COMMUNITY LANGUAGE LEARNING

BACKGROUND

 Developed by Charles A. Curran and his associates

 Cited as an example of Humanistic Approach
 Derives its insights and organizing rationale from Rogerian Couseling
 Teachers as counselors and learners as clients
 Learning procedure is derived from the counselor-client relationship(Rogerian)
 Is linked to Language Alteration
COMPARISON of client-counselor (Psychological Counseling) and learner-knower (CLL)

Psychological Counseling (client-counselor) Community Language learning (learner-knower)

1. Client and counseling agree (contract) for
counseling.
2. Client articulates his problem in language of affect.
3. Counselor listens carefully.
1. Learner and knower agree to language learner.
2. Learner presents to the knower (in L1) a message
he wishes to deliver to another.
3. Knower listens and other learners overhear.

4. Counselor restates client message in language of
cognition.
5. Client evaluates the accuracy of counselor’s
message restatement.
6. Clients reflect on the interaction of the counseling
session.
4. Knower restates learner’s message in L2.
5. Learner repeats the L2 message form to its
addressee.
6. Learner replays(from tape or memory) and reflects
upon the messages exchanged during the language
class.

APPROACH (La Forge)

 CLL is first introduced and presented through Linguistic Approach

 The recent approach is the Alternative Theory of Language referred to us as “Language as a Social Process”
 La Forge elaborated the interactional view of the language as “Language is people-persons in contact and
persons in response.”
 CLL Two Interactions: Interaction between learners (unpredictable in content but involves exchanges or affect
which deepened intimacy and trust) and Interaction between the Learners and Knower (DEPENDENT in nature
because learner tells the knower what he wishes to say in target language and the knower tells the learner how
to say it.)

THEORY OF LEARNING

 Learning (Counseling Learning) and the Language Teaching (Community Language Learning)
 CLL learning is in contrast to PUTATIVE (intellectual and factual process is the main intent of learning) and
BEHAVIORAL (animal learning in which learners are passive and involvement is limited)
 CLL advocates HOLISTIC APPROACH since true human learning is both cognitive and affective (termed as Whole-
Person Learning-teachers and learners are involved in the interaction in which both experience a sense of their
own wholeness.)
 CLL process of learning are divided into 5 Stages: Stage 1: Birth Stage (feelings of security and belongingness
are established) Stage 2: Child Stage (abilities are improved and learners begin to achieve a measure of
independence from the parents) Stage 3: (Learners speak independently and may need to assert his identity,
often rejecting unasked for advice) Stage 4: (Learners are secure enough to take criticisms.) Stage 5: (Learners
works upon improving style and knowledge of linguistic appropriateness.) At the end, learners become an adult-
knows everything the teacher knows and can become knower for new learner.
 Learning in CLL is viewed as unified, personal, and social experience.
 Convalidation (mutual warmth, understanding and positive evaluation of others person’s worth develops between
teacher and learner) is also elaborated in CLL.
 Psychological Requirements of Successful Learning are identified and collected in acronym SARD. S for Security,
A for Attention and Aggression, R for Retention and Reflection, and D for Discrimination.

Community Language Learning Goal

 Attain near-native like mastery of the target language

SYLLABUS

 Course progression is topic based with learners nominating things they wish to talk about and the message they
wish to communicate to other learners.
 Syllabus emerges from the interaction between the learner’s expressed communicative intentions and the
teacher’s reformulations of these into the suitable language utterances.

CLL Learning and Teaching Activities

1. Translation
2. Group Work
3. Recording
4. Transcription
5. Analysis
6. Reflection and Observation
7. Listening
8. Free Conversation

LEARNERS ROLE

 Members of the community (their fellow learners and the teacher) and learn through interacting with the
members of community.
 Learners roles are keyed to the 5 Stages of Language Learning

TEACHERS ROLE

 As counselors, to respond calmly and nonjudgmentally, in supportive manner, and help clients try to understand
the learner’s problems better by applying order and analysis to them.
 Teachers roles are also keyed to the 5 Stages of language Learning. At early stages, teacher operates in a
supportive role, providing target language translation and a model of imitation on requests of the clients. Later,
interaction may be initiated by the students, and the teacher monitors learners’ utterances providing assistance
when requested. As learning progresses, students become increasingly capable of accepting criticisms and the
teacher may intervene directly to correct deviant utterances, supply idioms and advice on usage and five points
in grammar.
 Teacher’s role is initially likened to that of nurturing parent.
 The teacher is responsible for providing safe environment where clients can learn and grow.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

 Books are not necessary because it impedes their growth and interactions, for books impose a particular body of
content.
 Materials are developed by teacher as the course develops.
 In early account of CLL, teaching machines (Chromachord Teaching System) is recommended.

TEACHING PROCEDURE

Sample 1: Learners form a circle facing one another and the teacher is outside the circle.

1. Student whisper a message in native language.

2. The teacher translates into foreign language.
3. Student repeats the message in foreign language.
4. Students compose further messages in foreign language with teacher’s help.
5. Students reflect their feelings.
 Teacher

Students

Sample 2: Circle of learners is linked to single teacher.

The class may begin with a period of silence in which learners try to determine what is supposed to
happen in their language class. Later in silence, as they decide what to talk about, and as the awkwardness of silence
becomes sufficiently agonizing for someone to volunteer to break the silence, the teacher may use the volunteered
comment as a way of introducing discussion of classroom contacts or as a stimulus for language interaction regarding
how learners felt about the period of silence. The teacher may encourage learners to address questions to one another
or to the knower. The interactions may be tape recorded for later use as reminder or review of topics discussed and
language used.

PROTOCOL of what the first day’s CLL class covered:

1. Informal greetings and self-introductions were made.

2. The teacher made a statement of the goals and guidelines for the course.
3. A conversation of a foreign language took place.
a. A circle was formed so that everyone had visual contact with each other and all are within easy reach of a
tape recorder microphone.
b. One student initiated a conversation with another student by giving a message in the L1.
c. The instructor, standing behind the student, whispered a close equivalent of the message in the L2.
d. The student then repeated the L2 message to its addressee and into the tape recorder microphone as well.
e. Each student had chance to compose and record a few messages.
f. The tape recorder was rewound and replayed at intervals.
g. Each student repeated the message in L1 of what she/he had said in L2 and help to refresh the memory of
others.
4. Students then participated in a reflection period, in which they were asked to express their feelings about the
previous experience with total frankness.
5. From the material just recorded the instructor chose sentences to write on the blackboard that highlighted
elements of grammar, spelling and peculiarities of the capitalization in the L2.
6. Students are encouraged to ask questions about any of the above.
7. Students were encouraged to copy sentences from the board with notes on meaning and usage. This became
their textbook for home use.

By: Marylou E. Amora (Modern Development of English Language)