The Audiolingual

Method
Background
• Pofessor Nelson Brooks 1964 – language
teaching into an art
• World War II – need training program – military
personnel (ASTP- 1942) – Informant method
• 1st Russian satellite 1957
• Combination: structural linguistic theory,
contrastive analysis, aural-oral procedures,
behaviorist psychology.
Approach
• Theory of language
Structural linguistics – reaction to traditional
grammar methods
Speech is language – 1st spoken 2nd written
Elements in a language = rule governed
Language described at the level of phonetics, phonemic,
morphological
Linguisitic levels= systems within systems pyramidally
structured
Language is a set of habits
Approach
• Theory of learning
• Language mastery is = acquiring a set of
appropriate language stimulus-response chains
• Good habits formation
• Language skills in the Target Language
• Grammar – inductive
• Teaching languge involves teaching culture
Design

• Objectives: short-range control of structures

(accuracy) / Long-range native speakers (fluency)
• Syllabus: linguisitic syllabus: phonology,
morphology, syntax / contrastie analysis NT / TL
Order: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing
Design: Types of learning and
teaching activities
• dialogues – repetition and memorization – correct
pronunciation, stress, rhythm, intonation
• Repetition
• Inflection
• Replacement
• Restatement
• Completion
• Transposition
• Expansion
• Contraction
• Transformation
• Integration
• Rejoinder
• Restoration
Design
Learners roles
• Organisms directed by
skilled training techniques
to produce correct
responses
• Active role: responding to
stimuli
• No control over the content,
pace, stlyle of learning
• No mistakes allowed
Teachers roles
• Active and central:
teacher’s dominated
method
• Models the target
language, controls, directs,
paces, monitors the
learning process and
corrects
learners’perfomances
Design: The role of instructional
materials
• Teacher oriented
• Textbooks NOT in elementary levels (distract
attention from the aural input)
• Tape recorder provides accurate models for
dialogues and drills
• A language laboratory
• Taped lesson
Procedure
• The focus: accurate speech, little grammatical
explanation
• The Target language: medium of instruction
• NO translation or use of the native tongue
• 10 or less Ss per class
• 1.- hear a model dialogue, repeat individually and in
chorus. Correction is immediate. Dialogue memorized
line by line. Line broken in several phrases. Half class one
part the other half responding
• Follow up activities: in the lab