El impacto de la pandemia de la COVID-19 s=
obre
el filtro afectivo de los estudiantes en el aprendizaje de inglés como leng=
ua extranjera
en un aula virtual
Ximena Patricia Rivera
Gallardo.[1]
& Janine Matts. [2]
Recibido:
09-10-2021 / Revisado: 21 -10-2021 /Aceptado: 22-11-2021/ Publicado: 05-12-=
2021
Introduction: the integration of technology in
language teaching, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic caused t=
he search for different
pedagogical strategies. Due to this drastic change in education along with =
the
rapid access to online resources have placed technology as the most importa=
nt
tool in teaching. Therefore, when planning a class, the teacher must consid=
er
digital tools and dynamic methodologies to streamline and motivate students=
to
reduce their affective filter. Objective: the
current research aims to determine the effectiveness of Kahoot in the reduc=
tion
of the impact of the EFL students’ affective filter. Methods: this
study developed applied research with a mixed method approach and descripti=
ve
scope, with a quasi-experimental design. 42 students actively participated.=
For
the data gathering, two main tools of data collection were used, namely a
survey to look for information about the impact of students’ affective filt=
er
during the virtual classes and a pre and post-test based on reading compreh=
ension
to check the students’ English performance. Conclusions: the students are facing negative experiences in their le=
arning
of English because their affective filter is high. Besides, after the
intervention phase with the use of Kahoot, the students improved their Engl=
ish
performance in the reading comprehension skill. Therefore, it is suggested =
to
continue sampling innovative technological resources to enhance students’
performance.
Resumen
Introducción: la integración de la tecnología en la
enseñanza del lenguaje, especialmente en el contexto de la pandemia COVID-1=
9,
desencadenó un proceso de búsqueda de diferentes estrategias pedagógicas.
Debido a este cambio drástico en la educación, más la rapidez con la que se
dispone de recursos tecnológicos, ha hecho que la tecnología se sitúe en la
herramienta más importante en la enseñanza.
Por lo tanto, el docente debe considerar en la planificación de una =
clase,
herramientas digitales y metodologías dinámicas para agilizar y motivar a l=
os
estudiantes y de esta manera, reducir su filtro afectivo. Objetivo: esta
investigación tiene como objetivo determinar la efectividad de
Palabras clave=
s: comunicación, competencia, estrategia, producción
oral, destrezas del lenguaje.
Introduction
The COVID 19 pandemic has substantially
changed people's lives. It has even altered the organizational and function=
al
conditions of educational institutions. The face-to-face mode of education =
had
decades in development and one of the most remarkable aspects in this
educational modality is the social integration of the community, especially=
for
young people. Currently that social factor becomes a goal because emergency
remote teaching poses a challenge for socialization.
At the beginning of March 2020, the
Ministry of Education of Ecuador issued the Ministerial Agreement No.
MDT-2020-076 which ordained all students in schools and colleges to<=
span
lang=3DEN-US style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times =
New Roman",serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> work
remotely (Ministerio de Educación del Ecuado=
r,
2020). This ministerial agreement was issued by the central authority, due =
to
the COVID-19 pandemic
During the pandemic, students have faced the need to safeguard their physi=
cal
health. Furthermore, they felt a sense of alienation from their peers. They
also felt isolated and alone. All those facts affected their emotional heal=
th
(Hartshorn & McMurry, 2020). Thus, both teachers and students faced an unknown environment to them su=
ch as
online education through platforms that would become virtual classrooms.
According to Morales Valenzuela (2020),
students deserve special attention; since, they require training, social
protection, quality assurance, facilitation of online and distance learning,
complementarity in teaching strategies, psychosocial support, and activitie=
s. All
those students’ needs are consistent to stop and fight the stress that
confinement brings as well as the abrupt change in the teaching-learning
process. Therefore, teachers have the challenging task to assist their stud=
ents
to palliate the effects of the pandemic and support students’ resilience st=
age.
