The Audio-lingual Method

The Audio-Lingual method of teaching had its origins during World War II when it
became known as the Army Method. It is also called the aural oral approach. It is
based on the structural view of language and the behaviorist theory of language
learning.

The Audio-lingual Approach to language teaching has a lot of similarities with

the Direct Method. Both were considered as a reaction against the shortcomings of
the Grammar Translation method, both reject the use of the mother tongue and both
stress that speaking and listening competences preceded reading and writing
competences. But there are also some differences. The direct method highlighted the
teaching of vocabulary while the audio-lingual approach focus on grammar drills.

Structuralism
The structural view to language is the view behind the audio-lingual method. This
approach focused on examining how the elements of language related to each other in
the present, that is, ‘synchronically‘ rather than ‘diachronically‘. It was also argued
that linguistic signs were composed of two parts, a signifier (the sound pattern of a
word) and a signified (the concept or meaning of the word). The study of language
aims at describing the performance, the “parole” as it is the only observable part of
language.

Behaviorism
Behaviorism is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things
which organisms do — including acting, thinking and feeling—can and should be
regarded as behaviors. It contends that leaning occurs through associations, habit
formation and reinforcement. When the learner produces the desired behavior and is
reinforced positively, it is likely that behavior be emitted again.

The Audio-lingual method

The objective of the audio-lingual method is accurate pronunciation and grammar,
the ability to respond quickly and accurately in speech situations and knowledge of
sufficient vocabulary to use with grammar patterns. Particular emphasis was laid on
mastering the building blocks of language and learning the rules for combining them.
It was believed that learning structure or grammar was the starting point for the
student. Here are some characteristics of the method:

 language learning is habit-formation,

 mistakes are bad and should be avoided, as they are considered bad habits,
 language skills are learned more effectively if they are presented orally first, then
in written form,
 analogy is a better foundation for language learning than analysis,
 The meanings of words can be learned only in a linguistic and cultural context.
The main activities include reading aloud dialogues, repetitions of model sentences,
and drilling. Key structures from the dialogue serve as the basis for pattern drills of
different kinds. Lessons in the classroom focus on the correct imitation of the teacher
by the students. Not only are the students expected to produce the correct output, but
attention is also paid to correct pronunciation. Although correct grammar is expected
in usage, no explicit grammatical instruction is given. It is taught inductively.
Furthermore, the target language is the only language to be used in the classroom.
Advantages
 It aims at developing listening and speaking skills which is a step away from the
Grammar translation method
 The use of visual aids has proven its effectiveness in vocabulary teaching.

Disadvantages
 The method is based on false assumptions about language. The study of language
doesn’t amount to studying the “parole”, the observable data. Mastering a
language relies on acquiring the rules underlying language performance. That is
the linguistic, sociolinguistic, and discourse competences.
 The behaviorist approach to learning is now discredited. Many scholars have
proven its weakness. Noam Chomsky (“Chomsky, Noam (1959). “A Review of B.
F. Skinner’s Verbal behavior”) has written a strong criticism of the principles of
the theory.

The Audio-lingual Teaching Method

With the outbreak of World War II armies needed to become orally proficient in the languages of
their allies and enemies as quickly as possible. This teaching technique was initially called the
Army Method, and was the first to be based on linguistic theory and behavioral psychology.

Explanation
Based on Skinner’s Behaviorism theory, it assumed that a human being can be trained using
a system of reinforcement. Correct behavior receives positive feedback, while errors receive
negative feedback.
 This approach to learning is similar to the Direct Method, in that the lesson takes place entirely
in the target language.

Emphasis is on the acquisition of patterns in common everyday dialogue.

The Audio-lingual Method was widely used in the 1950s and 1960s, and the emphasis was not on
the understanding of words, but rather on the acquisition of structures and patterns in common
everyday dialogue. These patterns are elicited, repeated and tested until the responses given by
the student in the foreign language are automatic.

Some characteristics of this method are:

 Drills are used to teach structural patterns

 Set phrases are memorized with a focus on intonation

 Grammatical explanations are kept to a minimum

 Vocabulary is taught in context

 Audio-visual aids are used

 Focus is on pronunciation

 Correct responses are positively reinforced immediately

Modern Usage

The Audio-lingual Method is still in use today, though normally as a part of individual lessons
rather than as the foundation of the course. These types of lessons can be popular as they are
relatively simple, from the teacher’s point of view, and the learner always knows what to expect.
Some of the most famous supporters of this method were Giorgio Shenker, who promoted guided
self learning with the Shenker method in Italy, and Robin Callan, who created the Callan method

Developments & Problems

This extensive memorization, repetition and over-learning of patterns was the key to the
method’s success, as students could often see immediate results, but it was also its weakness. It
was discovered that language was not acquired through a process of habit formation. The
method’s insistence on repetition and memorization of standard phrases ignored the role of context and
knowledge in language learning. As the study of linguistics developed, it was discovered that language was not
acquired through a process of habit formation, and that errors were not necessarily bad. It was also

claimed that the methodology did not deliver an improvement in communicative ability that
lasted over the long term.

A Brief History of the Audio-lingual Method

Its beginnings:

Though use of the audio-lingual method began with a perceived need to give troops basic
survival communication tools before sending them to the front lines during World War II (our
brave boys would have to be able to buy bread, interrogate prisoners, give orders, meet girls),
the actual method rose from the work of structural linguists like Charles C. Fries and Robert
Lado.
Basing their work on a combination of the study of English language structure and basic
concepts of behavioral psychology, especially the work of B. F. Skinner, these linguists
developed a method that focused on listening and speaking. Reading and writing were relegated
to later stages of language study.

