COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE
LEARNING (CLL)
 Background
 developed by Charles Curran in the 1970s

primary insights from Rogerian counseling theory
counselor
client
(knower) teacher
(learner) student
Maskowitz’s Humanistic Techniques
which engages the whole person:
• blend what students feel, think, and know
with what they are learning in target
language
• self actualization and self-esteem
• help to foster a caring climate
• emotions and feelings as well as linguistic
knowledge and behavioral skills
Language Alternation;
(another language teaching tradition which
CLL is linked )
- Mackey: A message, lesson or class is
presented first in the native language and
then, in the target language before overhears.
 Approach;
 Theory
of Language;
the social-process view of language
+
the Interactional view of language
La Forge’s Alternative Theory;
beyond the structuralist view of language
which means Language as a Social Process.
Communication;
 Not just a message,
 Not just the uniderectional transfer,
 Speaker = listener = subject and object of
the message.
Verbal
Sender  Message Receiver
<the information-transmission model>
Verbal
Sender  Message Receiver
< the social-process model>
“Language is persons in contact”.
“Language is persons in response”.
La Forge
The interactional view;
- interactions between learners
 unpredictable
- interactions between learner and knower

dependent and independent
Stages;

in stage 1; dependent

in stage 2; self-assertive

in stage 3; resentful & indignant

in stage 4; tolerant

in stage 5; independent
Theory of Language Learning
 Whole-person Learning ( cognitive and affective )
-a holistic one
-analyzed into five stages
Whole person learning stages;
1- feelings of security and belonging
2- independence
3- speaking independently
4- mature enough to take criticism
5- improving the knowledge of linguistic
Convalidation or Consensual Validation
S stands for security
A stands for attention and aggression
R stands for retention and reflection
D stands for discrimination
“SARD”
By Curran
 Design
- Objectives



encouraging the students to take more
responsibility
learning how to learn from one another
using the target language communicatively
The Syllabus

the teaching of oral proficiency

a topic based course progression

emerging from the interaction between learners and
teachers
detailed and specific grammar and lexical points
isolated by the teacher

Learning Activities
Translation
Analysis

Group work
Reflection and
observation

Tape-recording
Listening

Transcription
Free conversation

Roles of Learners






Being a member of the community,
Listening carefully
Telling messages independently
Repeating messages without any hesitation
Expreesing feelings, frustration
Being counselor of other learners
Roles of Teachers





Encourager
Supporter
Monitoring relationship
Politely criticiser
advicer
Instructional Materials

a textbook isn’t necessary

developed by the teachers as the course develops


projector, tape recorder
scripts for conversations developed by the students.
Procedure






informal greeting
statement of the goals and guidelines
sitting in a circle
conversations and messages given by the
student in the L1
Translation of it into the target language by
the teacher
repetition for the tape recorder
Replaying the tape recorder for refreshing
what have learned by repeating
 Reflection
 Elements of Spelling, Grammar,
Capitalization
 Asking questions about the lesson
 Copying sentences from the board with notes
on meaning/usage.

What is the role of the native language in
CLL?
Enhancing the security
 Providing a bridge from the familiar to the
unfamiliar
 Making the meaning clear

 Weaknesses
a lack of grammatical syllabus
 unclear objectives
 focus on fluency rather than accuracy
 difficulty in evaluation

What areas of language skills are
emphasized?
- Culture is the integral part of language learning,
and language is for creative and critical thinking.
- The most important skills are understanding and
speaking the language and then, reading and
writing with reinforcement.