Affective language teaching

Teaching and learning are based on communication and this involves much more tan the mere transmission and reception of a message. It implies connecting with the others through gestures, eye contact and body language as well as moving away form the self-centre to become aware there is much more than a student sitting in your class-there lies a human being, someone who has interests, needs, feelings and ideas to share with others. An affective language teaching approach generally produces an effective learning outcome basically because the teacher manages to go beyond the student and focuses on the human as a whole.
Knitting humanistic activities into the classroom allows teachers to create a relaxing and stress-free atmosphere. This is ideal for the teaching and learning process because it helps students to lower their affective filter and acquire language in a more relaxed way, since their self-confidence and self-esteem are enhanced in a non-threatening atmosphere. The flow of these positive emotions reduces anxiety and increases motivation and optimism.
Although nobody can deny the relevance of resorting to these activities from time to time, greater benefits will only be obtained if they were included in the annual plan. Some teachers are reluctant to include them in their classes due to lack of preparation time, the size of the classes or the lack of flexibility of their syllabi.
Whatever reason, a class will only become a teaching-learning community if members are educated and respected, decisions are shared and cooperation is favored over competition. Humanistic activities can only be carried out in non-threatening environments, where the concept of “team” outweighs that of “individual”. In these classes, communication flows naturally, values are respected and balance between reason and emotion are the stepping stones to reach a successful end.