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Observations
1. The teacher greets the students,
introduces himself and has the
students introduce themselves.

Principles
Building a relationship with and
among students is very important.

2. The teacher tells the students

what they are going to do that
evening He explains the
procedure of the first activity and
sets a time limit.

Any new learning experience can be

threatening. When students have all
idea of what will happen in each
activity, they often feel more secure.
People learn best when they feel
secure.
Language is for communication.
The superior knowledge and power of
the teacher can be threatening. If the
teacher does not remain in the front
of the classroom, the threat is
reduced and the students' learning is
facilitated. Also this fosters interaction
among students, rather than from
student to teacher.
The teacher should be sensitive to
students' limitations and not
overwhelm them with more than they
can handle.
Students feel more secure when they
know the limits of an activity.

3. Students have a conversation.

4. The teacher stands behind the
students

5. The teacher translates what the

students want to say in chunks

6. The teacher tells them that they

have only a few minutes
remaining for the conversation
7. . Students are invited to talk about
how they felt during the
conversation
8. The teacher accepts what the
student says

Teacher and students are whole

persons.

Guided by the knowledge that each

learner is unique, the teacher creates
an accepting atmosphere. Learners
feel free to lower their defenses and
the learning experience becomes
less threatening.
9. The teacher understands what the The teacher "counsels" the students.
students say.
He shows them he is really listening

10. The students listen to the tape

and give the Indonesian
translat1on.
11. The teacher asks the students
to form a semicircle in front of the
blackboard so they can see
easily.
12. The teacher reassures the
students that they will have time
later on to copy the sentences.

to them and understands what they

are saying. By understanding how
students feel, the teacher can help
students to overcome their negative
feelings, which might otherwise block
their learning.
The students' native language is
used to make the meaning clear.
Students feel more secure when they
understand everything.
The teacher should take the
responsibility for clearly structuring
activities in the most appropriate way
possible for successful completion of
an activity.
Learning at the beginning stages is
facilitated if students attend to one
task at a time.

13. Before the teacher puts in the

Indonesian equivalents, he
pauses. If no one volunteers the
meaning, he writes it himself.

The teacher encourages student

initiative and independence.

14. The teacher reads the

transcript three times. The
students relax and listen

Students need quiet reflection time in

order to learn.

15.

In the Human Computer activity

the students choose which
phrase they want to practice
pronouncing; the teacher,
following the students lead,
repeats the phrase until the
learner is satisfied and stops.

Students learn best when they have a

choice in what they practice.
Students develop an inner wisdom
about where they need to work. If
students feel in control, they can take
more responsibility for their own
learning.

16.

The students have to listen

carefully to see if what they say
matches what the teacher is
saying

17.

Students work together in

groups of three.

18.

The teacher corrects by

repeating correctly the
sentence the students have

Students need to learn to

discriminate; for example, in
perceiving the simibrities and
differences among the target
language forms.
In groups, students can begin to feel
a sense of community and can learn
from each other as well as the
teacher. Cooperation, not
competition, is encouraged.
Teachers should work in a
nonthreatening way with what the
teacher has produced.

created.
19.

The students read their

sentences to the other
members of the class

20.

The teacher plays the tape

while the students listen.

21.

The students are once again

invited to talk about the
experience they had that
evening.

22.

Other activities with the

transcript of the first
conversation occur. Then, the
learners have a new
conversation.

Developing a community among the

class members builds trust and can
help to reduce the threat or the new
learning situation.
. Learning tends not to take place
when the material is too new or,
conversely, too familiar. Retention will
best take place somewhere in
between novelty and familiarity.
In addition to reflecting on the
language, students reflect on what
they have experienced. In this way,
they have an opportunity to learn
about their own learning as well as
learning about the language.
In the beginning stages, the
"syllabus" is designed primarily by the
students. Students are more willing to
learn when they have created the
material themselves.

Reviewing the principles

what are the goals of
teachers who use the
Community
Language Learning
Method?
2. What is the role of
the teacher? What is
the role of the
students?

2. What are the

characteristics of the
teaching/learning
process?

Teachers who use the Community Language Learning method want their students to learn how to use
the target language communicatively. In addition, they want their students to learn about their own
learning, to take increasing responsibility for it. Both of these are to be accomplished in a nondefensive
manner. Nondefensive learning can result when teacher and learner treat each other as a whole person,
and do not separate each other's intellect from his or her feelings
The teachers initial role is that of a counselor. This does not mean that the teacher is a therapist, or that
the teacher does no teaching. Rather, it means that the teacher recognizes how threatening a new
learning situation can be for adult 1crncrs, so he skillfully understands and supports his students in their
struggle to master the target language.
Initially the learner is very dependent upon the teacher. He is a "client" of the counselor's. It is
recognized, however, that as the learner continues to study, he becomes increasingly independent.
Community Language Learning methodologists have identified five stages in this movement from
dependency to independency. During Stage IV, the ro1es switch. The student no longer needs the
teacher's encouragement and absolute sense of security. It is the teacher who needs the understanding
and acceptance if he is to continue to give further information. The student knows so much of the
language at this point that the teacher is hesitant to correct him, The teacher needs the students to
show, in some way, Its OK to correct me; Im ready.
In a Stage 1 class, which is what we observed, students typically have a conversation in their native
language. The teacher helps them express what they want to say by giving them the target language
translation in chunks. These chunks are recorded, and when they are replayed, it sounds like a fairly
fluid conversation. Later, a transcript is made of the conversation and mother tongue equivalents are
written beneath the target language words. The transcription of the conversation becomes "text" with
which students work. Various activities are conducted (for example, examination of a grammar point,
working on pronunciation of a particular phrase or creating new sentences with words from the
transcript) that allow students to further explore the language they have generated. During the course of

