THE AUDIO-LINGUAL METHOD

PRESENTED BY :OMAR HUSSEIN BEN-RAJAB

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2015

OutlinesHistorical BackgroundThe Basic Principles of The Audio-Lingual MethodThe Techniques and Activities Used by the Audio-Lingual MethodThe Role of the Teacher and the Student in the Audio-Lingual MethodAdvantages and disadvantages of the Audio-Lingual MethodThe decline of the Audio-Lingual MethodConclusion

Historical Background The Audio-lingual Method was developed in the U.S. during the Second World War. At that time, the U.S. government found it a great necessity to set up a special language-training programme to supply the war with language personnel. Therefore, the government commissioned American universities to develop foreign language program for military personnel.

Thus the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) was established in 1942.The objectives of the army program was for students to attain conversational proficiency in a variety of foreign languages. The method used was known as the “informant method”, since it used a native speakers of the language, the informant, and a linguist. The informant served as a source of language for imitation, and the linguist supervised the learning experience. The intensive system adopted by the army achieved excellent results (Rivers, 1992).

The Audio-Lingual Method is based on two main theories:

Structuralism: A Language is a system of structural related elements, like phonological units,

grammatical units, and lexical items, for the transmission of meaning. So, to

learn the target language is to master the elements of the target language

system.

Behaviorist psychology Behaviorist psychology states that people are conditioned to learn many forms of behavior, including language, through the process of training or conditioning.

The Basic Principles of The Audio-Lingual Method

The five Slogans which were established for the teaching process and used by the teachers who adopted this method were:

1- Language is speech, not writing. The Audio-Lingual laid emphasis on the spoken skill before giving the learner the written form (pronunciation, intonation and colloquial forms).

2- A language is a set of habits.

The Audio-Lingual Method was based on habit formation. Language is acquired during childhood at the same way as children acquire other social habits by imitation and memorization. Learners acquire Language automatically by using dialogue material.

3- Teach the language not about the language.

This slogan represents a reaction against the main principle of the Grammar Translation Method ( allotted time to communicate in the target language without analyzing grammar).

4- A language is what its native speakers say, not what someone else thinks they ought to say.

Teachers shouldn’t impose the grammatical points according to specific criteria, but in order to learn, students should speak the language as it is used by its native speakers.

5- Languages are different.

The notion of universal grammar was rejected in this case. So each language is analyzed according to its own features without any relation to another language ( Al-Mutawa N, and Kailani T 1998).

The Techniques and Activities Used by the Audio-Lingual

Method

The Audio-Lingual Method has a different techniques in contrast with the Grammar Translation Method and the Direct Method. It lays emphasis on mimicry as a main technique. This is done through memorization of the dialogues and imitative repetition.

The use of drills and patterns practice includes the following:

1- Repetition: where the student repeats an utterance as soon as he hears it, without

looking at printing materials.

EX:

I used to know him. – I used to know him. I used to know him years ago…

2- Inflection: Where one word in a sentence appears in another form when repeated.

EX:

I bought the ticket. -I bought the tickets.

He bought the candy -She bought the candy.

3-Replacement: Where one word is replaced by another word.EX: He bought this house cheap. He bought it cheap Helen left early. She left early.4-Restatement: The student rephrases an utterance and addresses it to someone else, according to instructions.EX: Tell him to wait for you. Wait for me. Ask her how old she is How old are you?

5-Completion. EX: I have a………… I have a cat.6-Transposition: A change in word order is necessary when a word is added.EX: I’m hungry. /so/ - So am I7- Expansion. When a word is added it takes a certain place in the sequence.EX:I know him.(hardly). – I hardly Know him.

8- Contraction: A single word stands for a phrase or clause.

EX:

Put your hand on the table. -Put your hand there.

9-Transformation: A sentence is transformed by being made negative or interrogative or through changes in tense, mood, voice, aspect, or modality.

EX: He knows my address. He doesn't know my address.

10-Integration: Two separate utterances are integrated into one.

EX: They must be honest. It is important

that

This is

important.   they be honest.

11- Rejoinder: Student makes an appropriate rejoinder to a given pattern. (polite, answer the question, agree, disagree, express surprise, etc.) EX: Thank you. You're welcome.

What is your name? My name is Sam.

12-Restoration: is one of the most common patterns that can be found in ESL textbooks.EX: kids/waiting /school bus Kids are waiting for school bus.

13- Use of minimal pairs. EX: ship sheep (Freeman, 2000)

The Role of the Teacher and the Student in the Audio-Lingual Method

The teacher’s role in the Audio-Lingual Method ‘is like an orchestra leader.’ He leads and directs students in their style of learning the language. He is also responsible for supplying the students with a good model for imitation.

Whereas, the student’s role is considered as an imitator of what is being said in front of him, either by a teacher or a tape. They follow what is directed by their teacher and to respond as rapidly as possible (Freeman,2000).

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Audio-Lingual Method

Advantages:1- It was the first method to have a theory.2- It made language learning accessible to a large groups of ordinary learners.3- It was the first method to lay stress on the development of language syntax, whereas the other methods were preoccupied with morphology and vocabulary. 4- Developing simple techniques and making use of language lab.

Disadvantages:

1- No creativity. Students repeat and memorize what they do not understand.

2- The techniques used by this method become “ tedious and boring, causing

fatigue”.

3- Make advanced students bored.

4- Many students in the class.

The Decline of the Audio-Lingual Method

In the1960s many linguists criticized Audiolingualism, claiming that the theoretical foundation of this approach is weak and students were found to be unable to use skills learned in the classroom in real communication. In 1966, Chomsky criticized behaviorist theory, that was the main basis of Audiolingualism. He claimed, that this theory could not function as a model of how humans learn languages. Chomsky introduced an alternative theory of language learning.

He explained that languages are not acquired by repetition and imitation, but “generated from the learner’s underlying competence” .

With the appearance of Chomsky’s transformational grammar theory, Audiolingualism lost its popularity. (Richards & Rodgers, 1987).

Conclusion The Audio-Lingual Method aims to develop communicative competence of students using dialogues and drills. The use of dialogues and drills are effective in foreign language teaching as they lead the students to produce speech. Repetition of the dialogues and the drills will enable students to respond quickly and accurately in spoken language.

Activities True or False.

Q1- The students in the Audio-lingual Method are passive.

Q2- New vocabulary and structures are presented through dialogues.

Q3- There is student-to-student interaction, but it is directed by the teacher.

Q4- Errors are accepted in the Audio-Lingual Method.

Q5- There is no theory for the Audio-Lingual Method.

REFRENCES Al-Mutawa, N. and Kailani, T. (1998). Methods of Teaching English to Arab Students. Longman: Harlow. Freeman, D. L. (2000). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford University Press: Oxford. Richards, J. C and Theodore S. Rodgers. (1997). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press: USA. Rivers, W. (1981). Teaching Foreign-Language Skills. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago and London.