Furthermore, English has become one of=
the
most widely spoken languages in the world (Northrup, 2013). Therefore, it is
one of the most important in all areas of human=
development. That is why teaching it became vital. H=
owever,
learning English as a foreign language has presented many difficulties (Asm=
ali,
2017). In Ecuador, the level of English is considered very low (Education
First, 2021). According to the company Education First (2021), Ecuador has
ranked 90th out of 112 countries on the English Proficiency Index which not
only means that Ecuadorians demonstrate a very low level of English skills =
but
also that they underestimate the global significance of this language. Besi=
des,
it occupies the lowest place in English proficiency in South America. In th=
is
regard, it is very common to see how most students are not prepared to
communicate in this language even though they have studied it during the
periods of primary, secondary and higher levels of their formal education (=
Beltran,
2017). This may indicate that the target language is studied with little
interest.
Moreover, when speaking of Affective
Filter, it is possible to differentiate emotions and experiences that stude=
nts
reflect in their mood, attitude, and motivation levels (Cofer & Appley,
1964), which can influence the learning process (Krashen, 1982). In other
words, the presence of a high affective filter presented as demotivation, l=
ow
self-esteem and anxiety is one of the main problems that affect students du=
ring
the classroom activities. The language acquisition, which requires constant
interaction, is threatened when the learners' emotional factors do not allow
them to respond to the teacher's linguistic stimuli (Krashen, 1982).
Therefor=
e,
this research aims to determine the effectiveness of Kahoot in the reductio=
n of
the EFL students’ affective filter and to generate a general reflection rel=
ated
to the students’ affective filter around English as a Foreign Language, in =
the
context of virtual education during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, =
the
contributions that derive from this research deal with the learners’
perceptions, emotions and attitudes about how the pandemic and online lesso=
ns
have impacted their EFL learning process. Additionally, this study gathers
information after treatment based on gamification applied to students to re=
duce
their affective filter.
Theoretical
framework
The affective
filter
Initially, the affective filter hypoth=
esis
was posited by Dulay and Burt (1977). They argued that many conscious and
unconscious internal factors interact with input in order to produce output.
Second language acquisition is affected by “affective delimiters and cognit=
ive organize=
rs'' (Dulay & Burt, 1977, p. 99). The former refers to
learners' motives that contribute to individual preferences for determined
input models; prioritizing aspects of language to be learned and identifying
when language acquisition stops. While the latter refers to the internal
language processing devices that are in charge of grammar building. Therefo=
re,
affective factors make learners delimit their linguistic input in different
ways which can be understood as the difference between learner’s current ou=
tput
and what can be attained as total output (Dulay & Burt, 1977).
Krashen (1982) claims that “the best
methods are those that supply comprehensible input in low anxiety situation=
s,
containing messages that students really want to hear”. Thus, Krashen (1982=
) further
developed this hypothesis which involves
the learner's attitude, combined with their feelings, mood and other emotio=
nal
factors. These, in turn, positively or negatively influence the acquisition=
and
learning processes (Krashen, 1981). This influence is exerted as a filter t=
hat
enables, prevents or blocks the learning of a language.
On the one hand, this hypothesis
articulates, together with the input hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis and=
the
natural order hypothesis; the general theory of second language acquisition
formulated in 1983 by S. D. Krashen; on the other ha=
nd, it is part of the monitor model, which is explained=
as
the processes of second language development (Alvaréz de Zayas, 2000).
Krashen (1981) distinguished motivatio=
n,
self-confidence, and anxiety as the three types of affective or attitudinal
variables. Learners with a low affective filter are distinguished from those
who have a high one by the following issues: seeking and receiving more
information, relating to their interlocutors with greater confidence, being
more receptive and acting with a lower level of anxiety. Furthermore, the
presence of a low affective filter blocks any type of information that reaches<=
span
style=3D'color:black'> the brain, preventing the student from processing
information, affecting learning even though other elements of the Language
Acquisition Device (LAD) are working correctly (Chomsky, 1960 as cited by
Krashen, 1981).
