Reflections of Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis in Language Classroom: A Study amongst Undergraduates

Abstract

The present research sets its goal to identify the cause of the poor performance of adults’ English as foreign language (EFL) learners at the undergraduate level in the Department of English, University of Barishal, as well as to analyze the hypothesis that one of the major reasons behind the failure of the learners may be affective filters and whether the curriculum is a facilitator behind this. The basic intention was to look for answers to questions regarding whether adult EFL learners raise their affective filters to block the incoming input in academic scenarios and whether elements from the curriculum enhance the presence of these emotions among them. To this end, the researcher collected data through questionnaires, based on the experiences of learners in the classroom environment. The results obtained from the study show that there is an alarming presence of affective filters among the concerned learners and that a change in the classroom environment and curriculum might help learners lower their affective filters.