Chapter 7: Community Language Learning

Textbook:

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. (2th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Introduction

1. Students are considered as ‘whole persons.’

That means teachers consider students’ intellect.

And they understand the relationship of students’ feelings, physical reactions, instinctive protective reactions and desire to learn.

2.Teachers become ‘language counselors.’

It means teachers understand students’ struggle as they attempt to internalize another language.

By understanding students’ fears, they can help students overcome their negative feelings and turn them into positive energy to further their learning.

Experience

1. The class:

Students’ type: Adults come for language instruction in the evening.

The hours of class: Two-hour class are conducted two evenings a week.

Classroom: The chairs are in a circle around a table that has a tape recorder on it.

2.The teacher tells the students what they will be doing that evening.

They are going to have a conversation in English with his help.

The conversation will be tape-recorded, and afterward, they will write down the conversation-a transcript. They will do various activities with the language on the transcript.

3. Activity 1: The students say in Indonesian; the teacher stands

behind them and give them the English translation in phrases, or “chunks.” Record only the chunks, one at a time.

(A) The teacher is trying to be sensitive to what size chunk each student can handle with confidence.

(B) After the conversation has ended, the teacher asks the students how they feel about experience. He accepts any comment and replies.

The teacher plays the tape. The students recall what they said.

3. Activity 1: (continued)

The teacher writes each English sentence line by line. Then he writes the Indonesian translation if on one volunteers the meaning.

Next, the teacher tells the students to sit back and relax as he reads the transcript of the English conversation. He reads it three times, varying the student task each times

4. Activity 2 ： The ‘Human Computer.’ The students can

use the teacher, the human computer, to practice the pronunciation of any English word or phrase or entire sentence. The teacher may repeat the word as many times as students want.

5. Activity 3:

The teacher asks the students to work in groups of three to create new sentences based upon the words and phrases of the transcript. Each group reads its sentences to the class.

6. Last:

Finally, the teacher asks them to talk about the experience they have had that night, their English, or their learning process. Most of the students are positive about the experience.

Thinking about the experience

The teacher greets the students and both of them introduce themselves.

Building a relationship with and among students is very important.

The teacher tells the students what they are going to do, explains the procedure of the activity and sets the time limit.

1.Give the students have the idea of every procedure.

2. Students learn “nondefensively” when they feel secure.

Students have a conversation.

1.Language is for communication.

The teacher stands behind the students.

1.Threatening.

－ if the teacher does not remain in the front of the classroom, the threat is reduced.

2.Foster the interactions.

The teacher translates what the students want to say in chunks.

1.Based on the level of confidence and give them just what they need to be successful.

The teacher tells the students that they have only a few minutes for the conversation.

1.SECURE

－ If students know the time limits, they could gain more securities during the activities.

Students are invited to talk about how they feel during the conversation.

1.Sharing about the experience.

－ Because the teacher and the students are whole person.

－ know one another’s community.

The teacher accepts what each student says.

1.Teacher creates a well- accepting atmosphere.

2.Every learners are very unique.

3.The learning experience becomes less threatening.

The teacher understands what the students say.

1.The teacher’s role is a counselor, counseling the students by showing them that they are really listening to them and understanding what they are saying.

2.Teacher can help students gain insights into learning process and transform negative feelings.

The students listen to the tape and give the Indonesian translation.

1.Use the students native language which will make the meaning clear.

2.Students feel more secure when they understand everything.

The teacher asks the students to form a semicircle in front of the blackboard so they

can see easily.

1.Teacher’s responsibility for

－ structure activities in the most appropriate way.

The teacher reassures the students that they will have time later on to copy the sentences.

1.Learning at the beginning stage is facilitated if students attend to one task at a time.

The teacher asks the students to give the equivalents in the transcript, and if no one volunteers the meaning, he writes it himself.

1. Teachers should encourage students initiative and independence, but not to flounder students in uncomfortable silences.

The teacher reads the transcript THREE times so that the students relax and listen.

1.Students need quite reflection time in order to learn.

The teacher is followed the students lead, so the students choose which phrase they want to

practice pronouncing.

1.Students feel in control, they can take more responsibility for their own learning.

2.Students learn best when they have a choice in what they practice, and they will develop an inner wisdom.

The students learn to listen carefully to see if what they say matches what the teacher says.

1.Students need to learn to discriminate, like perceiving the similarities and differences among the target teaching.

Students work together in groups of three.

1.Working in group, the students have the sense of community and learn from each other as well as the teacher.

2. It is the “cooperation,” not the “competition.”

The teacher corrects by repeating correctly the

sentence the students have created.

1.The teacher should work in a non-threatening way with what the learner has produced.

The students read their sentences to the

other members of the class.

1. It’s the best way to build trust and can help to reduce the threat of the new learning situation.

The teacher plays the tape two more times while the students listen.

