AUDIOLINGUAL

METHOD

By: Qistina Muhamad Marzuki (820563)

What is Audiolingual Method?

BACKGROUND
The World War 2
-To supply the US government with personnel who were
fluent in German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Malay
and other languages, the government established
Army Specialized Training Program in 55 American
universities in 1942.
The objective was for students to attain
conversational proficiency in a variety of
foreign languages.

 Behaviourism
Behaviourism
-B.F. Skinner composed that all
behaviour (including language) was
learnt through repetition and positive or
negative reinforcement.

THEORY OF LANGUAGE: STRUCTURALISM

Structural linguistics

influenced
Audiolingualism.
Elements in a language

are linearly produced in a

rule-governed way.
Linguistic levels are

structured according to
pyramid.

THEORY OF LEARNING: BEHAVIOURISM

Behavioural psychology influenced Audiolingualism.
Behaviourists believe that humans are organisms
capable of learning many behaviours. It depends on
three elements:
1.

Stimulus: Bring out behaviour.

2.

Response: Triggered by stimulus.

3.

Reinforcement: Marks the response as being appropriate or

not and encourages repetition which is vital in the learning
process.

PRINCIPLES OF AUDIOLINGUAL
METHOD

 Errors are carefully avoided because they

lead to the formation of bad habits.
Positive reinforcement helps the student to
develop correct habits.
The teacher is regarded as an orchestra
leader-conducting, guiding and controlling
the students behaviour in the target
language.
Learning a foreign language is treated on par
with the native language learning.

 Students are the imitators of the teachers

model or the tapes.
The dialogue is the chief means of
presenting vocabulary, structures and is
learned through repetition and imitation.
Memorization and pattern drills are the
practice techniques that are emphasized.
Listening and speaking are given priority in
language teaching, and they precede
reading and writing.
Correct pronunciation, stress, rhythm and
intonation are emphasized

DESIGN - OBJECTIVES
Short-term objectives

Long-term objectives

Listening comprehension.
Accurate pronunciation.
Recognition of speech symbols as

graphic signs.
The

ability to reproduce these

symbols in writing.

Language as the native speaker

uses it.

DESIGN THE SYLLABUS

Based on a linguistic or structure-based
approach to language teaching. Built on:
1. Step by step linguistic syllabus, which contains:
Phonology.
Morphology.
Syntax.
2. Lexical syllabus of basic vocabulary.

ACTIVITIES
There are two major types of activities in ALM;
(a)mimicry-memorization of dialogs through repetition(to
help students learn contextualized structures, vocabulary
items, pronunciation, and cultural points)
(b) pattern drills of grammatical structures (to enhance
automaticity, fluency, and accuracy in grammatical
structures.)

EXAMPLE OF DRILLS
Repetition Drill
The students repeat an utterance aloud as soon as they have heard it.
they do this without looking at a printed text. The utterance must be
brief enough to be retained by the ear. Sound is as important as
form and order.
EXAMPLE:
T : I used to know him.
S : I used to know him.
T : I used to know him years ago
S : I used to know him years ago when we were in school.

Completion Drill
The student hears an utterance that is complete except
for one word, then repeats the utterance in completed
form.
EXAMPLE:
T : I'll go my way and you go......
S : Ill go my way and you go yours.
T : We all have . . . own troubles.
S : We al1 have our own troubles

MATERIALS
Textbooks, tapes, visuals (films and
pictures), realia, and if possible language
labs make perfect materials for ALM.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER ?

The teacher is like an orchestra leader,
directing and controlling the language
behavior of his/her students. He/She also
is responsible for providing his/her
students with a good model for imitation.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE STUDENTS ?

Students are imitators of the teacher's

model or the tapes she supplies of
model speakers. They follow the
teacher's directions and respond as
accurately and as rapidly as possible.

ADVANTAGES
The Audio-lingual Method is said to be the best approach for beginning level
foreign classes.
It aims at developing listening and speaking skills, which constitutes a step
away from the Grammar Translation Method.

It paved the way for the development of Communicative Language Teaching

(CLT), which has been seen as a response to the Audio-lingual Method.
It popularized the use of visual aids, the positive impact of which on
memorable and effective learning has been proven in vocabulary teaching.

DISADVANTAGES
This is a teacher-centered method.

The basic steps of imitation, repetition, and reinforcement turns students into
parrots who can produce many good utterances but never create anything
new.
Students lacked an active role in the classroom.

Very little attention is paid to communication and content.

Process of learning only focus in speaking.

THE DECLINE OF AUDIOLINGUALISM

1.

Theoretical foundations were considered weak in both

language theory and learning theory.

2.

Practitioners discovered that the practical results did not

meet expectations.

3.

Students were not able to transfer skills to real

communication outside the classroom.

4.

Many students found the classes boring and unsatisfying.

NOAM CHOMSKY
He rejected this approach.
His theory of

transformational grammar
said that language is creative
and generated, not a habit.
Language derives from

innate aspects of the mind

and from how humans
process experience through
language.

References
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000).Techniques and
principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S.
(2001).Approaches and methods in language
teaching(2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.