This slide briefly sums up the Second Language learning/teaching methodology as proposed by Charles Arthur Curran. Community Langugae Learning advocates the Counseling method of psychology to aid Target Language acquisition.

1. Community
Language Learning
AN APPROACH TO L2 ACQUISITION (AS DEVISED BY CHARLES ARTHUR CURRAN)
-PRAGNAN CHAKRABORTY
THE ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES UNIVERSITY

2. Contents -
 1. Background – Charles A. Curran. Rogerian Counselling, counselling learning,
Humanistic Techniques, Language Alternation.
 2. Approach – Language for communication V language as a social process, information-
transmission model V social process model. Popular view of learning, Animal/behavioural View of
learning as opposed to Whole-person learning view advocated by CLL. Learner and Knower. Idea
of S-A-R-D as the psychological requirements.
 3. Design – objectives, syllabus, teacher-learner roles, teaching and learning activities and
instructional materials.
 4. Procedure – Role of silence, interesting activities like skits, music, conversation etc,
reflections.
 5. Conclusion

3. 1. BACKGROUND

4. Points to note -
 1. CLL is a method developed by Charles Arthur Curran and associates.
 2. CLL advocates the counselling learning technique, can also be cited as an
example of HUMANISTIC APPROACH to learning (involves the learner as a
whole human rather than focussing on the mere cognitive and factual aspects)
 3. Derives its insights and organizing rationale from ‘Rogerian Counselling’.
 4. Engages the emotions and feelings of a learner into teaching the target
language
 5. CLL is also linked with the practice of “Language Alternation”

5. Charles A. Curran (1913 – 1978)
 Was a specialist in counselling and a professor of Psychology at Loyola
University Chicago.
 He is best known as the creator of Community Language Learning
technique and applying it to L2 learning.
 In order to facilitate learning, he applied the psychological counselling
techniques to them.

6. Rogerian Counselling
 A form of Psychotherapy developed by psychologist Carl Rogers in the
early 1940s.
 It is also known as person/client centred psychotherapy/counselling.
 Seeks to facilitate a client’s self actualizing (realisation of one’s full
potential) tendencies through empathic understanding and positive
regard.

7. Language Alternation
 A message/lesson is presented twice in the class, first in the native language and
next in the target language.
 The learners are thus equipped with the toolkit to identify parallel elements
between the L1 and the L2.
 Thus they can piece together a view of the language out of the message.
 This technique is engaged in CLL by presenting a message in L1 to the knower by
the learner.
 Knower translates it in L2 and the learner repeats the message in L2 to another
learner he/she wishes to communicate with.
 Other Learners are encouraged to ‘overhear’ the conversation so that a generic idea
of the message can be formed.
 This aspect of CLL is little-discussed, however ‘may account for more of the
informally reported successes of the CLL students than is usually acknowledged’.

8. 2. APPROACH

9. Points to note -
 La Forge – reviews Linguistic theory as a prelude to presenting CLL models of
language.
 Emphasises role of phonological and syntactic features of the L2 as
fundamental criteria.
 Language as social process Vs Language for communication.
 La Forge rejects the ‘sender-message-receiver’ model of information theory.
 The social process view is elaborated as –
The Whole person process
The educational process
The Interpersonal process
The developmental process
The communicative process
The cultural process

10. Points -
 Interactional view – Language is people, persons in contact and persons in
response.
 Interactions between learners and interaction between learners and
knowers
 Interactions between learners is based on their communication with each
other and as the classroom bonding deepens, the intimacy pushes the
learners to engage more with the community in fear of being left out.
 Interactions between learner and knower is initially dependent – learner
expresses doubts and questions in/regarding L2 and the knower helps
him/her in correcting.
 Later stages of learner-knower interaction are characterized – Self assertive;
resentful and indignant; tolerant; independent. {five stages of affective
conflicts (La Forge)}

