The Audio-lingual method

The Audio-lingual method


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 ideology, 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. This approach to language learning was similar to another, earlier method called the Direct Method. Like the Direct Method, the Audio-Lingual Method advised that students be taught a language directly, without using the students'''' native language to explain new words or grammar in the target language. However, unlike the Direct Method, the Audio-lingual Method didn’t focus on teaching vocabulary. Rather, the teacher drilled students in the use of grammar. Applied to language instruction, and often within the context of the language lab, this means that the instructor would present the correct model of a sentence and the students would have to repeat it. The teacher would then continue by presenting new words for the students to sample in the same structure. In audio-lingualism, there is no explicit grammar instruction—everything is simply memorized in form. The idea is for the students to practice the particular construct until they can use it spontaneously. In this manner, the lessons are built on static drills in which the students have little or no control on their own output; the teacher is expecting a particular response and not providing that will result in a student receiving negative feedback. Charles Fries, the director of the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States, believed that learning structure or grammar was the starting point for the student. In other words, it was the students’ job to orally recite the basic sentence patterns and grammatical structures. The students were only given “enough vocabulary to make such drills possible.” (Richards, J.C. et-al. 1986). Fries later included principles for behavioral psychology, as developed by B.F. Skinner, into this method



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The Audio-lingual method

The Audio-lingual method

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 audiolingual 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

The Audiolingual Method is based on the following principles:


    Speaking and listening competence preceded reading and writing  competence.

    Use of German is highly discouraged in the classroom.

    The development of language skills is a matter of habit formulation.

    Students practice particular patterns of language through structured dialogue and drill until response is automatic.

    Structured patterns in language are taught using repetitive drills.

    The emphasis is on having students produce error free utterances.

    This method of language learning supports kinesthetic learning styles.

    Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught. Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures. Abstract vocabulary is taught through association of ideas.

    The printed word must be kept away from the second language learner as long as possible

Strategies :


1. 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.


2. Backward Build Up: Provide students with the 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.


3. 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.


4. 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.


5. 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.

6. 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.


7. 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.

8. 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




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