| What Affects English as a Foreign Language Learners | | | | a foreign language skills promoted in classo Insufficient |
| During Exams | | | | English as a foreign language skills practice / repetition |
| Lina Maria Lopez* squirmed in her seat for the fiftieth | | | | to successfully internalize the skills and materialso |
| time, scratched her scalp until it was nearly raw and | | | | Ineffectively focused teaching methodso Deficiency in |
| sighed repeatedly. A mechanical pencil in one hand and | | | | English language classroom materialso "Chemical |
| a bright red lollipop in the other, she struggled abysmally | | | | addiction/dependency" problems (i.e., caffeine, nicotine, |
| with her final exam in English as a foreign language. | | | | etc.)o Personal or family problemso Not taking English |
| Only in her second semester of English, the "lights" still | | | | as a foreign language studies seriously enougho Poor |
| hadn't "clicked on" yet. Not a good university student | | | | language-learning aptitudeo Learning disabilitieso Lack |
| across the board in her major, English as a foreign | | | | of sufficient or effective English as a foreign language |
| language was still her worst subject. She gazed | | | | learning preparation resources |
| around the room, at other learners' papers, at the EFL | | | | This is certainly but a "partial" list of the possibilities. |
| teacher and reluctantly, at her EFL test paper. | | | | These can affect not only English as a foreign |
| "Tap, tap, tappity, tap, tap". Luis Felipe Rodriguez* | | | | language skills development, but the overall intrinsic and |
| drummed on the desk, tapped his well-worn sneakers, | | | | extrinsic motivation of the EFL learners. |
| hummed a Salsa beat and turned around to look | | | | EFL Teacher-Affective Factors |
| behind him at the poster-plastered classroom wall for | | | | Then, of course, as English as a foreign language |
| "inspiration". "Da, da, dada, da, da - dat, dat dada, dum." | | | | teachers, we often endure a multitude of additional |
| His English as a Foreign Language level two exam | | | | factors which directly or indirectly impact and affect |
| paper was still nearly blank. More than half the final | | | | the intrinsic / extrinsic motivation of our EFL learners. |
| exam allotted time had already passed. It he failed this | | | | How many of you, for example, are negatively |
| exam too, he'd almost surely have to repeat the | | | | impacted by:o Large EFL learner class groupso An |
| English level next semester. It had already taken him | | | | excessively low number of English as a foreign |
| an extra semester just to get this far. "What time is | | | | language contact hours per weeko Behavioral |
| it?" he asked the teacher. But, it really didn't matter. | | | | problems on the part of your English as a foreign |
| The Functional Needs of the Brain | | | | language learnerso Excessive administrative |
| EFL teachers should know that the human brain needs | | | | demandso Lack of resources, equipment and / or |
| three key elements to function at peak efficiency. | | | | materialso Extremes of mixed ability in English |
| These are: oxygen, water (fluids) and sugar | | | | language knowledge and skills among your EFL |
| (preferably from complex carbohydrates). Both | | | | learnerso Lack of sufficient, on-going governmental, |
| immediately before and during an exam, it's not | | | | administrative, or parental supporto Personal problems |
| uncommon to see English as a Foreign Language | | | | of your own |
| learners eating chocolate, hard candy, lollipops or even | | | | Certainly, the list could go on, but you get the point, |
| packets of raw sugar. I draw the line at chewing gum, | | | | don't you? |
| largely due to its "tendency to wind up" stuck under | | | | What Can You Do, If Anything? |
| the desks. It's because of the brain's need for sugars | | | | In upcoming article posts in this series, we'll continue to |
| that I allow "eating" of high-carbohydrate and high | | | | consider some possibilities which English as a foreign |
| sugar content "foods" before, during English as a | | | | language teachers and EFL learners have available to |
| foreign language exams. | | | | address, minimize or eliminate many of the |
| Some Causes of Cheating on English as a Foreign | | | | aforementioned intrinsic and extrinsic affective factors. |
| Language Exams | | | | Doing so will undoubtedly improve our EFL learners' |
| When EFL learners openly or frequently "cheat" on | | | | motivation. With these incorporated into our curriculum |
| exams, highly probable "causes" are typically one or | | | | and daily schedules, we should be able to generate |
| more of these motivation-related factors which | | | | some improvement and more success in our EFL |
| include:o Lack of English as a foreign language | | | | classrooms and our English as a foreign language |
| grammar and theme studyo Poor English class | | | | learners themselves. |
| attendanceo Failure to understand or apply English as | | | | |