11. Points -
 The two types are equivalent to the two social classes of human interaction.
 Theory of learning - Curran - Procedures of counselling + Learning in general and
Language teaching in particular.
 Contrasts the two vies of learning – The common learning view (long extant in the
western culture) which involves only the factual and cognitive aspects. VS the ‘animal
learning’ view, which is behavioural in nature and learner involvement is passive and
limited.
 CLL advocates a “whole-person learning” – teachers and learners are involved in active
interactions.
 Comparison with the ontogenic development of children –
Birth stage – Learners’ feeling of security and belonging.
Growth – learners’ abilities improve, learners begin to experience independence.
Growth 2 – Independent speech; assertion of identity.
Maturation – Learners are capable of handling criticism
Adult – learners are well equipped with target language and works on style and appropriateness
of language.

12. Points -
 Psychological requirements – Positive regard, self evaluation, SARD
 SARD – Security, Attention and Aggression, Retention and Reflection,
Discrimination
 Learners need a secure and safe environment to work in
 Learners need to pay attention and should be aggressive in showing the
skills they have acquired.
 Learners should be able to retain what they have learned in the class room
and should reflect upon the knowledge in order to retain better,
 Learners should be able to ‘discriminate’ the various aspects of the
language based on their usage.

13. 3. DESIGN

14. Points to note -
 Objective – CLL does not have a specific objective however depending on the
teachers, attaining near-native proficiency is set as the goal
 Syllabus – CLL does not have a set syllabus since theorist believe that
engaging a strict syllabus will hinder the learning capabilities of the learners
by restricting their involvement as a community.
 CLL engages classroom activities like SKITS, Communicative improvisation
games, conversations etc. the learners are encouraged to record the activities
and transcribe them for future references. Thus a version of syllabus is
attained in the form of detailed classroom activities and procedures.

15. Roles of learners and Teachers -
 Learners as members of a community interact with each other for target language
proficiency.
 With development of each stage, the learner becomes a knower for a newer group of learner.
 The ontogenic stages of development of a child as described earlier.
 Teacher basically functions as the counsellor with the learners as their clients. They solve
issues of the learners in/regarding the target language.
 Sometimes they act as actual counsellors since psychological problems may arise during L2
learning. This also indicates a deep personal investment on the part of the teacher.
 Like the stages of growth of a learner, the teacher also acts in stages, while in the first stage,
he/she act like a parent to the child, providing the learner with almost all relevant skills,
gradually the teacher evolves according to the learner’s growth and as the latter becomes
less dependent on the teacher.
 The teacher is also responsible for providing the learners with a safe environment for study.
However an over safe environment with no sense of intimidation may prove to be counter-
productive.

16. Role of Instructional materials
 Like discussed in the section of syllabus, CLL does not impose a strict textbook
mechanism for study since that will hinder productivity on part of the learners.
Instead a course referendum is derived from the classroom activities and
transcriptions that the learners perform.

17. 4. PROCEDURE

18. Points to note -
 Role of silence – a group of students sitting silently makes the learners wonder
about what the class is going to be about. The awkwardness presented by the
silence may also provoke a learner to break with an opening line.
 An ice breaking session which includes learners’ conversation on a selected
topic or a presentation for another learner group.
 In advanced classes, dramas or improvisation games may also be performed.

19. 5. CONCLUSION
 CLL is the most responsive method in L2 teaching.
 It is however restricted by the learners’ abilities and knowledge he/she desires
to express in L2.
 Production in L2 is of utmost importance to ensure learning has been
successful, in such cases teachers need to ‘relax their desires of producing
something themselves’.
 Using conventional methods is discouraged and innovative, interesting and
interactive methods of classroom engagement is encouraged.
 Since CLL is based on the counselling technique, it is crucial that the learner as a
whole is engaged in the process. It is also important for the teachers to ensure
that the learners’ self esteem and self assertion is maintained and positive
regard is adequately provided.
 Even though many critics of CLL has emphasized on the points of lack of
syllabus as a probable hindrance, supporters on the other hand, emphasize the
benefits of interactive learning, stressing the humanistic side of language
learning and not merely the linguistic dimensions.