A Study On Affective Factors Of Under-achievers In Key High Schools And Affective Teaching

The term"key schools"is often related to high enrolment rate and good students with proper learning affect factors. Is that the true situation? Of course not, there are underachievers in key schools too. What's their affective situation like?In recent years, researchers and teachers have emphasized the importance of affect factors in learners'whole development and the relation between affect and cognition. Affect is the link between the teacher and the students in teaching and learning. In English teaching, correct and helpful affect has an important influence on the development of students'understanding English and their ability of using English. In school education, however, still the development of intelligence and knowledge is given full attention and the cultivation of affect is neglected to some degree for various reasons. The situation of English learning and teaching in high schools is a typical example. Thus the teachers should integrate affect into language teaching so as to meet the requirement of quality-oriented education and students'all-around development. Enough researches and papers can be found about affect factors in middle school, high school and even university education, yet few mentioned the affect factors about the underachievers. However, these groups of students need more attention and focus, thus affective teaching can be more effective if we can care them more. The whole-life development of each individual can be realized if they get more positive comments. My thesis aims to study the present situation of affective factors in high school, especially those underachievers and propose the ways to apply affective education in practice, which can therefore lighten the correct way to effective teaching and learning.This thesis first presents a brief review of affect study at home and abroad, from which we can see,whether in ancient times or modern times, both western and Chinese educators and teachers advocate affective teaching in foreign language education. Since the reform and open policy in China, English Curriculum development has gone through different periods, but they had one thing in common: they strengthened the function of affective factors in English teaching, especially in English Curriculum Standards for Senior High Schools. It stipulated the affective aim for high school students .After introducing the importance and necessity of affective teaching, the author explains the definition of affect and its components, such as motivation, attitude and anxiety. In Affective Filter Hypothesis, the relation between affective factors and English learning is made clear. Then the thesis introduces theoretical foundation of affective teaching. After this, the author elaborates the humanistic psychology theory, constructivism and Krashen's Affective Filter Hypotheses. In psychology, the definition of"affective teaching"has been referred to repeatedly and widely applied in language classes. Based on the theories of educational psychology and methodology of foreign language teaching, the present study aims to show that attention to affect in English classroom teaching and employing proper instructional strategies are conducive to students'positive and healthy affect growth and a more holistic development.The purpose of this thesis is to find and solve the affective problems of the high school students, especially those under-achievers, by way of doing research on their affective factors. If more care and attention was paid to those students, their learning zeal would be aroused and they life-long development would benefit. The author surveyed 125 students in the Senior High School Attached to Shandong Normal University, who were in the parallel class. They showed their affective situation in the questionnaire. Based on the survey of questionnaire, the thesis specially analyzed item by item the affective factors that learners present in their English learning process. After the questionnaire, the author interviewed the underachievers in class 10, which was the experimental class, and tried to find out their affective problems. Thus, in class more attention was paid to those students and after class frequent communication was organized between teachers and students. It was found out that students in the experimental class could have better English proficiency than those in the control class under the affective teaching. After the experiment, great changes happened to the under-achievers, especially in their affective attitude towards English learning.At last the author discusses the application of affective education in the process of English teaching in high school. Teachers should care more about students'affect in and after class, improve themselves in theory first and pay attention to affective teaching while in class. Teachers are supposed to grasp students'affective tendency in and after class and lead them put active and positive affect in study, thus students'ability to face and solve problems can be improved. In this sense, their life-long development can be realized.