PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS IN

ENGLISH LEARNING AS A FOREIGN

LANGUAGE

Yaereth Aguirre Hernandez

 WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL
BARRIERS?

• Also called Emotional blockage consists of

barriers that keep us from thinking creatively
in order to achieve our goals.
• Is an inability to perfom a certain action or
even an obstacle that stands in the way of
your success.
• Beliefs that a person has about
himself/herself regarding his ability, potential,
self-worth.
• covers everything that hinders, restrains, and
eventually reduces the effectiveness of
training, education and personal
development.
WHAT ARE EMOTIONS?

• Feelings, behaviour, physiological change and cognitions

and always occurs in a particular context which infl
uences it. Its major function is to give information to the
individual about their interaction with the world.

• Emotions are part of us and are a response of our

physiological system to situations or events both internal
and external. All human beings experience emotions, in
greater or lesser intensity and in a more adjusted or less
adjusted way.
Emotions affect

• Learning
• Motivation
• Behavior
• Communication with others.
 BEHAVIORS THAT REFLECT
PSHYCOLOGICAL BARRIERS

• Avoiding activities or events for fear of performing them

incorrectly.
• Continuous nervousness.
• Lack of motivation
• Focusing on the negative and being incapable of finding
solutions
• Fear
• Anxiety
• Low self-esteem
 FEAR

Is an unpleasant and often strong emotion caused by

anticipation or awareness of danger

Fear of language learning can originate from many

factors. Some learners’ fear originates from
themselves. They have low self-esteem and they are
afraid they may not be good enough to speak the
target language
 ANXIETY

• in general have been put forward, in the majority of cases concerning the
notions of fear and threat to the person’s physical safety or psychological
wellbeing in is/her interactions with the environment.

• It has been found that the feelings of tension or nervousness is based on two
basic task requirements of foreign language learning: listening and speaking
 MOTIVATION

• Motivation provides students with a purpose and direction to

follow. For this reason, it has a great significance in learning.

• One of the reasons Lack of Motivation ca be a negative

environment. Teacher’s being negative and non-supportive
destroys their motivation.
 SELF-ESTEEM

• is a psychological and social phenomenon in which an

individual evaluates his/her competence and own self.

• Students may avoid taking the necessary risks to

acquire communicative competence in the target
language; they may feel deeply insecure and even drop
out of the class.