The contributions of a language partner in lowering affective filters: A case study of a

Taiwanese student in practicing conversational English

Elly Ramadhani Sipayung

Introduction
Stephen Krashen invented the term "affective filter," which is used in educational psychology to
describe an emotional (i.e. affective) obstruction that limits adaptation and new learning. Affective
filters are common, and instructors must be mindful of what generates them while dealing with
students. Instructors or learning facilitators (the other party who often called as the more
knowledgeable other by Vygotsky) can manipulate affective filters. High anxiety, low motivation,
low self-confidence, boredom, and impatience are examples of negative affective filters that
operate as a filter obstructing language acquisition. Krashen (1982) classified affective filters into
low and high: low affective filter is the condition when a second language performer has low-
anxiety, high-motivation, and high self-confidence; as for high affective filter is the condition
when a second language performer has high-anxiety, low-motivation, and low self-confidence (pp.
30-32). In numerous previous studies, it appears that Taiwanese students experienced a high
affective filter when it comes to English speaking, high anxiety and low self-confidence in
particular (Chu, 2008; Chuang, 2010; Hou, 2013; Chen & Tsou, 2017; Tien 2018; Tsai & Lee,
2018).

Without a doubt, this can have a substantial impact on language acquisition and communication
skills among learners. Positive emotional characteristics are expected to have a significant impact
on willingness to engage in communicative tasks in a foreign/second language (MacIntyre,
Clément, & Noels, 2007). According to research, learners who are less-anxious, more confident,
more driven, and competent are more likely to want to use the target language. Learners who are
willing to communicate with others in the target language are more likely to learn the language
because they have the opportunity to do so. Numerous studies had proven that a language partner
and interactive media contribute to enhancing English speaking confidence and lowering speaking
anxiety (Chotipaktanasook, 2016; Long, 2001; Yin, Tabata, Ogata, and Yana, 2010; Hummel,
2013; Hovinga, 1998; Cunico, 2019).

The classic Suggestopedia class which conducted in an institute in Sofia, Bulgaria (Bancroft, 1978
in Krashen, 1982) consists of some interactive activities, for example meditation-reading, games,
and plays which provide both pleasant environment and a teacher with a dynamic personality who
is capable of delivering the lessons and motivating the students (pp. 143-144). Pleasure reading,
which was promoted by Krashen (pp. 165-166) through his personal experience in improving his
French, shows the affective filter goes higher when he encounters some difficult passages. This
shows just how important it is to maintain a learning environment with a low affective filter. In a
study by Chotipaktanasook (2016), a total of forty students from two 15-week language courses at
a Thai institution took part in the study. They were invited to use one sort of social media,
Instagram, to post images of what they did in class and report on their English learning experience.
The study confirms the contribution of social media in lowering affective filters and, as a result,
increasing the readiness to communicate.

Long's study (2001), which focused on the nature of communication in language exchange
activities between a learner of English in Japan and a learner of Japanese in Australia over the
course of ten weeks, found that motivational factors related to self-confidence are key variables
affecting motivation during real-time communication. Yina, Tabata, Ogata, and Yana (2010)
proposes SONLEM, a Social Networking Service site-based mobile environment for learning
foreign languages that assists learners in finding a partner who can help them solve language
learning problems in an online community, and a suitable request chain of friends will be
recommended in response to their request. Cunico (2019) suggested students benefit from
language tandem exchanges because they provide them with opportunity for independent learning
and authentic intercultural communication interactions.

Those studies show just how significant the contribution of a language partner in lowering the
affective filter of a second language performer. Therefore, the present study attempts to answer
the question “How does a language partner contribute to lowering a Taiwanese English learner's
affective filter?” as the focus of the study is the author’s language partner who is a native Mandarin
Chinese speaker and is learning English.

Literature Review

Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis (1982, pp. 30-32)

The concept of affective filter was originally proposed by Dulay and Burt in 1977 (in Krashen,
1982). Krashen placed the variety of affective variables into three categories:
1) Motivation. Second language performers usually do better when they possess high-
motivation.
2) Self-confidence. High self-confidence and a good self image result in a better performance.
3) Anxiety. Anxiety here is defined as foreign language anxiety (FLA) and high anxiety
obstructs a second language performer in acquiring the target language.
The Affective Filter hypothesis emphasizes the importance of a low affective filter in putting the
second language performer at ease. This will enable a better chance in applying the comprehensible
input, and thus, makes the language acquisition possible (p. 32).

