A high affective filter is typically caused by stress, anxiety, or negative attitudes and will what to acquisition?

• A. Slow down or block acquisition
• B. Speed up acquisition
• C. No effect
• D. Improve accuracy

Answer: (A)

When you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or negative, your emotional state creates a barrier that makes it harder to take in and process new language. This high affective filter limits attention and working memory, so even lots of exposure doesn’t get noticed or encoded effectively. As a result, acquisition slows down or can be blocked, because the learner isn’t able to convert the input into long-term knowledge.

So, the effect isn’t that input speeds up learning, remains unaffected, or immediately improves accuracy. It’s that the emotional barrier hinders processing, leading to slower or blocked acquisition.