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AFFECTIVE FACTORS IN SELF-DIRECTEDLEARNING	
  Name: Jo Mynard and David McLoughlin

Corresponding Author:
joanne-m@kanda.kuis.ac.jp
ISSN 2187-4972

Publication date: February, 2014

To cite this article:
Mynard, J. and McLoughlin, D. (2014). Affective factors in self-directed learning.
Working Papers in Language Education and Research, 2 (1), 27-41.

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AFFECTIVE FACTORS IN SELF-DIRECTED LEARNINGJo Mynard
Kanda University of International Studies, Chiba
David McLoughlin
Meiji University, Tokyo

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the role of affective factors in self-directed learning. Affective factors
include emotions, feelings, moods, beliefs and attitudes; the authors give a brief overview
of these phenomena and how they affect cognition. The paper then describes ways inwhich affective factors are attended to in a self-access setting at a university in Japan,
where language learners are engaged in a process of self-directed study. Drawing on
findings from some preliminary research, the authors consider ways in which learners
might be able to sustain motivation during periods of self-directed study.

1. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of affective factors in learning andinvestigate how learners might be supported during a period of self-directed study. The
researchers begin by defining affect and then exploring the relationship between affect andcognition. They then look at ways in which educators can promote affective factors in selfdirected learning, drawing upon examples from initial research. The aim of the paper is toanswer four questions:● What is affect?
● Why is it important in self-directed learning?
● How do we as educators currently attend to affective factors?
● How can we do this better?
	
  

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2. BACKGROUND

2.1 Context
The context for the present research is a small, private university near Tokyo in Japan,
specializing in languages and culture. The institution features a large self-access learning centre(‘the SALC’) and the main aims of the SALC are to promote language learner autonomy andtarget language use by providing resources and support services to students. The SALC offers aseries of optional self-directed language learning modules, which around 500 students each year
choose to take. The modules are designed to help learners develop the autonomous learning
skills needed to successfully plan and implement a course of independent study. Learners
working on a module are assigned personal learning advisors (LAs) to help them evaluate theirneeds, choose appropriate materials and methods, monitor their learning, maintain motivationand evaluate their linguistic gains. Several research studies have been conducted in recent years
examining the interaction between the learners and LAs and the way this advising dialogue (bothface to face and written) promotes reflection and awareness of learning processes (cf. Mynard &Navarro, 2010; Mynard, 2010; 2012; Mynard & Thornton, 2012; Thornton & Mynard, 2012;
Yamaguchi et al., 2012).

2.2 Advising in Language Learning (ALL)Advising in Language Learning (ALL) is the process of helping a learner become moreaware and autonomous through engagement with dialogue and drawing upon tools that facilitatereflection (Carson & Mynard, 2012). In the context described above, LAs meet learners in the
SALC either for face-to-face booked advising sessions, at a Learning Help Desk on a ‘drop in’basis, or in conjunction with one of the optional modules. The modules are tools that facilitate
	
  

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thinking and learning, and this is further enhanced through the advising process. Typically,learners attend a group orientation session before starting a module; they then meet their LAs in
person for one-to-one advising sessions around three times during an eight-week period. Eachweek, the learner submits written descriptions and reflections on self-directed work, and the LA
responds to these reflections, also in written form. The LAs respond to the learners in apersonalized way and may focus on cognitive, metacognitive, sociocultural-interactive, oraffective factors (Mynard, 2012; Mynard & Thornton, 2012; Thornton & Mynard, 2012).
Although all of these factors are important in the learning and advising process (Hurd &Fernández-Toro, 2009), affect is the focus of this paper.

3. AFFECT

3.1 What is Meant by “Affect”?
The term affect is a broad one, covering a diverse range of mental phenomena. When wetalk of affective states, we are commonly referring to emotions or moods. Moods lack intensity,
are diffuse and often endure for extended periods. Emotions, on the other hand, are relatively
intense, distinct, but short-lived. Moods have little cognitive content and usually no salient
antecedent cause. In other words, people usually do not know why they are in a certain mood.
Emotions tend to have a salient antecedent cause, and the individual is normally aware of whatthat cause is. They also have clear cognitive content (disgust, fear, anger) so that, unlike moods,
emotions have a referent towards which they are directed (Forgas, 2000; Schunk, Pintrich, &Meece, 2008). Moods can be classed as being positive or negative, but emotions can be much
more complex. One need simply consider emotions like sadness, fear, guilt, or regret to see thatthey are more than simply ‘good’ or ‘bad’ (Fiske & Taylor, 2013). A summary of the differences
	
  

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between emotions and moods is given in Table 1.