The affective filter hypothesis attrib=
utes
to the emotional factors, elements that are directly related during the
acquisition / learning process of a second language (Uquillas & Córdova,
2020). In a study Uquillas and Córdova (2020) reported that those emotional
factors alter the students' educational =
behavior.
They found that students neither used virtual platforms like Zoom, Google M=
eet,
or Google Classroom effectively nor submitted assignments either. Additionally, it
was argued that the students’ attendance to virtual classes due to those
platforms were relatively unusual for students. Another problem was the stu=
dents’
affective filter which was significantly high because they cannot afford
computers or internet connection (Munni & Hasan, 2020).
According to Moreno Rodríguez (2017), =
the
affective filter has a very profound effect, creating a blockage of the Lan=
guage
Acquisition Device (innate human ability to acquire language according to
Chomsky's theory), and preventing information from being processed and
assimilated correctly (Yule, 2010). The experience that students have with
respect to learning a language can be positive or negative. If it is positi=
ve,
it can be used for the class benefit;=
on
the contrary, if it is negative, it will strength=
en a
position of resistance towards learning (Cofer & Appley, 1964).
Although the affective filter is part =
of
the process of acquiring a second language, children present a low affective
filter which increases with their age. This is because they begin to feel
ashamed, fear of being wrong and so they avoid being the object of ridicule
from their partners. In the case of adolescents and adults, who have a more
developed cognitive level; it is necessary that they are conscious and adopt
attitudes such as responsibility and perseverance that lead them to overcome
obstacles during this process (Krashen, 1982).
Virtual educ=
ation
in the COVID-19 pandemic
Current studies demonstrate the need f=
or
countries to be prepared in cases of a pandemic in the educational field.
Although students are protected from serious or fatal critical infections, =
they
can become the sources of spread, which was the main reason for closing
educational institutions around the world (Almarzooq et al., 2020). In this
context, there are diverse investigations that have been developed on this
issue.
Hartshorn and McMurry (2020)
In another research st=
udy,
Morales Valenzuela (2020) after reflecting about the challenges of this new=
way
of teaching and learning during the pandemic, proposed a series of class pl=
ans
through the use of games to foster students’ motivation to learn. This rese=
arch
faced a lot of difficulties related to the change of mode into virtual
teaching. Another reflection appeared as follows: ‘if this is hard for teachers, this would be even hard=
er for
students. For that reason, the levels of
stress are very high. This reflection is congruent with the results =
shown by Hartshorn and McMurry (2020) who stated that the
teaching and learning processes are not
important for the teachers nor the students because other stressors appeare=
d in
their lives. Finally, Morales Valenzuela (2020) argued that proposals must
include lessons for students to motivate them to participate for better
results.
In the same way, Munni and Hasan (2020)
investigated the effectiveness and feasibility of the teaching process with
university students in a language course focused on listening and speaking
skills through Facebook during the COVID-19 pandemic. They aimed to tackle =
the
greatest crisis that occurs in education worldwide through the use of
affordable resources to face the changes in the academic activities. Most university students from the target
population presented high affective filters. According to the authors, all
those problems can be solved through the use of Facebook groups because they
are affordable and easy to manage. In the intervention phase, they used vid=
eos
to improve listening and speaking skills focusing on pronunciation, body
language, fluency and accuracy. All those actions resulted in a successful
online learning environment.
Orgilés et al. (2020) developed the fi=
rst
study with a Spanish child population and concluded that 89% of children
presented behavioral or emotional alterations because of confinement.
Therefore, healthy routines and habits must be maintained after quarantine,=
and
the necessary support is also required for most individuals to regain their
normal functioning. Although, it is possible that a minority may need
psychological support after confinement, especially those who already had
psychological problems such as previous trauma, anxiety or depression;
developmental disorders; those with caregivers with financial instability or
previous psychopathology. In the case of children separated from their
caregivers during the pandemic or who have suffered the loss of a loved one,
they will be more likely to present psychological problems. These may inclu=
de
fear of infection and separation anxiety, which is why they may need
specialized psychological care.
