Resurrecting “Old” Language Learning Methods to Reduce Anxiety for New Language Learners: Community Language Learning to the Rescue

Traditional methods of language teaching include drills and repetitions with little emphasis on communication. Students who are anxious about their listening and speaking abilities tend to maintain an affective barrier that can make language acquisition almost impossible. This paper shares a teacher's dilemma and eventual success as she tries to teach Spanish to four monolingual English-speaking Puerto Rican boys who have recently, and reluctantly, relocated to Puerto Rico. The youngsters are unapproachable until the teacher begins to implement strategies from the older language teaching methodology, Charles Curran's Community Language Learning (CLL), which focuses on strategies that reduce anxiety, as the teacher plays the role of understanding and empathetic counselor. The uses and implications of this method are also discussed.