Exploring Affective Filter Levels in Spanish as a Foreign Language Course Among Tertiary Students

Daniela M. Dalilis 1 Philippines , Farah Trisha M. Kiw-an 1 Philippines , Gelise E. Siadto 1 Philippines , John Rey O. Pelila 1 Philippines , Sharmaine May G. Bangkiko 1 Philippines
1 Benguet State University, La Trinidad Benguet
Link Copied!
Published 2025-06-27
Vol. 4 No. 3 (2025) PAGES 874-887
DOI 10.51574/ijrer.v4i3.3029
Views / Downloads 729 442

The affective filter hypothesis is critical to comprehending how emotions impact language learning, yet limited research exists on its correlation to other languages, specifically to Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSED) students studying Spanish as a foreign language. This study was to investigate the affective filter levels of BSED students from different majors and examine how their perceptions of classroom-related factors influence their language learning experiences. Using a quantitative, descriptive-comparative design and proportional stratified sampling, data were collected via an adapted version of Robert C. Gardner’s Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB), administered both online and in print. The results revealed that English and Values Education majors reported higher levels of affective filter, while Filipino majors exhibited lower levels, indicating that emotional barriers vary across different fields of specialization. Furthermore, there was strong agreement among students regarding the positive impact of classroom dynamics—such as teaching style, peer interaction, and the learning environment—on reducing emotional barriers and enhancing motivation. These findings emphasize the importance of teachers creating emotionally supportive learning environments that could help lower the affective filter and nurture better language learning outcomes. With these, further research involving more diverse student populations that focuses more on individual experiences and exploring additional foreign languages is recommended.

Dalilis, D. M., Kiw-an, F. T. M., Siadto, G. E., Pelila, J. R. O., & Bangkiko, S. M. G. (2025). Exploring Affective Filter Levels in Spanish as a Foreign Language Course Among Tertiary Students. ETDC: Indonesian Journal of Research and Educational Review , 4(3), 874–887. https://doi.org/10.51574/ijrer.v4i3.3029
More Citation Formats
Download Citation

