Community Language Learning (CLL)

A. Background

CLL, which was developed by Charles A. Curran, represents the us of counseling learning theory to teach languages. The firs experiments were in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. CLL derives its primacy insights from Rogerian counseling. In counseling, one person gives advice, assistance, and support to another who has a problem. The reference of the CLL is "Counseling-Learning in second Language" written by Curran.

Community Language Learning is linked with Language alternations where a message/lesson is presented first in the native tongue by the students and then in the target language by the councelor and the students.

B. Approach

1. Theory of Language

The recent writing of CLL proponents deals with an alternative theory of language , which is referred to as Language as Social Process.

The social-process view of language is elaborated in terms  of six qualities or processes (Curran, 1972).

• the whole-person process
• the educational process
• the interpersonal process
• the developmental process
•  the communicative process
• the cultural process

CLL interactions are of two distinct and fundamental kinds:

•  Learner-learner interaction: which is held to change in the direction of increasing intimacy and trust.
• Learner-knower interaction: which is held to change in its very nature from dependence to independence.

2. Theory of Learning-Basic Principle of CLL:

Curran (1972) concludes that the techniques of counseling can be applied in learning and teaching a language. The main task of the counselor is to reduce the learner’s insecurity, threat and anxiety. Curran discuss “consensual validation” in which mutual warmth, understanding and a positive evaluation of the other person’s worth develops between the councelor and the learner.

A group of ideas concerning the psychological requirements for successful learning is included under the acronym, SARD:

• S stands for Security.

Unless the students fell secure, they will not find it easy to enter a successful learning experience.

• A stands for Attention and Aggression

The variety in the choice of learner task will increase attention and promote learning. Aggression applies the way in which a child seeks an opportunity to show his strength by taking over and demonstrating what has been learned.

• R stands for Retention and Reflection.

If the whole person is involved in the learning process, retention is internalized and becomes a part of the learner’s new personal in the L2. Reflection is a consciously identified period of silence within the framework of the lesson for the students.

• D denotes Discrimination.

When the learners have retained a body of materials, they are ready to sort out the materials and see how one thing relates to another.

3. Stage of Mastery

Curran divides the mastery stage into five stages:

• Embryonic Stage

At the stage, the learners are dependent 100% on their counselor. The counselor has o reduce the student’s anxiety and give the opportunity to the learner to reflect himself in using the language.

• Self-Assertion Stage

At this stage, there is a beginning period of courage to make some attempt to speak in the L2. The students will give spirit or modification to each other.

• Birth Stage

At this stage, the learners reduce the use of L1. During this stage there can happen turning point negative or positive. The positive aspect can be seen if the learners have the sense of psychological belongings and sharing with the counselor and the other students. The negative aspect can also happen because the learner feels he is already able to use the language and avoids correction, though he does not master the language yet. The counselor should prevent this negative aspect.

• Reversal Stage

There is mutual understanding between the counselor and the clients and between one client with the other clients. At this stage the client is more active.

• Independent Stage

At this stage, the client has mastered all materials. He enlarges his language and learns the socio-cultural aspect of the native speaker.

C. Usual Classroom Techniques

• One class consists of 6-12 students who sit in a circle.
• The teacher stands outside the circle.
• A student pronounces a message in L1 loudly. 
• The teacher whispers the message in L2.
• The student repeats the L2 message to his friends loudly.
• This process is done repeatedly and recorded.
• At the end of the class, this record is played again and transcribed.

D. Designs

•  Objective

Explicit linguistic or communicative objectives are not defined in the literature on CLL. The assumption is that through the method, the teacher can successfully transfer the knowledge.

• Syllabus

CLL is most often used in the teaching of oral proficiency. It does not have a conventional language syllabus. The syllabus emerges from the interaction between the learner’s expressed communicative intentions and the councelor’s reformulation of these into suitable L2 utterances.

• Types of Learning and Teaching Activities

Community Language Learning combines innovative learning tasks and activities with conventional ones.

The activities include:

a.       Translation : ALearner’s message is trans ferred into L2 by the councelor and the student repeats the councelor’s translation.

b.      Group work: Group tasks vary such as having a discussion, a conversation and preparing a summary or a story.

c.       RecordingO: Students record conversation in the L2.

d.      Trancription: Studens transcribe utterances and conversations they have recorded.

e.       Analysis: Students analyze and study the transcription of the target language.

f.       Reflection and observation: Learners reflect and report their experiences.

g.      Listening: Students listen to a monologue by the councelor.

h.      Free conversation: Students engage in free conversations with the councelor or with other students.

•  Learner Roles

In CLL, Learners become members of a community. They are expected to listen attentively to the knower, to provide meanings, repeat target utterances, support fellow members of the community, and even become a counselor to the other learners.

• Teacher Roles

The teacher’s function derives from the function of the counselor. His role is to respond calmly and non-judgmentally and to help clients to understand their problems better. He is responsible for providing a save environment.

• Results

It was claimed that the client could master the 100% materials during 120 hours by using the CLL method.

E. Conclusion

CLL places unusual demands on language teachers. They must be familiar with and sympathetic to the role of counselors.

They must be highly proficient and sensitive to nuance in both L1 and L2. They must resist the pressure “to teach” in the traditional senses. They must be relatively non-directive and be prepared to accept the aggression of the learners. They must attempt to learn these new roles and skills with much specific guidance from CLL texts.

Critics of CLL question the appropriateness of the counseling metaphor upon which it is predicted, while the supporters of CLL emphasize the benefits of the method that centers on the learners and stresses the humanistic side of language learning.