Risk Taking In English Language Learning Essay

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2.2. The notion of risk taking The theoretical notion of risk taking comprises several dimensions of ambiguity and unexpectedness. At its most general, risk taking refers to the willingness to be risky in specific conditions. Many scholars have paid more attention to the process of risk taking rather than to its outcomes. Proponents of such view give emphasis that the process of taking risks begins by having an array of actions to choose in order to solve a task (Beebe, 1983). Bem (1971, as cited in Beebe, 1983) identifies the significance of choices and further considers risk taking a process of constant selection of actions which can lead the learner to a worse position (ibid). On the one hand, it can be asserted that Bem’s negative view of language risk taking does not identify the value or usefulness of being venturous in the classroom. Bem does not pose the idea of risk taking as a possible positive agent in the academic scenario, but he mentions a vital constituent of the risk taking process: selection of courses of action. Definitely, a risk taker has to select what is considered the best option at the moment of making a decision. Therefore, risk taking includes uncertainty not only of the outcome but also of the action or procedure selected …show more content…

Learners' personal variables and their affective states are of crucial importance in accounting for individual differences in learning outcomes (Ellis, 1994). Personal variables influence language learning at the individual level. According to Schumann and Schumann (1978), personal variables or factors interact with cognitive, affective, and socio cultural variables in patterns that are idiosyncratic for each individual. Personal variables represent learner's gender, personality, desire to learn, and the way they choose to go about

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