what can be done to bring teachers' role to a full play and get the biggest result in language success. Chapter Three is the highlight of the thesis. This section gives a detailed description of affective domain, the influential affective theories and the negative as well as positive effects the affective factors make in language teaching and learning, which will have much to do with different learners' strategies dealt with in Chapter Four. And Chapter Five gives many and varied approaches, even involving a teacher's physical appearance and voice, .to teaching and learning in classroom, which will help improve learners' positive affects largely.All in all, the thesis aims at calling teachers' and learners' attention to the influence affective factors make in language teaching and learning, thus promoting learners' positive affects and help learners achieve biggest language proficiency and best language outcomes.