Background

the 1920s, the use of the direct method in noncommercial school on Europe has declined. A study ini
1923 on the state of foreign language teaching concluded that no single method could guarantee
successful result. The goal of teaching conversation skills was considered impractical for several reasons :
1. The restricted time available for foreign language teaching in formal school , 2. The limited
conversation skills of teachers and 3. The irrelevence of conversation skills ini a foreign language for the
average American college students who need more reading rather than speaking skill.

For this purpose the u.s government established a special language training program called the army
specialized training program (ASTP) which was established in 1942. Fifty-five American universities were
involved in the program

The objective of astp wa to train students to speak in foreign languages. Since this was not the goal of
foreign language courses in the u.s at that time (that id reading skill) new method was designed.this new
method was adapted from the method used by linguists and antropologist at yale university (i.e.
bloomfield) to study the unwritten American Indian languages

The astp lasted only about two years. However, it was quite popular on the academic community. The
lingyists and language scholars were primarily interested in the method which have emphasis on the
intensive contact with the target language and the native speaker

After world war II American gas emerged as a major internasional power. As a result, the demand for
foreign expertise in the teaching of English was growing rapidly.These factory led the emergence of the
American approach to the teaching of English as a second or foreign language. By the midfifties this
American approach hadir become known as audiolingual method (ALM)

Underlying principles

ALM has scientific foundation which clearly links between theory and practice. It was in fact believed to
be the first method of teaching which could be said to have developed a methodology based on
scientific principles.by drawing on the structural linguistics and behaviorist psychology the ALM formed
its own distinctive characteristics as follows : 1. The separation of language skills into
listening,speaking,reading,and writing,with emphasis on the teaching of listening and speaking before
reading and writing, 2.the use dialogues as the chief means of presenting the language, 3. Give emphasis
on certain techniques:mimicry, memorization and pattern drills, 4.discouraging the use of the mother
tongue in the classroom, 5.the use of lagnuage lab

The basic principles of ALM are as follows : 1.foreign language learning is basically a processof
mechanical habit formation.good habits are formed by giving corect responses rather than by making
mistakes.by memorizing dialogues and performing pattern drills the chances of producing mistakes
minimized.language is verbal behaviour,that is,the automatic production and comprehension of
utterances and can be learned by inducing the students to do likewise,2. Language skills are learned
more effectively if the items to be learned in thetarget language are presented in spoken form before
they are seen in writtenform. Aural-oral training is needed to provide the foundation for
thedevelopment of other language skills.3 Analogy provides a better foundation for language learning
than analysis.Analogy involves the processes of generalization and discrimination.Explanation of rules is
therefore not given until students have practiced apattern in a variety of contexts and are thought to
have acquired a perceptionof the analogies involved. Drills enable learners to form correct
analogies.Hence the approach to the teaching of grammars is essentially inductive ratherthan
deductive.4. The meanings the words of a language have for the native speaker can belearned only in
linguistics and cultural context and not in isolation. Teaching alanguage thus involves teaching aspects of
the cultural system of the peoplewho speak the language (Rivers, 1964: 19-22).

Classrom techniques

Dialogues, drills, and pattern practice form the basis of audiolingualclassroom practice. These have
become the distinctive feature of the ALM. Thetechniques used by the ALM are as follows:

1.Repetition. The student repeats an utterance aloud as soon as he has heard it. Hedoes this without
looking at a printed text. The utterance must be brief enoughto be retained by ear. Sound is as important
as form and order.Examples: i am an English teacher. — I am an English teacher.She is an engineer. — She
is an engineer.After a student has repeated an utterance, he / shr may repeat it again and add afew
words, then repeat the whole utterance and add more words.Examples:I used to know him.I used to
know him years ago.I used to know him years ago when we were in school. . .etc.

2.Inflection. One word in an utterance appears in another form when repeated.Examples:I bought the
ticket. - I bought the tickets.He bought the candy. - She bought the candy.I called the young man. — I
called the young men...

3.Replacement. One word in an utterance is replaced by another.Examples:He bought this house cheap. -
She bought it cheap.Helen left early — She left early.They gave boss a watch. - They gave him a watch...

4.Restatement. The student rephrases an utterance and addresses it to someoneelse, according to

instructions.Examples:Tell him to wait for you. - Wait for me.Ask her how old she is. - How old are you ?
Ask John when he began. - John, when did you begin?...

5.Completion. The student hears an utterance that is complete except for oneword, and then repeats the
utterance in completed form. Examples:I’ll go my way and you go...We all have...own troubles. - we all
have our own troubles...

6.Transposition. A change in word order is necessaExamples:I’m hungry. (so) - so am I.I’ll never do it

again. (neither) - neither will I...I can speak English well. (too) - I can speak English well too.

7.Expansion. When a word is added, it takes a certain place in the sequence.- {’11 go my way and you go
yours.our own troubles...ry when a word is added,Examples:I know him. (hardly) - I hardly know him.I
know him. (well) - I know him well.
8.Contraction. A single word stands for a phrase or clauseExamples:Put your hand on the table. - Put
your hand there.They believe that the earth is flat. - They believe it

9.Transformation. A sentence is transformed by being made negativeinterrogative or trough changes in

tense, mood, voice, aspects, or modality.Examples:He knows my address.He doesn’t know my
address.Does he know my address?He used to know my address.If he had known my address.

