THE AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD

THE AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD

Background

The Coleman Report in 1929 recommended a reading based approach to foreign language teaching for use in American Schools and college. This emphasized teaching the comprehension of the text. In 1942 the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) was established. The objectives of the army programs was for students to attain conversational proficiency in a variety of foreign languages. The ASTP used 15 hours of drill with native speakers and 20 to 30 hours of private study spread over two to three 6-week sessions. The methodology of ASTP like the Direct Method, derived from the intensity of contact with the target language rather than from any well developed methodological basis.

There was a growing demand for foreign expertise in the teaching of English. Many of the students required training in English before they could begin their studies. These factors led to the emergence of the American approach to ESL, which by the mid 1950s had become Audiolingualism.

The emergence of the Audiolingual Method resulted from the increases attention given to foreign language teaching in the United States towards the end of the 1950s. the combination of structural linguistic theory, contrastive analysis, aural oral procedures, and behaviorist psychology led to the Audilingual Method. Audiolingualism claimed to have transformed language teaching from an art into a science, which would enable learners to achieve mastery of foreign language effectively and efficiently.

Approach

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. Structural linguistics had developed in part as a reaction to traditional grammar. The term structural referred to these characteristics; (a) elements in a language were thought of being linearly produced in a rule-governed (structured) way; (b) language samples could be exhaustively described at any structural level of description; (c) linguistics levels were thought of as system within system. In Audiolingualism, method cannot be based simply on the theory of language. It also needs to refer to the psychology of learning and to learning theory.

Theory of learning; Psychological foundations of Audiolingualism are stimulus-organism-response behavior. Response behavior can be reinforcement and no reinforcement.

Design

They advocated a return to speech based instruction with the primary objective of oral proficiency, and dismissed the study of grammar or literature as the goal of foreign language learning

Objectives; Short range objectives include training in listening comprehension, accurate pronunciation, recognition of speech symbols as graphic signs. Long range objectives must be language as the native speaker uses it.

The syllabus; The starting point is a linguistics syllabus, which contains the key items of phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language arranged according to their presentation.

Types of learning and teaching activities; Dialogues and drills form the basis audiolingual classroom practices. Various kinds of drills are used; repetition, inflection, replacement, restatement, completion, transposition, expansion, contraction, transformation, integration, rejoinder and restoration.

Learner roles; Learners are viewed as organisms that can be directed by skilled training techniques to produce correct responses.

Teacher roles; The teacher role is central and active; it is a teacher directed method.

The role of instructional materials; Assist the teacher to develop language mastery in the learner, they are primary teacher oriented.

Procedure

Ø  The modeling of all learning by the teacher

Ø  The subordination of the mother tongue

Ø  The early and continued training of the ear and tongue without resource to graphic symbols

Ø  The learning of structures through the practice of pattern of sound, order, and form rather than by explanation.

Ø  The gradual substitution of graphic symbol of sound

Ø  The summarizing of the main principles of structure

Ø  The shortening of the time span

Ø  The minimizing of vocabulary

Ø  Sustain practice of the use of language

Ø  Practice on translation only as a literary exercise at an advanced levels

The decline of Audiolingualism

The theoretical foundations of Audiolingualism were attacked as being unsound in terms of both language theory and learning theory. Students were often found to be unable to transfer skills acquired through Audiolingualism to real communication outside the classroom.

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The Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching

SUMMARY

THE ORAL APPROACH AND SITUATIONAL LANGUAGE TEACHING

            It is a reaction to the reading approach and its lack of emphasis on oral aural skills; this approach was dominant in Britain from 1930s to 1960s. It draws from the reform movement and the direct approach but adds features (more scientific foundation) from linguistics and the emerging professional field of language pedagogy. 

            Vocabulary control function as one of the first aspects of method design to receive attention. grammar control vocabulary selection procedures are followed to ensure that an essential general service vocabulary is covered.

            Grammar control, based on the assumption that one universal logic formed the basis of all languages and that the teacher’s responsibility was to show how each category of the universal grammar was to be expressed in the foreign language. Items of grammar are graded following the principle that simple forms shuld be taught before complex ones.

            The oral and situational language teaching involved systemic principles of selection (the procedures by which lexical and grammatical content was chosen), gradation (principles by which the organization and sequencing of content were determined), and presentation (technique used for presentation and practice of items in a course).

The characteristics of the approach:

a.       Language teaching begins with the spoken language.

b.      The target language is the language in the classroom.

c.       New language points are introduced and practiced situationally.

d.      Vocabulary selection procedures are followed to ensure that an essential general service vocabulary is covered.

e.       Items of grammar are graded following the principle that simple form should be taught before complex form.

f.       Reading and writing are introduced once lexical and grammatical basis is established.

Approach

            Theory of language; speech was regarded as the basis of language, and structure was viewed as being the heart of speaking ability. Oral practice of controlled sentence patterns should be given in situations designed  to give the greatest amount of practice in English speech to the pupil.

Theory of learning; type of behaviorist habit-learning theory that addresses primarily the processes rather than the conditions of learning. Explanation is therefore discouraged, and the learner is expected to deduce the meaning of a particular structure or vocabulary item from the situation in which it is presented.

Design

            Objectives; the objectives of the situational language teaching method are to teach practical command of the four basic skills of language, goals it shares with most methods of language teaching. Errors are to be avoided. Before our pupils read new structure and vocabulary, we shall teach orally both the new structures and the new vocabulary.

            The syllabus; used structural syllabus, a list of the basic structures and sentence pattern of English, arranged to their order presentation. Situations refer to the manner of presenting and practicing sentence patterns.