Krashen’s Comprehensible Input (1982, pp. 63-66)

Krashen requires optimal input to be comprehensible and even places it as the most important
requirement (p. 63). Hatch (in Krashen, 1982) summarized the characteristics of aiding a
comprehensible input. First, a slower rate and clearer articulation which makes word boundaries
identification easier; second, the use of high frequency vocabulary, less slang, fewer idioms; and
third, a syntactic simplification and shorter sentences (p. 64).

Krashen’s Alternatives to Teaching (1982, pp. 184-185)

Krashen identifies several possible alternatives to supplement language teaching methods. One of
them is conversation with native speakers. However, native speakers in this regard are limited to
a native speaker who is motivated to try helping the second language acquirer and is genuinely
interested in the acquirer as a person (p. 163). That being said, a conversational partner here is
someone who is obviously interested in interacting with the second language acquirer.
Vygotsky’s Scaffolding (1986, pp. 184-186)
Vygotsky (1986) emphasizes the significance of instruction in the development of the learning
psychological foundations. Instruction is always ahead of development although both are
interconnected with respective rules. The development of higher functions is influenced by
instruction in a certain subject much beyond the bounds of that subject. It becomes certain that the
role of a more knowledgeable other is very important in accommodating a second language
acquirer’s needs.

Methodology
This study was conducted with qualitative empirical case study by utilizing Discord as the main
platform to conduct 12 one on one meetings from May through August 2021. Discord is a voice
and text chat application that is commonly used in games, social, academic, and business settings.
It's a popular gaming platform and a powerful tool for facilitating community participation (Lacher
& Biehl, 2019). Discord offers a number of features that might be used to aid learning in a virtual
classroom. Users might interact with one another by playing sounds (Jiang et al., 2019). In
addition, the Discord program allows you to speak with other members by joining one of the
group's accessible channels (Raihan & Putri, 2018). Apart from that, although there are some perks
that are only available for users with a premium package called Nitro, Discord’s main features are
totally free and make it a more friendly option compared to Zoom cloud meetings. All texts,
pictures, website links that are exchanged within the Discord servers are available forever unless
they are intentionally removed. In most current studies, Discord has been perceived as one of the
most convenient virtual learning platforms such as English learning (Jannah & Hentasmaka
(2021), including English vocabularies (Odinokaya et al, 2021) and listening class (Wulanjani,
2018) as well as Islamic religious and moral education (Wahyuningsih & Baidi, 2021). All features
and benefits that Discord offer was the reason why the author opted for Discord as the platform to
conduct this study aside from the fact that the learner also has been familiar with the platform.

To tailor to the study needs, a server named “English Conversation Club” was created with several
channels such as Study Room voice channel for the speaking practice; lesson-resources, feedback,
and assignments text channels for storing the learning material; and gallery text channel as a
recreational venue. The participant was a Taiwanese, native speaker of Mandarin Chinese with a
bachelor’s degree in science (Biology) and is currently studying a graduate program at Department
of Humanities and Art, National Chiayi University. The participant hereinafter referred to as
“learner” and the author referred to as “partner”.

Data Collection and Procedures

12 one on one meetings were conducted from May through August 2021. The virtual meetings
were recorded for a later examination and observation. Texts that have been exchanged outside or
within the meetings were also regarded as data. Oral interviews within the meetings were also
conducted.

The author acted as the learner’s language partner and provided the whole lessons’ material. The
program was initially focused on assisting the learner in improving his English speaking skills.
However, as the meetings were conducted, the author provided support in writing and reading
skills as well by creating a cloud journal on Google Docs. The learner posted his writing every day
including the days when the meetings were not conducted due to some circumstances. The virtual
meetings were recorded for a later examination and observation. The learner’s posts on the cloud
journal and texts that have been exchanged outside or within the meetings were also regarded as
data.

The meetings procedures can be summarized as follows:

1) Both the author and the partner logged in to the server and joined the voice channel (see
figure 1)

Figure 1 English Conversation Club server interface

2) The author started the meeting with some warming up (conversation starters) questions
such as: “How did you spend the whole week?” or “Has anything interesting happened
within the past week?”
3) The partner presented a specific topic he was interested in, the author also presented one.
The partner usually prepared notes in advance and PowerPoint slides.
4) The author and the partner would have a discussion about the just presented topics.
5) The author started the core lesson which was prepared and was delivered to the partner for
a preview a week before the meeting. The lesson’s material was in the format of
PowerPoint slides or some useful English learning websites such as British Council.
6) The author and the partner then discussed the next meeting’s topics to be presented and
discussed about. Both tried to choose a particular topic which is widely used in a daily life
conversation setting.
7) The partner has been writing a daily journal in a cloud based document which enables
author’s access to do some corrections (see figure 2).
 Figure 2 Partner’s daily journal appearance