Gamification=
and
the affective filter
Gamification refers to the application=
of
game strategies in spaces or areas whose nature is not mainly playful
(Kiruthiga & Arokiaraj, 2020), in order to motivate the change of behav=
iors
towards a specific objective. It is achieved by incorporating game elements
(both mechanical, dynamic and aesthetic) that enhance the user experience,
aligning the objectives to be achieved with their wishes and aspirations
(Banasik Jozeph, 2017).
Undoubtedly, gamification has emerged =
as a
strategy and as a developing approach in various fields and disciplines, bu=
t it
is especially in education and communication where it has seen, in practice=
, a
greater space of application. It happens due to the great sources of motiva=
tion
that games produce in students which is beneficial for their learning proce=
ss
(Krashen, 1982). Regarding this, it can be contended that gamification
constitutes an important factor in every human being’s learning process due=
to
the rewarding and motivating experiences that it provides.
The implementation of gamification in =
the
classroom favors the approach of students to learn in a fun and playful way.
The role of gamification in the fi=
eld of
education is to bring motivation to the
teaching and learning process, through the incorporation of game elements a=
nd
techniques. In other words, this tool is an alternative that allows the stu=
dent
to learn in a fun way and favors student-teacher relationships (Rodríguez &=
amp;
Santiago, 2015).
Considering the above, it is necessary=
to
recognize the difficulties that students have in the development of English
proficiency through a didactic strategy that uses the tools of gamification=
. It
is important to mention that these types of strategies can strengthen English skills if they =
are
designed considering the context, interests and needs of the student. This
coincides with Krashen (1981) who maintains that the student learns English
when he understands and receives messages in an interactive way in real
settings.
On the other hand, Figueroa (2015) arg=
ues
that significant tools are essential to intensify the use of the four Engli=
sh
skills. That is, gamification can be articulated with the purposes of the
teaching and learning processes of the second language. Thus, awakening the
interest in learning English, solving problems in their context, developing
creativity, interacting with their peers, favoring the work environment in =
the
classroom through challenges, competitions, role plays, among others.
Due to the recency of the covid-19 pandemic, there was little evidence of research on the
impact of the affective filter in online classes in the field of EFL/ESL
Methodology
The
methodology for this research was focused on applied research with a mixed
approach and descriptive scope, with quasi-experimental design. The target
population was formed by 42 students from tenth year of basic education dur=
ing
the 2020-2021 academic period. Since the universe is small, the sample was =
the
same number of individuals. Those students got the inclusion criteria to be
part of this research.
The
inclusion criteria were the following:
Therefore, the target population was
formed by the students as table below shows:
Table 1
Population
|
|
Male |
Female |
Total |
|
|
10th |
19 |
23 |
42 |
|
|
|
45% |
55% |
100% |
|
Source: Direct research<= o:p>
The
first step was the identification of students’ perception and needs about t=
heir
level of motivation and anxiety through a survey which was designed taking =
into
consideration some previous studies. It was a Spanish adaptation of the
Attitude/Motivation Test Battery published by Gardner (2004) and validated =
by
three experts in the area of Psychology. After that, a pre-test was taken by
the students to register their level of performance in reading. The pre-test
was taken from the reading part of the KET Exam from Cambridge Assessment. =
This
test had five sections with 30 questions which aimed to evaluate the learne=
rs’
understanding of simple written texts namely posters, booklets, periodicals,
and journals.
After
detecting students’ needs, some academic actions were put into practice to
consolidate knowledge. This phase consisted of 8 weeks of intervention clas=
ses
focused on reading comprehension with the use of Kahoot during 4 hours per =
week
out of normal schedule. There were learning activities before reading, duri=
ng
reading and after reading with the complementation of Kahoot as a for=
m of gamification which was used after each class to r=
educe
students’ affective filter. At the end of the treatment period, a post-test=
was
given to the students which had the same
structure as the pre-test.
