The I.N.P.U.T. Affect
Before you become too focused on whether or not I misspelled “affect” and that I really meant, “effect”, I will let you know that I fully intended to write “Affect” with an “A”.
The etymology of the word affect is from ad “to” + facere (past participle factus) “to make, do”.(etymonliine.com)
We use the word “effect” more to describe the result of something that affected us and our environment…the result of an action that was taken.
Actions DO have an effect on our affect…or is it the other way around?
The proverbial “chicken or egg first” enigma!
As an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) and a language teacher, I have had many opportunities to study and experience first hand what I call the “INPUT” Affect.
Input is what we take from our outside environment and put into our inside environment.
In language terms, “input” is used to describe the words we take in and how we then interpret them based on our own personal values, meaning, experiences, etc.
This “input” can affect how we see ourselves and how we interact (take action) with the world around us and the world within us.
Just a little more context and information…in language terms, there are three modes of communication. The first, and most important one, is the interpretive mode. It powers up the other two modes of communication (interpersonal – two way exchange with another person, and presentational – one way communication).
Early in my career, I realized how important the interpretive mode was to effective communication and to motivating my students to take risks to use the language in personal and meaningful ways.
Then, I created an acronym for the word INPUT to help explain, retain and guide language teachers on their pedagogical decisions for lesson planning so that they could help their students have a more powerful language learning experience.
(Of course I did because that is a staple in education and learning, right, to create an acronym! Lol!)
I have made this acronym the picture for this blog post to better explain what I mean by INPUT in terms of our personal, everyday lives.
Let me explain it a little more.
