Diane Larsen-Freeman

94 Comr nuniry Langu age Learning
COf1UllIl1Iit)' Langu age Learning 95
f inall y, the teacher tells the class they have ten minutes left in the session.
lie asks them to talk about the experience they have had that
evening, their English, and/o r their learning process. As students respond ,
the teacher listens carefullyand reflec ts hack to the stude nts in such a way
that each feels he or she has been understood. Most of the students arc
posit ive about the experience, one student saying that it is the first time
she has felt so com fortable in a beginning language class. ' I now think 1
can learn English,' she says.
for the next two classes the teacher decides to have the stude nts continue
to work with the conversation they crea ted. Some of the act ivities
arc as follows:
1 The teacher selects the verb 'be' from the transcript, and toget her he and
the students conjugate it for person and number in the present tense.
They do the same for the verb 'do' and for the regular verb 'work.'
2 The students wo rk in small groups to make sentences \vith the new
forms . They share the sentences they have created with the rest of the
class.
3 Students take turns reading the transcript. one student read ing the
English and another readi ng the Indonesian.They have an oppo rtunity
to wor k on their English pro nunciation aga in as well.
4 The teacher puts a picture of a person on the blackboard and the students
ask questions of that person as if they have just met him.
5 The students reconstruct the con versation they have crea ted.
6 They create a new dialog using word s they have learned to say du ring
their conversa tion,
When they fi nish these activities, the class has another convers ation,
records it, and uses the new transc ript as the basis for subsequent activities.
THINKING ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
l.cr us now turn 111lr attention to anal yzing what we saw. On the left, we
can list our observation s, and on the right, we can list the principles we
derive from our observations.
Observations
The teacher greets the students,
introduces himself, and has the
students introdu ce themselves.
Principles
Building a relati onship with and
among students is very impo rtant.
Observations
2 The tea, her tells the students
what they arc going (0 do that
evening. He explains the
procedure of the first act ivity
and sets a time limit,
3 Students have a conve rsation.
4 The teacher stands behind the
students .
5 The teacher translates what
the students want to sa)' in
chunks.
6 The teacher tells them that
they have on ly a few minutes
remaining for the conversation .
7 Students are invited to talk
about how they felt dur ing the
conversa[Ion.
8 The teach er accepts what each
student says.
Principl es
Any new learning experience can
be threatening. When students
have an idea of what will happen
in each activity, they often feel
more secure. People learn nondefensively
when they feel secure.
Language is for communica tion .
The superior know ledge and power
of the teacher can be threatening.
If the teacher does not remain in
the front of the classroom, the
th reat is reduced and the students'
learn ing is facilitated. Also this
fosters interaction among students,
rather tha n from student to teacher,
The teacher shou ld be sensitive to
students' level of confidence and
give them just wha t they need to
he successful.
Stude nts feel more secure when
they know the limits of an activity.
Teacher and students arc whole
persons. Sharing about their
learn ing experience allows
learn ers to ger ro know one
another and to build community.
Guided by the know ledge rhar each
learner is unique, the teacher creates
an acceptin g atmosphere. Lear ners
feel free to lower their defenses
and the learning experience
becomes less th reatening.