With
the data obtained from the survey, the pre-test and the post-test, an Excel
database was created that allowed the homogenization of the information. All
those results were analyzed through SPSS statistical software. A frequency and mean comparison were done to assess the students’ performance before and after=
the
intervention.
Results
The
population actively participated in the whole process. First, the students
fulfilled the requirements that were mentioned in the inclusion criteria of
this document to be part of this research. For instance, they decided in th=
eir
learning schedule to have extra time to participate in the intervention pha=
se.
After that, they took the survey and the pretest. Then, the target populati=
on
took part in the virtual classro=
om
through the Zoom platform for eight weeks. Finally, after the treatment, the
students took a post test. Meanwhile, the researcher collected data. Once d=
ata
were obtained from the entire process, they were statistically analyzed and=
the
results are displayed below.
Survey
The
survey aimed to gather information related to the students’ perceptions tow=
ards
their motivation and anxiety during the Pandemic in their virtual learning.=
The
survey had a battery of 10 questions. With 95% reliability and 5% error; the
Cronbach’s Alpha was .820. The value obtained is above the validity thresho=
ld (> 0.7) generally acce=
pted
in the specialized literature (Cronbach, 1943; Nunnally, 1978; Tuapanta et =
al.,
2017).
Table 2
Reliability of survey
|
Cronbach's Alpha .820 |
N of Items 10 |
Source: Direct research
The
first part of the survey indented to collect information based on the normal
development of classes as table 3 shows:
Table 3
Normal class development during the Pandemic and its impact
|
=
|
1. Classes during the pandem=
ic
have been done normally because I had internet connection and a computer =
or
smartphone.=
|
2. I feel calm since the
pandemic has not affected my desire to learn |
||
|
|
Fr |
% |
Fr |
% |
|
Totally agree |
14 |
33% |
|
0% |
|
Agree |
24 |
57%<=
/span> |
1 |
2% |
|
Neither agree nor disagree |
4 |
10% |
12 |
29% |
|
Disagree |
|
0% |
8 |
19%<=
/span> |
|
Totally disagree |
0% |
21 |
50% |
|
|
|
42 |
100%=
|
42 |
100%=
|
Source: Dire=
ct
research
Table
3 shows that students developed classes normally during the pandemic. It me=
ans
that they had internet connection and technological supplies availability; =
and
how it affected their eagerness to learn.
Just four of them felt confused. However, its impact was alarming du=
e to
most of the students’ motivation having
been affected by the pandemic. It may be due to the radical change from the
classroom activities to virtual ones and the lack of interaction among stud=
ents
and the rest of the community. Therefore, students needed support in some w=
ay
to face this change.
The
second part of the survey was related to the teacher’s role and the student=
s’
motivation as table number 4 shows.
Table 4
Teacher’s role for the students’ motivation
Source: Dire=
ct
research
As the aforementioned
table shows, the teacher’s role for the target population was not supportin=
g at
all for their motivation. The teacher neither uses motivating virtual tools=
nor
motivating teaching strategies. In consequence, the virtual classrooms lack
motivation and most of the students do not feel comfortable during the Engl=
ish
classes. Even though students had in=
ternet
connection and technological supplies available,
they did not feel motivated to learn during English classes because the tea=
cher
does not use videos, music, or games. Furthermore, they do not feel
comfortable. All these issues affected their eagerness to learn.
Thirdly,
the survey asked about the main teaching language skills focus made by the
teacher.
Table 5
Main language skills focus on the class
|
6.
Teacher’s main focus of language skill in the class |
||
|
During the virtual classes my
teacher focuses on: |
Fr |
% |
|
|
|
0% |
|
|
|
0% |
|
|
|
0% |
|
|
11 |
26% |
|
|
31 |
74% |
|
|
42 |
100% |
Source: Direct research
Interestingly,
the teacher’s main approach for the English class, according to the student=
s’ percepti=
ons,
is mainly grammar followed by vocabulary. In th=
is
case, there is no interaction nor communication among students in the class.
