Diane Larsen-Freeman

96 Community Language Learning Community Language Learning 97
Observations
Principles
Observations
Principles
9 The reacher understa nds what
the students say.
10 The students listen TO the tape
and give the Indo nesian
t ran slatio n.
The teacher 'cou nsels' the students.
He docs not offer advice, bur
rat her shows them that he is really
listening to them and understands
what they arc saying. By
understa nding how students feel,
the teac her can help stude nts gain
insights into their own learning
process as well as transform their
negative feelings, which might
otherwise block their learning.
The stu dents' native language is
used to ma ke the meaning d ear
and to build a bridge from the
known to rhc unknown. Students
feel more secure when they
understand everything.
14 The teacher read s the
tra nscript three times. T he
students relax and listen.
15 In the Hu man Com puter"
activity, the students choose
which phrase they want to
practice prono uncing; the
teacher, following the student's
lead, repeats the phrase until
the learner is satisfied and
stops.
16 The students learn to listen
carefully to sec if what they say
matches what the teacher is
saying.
Students need quiet reflection time
in order to learn .
Studen ts 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 contr ol, they can
take more responsibilit y for t hcir
own learni ng.
Students need to learn to
discrimin ate, for example, in
perceiving the similarities and
differences among the target
language forms.
11 T he teacher asks the students
to form a semicircle in front of
the blackboard so they can see
easily.
12 The teach er reassures the
stud ents tha t they will have
time later on TOcopy the
sentences.
13 T he teacher asks the students
to give the Indonesian
equivalents as he points to
different phrases in the
tra nscript. He points to the
fi rst ph rase and pau ses; if no
one volunteers the meaning, he
writes it himself.
The teacher shou ld ta ke the
respo nsibility for clearl y
struct uring activities in the most
appro priate way possible for
successful completion of an
activity.
Lea rning at the beginning stages is
facilitated if students attend to one
task at a time.
T he teacher encourages student
initiative and independence, but
docs not let students flounder in
uncomfortable silences.
17 Students work together in
gro ups of three.
18 The teacher corrects by
repeating correctly the sentence
the stu dents have created.
19 The students read th eir
sentences to the oth er
members of the class.
20 The reacher plays the tape two
more times wh ile th e students
listen.
In groups, students can begin to
feci a sense of comm unity and can
learn from each ot her as well as
the teacher. Coopera tion, not
competition, is encouraged.
The teacher should work in a nonthreatening
way with what the
learner has produced.
Developing a community among
the class members builds trust and
can help to red uce the threat of the
new learning situation.
Learn ing tends not to take place
when the material is too new or,
conversely, too famili ar. Retention
will best tak e place somewhere in
between novelty and familiarity.