The Unheard Voices of Students: Affective Filter in Focus

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue IX, September 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

The Unheard Voices of Students: Affective Filter in Focus

Rex A. Lim
Davao City National High School

Abstract: Despite the breakthroughs of teaching and learning that stimulate student interactions, there are still many who dislike participation in the class. Hence, this study explores the struggles of students with high affective filter; how students with high affective filter cope their inability to perform well in the class, and what expectations students have from teachers to lessen their affective filter. Qualitative phenomenological study was used to extract unshared sentiments of shy students. Six senior high school students were invited for a Focus Group Discussion. The findings revealed that shy students are struggling to cope daily communicative demands from class activities; they are often victims of mislabeling; and they wish to receive more constructive remarks from teachers to boost affect for learning.

I. INTRODUCTION

Emotion and cognition are often tagged as factors in learning a language. Many times, I have observed scenarios where students find difficulty in sharing ideas in the class not due to lack of knowledge but due to certain level of shyness which inhibits them to perform better in oral communication. This knowledge has been shared, not only in the context of this study, but as well as abroad. Lin’s (2008) research on affective filter hypothesis among Taiwanese university students found that affective competence affected the students in knowledge acquisition. The study used natural approach of teaching such as the incorporation of games, English songs and movies. This methodology further informs teachers that facilitating emotional health can be done in a most typical manner (Berho & Defferding, 2005).

A research was also undertaken by Marcial (2016) in the University of the Philippines Los Baños. The study showed that even students at the university had already reported anxiety at a lower rate and that the students’ level of anxiety had a strong connection to their self-perceived use of English in both formal and informal conversation.

Findlay & Coplan (2009 ) concluded that the family environment and situation is assumed to play a significant role in in the development of shyness among the children. If children experience high levels of family stress during a young age, they are more likely to experience shyness during the middle childhood years and beyond. Parents who experience high long-standing arguments with their children may increase the chance of developing shyness in their children.

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