This could be the most important reason for students’ demotivation. In this
scenery, the students need a change of teaching approach immediately.
The
last part of the survey was related to students’ level of anxiety and affec=
tive
filter.
Table 6
Students’
level of anxiety and affective filter
|
|
7. I feel frustrated because I=
am
not able to do my teacher’s tasks |
8. I am afraid during assessme=
nt. |
9. When I am afraid, I block
myself and do not do any activity |
10. I feel calm after each cla=
ss
and I look forward to the next one with joy |
||||
|
|
Fr |
% |
Fr |
% |
Fr |
% |
Fr |
% |
|
Totally agree |
19 |
45% |
19 |
45% |
23 |
55% |
1 |
2% |
|
Agree |
14 |
33% |
13 |
31% |
11 |
26% |
1 |
2% |
|
Neither agree nor disagree |
2 |
5% |
4 |
10% |
7 |
17% |
3 |
7% |
|
Disagree |
4 |
10% |
3 |
7% |
0 |
0% |
17 |
40% |
|
Totally disagree |
3 |
7% |
3 |
7% |
1 |
2% |
20 |
48% |
|
|
42 |
100% |
42 |
100% |
42 |
100% |
42 |
100% |
Source:=
Direct research
As it is shown in the table above, mos=
t of
the students feel frustrated because they do not understand what to do in t=
he
teacher’s proposed tasks. Furthermore, students are afraid during assessmen=
t.
Perhaps, it happens because the evaluation is just based on grammar as the
results of the previous table showed. Moreover, the students feel blocked w=
hen
they feel nervous and most of them feel anxious because of the anticipation=
of
the next lesson. This part of the survey provided answers that include info=
rmation
to record the students’ high affective filter and all the aspects that were
previously inquired. These interfere negatively in the English learning pro=
cess,
especially in these times of virtual education during the pandemic. Thus,
factors such as frustration because of not understanding tasks very well, f=
ear
caused by exams; blockage towards new activities; and the role of the teach=
er
adversely affects the students’ performance. Besides, when there is a tense=
and
negative environment, and little student’s participation, the learning proc=
ess
will be limited. In this way, the target language is not internalized,
understood or analyzed.
In sum, the results from the survey sh=
ed
light on the high affective filter of the target population. Those young bo=
ys
and girls are struggling with their English language learning process. For =
that
reason, it is important to achieve a favorable academic environment for
learning English as a foreign language and reduce the level of the affective
filter. The feeling of satisfaction is an essential factor when determining=
a
student's academic success and motivation in class. This fact would allow t=
he
learner to feel proud of their academic development.
Pretest and posttest results
This
research involves two main tests; the first one was taken by the students a=
fter
the survey. Then, based on those results, an intervention plan focused on
reading comprehension skills with the use of Kahoot which was developed with
students during eight weeks. Finally, the second test or post-test was also
taken by the students after the treatment. Consequently, a T- test was appl=
ied to
check if there is a significant difference between the means of the pre-test
and the post-test through the statistical software SPSS.
Table 7
Paired samples statistics
|
Pair=
ed
Samples Statistics |
|
|||||||||
|
|
Mean=
|
N |
Std.
Deviation |
Std.
