Methods of the Application of Affective Teaching for English Classes

周艳

By and large， high school students have such affective characteristics as follows： Firstly， their feelings are strong but unstable. Therefore， teachers should pay more attention to affective variables of students and try to control their feelings with the help of the reason during the communicative activities in and after class. Secondly， their feelings are wonderful and deep. Thirdly， their feelings are a little concealing and complicated. With the constant development of self-consciousness of high school students， they have a stronger ability of controlling themselves. However， the facial expressions are quite different from their inner ones. Thus， what teachers should do is know more about the affect and behaviour of their students.

1. Strengthening Students Will and Reducing Language Anxiety

A strong will is necessary for an English learner to overcome difficulties. However， the psychological endurance of many high school students is weak and they are also lacking in strong will at present. It is always easy for them to lose interest when meeting difficulties. Worse still， they even give it up. So English teachers should foster strong will of students and encourage them to accept challenges even if they have much trouble in learning English.

Teachers should aid students to analyse their own ability， recognize themselves， and know clearly about their strengthes and weaknesses. More importantly， help them make a proper plan for their English study and tell them to reach their goals step by step because haste makes waste. Teachers should praise and encourage students in time as long as they make some progress on the basis of their own learning levels. In English classes， when students answer questions or make speeches， they will make some mistakes normally. The best way for teachers is to help students find their mistakes and try to correct them on their own. If so， students self-confidence will be protected during the leraning process. Therefore， teachers can learn to protect students self-esteem and self-confidence in English study， encourage those shy or silent students to state their opinions and let them study in a safe and harmonious class. Each student should have an equal chance to speak in classes. Of course， the psychological anxiety of students will be eliminated and the learning efficiency will be improved as well.

2. Stimulating Students Motivation

Educational psychology indicates that learning motivation is an internal impetus for pushing forward students study directly. In concret， learning motivation is closely connected with learning attitudes and learning initiative of students. As English teachers， first of all we should stimulate English learning motivation of students， its also the most important task. Whats more， as one of human behaviour motivation， English learning motivation refers to a strong desire and curiosity to learn English. Naturally， learning effect will be good if there is learning motivation， otherwise study will become students burden， then its not difficult to imagine the learning result.

3. Building Students Self-confidence with Encouraging Words

Teaching assessment is a way of encouraging students as well as a bridge to get in touch and communicate between teachers and students. In classes， some encouraging words from teachers have a positive function， which is not only useful to promoting the communication in knowledge， thoughts and affect， but improving students learning initiative. Teachers also can use such brief words to praise students as “Great！”， “Excellent！”， “Well done！”. Apart from teaching assessment in classes， teachers are required to pay attention to the comments of students homework. Comments of homework are one of important parts of English teaching， it is another effective way for teachers and students to study and communicate after class. Checking homework not only reflects teachers opinions and attitudes to students， but sees whether teachers agree them or not. The comments or words from teachers will influence students learning affect directly. The better way is to find out students advantages and have a sympothetic response to them. So teachers should try to avoid hurting students self-esteem when commenting something. Children dont care how much we know until they know how much we care. In the eyes of psychology， praise and encouragement are always much better than blame because its result is positive and it can make students experience the joy of success. As English teachers， we should learn to appreciate students advantages and progress.

4. Developing Students Cooperative Learning

English teaching is a kind of task-based teaching. Teachers should organise various activities to make students take part in them. Cooperation is aimed at establishing a new cooperative relationship between teachers and students or between students and students in teaching， letting students establish new learning motivation constantly and get development in such atmosphere. So teachers should encourage students to have self-regulated study and cooperative study in English classes. According to these forms， students can join in learning process positively and initiative， apply what they have learnt to solve problems in a harmonious atmosphere， and gain much more knowledge.Then students can help and learn with each other in groups. They should finish each task teachers give together to realize their goals. If so， everyone in groups becomes a necessary member and everybodys effort can be approved. It is concluded that students will have the sense of being valued， accepted and respected as well as their self-esteem and self-confidence will be strengthened.

5. Creating a Friendly and Active Classroom Climate

Classroom is not only a place where teachers teach and students study. Whats more， it is also a place for teachers and students to communicate their emotions. In general， a relaxing and happy learning atmosphere can reduce students language anxiety， especially for those who always feel nervous or anxious in English study. Therefore， teachers should attach importance to students affect， and make sure that the relationship between teachers and students is equal and respectful in class and after class to make students have psychological safety and freedom； teachers should stimulate students curiosity， publicize students personality， encourage students to raise their questions bravely and arouse students strong desires for success to make them develop in a harmonious atmosphere； teachers also should provide more chances to those who have high anxiety in English study， strengthen their self-confidence， and help students form good self-images and free from dependence on teachers， thus developing their learning potential to the fullest.

6. Unearthing Affective Resources of Teaching Material

As one of language teaching material， English textbooks are rich in affective factors， which is beneficial to exploiting and taking advantage of affective resources by teachers and carrying out affective teaching. English teaching is absolutely not a simple process of teaching language knowledge， students are also not knowledge containers but principal parts who have thoughts and feelings. So， knowing how to deal with affective contents of English teaching can cause students to produce positive experiences of affect about their study and life， fall into independent and healthy personality， and develop them both physically and mentally.

Teaching is a process of human realtion which involves reason and affect of teachers and students. In the teaching process， teachers should not only take cognitive factors into consideration， but fully develop the positive function of affective factors. Cultivating positive affective attitudes of students is the key to improving the teaching effeciency of high school English teaching.