Table 1. Emotions and Moods
Emotion

Moods

Relatively intense

Lack intensity

Concentrated

Diffuse

Short-lived

Endure for longer

Salient antecedent cause

No salient antecedent cause

Clear cognitive content

Little cognitive content

Have a referent

No referent

Complex‘Good’ or ‘bad’

The affective domain also covers preferences and evaluations (Fiske & Taylor, 2013),
which can be categorized as generally positive or negative, in the same way as moods. Beliefs
and attitudes come under the notion of affect (Hurd, 2008; Oxford, 2011). Affect also refers tofeelings (Hurd, 2008), though it is important to distinguish between feelings and emotions, twoterms that are used almost interchangeably in daily discourse. In biological terms, an emotion isa bodily response to a stimulus; a feeling is a representation of that emotional state in the brain.
Many organisms will therefore have emotions and even feelings, because mental representations
do not require consciousness. A feeling in the human sense is the conscious awareness of a nonconscious mental representation of a non-conscious, bodily emotion (Damasio, 2000).

	
  

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It is through feelings, which are inwardly directed and private, that emotions, which are
outwardly directed and public, begin their impact on the mind; but the full and lasting
impact of feelings requires consciousness, because only along with the advent of a senseof self do feelings become known to the individual having them.
(Damasio, 2000, p. 36)
However, in common parlance, the term emotion is often used to describe both thecomplete set of bodily responses to a stimulus together with a conscious awareness of those
responses; that is the way the term is used in this paper.
According to Oxford (2011), affect in second language learning has been a relatively
under-researched area, with attention being paid to certain topics. Language anxiety has been a
fertile field of study. L2 learning anxiety arises when the learner is afraid of L2 social
performance, mainly speaking. It has many adverse consequences: reduced willingness tocommunicate; general avoidance behaviours; low scores on standardized tests; reduced selfconfidence; and a reduced sense of control. There is a range of physical symptoms: trembling;
dryness of the throat; palpitations; stammering; and blushing (Oxford, 2011).

3.2 Affect and Cognition
The question of the relationship between affect and cognition – feeling and thinking – isan age-old one. In some views, affect has been seen as having a negative and dangerous impact
on thinking and behaviour; in others, it is seen as an essential companion to rational thought(Forgas, 2000). Many thinkers in the Western theological and philosophical traditions havetackled this question, and one key conception of mental life that has survived till this day is theidea that it has three components: affect (relating to feeling); cognition (relating to thinking); andconation (relation to willing). These have traditionally been seen as “distinct and complementary

	
  

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faculties” (Forgas, 2000, p. 3). This tripartite organization of the mind has remained influential,
to the extent that many psychologists in the last century still saw each faculty as fundamentally
separate. As Forgas (2000) points out, this may explain why each of the two main paradigms oftwentieth-century psychology focused on one faculty as an independent entity. Behaviorism
focused solely on conation (goal-oriented behaviour). Cognitivism, until a couple of decades ago,
was concerned with “thinking” in terms of cognition, with no attention paid to affect. Much
current research looks at the interaction between affect and cognition and views the two mental
faculties as an integrated system.
Researchers today, therefore, see the influence between affect and cognition as
bidirectional (Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2008). Forgas (2000) cites evidence for the influenceof affect on attention, memory, thinking, associations, and judgments, as well as for influence inthe other direction, as when “people’s appraisal and analysis of situational information activate
appropriate emotional responses” (Forgas, 2000, p. 6).
Schunk, Pintrich, and Meece (2008) provide an overview of the ways in which affect has
an influence on cognition, learning, and performance. There are four primary routes by whichsuch influences operate. Firstly, affect has an impact through memory processes. One example isthe process known as affect-congruent retrieval (Forgas, 2000), whereby one’s affective state
facilitates the retrieval of memories that are affectively congruent with it. In other words, people
who are depressed or anxious or in a bad mood display a bias towards recalling negative
memories, while people who are in a positive mood are more likely to recall good memories.
Negative affective states also appear to have a detrimental effect on working memory, while
positive affective states seem to have no bearing upon it (Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2008).
There is also evidence that affective states can influence one’s choice and use of

	
  