the lesson, students are invited to say how they feel, and in return the teacher understands them.
According to Curran, there are six elements necessary for nondefensive learning. The first of
these is security. Next is aggression, by which Curran means that the students should be given al1
opportunity to assert themselves, be actively involved, and invest themselves in the learning experience.
One way of allowing for this in the lesson we observed was for students to conduct their own conversation. The
third elements attention, at a beginning level, students must directly focus on or attend to one task at a time. Recall
that the teacher in our lesson asks the students not to copy the transcript while he was writing it on the blackboard.
Instead, he wanted them to attend to what he was writing and to add what translation they may have recalled in order
to complete the transcript.

4. What is the nature of

student-teacher
interaction? What is the
nature of studentstudent interaction?

5. How are the feelings

of the students dealt
with?

The fourth element, reflection, occurred in two different ways in our lesson. The first was when the students reflected
on the language as the teacher read the transcript three times. The second was when students were invited to stop
and consider the active experience they were having. Retention is the fifth element, the integration of the new material
that takes place within your whole self. The last element is discrimination, sorting out the differences among target
language forms. We saw this element when the students were asked to listen to the Human Computer and attempt to
match their pronunciation to the computer's.
The nature of student-teacher interaction in the Community Language Learning Method changes within the lesson and
over time. Sometimes the students are aggressive, as when they are having a conversation. At these times, the
teacher facilitates their ability to express themselves in the target language. He physically removes himself from the
circle, thereby encouraging students to interact with one another. At other times in the lesson, the teacher is very
obviously in charge and providing direction. At all times initially, the teacher structures the class; at later stages, the
students may assume more responsibility for this. The Community Language Learning method is neither student centered, nor teacher-centered, but rather teacher-student centered, with both being decision makers in the class.
Building a relationship with and among students is very important. In a trusting relationship, the threat that students
feel is reduced, and therefore, nondefensive learning is promoted. Students can learn from their interaction with each
other as well as their interaction with the teacher. A spirit of cooperation, not competition, can prevail.
Responding to the students' feelings is considered very important in Counseling Learning. One regular activity is
inviting students to comment on how they feel while the teacher understands. By showing Students he understands
how they feel, the teacher can help them overcome negative feelings that might otherwise block their learning.
Student security in this lesson was provided for in a number of ways. Some of these were the teacher's use of the

6. How is language
viewed? how is culture
viewed?

7. What areas of
language are
emphasized? What
language skills are
emphasized?

students' native language, telling students precisely what they would be doing during the lesson, respecting
established time limits, giving students only as much language they can handle, and taking responsibility for clearly
structuring activities in the most appropriate way. While security is a basic element of the learning process, the way' in
which it is provided will change depending upon which stage the learner is in.
Language is for communication. Curran writes that "learning is persons," that both teacher and student agree to trust
one another and the learning process. The focus shifts from grammar and sentence formation to a "sharing and
belonging between persons." Curran also believes that language is for developing creative thinking. Culture is
integrated with language.
In the early stages, typically the students design the syllabus, in that they decide what they want to be able to say in
the target language. Later on the teacher might also work with published textbooks.
Particularly grammar points, pronunciation patterns, and vocabulary are worked with, based on the language the
students have generated. The most important skills are understanding and speaking the language. Reading and writing
are also worked on, however, based upon what the students have already understood.

8. What is the role or the Students' security is initially enhanced by using their native language. \Where possible, literal native language
students' native
equivalents are given to the target language words that have been transcribed. This makes their meaning clear and
language?
allows students to combine the target language words in different ways to create new sentences. Directions in class
and sessions during which students express their feelings and are understood are conducted in the native language. In
later stages, of course, more and more of the target language can be used. Conversations in the target language can,
for example, replace native language conversations. In a c1ass where the students speak a variety of native
languages, conversations take place right from the start in the target language. Meaning is made clear in other ways,
with pantomime, for example.
9. How is evaluation:
Although no particular mode of evaluation is prescribed in the Community Language Learning method, whichever
accomplished?
evaluation is conducted should be in keeping with the principles of the method. If, for example, the school requires that
the students take a test at the end of a course, then the teacher would see to it that the students are adequately
prepared for taking it.
Also, a teacher-made classroom test would likely be more of an integrative test than a discrete-point one. Students

would be asked to write a paragraph or be given an oral interview, rather than being asked to answer a question which
deals with onl1' one point of the language at a lime. compare this with the evaluation procedures for the Audio.
Lingual Method.)

10. How does the

teacher respond to
student errors?

Finally, it is likely that teachers would encourage their students to self-evaluate-to look at their own learning and to
become aware of their own progress.
Teachers should work with what the keener has produced in a nonthreatening way. One way of doing this is for the
teacher to repeat correctly what the student has said incorrectly, without calling further attention to the error.