RuJaK CiNgUr From SuRaBaYa ReK.......!!!!!: 2011

The Audio-Lingual Method

Historical Roots

The Audio-lingual method is the product of three historical circumstances. For its views on language, audiolingualism drew on the work of American linguists such as Leonard Bloomfield. The prime concern of American Linguistics at the early decades of the 20th century had been to document all the indigenous languages spoken in the USA. However, because of the dearth of trained native teachers who would provide a theoretical description of the native languages, linguists had to rely on observation. For the same reason, a strong focus on oral language was developed. At the same time, behaviorist psychologists such as B.F. Skinner were forming the belief that all behavior (including language) was learnt through repetition and positive or negative reinforcement.

The third factor that enabled the birth of the Audio-lingual method was the outbreak of World War II, which created the need to post large number of American servicemen all over the world. It was therefore necessary to provide these soldiers with at least basic verbal communication skills. Unsurprisingly, the new method relied on the prevailing scientific methods of the time, observation and repetition, which were also admirably suited to teaching en masse. Because of the influence of the military, early versions of the audio-lingualism came to be known as the “army method.

The Audio-Lingual Method, or the Army Method or also the New Key is a style of teaching used in teaching foreign languages. It is based on behaviorist theory, which professes that certain traits of living things, and in this case humans, could be trained through. A system of reinforcement—correct use of a trait would receive positive feedback while incorrect use of that trait would receive negative feedback

The Audio-Lingual Method (ALM) arose as a direct result of the need for foreign language proficiency in listening and speaking skills during and after World War II. It is closely tied to behaviorism, and thus made drilling, repetition, and habit-formation central elements of instruction. Proponents of ALM felt that this emphasis on repetition necessitated

a corollary emphasis on accuracy, claiming that continual repetition of errors would lead to the fixed acquisition of incorrect structures and non-standard pronunciation.

In the classroom, lessons were often organized by grammatical structure and presented through short dialogs. Often, students listened repeatedly to recordings of conversations (for example, in the language lab) and focused on accurately mimicking the pronunciation and grammatical structures in these dialogs.

This method of Language Learning is also called the Aural-Oral Method. This method is said to result in rapid acquisition of speaking and listening skills. The audio-lingual method drills students in the use of grammatical sentence patterns. When this method was developed it was thought that the way to acquire the sentence patterns of the second language was through conditioning or helping learners to respond correctly to stimuli through shaping and reinforcement.

Objectives:

- The development of oral proficiency in the language through carefully selected vocabularies which form a general service list for the learner to use.

- To make students able to use the target language communicatively and automatically without stopping to think.

Principles of Audio-lingual method

a. Language is speech and not writing. This implies that the emphasis is on correct intonation.

b. Listening and speaking should be taught before reading and writing. It should be realistic and situational from the start. The mastery of oral skills should precede reading and writing which will act as reinforcements.

c. Language is a set of habit. Learning is controlled through behavior.

d. It teaches the language not about the language.

e. Instructions are given in the target language.

f. Language forms occur within a context.

g. Students’ native language interferes as little as possible with the students’ attempts to acquire the target language.

h. Teaching is directed to provide students with a native-speaker-like model.

i. Analogy provides a better foundation for language learning than analysis.

j. Errors are carefully avoided because they lead to the formation of bad habits.

k. Positive reinforcement helps the student to develop correct habits.

l. Students are encouraged to learn to respond to both verbal and nonverbal stimuli.

m. The teacher is regarded as an orchestra leader-conducting, guiding and controlling the students’ behavior in the target language.

n. Learning a foreign language is treated on par with the native language learning.

o. A comparison between the native language and the target language is supposed to help teachers to find the areas with which their students probably experience difficulty: this is expected to help students to overcome the habit of the native language.

p. Language is not seen separated from culture. Culture is the everyday behavior of people who use the target language. One of the teachers’ responsibilities is to present information about that culture in context.

q. Students are taken to be the imitators of the teacher’s model or the tapes.

r. The dialogue is the chief means of presenting vocabulary, structures and it is learned through repetition and imitation.

s. Mimicry, memorization and pattern drills are the practice techniques that are emphasized.

t. Most of the interaction is between the teacher and the learner and it is imitated by the learner.

u. Listening and speaking are given priority in language teaching, and they precede reading and writing.

v. Correct pronunciation, stress, rhythm and intonation are emphasized.

w. The meanings of the words are derived in a linguistic and cultural context and not in isolation.

x. Audio-visual aids are used to assist the students’ ability to form new language habits.