Interview Instruments
The instruments for the interview were divided into two parts: first, 17 items of Public Speaking
Class Anxiety Scale (PSCAS) by Yaikong & Usaha (2012) and 8 items of Program Development
Input (PDI) which developed by the author with a sole purpose of knowing the better assistance
she can provide for the partner. PSCAS is a questionnaire which focuses on investigating second
language performers’ anxiety and self-confidence while PDI focuses on program development
suggestions by addressing questions such as “Do you want to continue polishing your English by
participating in our program?”, “Where do you see yourself next month?”, “What are your next
goals?”, and “What are your suggestions for our program to help you reach those goals?”
Data Analysis
The recordings were transcribed by utilizing Otter, a cloud-based, live transcription and
captioning service (see figure 3, 4, and 5). The recordings serve as an observation tool and part of
the oral interviews. Written and oral interviews' responses categorized into themes

Figure 3 Otter’s Interface

 Figure 4 Otter’s transcription with summary keywords

Figure 5 Otter’s transcription process

Findings

Partner’s Initial Performance

During the first meeting, the partner was asked to read three paragraphs of Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived Page 1 and partner hardly made any
pronunciation’s mistakes in easier words but needs help for special terms such as Dursley,
Privet Drive, fence, pretend, etc.

Optimal Input (Krashen, 1982, pp. 63-77) and Acculturation (pp. 45-49)
The researcher tries to build a virtual environment to help the partner get familiar with the English
speaking environment by creating a Discord server as mentioned in the previous section.
Optimal Input is Interesting (Krashen, 1982, pp. 66-67)

The researcher gets the partner engaged in a conversation about his hobby which is drawing, a
conversation that genuinely makes him happy (figure 6 and 7).

"Do you want to share about how you spent the past week?"
"I write my report and I practice my drawing."
"What did you draw? May I take a look?"
"It's only practice." (smiling and laughing, proceed to show his drawings)
"OMG! Are they dancing? Why didn't you put it on your Instagram?" (genuinely surprised)
"Just practice." (laughing again)
"Are they dancing? Ballet?"
"Hahaha, they are (inaudible sound) yes.."
The researcher didn't correct or ask the partner to clarify the inaudible sound because we
both were busy laughing

Figure 6 Warming-up conversation

Figure 7 Warming-up conversation

Error Correction (Krashen, 1982, pp. 118-119)
The researcher sometimes corrected the partner's error directly (see figure 8) although Hendrickson
(in Krashen, 1982) argues that this method is not particularly effective and students who had their
oral and written speech corrected did not produce fewer errors. The partner, however, showed
progress when his oral and written speech corrected occasionally.

Figure 8 Error correction

Scaffolding and i + 1 (Comprehensible Input Hypothesis)

As suggested by Vygotsky (1986, pp. 184-185) and Krashen (1982, pp. 20-28) that the role of the
more knowledgeable others is really important in assisting the partner’s learning process.
Therefore, the author started to use longer expressions in the conversation after a few meetings.
That way, the partner is supposed to have the sense of familiarity with the author already.

Lower anxiety and higher self-confidence enables better oral production

The author gets the partner engaged in a spontaneous real life conversation to give him a clearer
picture about a real English speaking setting. For example, the author gave him a “what if”
situation. “What if you were at a convenience store, say 7-11, and a foreigner bumped into you
and asked for some help?” was the first situation to be discussed. The partner then gave contextual
responses which shows just how much his English speaking ability has improved.
Speaking confidence still relies on the sense of familiarity and preparation

He does feel his English has been "slightly improved" and "I am a little confident when speaking
to English teacher. But I don’t have confidence in speaking English to other people."
(Chotipaktanasook, 2016; Long, 2001; Yina, Tabata, Ogata, and Yana, 2010; Hummel, 2013;
Hovinga, 1998; Cunico, 2019). "Because I have to prepare in advance when I speak English, so if
I don’t prepare English, I don’t know how to say it. I hope life English conversation and basic
English sentence practice can help my reaction to English conversation."

Conclusion and Suggestions

1) Comprehensible input is helpful but still takes time to work optimally
2) The role of a language partner (the more knowledgeable other) is still significant in getting
the partner familiar with the target language and therefore lowering his speaking anxiety
and boost his confidence
3) A more well-organized lesson may result in better achievement
4) A prolonged continuous program may result in better achievement

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