Error Mean |
|
|||||
|
Pair 1 |
Pre-test |
7.98=
|
42 |
2.55=
2 |
.394=
|
|
||||
|
Post-test |
17.3=
6 |
42 |
2.32=
5 |
.359=
|
|
|||||
|
Pair=
ed
Samples Correlations |
||||||||||
|
|
N |
Corr=
elation |
Sig.=
|
|||||||
|
Pair 1 |
Pre-test & Post-test |
42 |
.445=
|
.003=
|
||||||
Source: Direct research
Table 8
|
Paired samples test |
||||||||||
|
Paired Differences |
t |
df |
Sig. (2-tailed) |
|
|||||
|
Mean |
Std. Deviation |
Std. Error Mean |
95% Confidence Interval of the
Difference |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Lower |
Upper |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Pair 1 |
Pre-test - Post-test |
-9.381 |
2.575 |
.397 |
-10.183 |
-8.578 |
-23.608 |
41 |
.000 |
|
Source: Direct research
As the
tables above show, there was a population formed by 42 valid cases. The
individuals corresponded to students from the tenth year of basic education=
. At
the beginning, it is clearly stated that the mean of students in the pretest
was 7.98 while the mean in the posttest is 17.36.
In the
T-test or paired samples test, it is clearly stated that the 2 tailed
significance is .000 which is < 0.05.
In sum, with 95% of confidence=
and
5% of error it is concluded that the students’ scores in the post test are
significantly different from those in the pretest. During the classes, in t=
he
intervention, the students felt more comfortable and eager to learn; since,=
the
reading texts used were chosen according to their age and level. In additio=
n,
the use of Kahoot in the formative evaluation, developed each class, provid=
ed
them some joy and entertainment. Consequently, it may be suggested that the=
ir
affective filter decreased.
Discussion
Krashen (1982) attributes considerable
importance to affective factors since these factors are directly related bo=
th
to the acquisition and learning process of a second language and to the res=
ults
obtained as throughout as at the end of that process. The learner's
demotivation and high anxiety are elements that can make language acquisiti=
on
difficult. On the other hand, the acquisition will be facilitated if there =
are
favorable psychological conditions in the classroom environment like
motivation, low anxiety and high self-confidence. In addition, it is not ev=
ery
input that manages to become an acquisition due to the existence of the
"affective filter" defined as the block of mind that stops learne=
rs
from using the comprehensible input received for the language acquisition. =
That
means that if the affective filter is high, the learner can understand what=
he
hears and reads, but he or she cannot use his or her Language Acquisition
Device (Krashen, 1982).
For the linguist, students with a low
affective filter; therefore, have better results in their language learning
process, when they are not concerned with the possibility of not being
successful in learning the language. On the other hand, a student with a hi=
gh
affective filter (unmotivated, with great anxiety and low self-confidence),
even if he is intensely exposed to the foreign language, will not reach an
acceptable proficiency level. Thus, the ideal situation for students’ langu=
age
achievement will then be the existence of a low affective filter, which will
make the learner really focused on their learning process.
In other words, the existence of the
affective filter is the main explanation for individual learning difference=
s,
especially during this pandemic time where students had to live in a totally
different learning situation. That is the reason why it
However, research in the Ecuadorian
primary and secondary schools was not found.
Regarding this, a coll=
apse
was perceived in the target population. The results from the survey taken by
the students evidenced that there was not a clear link between new technolo=
gies
and teaching. The teacher does not manage technological resources at all.
Therefore, there is a lack of motivation=
in
the English language classes.
Those results also provided responses =
that
contain information to understand how the affective filter and all the aspe=
cts
that surround it negatively interfere with the English learning process. The
results indicate that there is no teacher-student interaction. Thus, the la=
ck
of factors such as security, trust, comfort when interacting, the existence=
of
rapport, support from the teacher, a harmonious and dynamic environment, a
reliable assessment and the role of the teacher as facilitator are evident =
and
these factors negatively affect the teaching-learning process.
The teaching-learning environment in t=
he
present study negatively affects the acquisition of knowledge of a foreign
language. The pre-test results showed poor performance in reading comprehen=
sion
skills; possibly due to aspects such as a tense environment, a lack of
motivation and insecurity at the time of the evaluation. That is, the
methodological strategies used by the teacher influence the learning proces=
s.
The aspects that concern the teacher's profile should be, among others, to =
have
a humanistic vision of the learning process, to use playful, interactive,
productive methodological strategies, to stop conducting monotonous classes=
, or
to be not very dynamic and traditional in teaching strategies. The results =
of
this research show methodological problems regarding the needs of students =
in
the context of virtual education due to the pandemic and their learning
expectations. The lack of these aspects can establish barriers that prevent=
the
good academic and human development of the class.