In audio-lingual method, the teacher’s role is central and active; it is a teacher-dominated method. The teacher models the target language, controls the direction and pace of learning, and monitors and corrects the learners’ performance. Language learning is seen to result from active verbal interaction between the teachers and learners.

The teacher controls the learners and prevents them from doing anything that conflict with the theory.

Learners are expected to interact with the language system, embodied in machines or controlled materials

The teacher is expected to specify the language that learners are to use.

The teachers have no responsibility to determine learner’s language need.

The Theory of language:

The theory of language underlying Audiolingualism was derived from a view proposed by American linguists in the 1950s - a view that came to be known as structural linguistics. Linguistics had emerged as a flourishing academic discipline in the l950s, and the structural theory of language constituted its backbone. Structural linguistics had developed in part as a reaction to traditional grammar. Traditional approaches to the study of language had linked the study of language to philosophy and to a mentalist approach to grammar. Grammar was considered a branch of logic, and the grammatical categories of Indo-European languages were thought to represent ideal categories in languages.

The Audio-Lingual method is based on the theory that language learning is a question

of habit formation. It has its origins in Skinner’s principles of behavior theory. Since learning

is thought to be a question of habit formation, errors are considered to be bad and to be avoided.

To the behaviorist, the human being is an organism capable of wide repertoire of behaviors. The occurrence of these behaviors is dependent on three crucial elements in learning: a stimulus, which serves to elicit behavior; a response which serves to mark the response as being appropriate) and encourages the repetition (or future (see Skinner 1957; Brown1980).

Reinforcement is a vital element in the learning process because it increases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again and become a habit. To apply this theory to organism as the foreign language learner, the behavior as verbal behavior, the stimulus as what is taught or presented of the foreign language, the response as the learner’s reaction to the stimulus, and the reinforcement as the extrinsic approval and praise of the teacher or fellow students or the intrinsic self-satisfaction of target language use. Language mastery is

represented as acquiring language stimulus-response chains.

Instructional materials:

In audio-lingual method, instructional materials assist the teacher to develop language mastery in the learner.

Tape recorders and audiovisual equipment often have central roles in audio-lingual course. A language laboratory may also be considered essential to provide the opportunity for further drill work and to receive controlled error-free practice of basic structures.

Techniques:

ALM demands more memorization of structure-based dialogs. Students memorize an opening dialog using mimicry and applied role-playing.

One of the key principles of the Audio-Lingual method is that the language teacher should provide students with a native-speaker-like model. By listening, students are expected

to be able to mimic the model. Based upon contrastive analyses, students are drilled in pronunciation of words that are most dissimilar between the target language and the first language. Grammar is not taught directly by rule memorization, but by examples. The method presumes that second language learning is very much like first language learning

Techniques used in ALM

1. Students listen to a native-like model such as the teacher of a tape-recorder.

2. Students repeat the new material chorally and individually.

3. Teachers correct students’ errors immediately and directly student.

4. Students are encouraged to change certain key words or phrases in the dialogue.

5. Students write short guided compositions on given topics.

6. Students are encouraged to induce grammatical rules.

7. Students are involved in language games and role-play.

8. Filling-in the blanks exercise is used.

9. Minimal pairs are used.

10. Teachers ask questions about the new items or ask general questions.

11. Substitution drills, chain drills, transformation drills and expansion drills are used.

12. Language laboratory is used for intensive practice of language structures as well as supra segmental features.

13. Dialogue is copied in students’ notebook.

14. Students are asked to read aloud.

Oral drills

Drills and pattern practice are typical of the Audiolingual method. (Richards, J.C. et-al. 1986) These include :

