Affective Education and Foreign Language Learning. The Challenge of Communication. ACTFL Review of Foreign Language Education, Vol. 6.

The affective education movement and applications to foreign language learning are surveyed. Affective, or humanistic, education seeks to include self-knowledge, improved interpersonal communication, and clarification of one's values. Research studies show that thinking and feeling are intertwined. Emotion is present in the classroom and cannot be totally suppressed without negative consequences. A curriculum of affect is based on students' concerns. Both subject-matter content and skills are enlisted to aid students in overcoming their anxieties relating to self-image, their relationships to others, and control over their lives. The major psychological basis of affective education is Maslow's theory of basic human needs. Self-actualization refers to an innate drive to realize in actuality what a person may potentially be. Adolescent learners are involved in a search for self-identity, and teachers can be influential in their development. Successful teachers possess empathy, sensitivity to students, and the ability to accept them. Classroom characteristics that promote affective growth and group processes operating in the classroom are discussed. Foreign language programs that have incorporated affective education are described. Techniques have been adapted from the values clarification and human dynamics movements. Leading affective activities requires the teacher to be sensitive to students' reactions. Major criticisms of affective education are also discussed. (SW)