One of the goals of the
present study was to identify the influence of the Kahoot tool to reduce the
students’ affective filter. For this purpose, the Kahoot resource was used,
which is interactive, dynamic and simple. It should be noted that part of i=
ts
educational success is due to the fact that large infrastructures are not
required to support it, it only needs a Wi-Fi connection and a device, name=
ly a
tablet, a computer or a smartphone.
Likewise, the sessions focused on read=
ing
comprehension that used the reading texts provided by the Ministry of educa=
tion
for the tenth year of basic education were also based on games. They were
developed in a virtual environment through the Zoom platform that encourages
healthy competition among students individually or in groups, because it
rewards those who respond by saving the results online (Kahoot, 2021). This
tool can be used with different objectives: to diagnose previous knowledge =
on a
topic, to know the most important aspects of a unit before starting it or o=
nce
it is finished or perhaps as in this study, to check what has been learned,=
to
evaluate the degree of understanding of a certain reading among others (Kaur
& Naderajan, 2019).
The improvements of the initial results
implied the evolution of the literal aspects; the understanding of what the
text expressed was improved, it was remembered with precision and correctne=
ss.
At the inferential level, students progressed by establishing relationships
between parts of the text to infer relationships, information, conclusions,=
or
aspects that were not written; for this they needed to interpret and identi=
fy
the main idea and the author's intention. Based on this, it is important to
consider that there are technological resources that support the developmen=
t of
reading comprehension that serve as tools for evaluating reading comprehens=
ion.
The teaching and learning process must
improve to allow the development of skills that will help in the students’
learning, not only the grammatical approach as the literature indicates
(Harmer, 2007; Richards and Rodgers, 2001) Among the factors listed are
interacting with peers, implementing communicative practices and a more
participatory environment, planning classes in an interactive, playful and
motivating way so that students do=
not
feel frustration after each class (Morales Valenzuela, 2020), even more in =
this
pandemic where students have been greatly psychologically affected.
Conclusions
The results of this study have a serie=
s of
important implications for the future practice of teaching with regard to t=
he
management of motivation, and students’ affective filter. To begin with, ke=
ep
in mind that motivation is a personal matter and it will always be positive=
for
learning. On the other hand, anxiety, which can positively influence
responsibility, as well as affect students’ performance, creates<=
span
style=3D'color:black'> physical discomfort and struggles regarding the lang=
uage.
When it has been affected by bad experiences with the language, the teacher=
can
make use of strategies and activities to boost it.
Based on the premises listed above, the
conclusions for this research are the following:
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PARA CITAR EL ARTÍCULO INDEXADO.=
Rivera Gallardo, X. P., & Matts, J.
(2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the
affective filter of EFL learners in an online classroom. ConcienciaDigital, 4(4.2), 42-59. https://doi.org/10.33262/concienciadigital.v4i4.2.1939
El artículo que=
se
publica es de exclusiva responsabilidad de los autores y no necesariamente
reflejan el pensamiento de la Revi=
sta
Conciencia Digital.
El artículo queda en propiedad de la revista y, por
tanto, su publicación parcial y/o total en otro medio tiene que ser autoriz=
ado
por el director de la Revista Conc=
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Digital.
[1] Pontificia Univers=
idad
Católica del Ecuador Sede Ambato, Dirección de Posgrado, Tungurahua,
ximena.p.rivera.g@pucesa.edu.ec ORCID: 0000-0002-7303-1161
[2] Pontificia
Universidad Católica del Ecuador Sede Ambato, Dirección de Posgrado,
Tungurahua, jmatts559@puce.edu.ec, ORCID: 0000-0001-7649-6039
www.concie=
nciadigital.org
=
Vol. 4, N°4.2, p. 42-59, diciembre, 20