1.Retention will best take place somewhere in between novelty and familiarity.

The students are once again invited to talk about the experience they have had.

1.Students all have to reflect what they have experienced.

2.In that way, they have the ability to learn from one another language and learning from other community.

Other activities with the transcript of the first conversation occur.

1.The “syllabus” is generated primarily by the students.

2.Students have more willing to learn when they have created the material themselves.

Reviewing The Principles

A. The goals of the CLL method.

1.Teachers want their students to learn how to use the target language communicatively.

2.And this objectives can be accomplished in “non-defensive” manner.

3.CLL is based on “whole-person learning.”

B. The role of the teacher and the students

1.Teacher

－ counselor. Teachers should recognize the threatening a new learning situation for a learner, so he should support students to master the target learning.

B. The role of the teacher and the students(continued)

2.The students

－ initially ： very dependent on the teacher ； latter ， they are become increasingly independent.

－ 5 stages from dependency to mutual interdependency with the teacher ：

i. In the stage of first, second and third, the teacher focus on being supportive of learners in their process.

ii In the stage of fourth ， the students gain greater security in the language to benefit from correction, so the teacher can focus on accuracy. The accuracy subordinated to fluency.

B. The role of the teacher and the students(continued)

C. Some characteristics of the teaching and learning process.

1. Students would use their native language and teacher helps them to express what they want to say by giving them the target language translation in chunks.

2. the chunks compromise the transcription of the conversation and the transcription becomes the text which students work.

C. Some characteristics of the teaching and learning process. (Continued)

3. Six elements necessary for “non-defensive learning”

－ security

－ aggression ： we should give an opportunity to assert, actively involved and invest themselves in the learning experience.

C. Some characteristics of the teaching and learning process. (Continued)

－ attention

－ reflection ：a. students reflect when the teacher reads

three times ；b. students are invited to stop and consider the

active experience they were having.

C. Some characteristics of the teaching and learning process. (Continued)

－ retention ： the integration of the new material that takes place the whole.

－ discrimination ： sorting out the difference among target language forms.

D. The nature of student-teacher and student- student interaction.

1. Rardin and Tranel observed, the CLL Method is the “teacher- student- centered.”

2.Building the trust relationship is important. It can help students reduce the feel of anxiety.

3. A spirit of cooperation is encouraged.

E. The feelings of the students dealt with.

1.Responding to the students’ feelings is important in CLL.

－ invite students to comment on how they feel. And teacher should respond it carefully.

－ the security is a basic element of the learning process.

F. How is language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Language is for communication. Curran: “Learning is persons” The supportive learning process:language

becomes the means for developing creative and critical thinking.

Culture is an integral part of language learning.

G.What areas of language and language skills are emphasized?

Particular grammar points, pronunciation patterns, and vocabulary based on the language the students have generated.

The most important skills :understand and speaking the language with reinforcement through reading and writing.

H.What is the role of the students’ native language?

Students’ security is initially enhanced by using their native language.

Purpose: provide a bridge from the familiar to the unfamiliar.

Literal native language equivalents: make the meaning clear and allow students to combine the target language words to create new sentences.

I. How is evaluation accomplished?

Whatever evaluation is conducted should be in keeping with the principles of the methods.

A teacher-made classroom test is more of an integrative test than a discrete-point one.

Encourage student to self-evaluate.

How does the teacher respond to student errors?

Non-threatening way: repeat correctly what the students has said incorrectly, without calling further attention to the error.

Sustain a respectful, nondefensive relationship between teacher and students.

Reviewing The Techniques

1. Tape recording student conversation

Record student-generated language and let the students take responsibility for their own learning.

(A)Students have conversation in their native language. In multi-lingual groups, they can use gesture to get the meaning.

(B)The teacher translate what the students says or acts out into the target language.

(C) Only record the version of the target language (D) Replay the tape. Best with twelve or fewer students.

Transcription

The teacher transcribes the students’ tape-recorded target language conversation.

Teacher can write them on the blackboard, or on poster-sized paper, or even provide students with a copy.

Reflection on experience

Let the students reflect on how they feel about the language learning experience.

The teacher listens carefully and gives an appropriate understanding response.

Such response can strengthen students’ independent learning.

Reflective listening

The students listen to their own voices on the tape.

The teacher read the transcript to the students.

The students mouth the words as the teacher read the transcript.

Human Computer

A student reads the transcript to practice pronunciation.

The teacher does not correct the student’s mispronunciation in any way.

The teacher just repeat the word or phrase clearly and the student self corrects.

Small group tasks

The students make new sentences with the words on the transcript in small groups.

In small group, students can learn from each other and get more practice with the target language.

Conclusion

The two most basic principles of Community Language Learning

Learning is persons: whole-person learning of another language takes place best in a relationship of trust, support, and cooperation between teacher and students.

Learning is dynamic and creative: learning is a living and development process.