The Affective Filter

What Can Teachers Do to Lower the Affective Filter? Part 2

In my previous post, I have defined what the affective filter is and explained the importance of keeping it low to enhance learning. In this post, I continue to offer different strategies to lower students’ affective filters. Games One way to reduce students’ affective filters in the second language classroom is to include game-based learning.…

What Can Teachers Do to Lower the Affective Filter? Part 1

“Good methods are based on interesting stories where you get so interested in the story you forget it’s in another language. Krashen Previously, I have written about the importance of keeping students’ affective filters low to support students’ language acquisition. In this post, I explore what teachers can do to keep English language learners’ affective…

What is the Affective Filter?

In this post, I define what the affective filter is and distinguish between high vs. low affective filters. The affective filter hypothesis states that three variables affect language learning: the level of anxiety, motivation, and self-confidence of the second language learners (Krashen, 1985). Negative emotions, such as anxiety and boredom, negatively impact language acquisition. When…