Repetition       : where the student repeats an utterance as soon as he hears it
Inflection        : Where one word in a sentence appears in another form when repeated
Replacement   : Where one word is replaced by another
Restatement    : The student re-phrases an utterance

Inflection        : Teacher : I ate the sandwich. Student : I ate the sandwiches.
Replacement   : Teacher : He bought the car for half-price. Student : He bought it for half-price.
Restatement    : Teacher : Tell me not to smoke so often. Student : Don't smoke so often!

The following example illustrates how more than one sort of drill can be incorporated into one practice session:

“Teacher          : There's a cup on the table ... repeat
Students          : There's a cup on the table
Teacher            : Spoon
Students          : There's a spoon on the table
Teacher            : Book
Students          : There's a book on the table
Teacher            : On the chair
Students          : There's a book on the chair

Materials

Dialog Memorization: Students are given a short dialog to memorize then they must use mimicry and applied role playing to present the dialog. Examples of dialogs that could be used are included in the materials section.
Objective: Experiment with language and non-verbal elements (eg. gesture) to achieve an effect for a particular purpose and audience.
Backward Build Up: Provide students with the sentence fragments found in the materials section. Students repeat each part of the sentence starting at the end of the sentence and expanding backwards through the sentence adding each part in sequence.
Objective: Participate in a variety of shared language experiences.
Transformation Drill: The teacher provides a question which must be transformed into a statement. An extension of this activity is to have the students make a question out of a statement.
Objective: Select from a range of word choices and use simple sentence patterns to communicate ideas and information.
Complete the Dialog: Have the students fill in the blanks in the dialogs provided. The proper English word must be inserted into the text. This activity is much like a cloze activity.
Objective: Make connections between text, prior knowledge, and personal experiences.
Dictation: Using any piece of literature at the students' reading level, read the piece aloud several times. Have the students write down what they hear. The idea is to write what they have heard as literally as possible.
Objective: Listen purposefully to determine main ideas and important details.
Flashcards: Using flashcards with words that are relevant to them brainstorm other words about the word on the card. A new word could be chosen each day.
Objective: Make connections between text, prior knowledge, and personal experiences.
Chain Drill: A chain of conversation forms around the room as the teacher greets or questions a student and that student responds then turns to the next student and greets or asks a question of the second student and the chain continues.
Objective: Participate in shared language experiences.
The Alphabet Game: The teacher picks a category, such as the supermarket. Then the first student says, "I am going to the supermarket. I need a few apples." (The first student names something beginning with A.) The second student says, "I am going to the supermarket. I need a few apples and I need a few bananas." The game continues in this manner with each consecutive student adding an item beginning with the next letter after repeating the items named before their own.
Objectives: Participate in shared listening experiences. Share ideas and experiences in large and small groups.

basic features:

Here is a summary of the key features of the Audio-lingual Method, taken from Brown

(1994:57) and adapted from Prator and Celce-Murcia (1979).

1. New material is presented in dialog form.

2. There is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases, and overlearning.

3. Structures are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught one at a time.

4. Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills.

5. There is little or no grammatical explanation. Grammar is taught by inductive analogy rather than deductive explanation.

6. Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context.

7. There is much use of tapes, language labs, and visual aids.

8. Great importance is attached to pronunciation.

9. Very little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted.

10. Successful responses are immediately reinforced.

11. There is great effort to get students to produce error-free utterances.

12. There is a tendency to manipulate language and disregard content.

The Audio Lingual Method as presented by Finochiaro and Brumfit (1983) are given below :

