- As human beings, we are emotional creatures.

The essence of every thought and action is

emotion. Thats why its important to study the affective considerations in first and second language
acquisition.
- There are many factors that have inspired the investigation of affective considerations in first
second language acquisition. Some linguists believe that it is necessary to analyze the inner being of
a person to discover if the explanation of language acquisition is in the affective side of human
behavior.
- It is important to highlight that any affective factor can be relevant for the acquisition of a
language.
- An example of this is egocentricity. Very young children are highly egocentric. The world revolves
about them and they see all events as focusing on themselves, so they acquire language according
to their own necessities. (Try to give an example)
- During preadolescence, children develop an acute consciousness of themselves as individual
entities, but they still need protection. Thats why they develop inhibitions (try to explain what
these are) about their self-identity.
- During puberty, these inhibitions are heightened because of the physical, cognitive and emotional
changes. They need to acquire a whole new identity. Their egos are affected not only in how they
understand themselves, but also in how they relate to others.
- Alexander Guiora proposed what he called language ego to account for the identity a person
develops in reference to the language he or she speaks. It is important to clarify that our own
identity is connected with our language because through the communicative process we confirm,
shape and reshape our identity.
- During childhood, our ego is dynamic and flexible, so a new language does not represent a threat,
but with the emotional, physical and cognitive changes of puberty, the language ego becomes
protective and defensive, so it clings to the security of the native language to protect our ego.
- The acquisition of a new language ego is a difficult task for adolescents and adults who have grown
comfortable and secure of their own identity and that have inhibitions that work as a wall of
defensive protection around the ego.
- In this sense, the acquisition of a new language seems to be the acquisition of a second identity.
- Other important affective variable is the role of attitudes in language learning. Negative attitudes
can affect success in learning a language. When children reach school age, they begin to acquire
certain attitudes toward people, cultures, ethnic groups, etc. (Give example with the flag)
- Finally, peer pressure is another important variable. This works in different ways for children and
adults. Children are usually told in words, thoughts and actions that they need to be better than the
rest, so they become harsh critics of others actions and words. In this sense, if a child makes a
mistake, his or her classmates will laugh and make fun of him or her, which will affect how that child
learns a new language. In the case of adults, they tend to tolerate errors in speech, so if someone
makes a mistake but they can still understand the message, they will provide positive cognitive and
affective feedback.