Affective Domain 1 Naomi, you may answer the question.

Naomi rises from her chair, pushes it in toward her desk, steps behind her chair, and proudly says, I think the answer is 1,052. Naomi pulls out her chair again and returns to her seated position. The class is formally asked if they agree with her answer, and the math lesson continues. At the closure of class, the class leader for the day stands and announces, Math class is finished. The class responds in unison, It is finished. The next week brings this 11 year-old girl to a new country, a new culture, and a new classroom. One class seems to run into the other; math terms are unknown; kids are sitting on the carpeted floors with tables and chairs seemingly scattered around the room. Each student has his/her own math task as determined by their own individual needs. The former order of the classroom is gone. This experience was written in brief as seen through the eyes of this mother as she observed her children transitioning from a school in one country to a school in a new country, the United States of America. Was this child ready to learn the math lesson at hand under the new order? Certainly there was a significant level of anxiety as the expectations she had of her classmates, the teacher, and the classroom environment were not met. ESL students studying abroad come to class with their own attitudes toward learning, their own preferences, and their own expectations of peers and teachers. They enter English classes with their whole selves, including their own individual affects that might include a tendency toward fear, optimism, anxiety, or excitement (Beane, 1990, p.7). Their backgrounds are likely to be significantly different from the new culture, and as a result, ESL students studying outside of their own countries will have a greater sensory response when entering a classroom in a foreign country. Dr. Lyon of the University of Massachusetts recognized the tendency of educators to ignore the affective

Affective Domain 2 side of the student while developing the cognitive side. The nurturing of the affective.side of the student.either has been neglected or left to the individual, his family, or chance (1971, p. 18). The emotions and feelings of students can easily become secondary concerns in the classroom; however, it is actually critical to their learning that their emotional status be settled or learning will less likely occur. The ESL instructor can assist in students learning by being aware of the importance of the affective domain, along with an awareness of simple strategies that can be incorporated into any ESL classroom setting to facilitate more effective English language acquisition. To define the affective needs of students, three factors central to the affective domain are described by Patricia A. Richard-Amato, Professor Emeritus for California State University--attitude, motivation, and level of anxiety--all affecting a students affective response. Attitude takes three directions. The first is the attitude toward ones self or self-security. If a person feels intellectually and socially adequate, that he/she is smart enough and a socially desirable person, he/she may have better chance at second language acquisition because of its humbling nature. If their teacher and peers fail to show respect for them, their first language (L1), and their culturemany of our best minds will be doomed to failure (Richard-Amato, 2003, p. 112). It is common for ESL speakers to be considered stupid by native speakers of English even if they are of average or above average intelligence in their own countries. If an ESL student with low selfsecurity feels he/she is perceived by native English speakers as being unintelligent, he/she may create a social barrier by developing a poor attitude toward the people who speak English or toward the English language itself, the second direction of affective attitude. The third direction of attitude is toward the teacher and classroom environment

Affective Domain 3 (Richard-Amato, 2003, p112). The behavior of the ESL teacher may differ from the behavior of a typical teacher in the students culture. Plagiarizing may be considered a sign of respect in their own culture; guessing at a true/false question may be considered dishonest; lecture-type lessons may be common-place; female teachers may not teach male students; and group work may be considered cheatingall differentiations from a typical American classroom orientation. In addition to attitude, the second factor central to the affective domain is motivation. Motivation is an extremely important affective factor. Without it, learning any languagewould be difficult and perhaps impossible (Richard-Amato, 2003, p. 115). Students need to be motivated to integrate with people in the U.S. and motivated to learn English for a specific purpose. Along with attitude and motivation, the third central factor of affect is anxiety. Anxiety can be invoked from an outside source such as through a stressful situation in the classroom. The extent of the anxious response, however, will vary from person to person depending on his/her predisposition to feeling anxious. Some students will naturally be less or more anxiety-prone than others. Anxiety in and of itself is not a negative affect. While too much anxiety can inhibit learning, not enough anxiety can actually create boredom. Flow, a term coined by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, is a concept that calls for a control of anxiety for optimum learning, a balance within a continuum between anxiety and boredom. This flow, or balanced sense of anxiety, leads to learning (Egbert, 2005, p.130-1), anxiety being the final of the three factors of a students affect along with attitude and motivation.

Affective Domain 4 Research indicates that ignoring these affective factors can lead to delayed learning in the classroom. Studies by Carrol; Chastain and Gardner; Smythe, Clement, and Gliksman; and MacIntyre and Gardner found that lowered anxiety level is related to proficiency in the target language. MacIntyre and Gardner also found that those exposed to less anxiety-producing stimuli did better in learning than those exposed to higher anxiety-producing stimuli. They concluded that re-teaching was needed when anxiety was too high (as cited in Richard-Amato, 2003, p. 116). Recent findings in brain research by Andrea Hellman, Ed.D, Assistant Professor of TESOL at Missouri Southern State University, provide a physiological explanation for the relationship between affect and cognition. First of all, language production is not concentrated in any one part of the brain; it is dispersed throughout, connecting it with other sensory-motor functions. This means that during normal language processing, affective processing will overlap with it. Second, there is an emotional filter that all information going into brain must pass through before being processed. The brain is comprised of three parts--the cortex that regulates cognition, the limbic system that regulates emotion and the senses, and the brain stem. Before language signals are sorted and sent to different areas of cortex for processing, they must past through the thalamus, a part of the brains limbic system. In other words, all language signals are first filtered by the thalamus, the emotion/sensory regulator for the brain, before being processed for structure and content. If the thalamus is overloaded with emotional stress signals, it will send the signals to the sections of the brain that process emotional information causing the language signals to not reach the cortex for language processing (Wahl et al., 2008, as cited in Hellman, 2008).