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information processing strategies, which has consequences for learning and performance. It used
to be the consensus that negative affect leads to more analytic, systemic, and detailed
information processing than positive states, which were thought to generate rapid but superficial
processing (Forgas, 2000). It now appears that the reality is more complex. Linnenbrink and
Pintrich (2000) report that students displaying negative affective states are less likely to choose
more complex cognitive strategies that require deeper information processing. This makes sense
as such strategies demand greater engagement with the task in hand, something that is unlikely tooccur with aversive negative affective states (Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2008).
A third route by which emotions or mood might influence cognition, learning, andperformance is their demand on attentional resources. Space in working memory is limited, andaffective states take up space, thereby increasing cognitive load. Emotions such as fear or anxiety,for example, can interfere with the cognitive processing required to complete a task by
consuming working memory resources (Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2008). Intriguingly, both
positive and negative states can take up scarce processing capacity, yet there is an asymmetry inthe consequences of the two types of effect for cognitive processing and performance (Forgas,
2000).
Affect may also have motivational consequences (Forgas, 2000). Positive affect, such as
enjoyment of a task, may generate intrinsic motivation; negative affective states might be
expected to lessen intrinsic motivation, though fear might result in extrinsic motivation (Schunk,Pintrich, & Meece, 2008). However, as Forgas (2000) notes, positive affect may lead tostrategies aimed at maintaining positive mood, by avoiding cognitive effort for example;
negative states may lead to processing that is more attentive and careful.

	
  

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4. AFFECTIVE FACTORS IN PRACTICE

4.1. Examples of How Affective Factors are Addressed
There are three ways in which affective factors are addressed through the SALC at theinstitution described in this paper (also see Valdivia, McLoughlin, & Mynard, 2011). The first is
through a module called the First Steps Module which is a module designed to introduce learners
to some of the key concepts associated with becoming a language learner. Once a learner isaware of these factors and equipped with some tools, he or she finds it easier to design andimplement a course of self-directed learning. One of the units of the First Steps Module is“Affective Strategies” and consists of activities to explicitly introduce learners to internal andexternal motivational factors, confidence-building techniques, and also to strategies for reducing
anxiety.
The second way is to ensure that affective factors are an integral part of the process ofdesigning and implementing a course of independent study. LAs help learners to construct plansthat help them to not only focus on their language learning goals, but also to manage theirmotivation and affective states. A model called SURE+E (Study Use Review Evaluate + Enjoy)
is introduced to the learners to help them to organise and balance their learning in order to makenoticeable progress and notice and measure their achievements which in turn aim to build
confidence, maintain motivation and promote a sense of self-efficacy.
Finally, the weekly comments that LAs write to learners each week also have asignificant role to play and these comments are one of the main focus areas of this paper; namely
ways in which LAs focus on affective factors through written comments and also on students’reactions to LA comments and whether these comments have any impact on affective factors.

	
  

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4.2 Previous ResearchPrevious research in this context has not focussed specifically on affective factors, yetfindings helped to shape the direction in which current and future research and practice will take.
Two separate studies conducted at the same institution indicated that LAs pay particular attention
to not only cognitive and metacognitive factors, but also to affective factors when facilitating
self-directed learning, particularly through written comments. The written format allows morethinking time than in face-to-face situations, so LAs can attend to different aspects of a learner’s
experience. In one of the studies (Thornton & Mynard, 2012) the researchers analysed thewritten comments by nine LAs as part of the First Steps Module to see whether the comments
targeted mainly cognitive, metacognitive or affective factors. The researchers found thatapproximately half of all advisor comments primarily had an affective function.
In addition, a typical advisor comment focused on a combination of cognitive,
metacognitive and affective factors, like in this example:
I know you are super busy with all your work. Finding time for independent study(module work) can be difficult. Also a big part of university life is socializing and having
fun with friends - don’t feel too bad. What the SUR (Study, Use, Review) model can do ishelp you add balance to your language learning. Activities that help you study, use andreview for both your goals are particularly useful.
What are some activities that you can do to help you study –vocab & speaking
and use vocab & speaking?
An interpretation of this comment is: “...the advisor first attends to the learner’s affective
side, by trying to reassure her about balancing work and social life commitments, which in itself
requires the metacognitive skill of time management. The metacognitive aspect of learning isthen further focused on when the advisor reinforces the usefulness of a model for organizing
learning activities which has been introduced in this unit. Finally a cognitive aspect is also added

	
  

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by the advisor, who prompts reflection and encourages action, through questioning, on specificlearning activities which might be suitable for this learner” (Thornton & Mynard, 2013, p. 149).
The research shows that LAs focus on affective factors to a large degree, but do thelearners read, understand and benefit from these kinds of comments? Mynard (2012) conducted
research to try to establish to what extent the comments from LAs were valued by learners andwhether the comments influenced students’ learning. In order to investigate this, six module
takers and their learning advisors were interviewed (separately) and the module materials were
examined (further details of the research can be found in Mynard, 2012). The results indicatedthat all six learners valued and were influenced by the comments from LAs. The types ofcomments that the learners felt were most useful depended on their particular needs, but all of
the participants mentioned affective or motivational matters. In fact, almost half of the episodes
that students highlighted during the interviews appeared to have had an impact on the learner’s
affective domain or influenced their motivation (19 out of 42 episodes).
4.3 Comments that Help Learners to Manage Affect and Motivation
Although, this certainly needs further analysis and additional supporting data, thefollowing six areas emerged from the interviews conducted by Mynard (2012) as ways in which
students indicated that LA comments had helped them to manage affective and motivational
states.

