AFFECTIVE FACTORS IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

     The affective domain is represented by ‘attitude‘ in the acronym. This is not entirely true, as it involves far more than just attitude.

     The affective domain can be divided into five categories, each building on the previous one. The characteristics are also arranged from the most simplest to the most complex.

Receiving

      Receiving can be summarized by the key words awareness, listening and paying attention.

      It starts with being aware of the fact that you have to ‘receive‘ the information in order to learn it. You must be willing to listen and pay selective attention to what is being learned.

     Without this, you cannot even embark on the learning process. All learning comes to a standstill. It is therefore the foundation for all learning.

     The willingness of a learner to receive knowledge is largely governed by attitude. This is probably why attitude often becomes the overriding Key Word of this learning domain.

     Once you are aware of the fact that you must learn, you must still listen and pay attention if you are being taught by someone.

     If you are doing self study, you have to motivate yourself to pay attention when receiving the information, which may be the reading of the subject matter.

Examples:

• Listen to others with respect.
• Listen for and remember the name of newly introduced people.
• Read with with intent.

Responding

     The next step in the learning process is responding by active participation. Learning cannot be a static one way process. If you simply sit in the class and listen passively, minimum learning will take place.

     You have to react to what the teacher, lecturer, or writer is saying and start applying and practising the new principles.

Examples:

• Participate in class discussions.
• Give a presentation.
• Questions new ideals, concepts, models, etc. in order to fully understand them.
• Know the safety rules and practices them.

Valuing

     This is the worth or value that you attach to what you are learning. It starts by simple acceptance of the fact and ends with the more complex state of commitment.

If you have internalized what you have learnt based on your own set of values, deeper learning would have taken place.

     This will become evident in your behaviour and is often identifiable by others.

     You can then use this new found learning to solve problems and propose solutions. You will feel strongly about the subject and therefore apply your knowledge with commitment.

     If, for example, you’ve become sensitive to cultural diversity during your learning. You become a spokesperson in your company to promote cultural diversity. You start influencing company and policy procedures regarding cultural diversity, etc., etc.

Examples:

• Demonstrating belief in the democratic process.
• Valuing diversity.
• Showing the ability to solve problems.
• Proposing a plan for social improvement and following through with commitment.
• Informing management on matters that you feel strongly about.

Organizing

     This is evident by contrasting different values, solving conflict between them and creating your own unique value system.

     It is based on comparing, relating and synthesizing these values.

     You will have to prioritize the values based on practicality and your desire.

Examples:

• Recognizing the need for balance between freedom and responsible behaviour.
• Accepting responsibility for your own behaviour.
• Explaining the role of systematic planning in solving problems.
• Accepting professional ethical standards.
• Creating a life plan in harmony with abilities, interests, and beliefs.
• Prioritizing time effectively to meet the needs of the organization, family, and self.

Characterizing

     This is when your value system controls your behaviour. Your character is guided by your value system. Your behaviour becomes consistent and predictable. It becomes characteristic of you as a person and determines how you react personally, socially and emotionally.

Examples:

• Show self-reliance when working independently.
• Cooperate in group activities.
• Displays good teamwork.
• Uses an objective approach when solving problems.
• Display a professional commitment to ethical practice on a daily basis.
• Revise judgements and change behaviour in light of new evidence.
• Value people for what they are, not how they look.

Conclusion

     The affective domain of Bloom’s taxonomy is the foundation for the cognitive and psychomotor domains. It enables you to take your learning from basic passive reception to internalised characterization.

     I believe that Mind Maps naturally allow you to do this. By simply constructing a Mind Map of any topic, you naturally incorporate these principles, but by knowing the principles and applying them when doing your Mind Map notes, you can wilfully apply the different levels of learning in your learning process.

     Continue to explore the different uses of Mind Maps in your everyday life. This will ensure that the depth and width of your knowledge naturally increases.

     By having a learning management program, you can also ensure that your learning is well structured and well managed.

     The following is adapted from: Krathwohl, D., Bloom, B., & Masia, B. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Handbook II: Affective domain. New York: David McKay.

     The taxonomy was developed to organize levels of commitment. As such it could just as properly be discussed as a regulatory system issue in the model being presented here.

Affective Domain
Level	Definition	Example
Receiving	Being aware of or attending to something in the environment	Person would listen to a lecture or presentation about a structural model related to human behavior.
Responding	Showing some new behaviors as a result of experience	The individual would answer questions about the model or might rewrite lecture notes the next day.
Valuing	Showing some definite involvement or commitment	The individual might begin to think how education may be modified to take advantage of some of the concepts presented in the model and perhaps generate a set of lessons using some of the concepts presented.
Organization	Integrating a new value into one's general set of values, giving it some ranking among one's general priorities	This is the level at which a person would begin to make long-range commitments to arranging his or her instruction and assessment relative to the model.
Characterization by Value	Acting consistently with the new value	At this highest level, a person would be firmly committed to utilizing the model to develop, select, or arrange instruction and would become known for that action.

some websites to further read on personality factors
http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/fehringer.html

http://changingminds.org/explanations/personality/freud_personality.htm

http://http-server.carleton.ca/~tpychyl/011382000/BigFive.html

Some articles and websites to further read on Affective Domain:

http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Introduction_-_What_is_the_Affective_Domain%3F

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/intro.html