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THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT OF

SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION:

PERSONALITY FACTORS

Isabell C. Camillo and Andrea Castrogiovanni

November 1st 2010

Objectives

This presentation aims to increase our

awareness of various affective factors related

to SLA.

Further, we will have the opportunity to reflect

on how personality factors have affected our

SLA.

Copyright

© Isabell C. Camillo & Andrea Castrogiovanni 2010

This PowerPoint presentation is in copyright. Subject to

statutory exception and to the provisions, no

reproduction of any part may take place without the

written permission of Isabell C. Camillo & Andrea

Castrogiovanni.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the

authors only.

Agenda

Introduction

Affective Domain-Activity One

Affective Factors-Activity Two

Reflection

Class Discussion

Conclusion

Modern Psychology

“If we were to devise theories of second language

acquisition or teaching methodologies that were

based only on cognitive considerations, we would be

omitting the most fundamental side of human

behaviour”. (Brown, 2007, p. 152)

What does this mean?

Modern Psychology

According to the science of Psychology, there are three parts to an organism:

1. The cognitive (mind)

2. The conative (behaviour)

3. The affective (emotion)

It is our emotional side that makes us HUMAN!

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Affective Domain

What is meant by the term affective?

- Relating to moods, feelings and attitudes

(Merriam-Webster).

And affective domain as it relates to SLA ?

- The affective domain consists of the

emotional issues of human behaviour that are

key factors of the process of human interaction

with language (Brown, 2007).

Provided by Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia, (1964) in Brown (2007).

Language is a part of virtually every aspect of our behaviour.

ACTIVITY ONE: Matching Receiving - acknowledgement of target language

Responding - willingly to the target language

Valuing - deep belief in the value of SLA

Organization - hierarchical formation of values in to belief system

Value System - self-identification in accordance with belief system

Extended Definition

“Second language learners need to be

receptive to both those with whom they are

communicating and to the language itself,

responsive to persons and to the context of

communication, and willing and able to place a

certain value on the communicative act of

interpersonal exchange” (Brown, 2007, p.153).

Interpersonal Exchange Factors of the Affective Domain

Factors within the Affective Domain?

ACTIVITY TWO: Definitions

We will look at the following today-Maddie

and Kelly will discuss motivation and affect

next week:

- Self-Esteem - Self-Efficacy

- WTC - Inhibition

- Risk Taking - Anxiety

- Empathy - Extroversion

Factors of the Affective Domain

Self-Esteem

Value an individual places on themselves and the knowledge of one’s

capabilities, significance and successes.

Global Self-Esteem: general view a person holds of themselves

Situational Self-Esteem: the view a person holds of themselves in a

specific context (i.e. academically, athletically, etc.)

Task Self-Esteem: the view a person holds of themselves in relation

to a particular task within a situation (i.e. Feel capable

academically but feel they are better at writing essays then

performing presentations)

In relation to learning another language, self-esteem is

important in that high self-esteem may result in a student

being more willing to communicate in the target language.

Self-EfficacyOne’s sense of being able to carry out a task will affect the

effort put into achieving success.

Essentially, a learner must believe in their writing abilities in order to successfully produce an essay.

Willingness to Communicate Related to self-efficacy and self-esteem

“The intention to initiate communication given a choice” (Brown, 2007)

The capability to communicate does not correspond to a willingness to do so

Factors such as motivation and personality affect an individual’s willingness to communicate

Factors of the Affective Domain

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Factors of the Affective Domain

Inhibition

Related to self-esteem and self-efficacy

Putting up barriers to protect oneself from being embarrassed

Language ego is the identity a person develops in relation to the language they speak. The more an individual feels a part of the culture, the less inhibitions they have in learning the language.

Risk-Taking

Ties into all above mentioned factors

More willing to take chances in the target language with the possibility of being wrong

Anxiety

Language anxiety is a state level fear identifiable in communication apprehension, worry of negative social evaluation and academic evaluation apprehension.

Facilitative (helpful) anxiety is a motivational factor that can lead to working harder (competitiveness’)

Debilitative (harmful) anxiety can have a negative effect on performance

Empathy

The ability to reach beyond the self and feel what someone else is feeling

In using a second language, empathising becomes difficult because the learner is insecure and lacks fluency in the language

Factors of the Affective Domain

Factors of the Affective Domain

Extroversion

In relation to SLA, extroversion is the need for reassurance from

other people

In relation to SLA, introversion is the affirmation that comes from

inside oneself

It is not clear if one is better than the other in relation to SLA

It was originally thought that extroverts would be more willing

and frequent participants in class (and thus possibly better at

speaking), however a study testing oral skills showed that

introverts were significantly better than extroverts in

pronunciation

Reflection

Individually, reflect on how affective factors played a role in your learning of a subsequent language. Did it help or hinder? In what way?

In pairs, 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?

If you were an SLA instructor, how could you use the information you have learned regarding the affective domain to help your students overcome the negative aspects of these factors (i.e. low self-esteem, high inhibition)?

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?

As evident from the presentation today, affective factors greatly influence the learning of a subsequent language. Some factors might be more significant than others for some people based on their life experiences and personality. It is therefore difficult to place emphasis on specifics and it may be more realistic to generalize.

References

Brown, D. H. (2007). Principles of language learning

and teaching. White Plains, NY: Pearson

Education, Inc.

Professor D. Hayes-Lecture Materials

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From Andrea and Isabell…

THANK YOU!!