Audio-Lingual Method

 Audio-Lingual Method

    The audio-lingual method, Army Method, or New Key is a method used in teaching foreign languages. It is based on behaviorist theory, which postulates that certain traits of living things, and in this case humans, could be trained through a system of reinforcement. The 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 should be taught a language directly, without using the students' native language to explain new words or grammar in target language. However, unlike the direct method, the audio-lingual method did not 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, it 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. 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 the desired response will result in a student receiving negative feedback. This type of activity, for the foundation of language learning, is in direct opposition with communicative language teaching. Charles Carpenter 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 recite the basic sentence patterns and grammatical structures. The students were given only “enough vocabulary to make such drills possible.” (Richards, J.C. et-al. 1986). Fries later included principles of behavioural psychology, as developed by B.F. Skinner, into this method. 

Oral drills:

Drills and pattern practice are very important in this method.

• Repetition: the student repeats an utterance as soon as he hears it.

• Inflection: one word in a sentence appears in another form when repeated.

• Replacement: one word is replaced by another.

• Restatement: the student rephrases an utterance.

Examples 

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, etc., 

Historical roots:

        The method is the product of three historical circumstances. For its views on language, it drew on the work of American linguists such as Leonard Bloomfield. The prime concern of American linguists in the early decades of the 20th century had been to document all the indigenous languages spoken in the US. 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, behaviourist psychologists such as B.F. Skinner were forming the belief that all behaviour (including language) was learnt through repetition and positive or negative reinforcement. The third factor 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.” Advantages:

• Listening and speaking skills are emphasized and, especially the former, rigorously developed.

• The use of visual aids is effective in vocabulary teaching.

• The method is just as functional and easy to execute for larger groups.

• Correct pronunciation and structure are emphasized and acquired.

• It is a teacher-dominated method.

• The learner is in a directed role; the learner has little control over the material studied or the method of study. Disadvantages:

• The behaviorist approach to learning is now discredited. Many scholars have proven its weakness.

• It does not pay sufficient attention to communicative competence.

• Only language form is considered while meaning is neglected.

• Equal importance is not given to all four skills.

• It is a teacher-dominated method.

• It is a mechanical method since it demands pattern practice, drilling, and memorization over functional learning and organic usage.

• The learner is in a passive role; the learner has little control over their learning.