Chapter II elt methods: a basic Appraisal 1 Humanistic Approaches

2.1 Humanistic Approaches

Language learning is an anxiety-causing and provoking activity so learners need to be relaxed and confident enough to exploit the learning opportunities available to them. Teachers should work on developing the students’ trust and regard them as their clients. Great care should be given to interpersonal relationships and to the social dynamics of the group.

Four methods, developed in the 1970s and 1980s, have had a considerable impact upon language teaching even if they are rarely used exclusively in ‘mainstream’ teaching. They are frequently described, together, as humanistic approaches because in three out of four cases at least, the designers are primarily concerned to lower the student’s affective filters . . . , and so remove a psychological barrier to learning (Harmer 2001:88).
1. Community Language Learning (CLL)
In the early seventies, Charles Curran developed a new education model called "Counseling-Learning". This educational model was also applied to language learning and became known as Community Language Learning (CLL).
CLL advocates a holistic approach to language learning. "True human learning" is both cognitive and affective.
Language is for communication. Language is for developing creative thinking. Culture is integrated with language.
“The primary aim of CLL is to create a genuinely warm and supportive ‘community’ among the learners and gradually to move them from complete dependence on the teacher to complete autonomy” (Nunan 1991: 236).
The native instructors of the language are not considered teachers but, rather are trained in counseling skills adapted to their roles as language counselors. Teacher's initial role is that of a counsellor. The teacher tries to remove the threatening factors in the classroom.
This method works in the following way. Students sit in a circle with the teacher on the outside. The students decide what they want to discuss. Student say whatever they want to communicate to the teacher in L1 or in the taget language. In the former case, the teacher translates the utterance, in effect teaching the student how to say the utterance in English. In some CLL lessons the students’ utterances are recorded onto a tape to be analysed later. In all these cases the teacher offers help to the ‘community’ of the class.