            Types of teaching and learning activities; drill based manner, used concrete objects, pictures, and realia, demonstrated examples, the practice technique consists of guided repetition and substitution activities.

            Learner role; Learner is required simply to listen and repeat what the teacher says and to respond to questions and commands.

            Teacher role; Serves as model, setting up the situation, modeling new structures, teacher directed. Teachers’ responsibilities as dealing with; 1. Timing, 2. Oral practice, 3. Revision, 4. Adjustment, 5. Testing, 6. Developing language activities.

            The role of instructional materials; situational language teaching is dependent on both a textbook and visual aids.

Procedure

            Aim to move from controlled to freer practice of structures and from oral use of sentence patterns to their automatic use in speech, reading, and writing.

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Language Acquisition: Age and Acquisition

SUMMARY 

FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: AGE AND ACQUISITION
Language 

A.  Theories of First Language Acquisition

There are some theories related to First Language Acquisitions:

1.      Behavioristic Approach

                   Language is fundamental part of total human behavior, and behaviorists examined it as such and sought to formulate consistent theories of first language acquisition. The behavioristic approach focused on the immediately perceptible aspects of linguistic behavior – the publicly observable response – and the relationships or associations between those responses and events in the world surrounding them. Things related to behavioristic approach:

a.    tabula rasa

b.    stimuli: linguistic response

c.    conditioning

d.   reinforcement

2.      Nativist Approach

    The term nativist is derived from the fundamental assertion that language acquisition is innately determined, that we are born with genetic capacity that predisposes us to a systemic perception of language around us, resulting in the construction of an internalized system of language. According to Chomsky, there is innate knowledge called language acquisition device (LAD). McNeil (1966) described LAD as consisting of four innate linguistic properties:

a.    The ability to distinguish speech sounds from other sounds in the environment.

b.    The ability to organize linguistic data into various classes that can later be refined.

c.    Knowledge that only certain kind of linguistic system is possible and that other kinds are not.

d.   The ability to engage in constant evaluation of the developing linguistic system so as to construct the simplest possible system out of the available linguistic input.

The process of language acquisition:

a.    Freedom of the restrictions of the so called “scientific method” to explore the unseen, unobservable, underlying, abstract linguistic structure being developed in the child.

b.    Systemic description of the child’s linguistic repertoire as either rule governed or operating out of paralel distributed processing capacities.

c.    The construction of a number potential properties of universal grammar.

3.      Functional Approaches

            Functions are meaningful, interactive purposes, within a social (pragmatic) context             that we accomplish with the form.

a.    Cognition and Language Development, Discourse

b.    Social interaction and Language Development

c.    Constructivist

Issues in first language acquisition:

a.       Competence and performance, Comprehension and production

b.      Nature or Nurture, Universals

c.       Systematicity and variability

d.      Language and thought

e.       Imitation

f.       Practice

g.      Input, Discourse

B.       AGE AND ACQUISITION

     First language acquisition starts in very early childhood but second language acquisition can happen in childhood early or late as well as in adulthood. Some of the parameters for looking at the effects of age and acquisition.

1.      Dispelling Myths

There are some myths about relationship between first and second language acquisition.

a.       In a language teaching, we must practice and practice again and again.

b.      Language learning is a matter of immitation.

c.       First, we practice the separate sounds, then words, then sentences.

d.      Watch a small child’s speech development.

e.       A small child listens and speaks and no one would dream of making him read or write.

f.       You did not have to translate when you you were small.

g.      A small child simply uses language.

2.      Types of Comparison and Contrast

            This involves trying to draw analogies not only between first and second language learning situation but also between chidren and adults. It is much more logical to compare first and second language learning in children or to compare second language learning in children and adults.

3.      The Critical Period Hypothesis

            CPH claims that there is such biological time table. A biologically determined a period of life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasingly difficult to acquire. To examine the issue of CPH we will look at neurological and phonological considerations, cognitive, affective and and linguistic considerations.

a.       Neurological Consideration: the study of the function of the brain in the process of acquisition. First, hemispheric lateralization, there is evidence in neurological research that as the human brain matures, certain functions are assigned or lateralized to the left hemisphere of the brain and certain other function to the right hemisphere. Second, biological time table, Scovel (1988: 80) explained that an accent emerging after puberty is the price we pay for preordined ability to be articulates apes. Third, right hemispheric participation, this participation is particularly active during the early stages of learning the second language. This participation is defined as the strategies acquisition. Fourth, anthropological evidence, adults can acquire second language perfectly in the normal course of their live.

b.      The Significance of Accent: person beyond the age of puberty do not acquire authentic pronounciation  of the second language.

c.       Cognitive Consideration: Jean piaget (1972: Piaget and Inhelder 1969) outlined the course of intellectual development in a child through various stages. There are sensor motor stages (birth to two), preoperational stages (ages two to seven), operational stages (ages seven to sixteen), cocrete operational stages (ages seven to eleven), and formal operational stages (age eleven to sixteen).

d.      Affective Consideration: emphaty, self esteem, extrovertion, inhibition, imitation, anxiety, attitude. Any affective factors can be relevant to second language learning.

e.       Linguistic Consideration. Bilingualism, learning two languages simultanously, acquire them by the use of similar strategies. Interference betweeen first and second languages,  the linguistic and cognitive processes of second language learning in young children are in general similar to first languages processes. Interference in adult, linguistic processes aro more vulnerable to the effect of the first language on the second, especially the farther apart the two events are. Order of acquisition, children learning a second language use a creative construction process, just as they do in their first language.

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