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
  1. Al-Mutairi, E. (2025). The impact of the affective filter in the acquisition of English among college students in Kuwait. In The Asian Conference on Education 2024: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 1095–1106). IAFOR. https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5892.2025.95
  2. Ardila, A. (2020). Who are the Spanish speakers? An examination of their linguistic, cultural, and societal commonalities and differences. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 42(1), 41-61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986319899735
  3. Baig, M. A., & Yadegaridehkordi, E. (2023). Flipped classroom in higher education: A comprehensive systematic review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20(1), Article 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-023-00430-5
  4. Bao, Y., & Liu, S. (2021). The influence of affective factors in second language acquisition on foreign language teaching. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 9(3), 463–470. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2021.93030
  5. Bhanu, S. P., & Kumar, V. S. (2023). The role of affective filters in ESL classrooms: Fostering effective learning environments. Humanities and Social Science Studies, 12(2[9]), 25–32. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376782180
  6. Buscagan, P., Tanding, B., Mediana, K., & Caballo, J. (2023). Affective variables in learning English as a second language: A phenomenological study. Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 16(6), 678–687. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10531236
  7. Cabigon, J. A., & Costales, R. R. (2024). Affective filters and academic performance of junior high school students: Basis for proposed enhanced homeroom guidance program. Ignatian International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 2(6), 1852–1882. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12230440
  8. Cam, A., Arslan, H. O., & Cigdemoglu, C. (2022). Flipped learning model–learning style interaction: Supporting pre-service teachers on science teaching methods and personal epistemologies. Science Education International, 33(3), 323–334. https://doi.org/10.33828/sei.v33.i3.8
  9. Chen, Y. (2022). Analysing the impact of the affective filter hypothesis on teaching spoken Chinese as a foreign language. The Educational Review, USA, 6(9), 516–518. https://doi.org/10.26855/er.2022.09.012
  10. Ding, N., & Wang, Y. (2024). Towards the implications of positive teacher interpersonal behaviors for Spanish learners’ academic engagement: Voices from Chinese SFL learners. Heliyon, 10(10), e31078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31078
  11. Fatmawati, H., Hardiyanti, D., & Muktamar, A. (2023). Implementation of differentiated learning in Indonesian language courses: Realizing freedom of learning. ETDC: Indonesian Journal of Research and Educational Review, 2(4), 44–54. https://doi.org/10.51574/ijrer.v2i4.935
  12. Fernandez, R. S. (2023). Exploring the nexus of language anxiety and academic achievement: A systematic literature review. Research Journal, 12(1), 36–42. https://ejournals.ph/article.php?id=24817
  13. Gardner, R. C., & Tremblay, P. F. (1994). English Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). University of Western Ontario. https://publish.uwo.ca/~gardner/docs/englishamtb.pdf
  14. Guale Parrales, L. D. (2022). Affective filter influencing the development of speaking skills in EFL learners [Undergraduate thesis, Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena]. Repositorio Digital UPSE. https://repositorio.upse.edu.ec/handle/46000/8889
  15. Guo, J.-J., & Liu, Y.-L. (2022). The influence of affective factors on second language acquisition. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 12(5), 484–490. https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5836/2022.05.012
  16. Inada, T. (2022). The causes of anxiety in highly anxious students in Japanese communicative EFL classes. English Language Teaching, 15(2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v15n2p1
  17. Jawed, M., Ali, K., & Ahmed, T. (2025, April 29). Exploring the connection between presence and absence of Krashen’s theory on learners’ input and affective filters: A triangulation approach. Journal of Arts and Linguistics Studies, 3(2), 1811–1839. https://doi.org/10.71281/jals.v3i2.305
  18. Kazemian, A. (2022). The element of cognates and its impact on second language learners [Master’s thesis, University of Central Florida]. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2020/1395
  19. Kiruthiga, E., & Christopher, G. (2022). The impact of affective factors in English speaking skills. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 12(12), 2478–2485. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1212.02
  20. Lear, M. F., & Reyes, A. F. (2023). Difficulties and strategies of teaching Spanish language to collegiate Chavacano learners. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 5(1), 103–116. https://doi.org/10.18063/fls.v5i1.1590
  21. Liu, X. K. (2023). The effect of affective filter hypothesis on college students’ English writing teaching and its enlightenment. Open Access Library Journal, 10, e10671. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1110671
  22. Muñoz Flecher, J. M., Mendoza Ponce, M. G., Mendoza Ponce, H. X., Mendoza Ponce, R. E., & Andrade Torres, M. V. (2024). The impact of sign language on Spanish language acquisition. Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 8(6), 11237–11254. https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v8i6.15862
  23. Namaziandost, E., Çakmak, F., Heydarnejad, T., & Rezai, A. (2024). The predictive effects of learner autonomy and academic engagement on willingness to communicate, foreign language learning self-esteem, and L2 grit in an EFL context. Acta Psychologica, 250, 104528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104528
  24. Parayno, M. M., Almario, M. F. P., Ceralde, C. H. P., Esmabe, J. V., Imperial, A. M. B., Manalo, A. D., Nopre, D. M. M., & Reyes, S. M. N. (2023). Foreign language learning: Exploring the struggles of Filipino students in learning the Spanish language. Proceedings of IICSDGs 2023, 6(1), 175–188. https://journals.ubmg.ac.id/index.php/IICSDGs/article/view/1622
  25. Ramadan Elbaioumi Shaddad, A., & Jember, B. (2024). A step toward effective language learning: an insight into the impacts of feedback-supported tasks and peer-work activities on learners’ engagement, self-esteem, and language growth. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 9(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-024-00261-5
  26. Sanesi, M. (2023). High school students’ affective filter in second language acquisition: Causes and solutions. Pedagogy Theory & Practice, 8(3), 265–270. https://doi.org/10.30853/ped20230049
  27. Wang, T. (2024). Analysis of the affective factors of high school struggling students’ English learning based on affective filter hypothesis. Journal of Education and Educational Research, 8(2), 178–180. https://doi.org/10.54097/vep4rp21
  28. Wibowo, S., Wangid, M. N., & Firdaus, F. M. (2025). The relevance of Vygotsky's constructivism learning theory with differentiated learning in primary schools. Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 19(1), 431–440. https://doi.org/10.11591/edulearn.v19i1.21197

Copyright (c) 2025 Daniela M. Dalilis, Farah Trisha M. Kiw-an, Gelise E. Siadto, John Rey O. Pelila, Sharmaine May G. Bangkiko

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Similar Articles

<< < 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Dimension Badge

Downloads

Downloads
Crossmark Badge
Crossmark Badge
Section
Articles
Keywords
Affective Filter Classroom Factors Foreign Language Language Learning Spanish