Attend to structure and form more than meaning
Demands memorization of structure based dialogs.
Language items are not necessarily.
Language learning is learning structure, sounds or words.
Mastery or over learning is sought. It depends on the teachers how to, it is not always.
Drilling is a central technique.
Native-speaker like pronunciation is sought.
Grammatical explanation is avoided. We could find the same statement as right one. i.e Any device which helps the learners is expected – varying according to.
Communicative activities only come after a long process of rigid drills and exercises.
The use of the students’ native language is forbidden.
Translation is forbidden at early levels.
Reading and Writing are deferred till speech is mastered.
The target linguistic system will be learned through the overt teaching of the patterns of the system.
Linguistic competence is the desired goal.
Varieties of language are recognized but not emphasized.
The sequence of unit is determined solely by principles of linguistic complexity.
The teacher controls the learners and prevents them from doing anything that conflict with the theory.
Language is habit, so errors must be presented at all costs.
Accuracy, in terms of formal correctness, is a primary goal.
Students are expected to interact with the language system embodied in machines or controlled materials.
The teacher is expected to specify the language that students are to use.
Intrinsic motivation will spring from interest in the structure of the language.

Syllabus Designing:

Audiolingualism is a linguistic, or structure based approach to language teaching. The starting point is a linguistic syllabus which contains the key items of phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language arranged according to their order of presentation.

The Language skills are taught in the order of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Listening is viewed largely as training in aural discrimination of sound patterns. The language may be presented entirely orally at first; written representations are usually withheld from the learners in early stage.

Learning Techniques and Activities

In the late 1950s, the theoretical underpinnings of the Audio-lingual method were questioned by linguists such as Noam Chomsky, who pointed out the limitations of structural linguistics. The relevance of behaviorist psychology to language learning was also questioned, most famously by Chomsky’s review of B.F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior in 1959. The audio-lingual method was thus deprived of its scientific credibility and it was only a matter of time before the effectiveness of the method itself was questioned

In 1964, Wilga Rivers released a critique of the method in her book, “The Psychologist and the Foreign Language Teacher.” Subsequent research by others, inspired by her book, produced results which showed explicit grammatical instruction in the mother language to be more productive. These developments, coupled with the emergence of humanist pedagogy led to a rapid decline in the popularity of audiolingualism.

Philip Smith’s study (1965-1969) termed the Pennsylvania Project, provided significant proof that audio-lingual methods were less effective than a more traditional cognitive approach involving the learner’s first language.

Fall from popularity

In the late 1950s, the theoretical underpinnings of the method were questioned by linguists such as Noam Chomsky, who pointed out the limitations of structural linguistics. The relevance of behaviorist psychology to language learning was also questioned, most famously by Chomsky's review of B.F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior in 1959. The audio-lingual method was thus deprived of its scientific credibility and it was only a matter of time before the effectiveness of the method itself was questioned.

In 1964, Wilga Rivers released a critique of the method in her book, “The Psychologist and the Foreign Language Teacher.“ Subsequent research by others, inspired by her book, produced results which showed explicit grammatical instruction in the mother language to be more productive. These developments, coupled with the emergence of humanist pedagogy led to a rapid decline in the popularity of audiolingualism^. Philip Smith's study from 1965-1969, termed the Pennsylvania Project, provided significant proof that audio-lingual methods were less effective than a more traditional cognitive approach involving the learner's first language.

Today

Despite being discredited as an effective teaching methodology in 1970, audio-lingualism continues to be used today, although it is typically not used as the foundation of a course, but rather, has been relegated to use in individual lessons. As it continues to be used, it also continues to gain criticism, as Jeremy Harmer notes, “Audio-lingual methodology seems to banish all forms of language processing that help students sort out new language information in their own minds.” As this type of lesson is very teacher centered, it is a popular methodology for both teachers and students, perhaps for several reasons but in particular, because the input and output is restricted and both parties know what to expect. Some hybrid approaches have been developed, as can be seen in the textbook Japanese: The Spoken Language (1987–90), which uses repetition and drills extensively, but supplements them with detailed grammar explanations in English.

Butzkamm & Caldwell have tried to revive traditional pattern practice in the form of bilingual semi-communicative drills. For them, the theoretical basis, and sufficient justification, of pattern drills is the generative principle, which refers to the human capacity to generate an infinite number of sentences from a finite grammatical competence.

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