On Affect In College English Teaching And Learning From The Aspect Of Social Constructivist Model

In the second language teaching and learning, affect will be considered broadly as aspects of emotion, feeling, mood, or attitude, which condition behavior during the process of learners' study.Linguistic scholars have shown that cognition and emotion are two aspects that are dependent on each other. Affective factors play a significant role in language teaching and learning. First, attention to affective factors can lead to more effective language study. A second reason for focusing attention to affect in the language classroom reaches beyond language teaching and even beyond what traditionally being considered the academic realm. Solving affective problems can promote students develop fully. However, the two sides of learning are now separated from each other in college English teaching in China, which attaches too much importance to cognitive side of language learning while neglecting the functions of affective factors, which causes "emotional illiteracy". Students cannot develop healthily cognitively and emotionally.The results of questionnaires in this study further prove that the separation of cognition and emotion is a very common phenomenon in college English teaching and learning. To solve this problem, this paper, based on Social Constructive Model by Marion Williams and Robert L. Burden, proposes to cultivate and inspire positive affective factors and avoid or lower negative ones from the four interactive factors: students, teachers, tasks and circumstance. The social constructivist Model, drawing the essence of Humanism, Constructivism and Social Interactionism, emphasizes knowledge is built by individuals and not passed by others, the process of the building is concerned with the circumstances and is the result of social interaction. This paper puts forward some appropriate strategies and methods from students, teachers, tasks and context, which all interact as part of a dynamic, ongoing process. Students bring certain personal attributes to the learning situation. In order to improve motivation,enhance confidence and lower anxiety, they consciously select certain strategies to use to enable themselves to learn in ways that are personal to them. Rather than being peripheral, teachers, acting as the role of mediators, are vital in fostering the right climate for learning to take place, for confidence to develop, for a sense of belonging to be nurtured, for developing appropriate learning strategies, for moving towards learner autonomy. The learning activities and tasks that teachers select, and the ways they present them, reflect their beliefs and values; students in turn interpret these activities in ways that are meaningful to them. Thus learning tasks represent an interface between teachers and students. Both teachers and students select positive affective factors orientated tasks to promote cognitive development. Only in harmonious and friendly classroom, can students feel safe and secure, and better communication and cooperation between teachers and students, students and students can be achieved.The results and evaluation of two experiments prove the feasibility and generalization of these strategies. Nowadays, quality education is advocated, so through deeper discussion of affective factors, we can try our best to solve affective problems and promote full-development of students and further improve English teaching quality in China.