Affective Domain 5 This emotional filter discovery relates to the three factors of affect as well. From her recent brain research studies in relation to the motivation factor of affect, Hellman stated that emotion underlies motivation and memory. In relation to the attitude factor of affect, she said that it is essential for English language learners to feel positive about the language and learning environment. She summarized from other research that negative emotions (embarrassment, fear, rejection, isolation) can sabotage SLA (Schuman, 1997; Pavienko, 2008; Caldwell-Harns, 2008, as cited in Hellman, 2008), and finally that emotions play a key role in language acquisition; they either drive or inhibit the process (Hellman, 2008). Affect is a factor in English language acquisition. After addressing the importance of a healthy emotional state for effective language learning, the next step is for educators to incorporate healthy student affect into the ESL program. Recognizing that English language learning is the ultimate goal for these students, the students and instructors have an agenda to meeting these goals and time spent on affect may not be a welcome endeavor for either students or teachers. The ESL instructor can utilize subtle methods to encourage emotional health while having minimal interference with the classroom agenda. Motivation for learning, the first factor within affect, can be encouraged by inquiring about students personal goals and explaining how the ESL course will help them meet those goals. This gives them a specific purpose for study. Discovering these goals can be simply accomplished by filling out a simple survey or during self-introductions on the first day of class. To

reduce anxiety and encourage a positive attitude toward English speakers, the second and third factors within affect, ESL teachers can present themselves as family until

Affective Domain 6 independence is attained (Richard-Amato, 2003, p. 116). Some ways a teacher can facilitate this is by demonstrating genuine concern for each student, calling them by their given names, and by being available after class for consultation. A lack of silent moments, correcting students while they are speaking, competitiveness, and incompatible learning styles are known to provoke anxiety (Richard-Amato, 2003, p. 116). By countering these with an adequate provision of time to process information, the opportunity to completely express their thoughts despite the errors, limited competitive activities, and awareness of their learning styles, the instructor will help decrease classroom anxiety as well. Three other research-proven anxiety reducing techniques that can simply be incorporated and used as ESL teaching methods include music, laughter, and relaxation. When taking on-site college courses on weekday evenings, this writer recalls one particular professor who played instrumental music before the class began. After a hectic day at work, providing for family and then rushing off to take this class, these brief moments before class provided an opportunity to relax, to take a few deep breaths, and refocus. The musical transition from life to class provided the chance to prepare for the lesson ahead. The Mozart Effect is the term given to the calming effects of listening to classical music (Austin, 2004, p. 131). As midterm and final exams approach and tension increases, playing soft classical music before class can give ESL students the opportunity to unwind their minds before engaging in the lesson at hand. Many people are familiar with the saying, Laughter is the best medicine. Actually, laughter has been shown to reduce and provide relief from stress (Kuhlman, Argyle, Simon, and Seaward as cited in Austin, 2004, p. 80). It stimulates the endocrine

Affective Domain 7 system, leading to reduced muscle tension (Lumsden, 1986 as cited in Austin, 2004, p. 80). Humor also frees one from inhibitions, an advantageous disposition for second language acquisition. Including laughter in a class can be as simple as beginning with a smile and light-hearted discussion with students during the first few minutes of class, a weekly joke or a humorous clip from a movie. Finally, teaching students simple relaxation techniques encourages independent control of anxiety. When (a student is) tense and breathes shallowly, (his/her) blood is not being properlyoxygenated (Hanley, 2001, p.239). Without oxygen, the body responds by going into a survival-mode, a mode not conducive to learning. By breathing deeply, oxygen is supplied to the body. One simple relaxation technique is the progressive relaxation exercise where the individual slowly breathes in and out beginning at the head, slowly releases tension by relaxing the eyes, the mouth, the shoulders, progressively relaxing the parts of the body until the toes are reached. Students can use this relaxation exercise if they feel stressed at any time. Another technique is to simply close ones eyes and watch the breath flow into and out of the nostrils (Hanley, 2001, p130). These two can be taught quickly and can encourage students to be aware of and manage their own anxiety. Being aware of the affective needs of students will facilitate the English language acquisition process. Incorporating methods to facilitate emotional well-being need not be extensive or complicated. Simple methods, like those mentioned above, can easily supplement any ESL class.

Affective Domain 8 References Austin, D.R. (2004). Therapeutic recreation. (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Sagamore . Beane, J.A. (1990). Affect in the curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press. Egbert, J.L., & Petrie, G.M. (2005). CALL research perspectives. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Hanley, J.L., & Deville, N. (2001). Tired of being tired. New York: Berkeley. Hellman, A.B. (2008, October 18). The usefulness of brain-based research findings in TESOL. MIDTESOL Conference presentation. Storm Lake, IA. Lyon, H.C. (1971). Learning to feel-feeling to learn. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill. Richard-Amato, P.A. (2003). Making it happen: From interactive to participatory language teaching. White Plains, N.Y.: Pearson Education.