persuade them of the educational, social, economic and other benefits of
proposed changes. See also situational analysis.affect n
a term referring to a number of emotional factors that may influence
language learning and use. These include basic personality traits such as
shyness, long-term but changeable factors such as positive and negative
language attitudes, and constantly fluctuating states such as enthusi-
asm, anxiety, boredom, apathy, or elation. One theory suggests that affec-
tive states are largely determined by the balance between the subjectively
assessed level of challenge in an activity and the subjectively assessed level
of skill that one brings to that activity. For example, when faced with
classroom tasks that are much higher than their level of skill, language
learners feel anxious and frustrated; when given tasks that are well below
their ability level, they feel bored; giving learners interesting tasks that are
challenging but within their ability is most likely to elicit a positive affective
response.
affected object n
see object of result
affective domain n
see domain^3
affective filter hypothesis n
a hypothesis proposed by Krashen and associated with his monitor model
of second language development (see monitor hypothesis). The hypo-
thesis is based on the theory of an affective filter, which states that success-
ful second language acquisition depends on the learner’s feelings. Negative
attitudes (including a lack of motivation or self-confidence and anxiety) are
said to act as a filter, preventing the learner from making use of input, and
thus hindering success in language learning.
affective filtering n
the selection of one variety of speech as a model for learning the language
in preference to other possible models because of affective factors. For
example, second language learners might hear English spoken by many
different groups (e.g. parents, teachers, different social and ethnic groups)
but model their own speech on only one of these, such as the speech of their
friends of the same group (=their peer group).
affective meaning n
another term for connotation
affect