10.Integration. Two separate utterances are integrated into one.Examples:They must be honest. This is
important. - It is important that they be honest.I know that man. He is looking for you.- I know the man
who is looking f0ryou...

11.Rejoinder. The student makes an appropriate rejoinder (response) to a givenways:Be politeThank you.
- You’re Welcome.May I take one. - Certainly.You are so beautiful! — Thank youAnswer the questionWhat
is your name? - My name is Smith.Where did it happen? - In the middle of the street.

AgreeHers following us. - I think yewre right.This is good coffee. - It’s very good.

Agree emphaticallyI am not very well. - OK, things will be alright!1am “0‘ 800d at mathematics- - OK, you
just need to work a bit harder!

Express surpriseOh Wonderful is it you!You look so pale, aren’t you alright?Express regret.I am so sorry
to let you down!I am so sorry to break the promise!

DisagreeHe looks cute. — I don’t think soI am going home. I would rather stay here.

Disagree emphatically.He looks cute. - I think so, but he is a bit massy!I am going home. Alright, but I
would rather stay here just for a few minutes.

12. Restoration. The student is given a sequence of words that have been calledfrom a sentence but still
gear its basic meaning. He uses these words with aminimum of changes and additions to restore the
sentence to its original form.He may be told whether the time is present, past, or
future.Examples:Students / waiting / bus -The students are waiting for the bus.Boys / build / house / tree
- The boys built a house in a tree...(Brooks, 1964: 156-61

)Classroom ProceduresIn

order to come to a better understanding of the classroom procedure of ALM,below is an example of a

classroom applying ALM with students of Englishbeginners. Class begins, the teacher reads the following
dialogue to the studentsWho are expected to imitate and eventually memorize it:

T: All right, class. I’m going to read a dialogue to you. Listen carefully

Sally: Good morning, Bill.

Bill: Good morning, Sally.

Sally: How are you?

Billy: Fine, thanks. And you?

Sally: Fine. Where are you going?

Billy: I’m going to the post office.

Sally: I am too. Shall we go together?

Billy: Sure. Let’s go.

T: Listen one more time. This time try to understand all that I am saying.(Now the teacher has the whole
class listen to her. Sometimes she usesactions to help convey meaning. All of the teacher’s instructions
are inEnglish.)

T: Understand? Now I’m going to repeat the dialogue. Say each of the linesof the dialogue after me. (The
students repeat each line several timesbefore moving on to the next line. When the class comes to the
line “I’mgoing to the post office”, they stumble a bit in their repetition. The, at thispoint, stops the
repetition and uses a backward build-up drill.

T: Repeat after me: post office.

T: All right, class. I’m going to read a dialogue to you. Listen carefully

Sally: Good morning, Bill.

Bill: Good morning, Sally.

Sally: How are you?

Billy: Fine, thanks. And you?

Sally: Fine. Where are you going?

Billy: I’m going to the post office.

Sally: I am too. Shall we go together?

Billy: Sure. Let’s go.

T: Listen one more time. This time try to understand all that I am saying.(Now the teacher has the whole
class listen to her. Sometimes she usesactions to help convey meaning. All of the teacher’s instructions
are inEnglish.)

T: Understand? Now I’m going to repeat the dialogue. Say each of the linesof the dialogue after me. (The
students repeat each line several timesbefore moving on to the next line. When the class comes to the
line “I’mgoing to the post office”, they stumble a bit in their repetition. The, at thispoint, stops the
repetition and uses a backward build-up drill.
T: Repeat after me: post office.

Closing

Audiolfngual Method enjoyed its popularity of its widespread use in the 19605. Themost widely used
English textbooks based on Audiolingualism were English 900,the Lado English Series, and the English
901. But then criticism came on two fronts.Audiolingualism suffered in two-pronged attacks on
Behaviorism and StructuralLinguistics. The theoretical foundations of audiolingualism theory of language
andlanguage learning were attacked as being unsound. In addition, practitioners foundthat the practical
result were beyond expectation. After several years study, studentswere unable to transfer their skills to
the real communication outside the classroom.They also complained that studying through audiolingual
procedures was boringand unsatisfying.Cognitive psychologists and transformational generative linguists
(i.e.Chomsky, 1959) questioned about the audiolingual paradigm. They argue thatlanguage learning does
not take place through nimicry; since people can createutterances they have never heard before. They,
therefore, cannot learn a languagesimply by repeating what they hear spoken around them. They argue
further thatspeakers form rules, which allow them to understand and create utterabces. Thuslanguage
must not be considered as a product of habit formation, but rather theformation of rules (grammar). The
whole paradigm of Audiolingualism wasquestioned: mim-men, pattern practice, rote learning, etc. since
these might lead tolanguage-like behaviors, but they were not resulting in language.