Community Language Learning

Background Community

Language Learning (CLL) is a method developed by Charles A. Curran

Specialist in counseling and a professor of psychology at Loyola University, Chicago.

Developed Counseling-Learning

Com

mu

nity

Lan

gu

ag

e Le

arn

ing

Charles Curran (1930)Roman Catholic Priest

Meaning

La Forge refers CLL as Language as Social Process

He said that:1. Language is people: Language is persons in contact;

Language is persons in response.2. Interaction: interaction between learners, interactions

between learners and knowers o CLL focuses more on cooperation and reflectiono Learners learn best when they have a choice in

what they are learning.o Learners also learn in a positive community

environment

Com

mu

nity

Lan

gu

ag

e Le

arn

ing

Principles

S – Security A – Attention and AggressionR – Retention and ReflectionD – Denotes discrimination

(Curran 1976)

Com

mu

nity

Lan

gu

ag

e Le

arn

ing

Types of Learningand Teaching Activities

1. Translation Learners form a small circle. A learner

whispers a message or meaning he or she wants to express, the teacher translates it into the target language, and the learners repeat the teacher’s translation.

2. Group work Learners may engage in various group tasks,

such as small group discussion or a topic.

3. Recording Students record conversations in the target

language.

Com

mu

nity

Lan

gu

ag

e Le

arn

ing

Types of Learningand Teaching Activities

4. Transcription Students transcribe utterances and

conversations they have recorded for practice and analysis of linguistic form.

5. Analysis Students analyze and study transcriptions of

target language sentences.

6. Reflection and observation Learners reflect and report on their experience

of the class, as a class or in groups.

Com

mu

nity

Lan

gu

ag

e Le

arn

ing

Types of Learningand Teaching Activities

7. ListeningStudents listen to a monologue by the

teacher involving elements they might have elicited or overheard in class interactions.

8. Free ConversationStudents engage in free conversation

with the teacher or with the learners

Com

mu

nity

Lan

gu

ag

e Le

arn

ing

Learner roles

Members of the community Learn through interacting with the

community Accomplished things collaboratively Expected to listen attentively to the

knower Provide meanings they wish to express Repeat target utterances without

hesitation Support follow members of the

community Report deep inner feelings Become counselors of others

Com

mu

nity

Lan

gu

ag

e Le

arn

ing

Teacher roles

Counselors Responds calmly and nonjudgmentally to client Helps the client try to understand his or her

problems better Relate affect (understanding the feeling of the

client) Provides target-language translations Model for imitation Monitors learners Corrects utterances of the learners Provide nonthreatening environment

Com

mu

nity

Lan

gu

ag

e Le

arn

ing

Roles of Instructional materials

Textbook is not considered as necessary component

Materials may be developed by the teacher

Conversations may be transcribed and distributed for study analysis

Com

mu

nity

Lan

gu

ag

e Le

arn

ing

Reference

Rodgers, J. C. (2001). Audio Lingual Method. In J. C. Rodgers, Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (pp. 50-67). New York: Cambridge University Press.

 Voronova, A. (2012, March 26). Linguistics 898. Retrieved from Linguistics Website: linguistics.usask.ca/Ling898/al_slides.pptx