Inhibition Revisited in EFL Learning/Teaching

In the affective sphere of EFL learning especially with regard to teaching/learning situations in Iran, one deterrent element seizes particular attention and that is inhibition self-imposed restraint on or abstinence from learning due to academic and non-academic variables such as culture, gender, psyche, extreme emotions, etc. It is related to language ego permeability hypothesis (LEPH) which suggests that inhibition plays a powerful role in constraining achievement resulting both in an inhibition about using L2, which prevents them from gaining sufficient practice, and in the fear of making mistakes, etc. The main pursuit of this article is to locate such inhibitions, to give an observation-driven taxonomy of them, to shed some light on the inherent mechanisms of suppressed learning, and humbly offer ways to a more refined pedagogy especially in Iranian academic settings. Inhibition, if diagnosed and eroded, is superseded by arousal and will give way to more dynamic transactions among class participants which will consequently breed sounder setting for education. The study aims at uncovering the dynamism of inhibition and its ramification through a qualitative investigation of the variables proposed by 200 BA senior students (sampled out of 300) of varied backgrounds in their elicited questionnaires and 5 observed classes.