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.