1. Being able to talk to an LA about other things, not just learningThis aspect was mentioned by three of the participants and here is one extract from aninterview with a learner:“(my LA) cheer me not only study, but club and other things. I think it’s great…..for me

	
  

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to contact with learning advisor it is nice chance to talk about other things for example inthe class or some other problem so it’s nice.”
2. The use of pictures, emoticons and stickers
In a face-to-face advising scenario, LAs use body language, humour and tone of voice toestablish trust and rapport. During the module period, most of the interaction is in written form
and given the limited face-to-face contact, LAs make efforts to establish trust and rapport withlearners in other ways. For example, all LAs use emoticons - usually smiley faces for thispurpose. Some LAs use stickers or drawings and all of the learners interviewed mentioned themand indicated that they appreciate them.
3. LAs giving emotional responses
LAs often express their own feelings in their comments for example, one LA wrote “I’mreally pleased that you’re happy with your progress this week.” Two learners said during
interviews that they appreciated these kinds of comments as they motivated them like in thisexample: “I am happy! I was happy, so my motivation….was up… that sentence, could goodwords for me, so I did harder work this unit. I pleased when I read this comment.”
4. Using encouraging words
LAs wrote encouraging comments throughout the module, and one student talked about
how these kinds of comments helped her motivation: “my motivation gradually up… I always
thought (my LA’s) comments fill me happy …… so I continue work. To tell the truth, other class
homework is very hard for me, it is difficult for me to continue this work, but (my LA’s)comments cheer up so I could continue.”
5. The nature of written interaction
One participant explained how the nature of the hand-written interaction motivated her:“I like read here because look like secret diary with (my LA). I like.” Later she added “(the

	
  

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written comments were..) very helpful and reading is fun - my LA’s message.”
6. LAs intuiting
LAs tend to intuit how they believe a student is feeling based on the evidence as a way ofconnecting and empathising with the learner and this was appreciated. One student explained thatshe felt her LA understood her which was also motivating: “I thought [my LA] was understoodme …I became happy.”

5. CONCLUSIONS

According to Dornyei and Ushioda (2011), L2 motivation needs positive conditions tothrive. Initial and sustained motivation require a positive self-evaluation on the part of the learner.
Particularly, in independent learning settings, as important as the need for a focus on cognitiveand metacognitive strategies is “the need to focus on positive emotions and attitudes and build instrategies in the materials that can help students to maintain a positive outlook” (Hurd 2008, p.
232). One way to introduce such a focus is to explicitly teach affective strategies.
Oxford (2011) presents affective strategies as a component of language learning to be
used in tandem with cognitive and sociocultural-interactive strategies. Affective strategies “helplearners directly optimize their emotions, beliefs, attitudes, and motivation for the purpose of L2
learning” (Oxford, 2011, p. 64). They enable the learner to generate positive emotions andattitudes and stay motivated. Oxford identifies two main types:● Activating supportive emotions, beliefs and attitudes (e.g. expressing feelings, relaxing,
creating positive emotions through thoughts or statements, using positive self-talk, using
self-handicapping)● Generating and maintaining motivation (e.g. considering the instrumental use of the L2 or
	
  

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future rewards, using positive self-talk to motivate or negative self-talk as a push to
improve, using self-handicapping as a positive challenge, increasing intrinsic motivation
by personalizing tasks)

Furthermore, as we can talk of metacognitive strategies, Oxford argues that we can also
identify meta-affective strategies, which are concerned with learners’ control of their affective
strategy use and allow learners to be aware of and control their affect, whether emotions,motivation, beliefs, or attitudes.
Although students are explicitly introduced to affective strategies through the modules,
much of the motivation for learners in this context is likely to be due to the comments that they
regularly receive from their LAs. Although this is beneficial, LAs should also consider extending
the training that learners receive in affective strategy use so that learners are able to manage theirown affective states and sustain their own self-directed study even without the regular commentsfrom LAs.

6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The first author is grateful to RILS&LE funding which enabled her to co-present this paper at the
Pan-Asian/Philippine Association for Language Teachers Conference “Tradition and Innovationin Language Education” in Cebu City, 5-7 December, 2013.

	
  

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