Although the results of the study of English structure were revolutionary, the creators of the
ALM had little practical teacher training. The classroom techniques drew the attention of hard
critics. This criticism would lead to an evolution towards different, more innovative methods of
language teaching.
The fall from grace

At the time the audio-lingual method was being designed and put to use, linguistics as a science
was in its infancy. Linguists were often at each other’s throats, and differing schools of thought
arose. These led to diverse theories about what language is, how it is learned and how it should
be taught. Debate on these important themes was often animated.

While structural linguists were taking language apart, listing its parts and figuring out how they
were joined to create language, other linguists were more interested in the sources of language
within psychology, its use and meaning. Naturally, many linguists tried to apply these theories to
language acquisition and teaching.

Noam Chomsky, who belonged to a different camp than the structural linguists (his work on
transitional grammar, for example, almost dismisses the concept of structure in language), wrote
a landmark essay/critique of Skinner’s book “Verbal Behavior.”
Though this critique has been subsequently questioned, at the time of its publication it had an
important influence on the development of schools of psychological thought (the essay is often
considered a turning point towards cognitive psychology from behavioral psychology).
Unfortunately, because the ALM based much of its pedagogy on Skinner’s behaviorist ideas, the
method directly suffered from this harsh critique.

With the professional literature demeaning a key aspect of ALM teaching, it did not help that the
actual methodology had flaws. Promised objectives were not met, students were dissatisfied with
results and the linguistic community began to turn its back on the ALM.

3 Fresh Ways to Use the Audio-lingual Method in Your Class

1. Focus on Practical Pronunciation
The audio-lingual approach, based upon language structure, naturally treated the sounds of
language as important building blocks for the creation of utterances, that is, meaningful strings
of sounds.

All spoken languages are pronounced. Individual sounds can be isolated. In any language, there
may be from 20 to hundreds of sounds. No matter how many sounds the language you teach
employs, you will need to first have a basic understanding of what they are, how they are
produced and how they work together to create utterances. Let’s look at how to gain that
understanding and apply it to teaching.

Identifying the sound system:

You don’t need to have a comprehensive list of all the sounds available for speaking the target
language. It will suffice to help your students to first articulate, then recognize, the most basic
sounds necessary.

Avoid using complex graphic representations of these sounds (don’t ask your students to
memorize the IPA, for example). Instead, take advantage of readily recognized symbols that
students use in their native language.

For example, both the voiced and unvoiced “th” sounds in English are articulated in the same
way as the “z” sound in European Spanish. In early stages, before Spanish students see words
written with “th,” you can transcribe the sound with a “z” for their notes, and they will make the
sound you want. They will also remember it from those notes for home practice.

Also be moderate in the existence of similar sounds. The well-known “ship-sheep” minimal pair
in English, for example, does demonstrate the difference in meaning when a vowel sound is
changed. On the other hand, though, if the context in the sentence indicates a woolly animal, it
really doesn’t matter if the student has used the word for “boat” instead. So avoid being nitpicky
with individual sounds when practicing sentences.
 Using tongue-twisters to build articulation and strength:

Though you can easily find minimal pair exercises online, instead of focusing on repeating single
sound changes in words out of context (which is fine for a quick pronunciation warm-up!), your
students will have much more fun working with complete sentences. So try well-known tongue-
twisters in the L2.

In Catalan, for example, this one can bring giggles to your students:

Plou poc, però per al poc que plou, plou prou. (It rains little, but as little as it rains, it rains
enough.)

This practices the articulation of the “l” and the “r” sounds.

Now, tongue-twisters are often kind of silly sentences that aren’t all that useful in everyday
situations (just when you would suddenly state that a female shell vendor does business on the
beach?). However, you can create your own twisters just by choosing a couple of sounds and
finding useful words.

2. Do Structural Drilling Exercises

As in many disciplines, the repetitive practice of basic constructs develops strength and agility
for later improvisational work. In the audio-lingual method, this manifested itself in sentence
structure drilling.

The use of the word “drill” is kind of an unfortunate leftover from the “Army Method” that gave
way to the audio-lingual method. Using that word can make students tremble with fear or yawn
with boredom. So though “drilling” is useful and valid, you might want to simply call the activity
something like “sentence practice,” or even “extended pronunciation practice,” which in the
end, it actually is.

Structural drilling is useful in lots of ways:

 It strengthens the vocal apparatus for future sentence production.
 It builds strong habits in structural manipulation.
 It settles automatic responses in everyday conversational exchange.

3. Use Dialogue Practice

The natural next step in the construction of language, from sound through sentence, is dialogue,
the exchange of information between two or more people. Structural linguists found that many
conversational exchanges followed basic structures that can be studied and learned.
Everyday dialogues are probably the most familiar leftovers of the original audio-lingual
method. Most modern language texts will include dialogue material and exercises, these often
being the principle presentation text in a unit, especially in texts aimed at language use rather
than language study for examination.

Standard everyday dialogue practice

An everyday dialogue can grow easily from previous sentence structure practice. You may
present this dialogue in any number of fashions, from a printed handout to pictures, from sock
puppets to repetition exercises—whatever means suit your teaching style.

These dialogues should be kept short and sweet, each student having three to five sentences to
produce. For example:

S1: Good morning.

S2: Hello.
S1: How much are the tomatoes?
S2: 35 yen a kilo.
S1: Oh! That’s cheap! I’ll take three kilos.
S2: Good. That will be 105 yen.
S1: Here you are.
S2: And here’s your change. Thank you.
S1: Thank you! Goodbye.
S2: Goodbye.