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Language Anxiety

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LANGUAGE ANXIETY One of the several obstacles that second or foreign language (L2) learners have to overcome in order to develop their abilities to communicate in L2 is language anxiety. Krashen (1985) provided an early account of how anxiety can impede second language acquisition (SLA). In his model, he proposed the effects of the affective filter in SLA in relation to input. It is the central part of his theory of Second Language Acquisition that consists of Five Hypotheses: Acquisition - Learning, Natural Order, Monitor, Input , and Affective Filter Hypothesis. The final one claims that comprehensible input is necessary for acquisition, but that it is not sufficient alone. If the input is presented and understood , it is likely the acquisition will take place. However, if the learner is not open to the input, the affective filter, a mental block, may prevent the acquirer from fully using the comprehensible input...