Monday November 1st 2010 Andrea C. & Isabell C.

LING 3Q91 Seminar-Affective Factors in SLA

Activity 1: Matching
The development of affective states involves a variety of personality factors and feelings both about
ourselves and about others with whom we come into contact.

Below are snippets of an extended definition of the affective domain provided by Krathwohl, Bloom and
Masia, (1964) in Brown (2007, p 153).
 Language is a part of virtually every aspect of our behaviour.

Individually, match the terms with the appropriate definition. You have approximately 5 minutes.

__Receiving: A. self identification in accordance with their belief system

__Responding: B. hierarchal formation of values into belief system

__Valuing: C. a deep belief in the value of SLA

__Organization: D. willingly to the target language

__Value System: E. acknowledgment of the target language

Activity 2: List and Define

In partners, please list and define all the affective factors you can remember from lecture and from your
readings. Use the space below to do this and be prepared to share your thoughts with the rest of the
class. You have approximately 5 minutes.
Monday November 1st 2010 Andrea C. & Isabell C.

Activity 3: Reflection
1. Individually, reflect on how affective factors played a role in your learning of a subsequent
language. Did it help or hinder? In what way? Enter the factors in the left column and your
comments on the right. You have approximately 5 minutes.
Monday November 1st 2010 Andrea C. & Isabell C.

2. In pairs (or 3’s), share your experiences. Do you have any in common? What does your collective
experience lead you to conclude about affective factors and the role they play in your SLA
experience? Agree on a generalized conclusion about the relevance of each factor for successful
second language acquisition but be sure to consider how your generalization needs to be
qualified with some sort of “it depends” statement. Example, one might be tempted to conclude
that low anxiety is necessary for successful learning, but depending on certain contextual and
personal factors, facilitative anxiety may be helpful. Then explain why this would be the case.

Class Discussion-Generated Conclusion: We have learned that affective factors have a significant
influence on L2 learning. Do you think any of these factors are more significant than others? Why?