The Audio Lingual Method Essay Example

Audio-lingual is "to make students reach communicative competence which is the goal of a student's second language. " CAPS Present day use: Although this method has been discredited scientifically, SSL teachers around the world still sometimes use it. Some teachers like to use this method because it is very teacher orientated and both the students and teacher know hat to expect. It can be useful sometimes to drill the students with sentences, but should not solely be used as the only method of teaching.

Repetition in this method can sometimes be helpful if you have a very large class and want to practice speaking or pronunciation (Lake, 2013). The Audio- lingual methods are still used today, though normally as part of individual lessons rather than 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's always knows what to expect. The ALMA is based on Skinner's Behaviorism learning theory. Behavioral psychology influenced the ALMA.

Behaviorist's believe that humans are organisms capable Of learning much behavior it depends on three elements: 1 .

Stimulus: Bring out behavior. 2. Response: Triggered by behavior. 3. Reinforcement: Marks the response as being appropriate or not and encourages repetition which is vital in the learning process (Richards & Rogers, 2013: 11). Behaviorism Learning behavior Organism Learner Behavior Language behavior Stimulus Content Response Learner's response Reinforcement Reaction intrinsic/ extrinsic approval.

Richards & Rogers, 2013:12).

Advantages of the Audio-lingual method: Learners are able to speak the target language communicatively; Learners have no difficulty to understand the lesson; Learners are able to give correct response directly; Learners

more concerned about the combination between behavioral psychology and linguistics. Disadvantages include: The process of learning of focuses on the speaking of the target language; Very little attention is paid to content. Beliefs regarding language acquisition: NOAA Chomsky said "We are designed to walk That we are taught to walk is impossible.

And pretty much that same is true Of language.

In fact you can't prevent the child from learning it' According to Terry Piper "language sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom (Piper. 2012. Sec. 1. 1) According to K. Skunk "Language acquisition is the process by which human acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate.

Language acquisition is one of the quintessential human traits because non-humans do not communicate by using language. To learn a language one must study abroad. " (Skunk. 2000).

Bloomfield said that "The acquisition of language is doubtless the greatest intellectual feature any one of us is ever required to perform.

" (Bloomfield, 1993). We agree with all the statement mentioned above. Language is the key to all communicative skills and it is important to have a medium in which people are able to communicate with the rest of the world. Lesson: There are a few different techniques that can be used during an audio-lingual lesson: Chain drill: A chain drill gets its name from the chain of conversation that forms around the classroom as students one-by-one ask and answer questions.

The teacher egging the chain by greeting a student of asking him a question. That student responds and turns to the student

sitting next to him.

Use of minimal pairs: The teacher works with pairs of words which are different in only one sound. The students are first asked to find the difference between the two words and later say the two words. Completion: Students hear an utterance that is complete except for one word and the repeat of the utterance must be in the complete form. Repetition drill: This drill is often used to teach the lines of the dialogue. Students are asked to repeat the teacher's sentence as accurately as possible.

Substitution drill: The students repeat the line from the dialogue, which the teacher has given them, substituting the cue into the line, in its proper place. Question and answer drill: The drill gives students practice with answering questions. The students should answer the teacher's questions very quickly. It also possible for the teacher to cue the students to ask questions as well. Backward build-up drill: This drill is used when a long line of dialogue are giving students trouble. The teacher breaks down the line into several parts.

The students repeat a part of the sentence, usually the last phrase of the line.

The teacher's role: Language Modeled Drill leader The teacher should be like the orchestra leader in class, directing and controlling the language behavior of their students. The teacher is responsible for providing their students with the goal for imitation. The audio- lingual method is teacher-centered. Very' little attention is paid to content but rather focuses on the speaking of that target language.

The students role: Pattern practices Caucus racy Enthusiast Students are the imitators of the teacher's model of the tapes

that the teacher supplies them with.