Community Language Learning
Historical of CLL
Community Language Learning (CLL) is the name of the
method introduced and developed by Charles A. Curran and his associates. Curran
was a specialist in counseling and a professor of psychology at Loyola
University in Chicago. This no doubt that this method has been inspired by the
application of psychological counseling techniques to learn, which is called
Counseling-Learning. This was
essentially an example of an innovative model that primarily considered
affective factors as paramount in the learning process. Drawing on Carl Rogers'
view that learners were to be considered not as a class, but as a group, Curran's
philosophy dictated that students were to be thought of as "clients"
- their needs being addressed by a "counselor" in the form of the
teacher. Brown (1994:59), in commenting on this approach also notes that
"In order for any learning to take place, what is first needed is for the
members to interact in an interpersonal relationship in which students and
teacher join together to facilitate learning in a context of valuing and
prizing each individual in the group." Curran was best known for his
extensive studies on adult learning, and some of the issues he tried to address
were the threatening nature of a new learning situation to many adult learners
and the anxiety created when students feared making "fools" of
themselves. Curran believed that the counseling-learning model would help lower
the instinctive defenses adult learners throw up, that the anxiety caused by
the educational context could be decreased through the support of an
interactive community of fellow learners. Another important goal was for the
teacher to be perceived as an empathetic helping agent in the learning process,
not a threat.
The aim of Community Language Learning
The
Community Language Learning method does not just attempt to teach students how
to use another language communicatively, it also tries to encourage the
students to take increasingly more responsibility for their own learning, and
to "learn about their learning", so to speak. Learning in a
non-defensive manner is considered to be very important, with teacher and
student regarding each other as a "whole person" where intellect and
ability are not separated from feelings. The initial struggles with learning
the new language are addressed by creating an environment of mutual support,
trust and understanding between both learner-clients and the teacher-counselor.
Teaching techniques in Community Language Learning
There are some teaching techniques which are used in
Community
Language Learning, they are:
1. Tape-recording student conversation,
that is, it is used to record student-generated language as well as given the
opportunity for community learning to come about.
2. Transcription, that is, the teacher
transcribes the students’ tape-recorded target language conversation.
3. Reflection on experience, that is,
the teacher takes time during or after the various activities, gives the
students the opportunity to reflect on how they feel about the language
learning experience.
4. Reflective listening, that is, the
students relax and listen to their own voice speaking the target language on
the tape.
5. Human computer, that is, a student
chooses some part of the transcript to practice pronouncing. She/he is in the
control of the teacher when she/he tries to say the word or phrase.
6. Small group tasks, that is, firstly
the students are asked to make new sentences with the words on the transcript
with their small group. And the groups share the sentences they made with
the rest of the class.
Strengths
and Weaknesses
Just like any other methods in language teaching the
Community Language Learning method also has some strengths and weaknesses.
Those strength and weaknesses are summarized as follows:
Strengths
of Community Language Learning
a) Since this method is a
student-oriented method it can help students become independent in doing their
activities in the classroom.
b) Having a strong cooperation with
other students in learning a target language can help create a healthy
atmosphere, reduce the low self-esteem of the slow learners and increase the
self-confident.
c) The students learn to communicate
and use the cognitive knowledge from the very beginning in order to practice
the rules of the target language before they formulate their individual
sentences or utterances.
d) This method offers certain insights
to teachers by reminding them to lower the learners’ anxiety, to create as much
supportive group as possible in the classroom, to allow students to initiate
language, and to show learners the autonomous learning as a preparation to face
the day when the teacher is no longer around to guide them.
e) Eventhough this method allows
students to move according to their own speed, the fast learners may push and
help the slow ones.
f) This method allows students to
identify themselves to language they are learning.
g) This method allows students to have
the freedom and inisiative as much as they want that makes this method as a
unique and fascinating learning experience.
Weaknesses
of Community Language Learning
a) In the beginning when the teacher
uses a tape recorder as an audio instrument and the students build their own
sentences and utterances, the process can only go well if the students have a
certain knowledg about the structure and vocabulary of the target language. If
the teacher keeps on giving the translation of the students’ sentences, the
presentation in the classroom tends to be “translation presentation”.
b) The presentation of this method
in the classroom is process-based and not content-based which makes it
difficult to build the outline of this method.
c) The possible fixed material to be
used in all classrooms may be the instructions given about the structure of the
target language.
d) The recording process can create
difficulties to those who are not familiar to the it and may waste valuable
time in doing it.
e) The new role of the teacher may
cause a certain feeling of frustation to those who do not get the
teacher-student relationship that they expected before.
f) The evaluation test to see the
progress that students have may be more complicated to be done than in ordinary
classroom that does not use this method.
g) The success of this method depends
largely on the translation expertise of the counselor. The counselor must not
make any mistakes in doing the translation because if certain aspects of
language are mistranslated there could be a less effective understanding of the
target language.
Procedure of CLL
There
are some steps to do Community Language Learning as follows:
1. The
class begins with an informal meeting and everyone introduces himself/herself.
2. The
knower makes a statement of the goal and guidelines for the course.
3. They
form a circle so that everyone has visual contact with one another and everyone
is within easy reach of the microphone of a tape recorder.
4. A
volunteer student initiates conversation with other students by giving a
message in their mother tongue.
5. The
knower goes and stands behind the student, whispers an equivalent translation
of the message in the target language.
6. Student
repeats the message that has been translated into the target language and
report his expression in a tape recorder.
7. Each
student in the group has a chance to express his/her message and record them.
8. The
knower always stands behind the students who are saying their statements and
translate the message into target language.
9. The
tape recorder is rewound and replayed at interval.
10. Each
student repeats his message in the target language.
11. The
knower chooses sentences to write on the whiteboard that highlight some
elements of language, such as grammar, vocabulary (translation or pronunciation).
12. The
student may ask question about any of the elements discussed.
13. The
knower encourages the student to copy sentence from the whiteboard including
the translation in their mother-tongue. The copy becomes their textbook for
home study.
Principles
of Community Language Learning
1.
The goals are to learn language
communicatively, to take responsibility for learning, to approach the task non defensively,
never separating intellect from feelings.
2.
Teacher acts as counselor, supporting students with
understanding of their struggle to master language in often threatening new
learning situation.
3.
Non defensive learning requires six elements: security,
aggression (students have opportunities to assert, involve themselves),
attention, reflection (students think about both the language and their
experience learning it), retention, and discrimination (sorting out differences
among target language forms).
4.
Both students and teacher make decisions in the class.
Sometimes the teacher directs action, other times the students interact
independently.
5.
Teachers routinely probe for students’ feelings about
learning and shows understanding, helping them overcome negative feelings.
6.
Language is for communication, a medium of interpersonal
sharing and belonging, and creative thinking. Culture is integrated with
language.
7. At first, since students design
syllabus, they determine aspects of language studied; later teacher may bring
in published texts. Particular grammar, pronunciation points are treated, and
particular vocabulary based on students’ expressed needs. Understanding and
speaking are emphasized; reading and writing have a place.
8. Use of native language enhances
students’ security. Students have conversations in their native language and
the target language translations of these become the text around which
subsequent activities revolve. Instructions and sessions for expressing
feelings are in native language and the target language is used progressively
more.
9. No specific means are recommended
for evaluation, but adherence to principles is urged. Teacher would help
students prepare for any test required by school, integrative tests would be
preferred over discrete-point tests, self-evaluation would be encouraged,
promoting students’ awareness of their own progress.
10. Nonthreatening style is encouraged,
modeling of correct forms.
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