As language teachers, we have to pay attention to many things in our work so why add “attention to affect”? Perhaps the simplest, most direct answer is that whatever we focus most on in our particular context, be it general English, morphosyntax, phonetics, literature, English for academic writing or any other special area, attention to affect will make our teaching more effective. If I want to communicate to my students my respect for and interest in what I teach and to encourage them to share this interest, I have a valuable ally in attention to affect. This article will provide a more in-depth answer to the question of why affect is important and will discuss some options for dealing with it in the classroom.

Further reading Arnold, Jane. 2011. Attention to Affect in Language Learning. Anglistik. International Journal of English Studies, 22/1,11-22.