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THE ROLE OF AFFECTIVE FILTER IN LANGUAGE LEARING

People that are acquiring a second language acquisition have an invisible filter inside of them that has the potential to result in anxiety, stress, and lack of self-confidence. This invisible filter is theoretically called the affective filter, and it has an important role in the learning of another language since with this hypothesis you cananalyze the way that the learners are input and know how a bad or a good learning process can interference in their process acquisition.

The affective filter is one of five hypothesis proposed by Stephen Krashen, it have an important influence in the language learning since this explain the emotional variables associated with the success or failure of acquiring a second language. Theaffective filter is an invisible psychological filter that can either facilitate or hinder language production in a second language.
When the affective filter is high, people may experience stress, anxiety, and lack of self-confidence that may inhibit success in acquiring a second language. On the other hand, a low affective filter facilitates risk-taking behavior in regards to practicing andlearning a second language.
Krashen claims that “learners with high motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for success in second language acquisition. Low motivation, low self-esteem, and debilitating anxiety can combine to 'raise' the affective filter and form a 'mental block' that prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition.”In other words, when the filter is 'up' it impedes language acquisition.
You could probably have felt fact that you have at one point in our life been in certain contexts where you may be nervous about something and have felt paralyzed or incompetent. On the contrary you felt self-confident and you have the ability to express what you want to say in whatever context, because you know what youcan say.
I would think that it happens because in our learning process the teacher never have taught what cannot say, only he or she teach what I can say, regardless how you are acquiring the new language, and how you produce it.
Krashen points to the importance of motivation, self-confidence and anxiety. He holds that these factors are more involved in constructing the acquired system than inlearning - they are more strongly related to achievement as measured by communicative tests than by formal language tests. He writes: -
The Affective Filter Hypothesis captures the relationship between affective variables and the process of second language acquisition by positing that acquirers vary with respect to the strength or level of their Affective Filters. Those whose attitudes are notoptimal for second language acquisition will not only tend to seek less input, but they will also have a high or strong Affective Filter - even if they understand the message, the input will not reach that part of the brain responsible for language acquisition, or the language acquisition device. Those with attitudes more conducive to second language acquisition will not only seek and obtain moreinput, they will also have a lower or weaker filter. They will be more open to the input, and it will strike "deeper". (Stephen D. Krashen, Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, Prentice Hall International, 1987, p. 31
It is means that the affective filter can make or break the proficiency in a second language, I have the opportunity to live this, because when I was studyingEnglish, came a time when I did not know that was what I was learning, the teacher gave us too much information, and when I got to do my presentation on a topic that she had assigned to me, I felt really confused, did not have the least idea what I was going to say or what I was talking about.
I never had spoken English in front of a native English speaker for almost four years. Every time that...