Applied Linguistics Lecture 9: Language Teaching Methods 1 Learning theories in action 1 The Audiolinguial Method (alm)

based on the structusalist/behaviorist school of thought

 language is taught through a “scientific descriptive analysis”

 habit formation model is advocated till error-free utterances are conditioned by reinforcing successful response avoiding errors till extinguished.

 The classical and operant conditioning provided the foundation of mimicry drills and pattern practice of trial-and-error.

 language was thought of to be the surface structure and not meaningful structures.

Major characteristics:

1. 
   New material is presented in a dialogue form.
   
2. 
   There is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases, and over-learning.
   
3. 
   Structures are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught one at a time.
   
4. 
   Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills.
   
5. 
   There is little or no grammatical explanation: grammar is taught by inductive analogy rather than deductive explanation.
   
6. 
   Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context.
   
7. 
   There is much use of tapes, language labs and visual aids.
   
8. 
   Great importance is attached to pronunciation.
   
9. 
   Very little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted.
   
10. 
    Successful responses are immediately reinforced.
    
11. 
    There is a great effort to get students to produce error-free utterances
    
12. 
    There is a tendency to manipulate language and disregard content.
    

Inspired by Rogers’s humanistic view of education,

 Each person lowers the defenses to communicate freely with less anxiety.

 Teacher is a “counselor” rather than a “threat”

 The teacher’s role is to center his or her attention on the client (the students) and their needs (student-centered learning).

• 
  Students (clients) are seated in circles in groups with the teacher (counselor) outside the circle.
  
• 
  Students first establish interpersonal relationships in their native language.
  
• 
  The student can communicate in the native language (e.g. English) and the counselor translates the utterance back to the learner in the second language (e.g. Japanese).
  
• 
  The student can learn by repeating the Japanese sentence.
  
• 
  If desirable, the learner can tape the conversation for later listening trying to gain the knowledge about the second language inductively.
  
• 
  If desirable, the counselor can be more directive explaining certain linguistic rules or items.
  
• 
  After many sessions (moths or years), the learner can gain more familiarity with the foreign language and can communicate more directly, and the teacher can be less directive till the learner becomes independent.
  

The “Community Language Learning (CLL)” has advantages and disadvantages:

 and that listening is accompanied by physical response.

 This is because the right brain functions before the left brain.

 Because motor activity is a right-brain function, it should precede language processing.

• 
  Students do a great deal of listening and acting. They are like actors in a play.
  
• 
  Teacher is very directive in orchestrating a performance. He/She is like a director of a stage play.
  
• 
  The teacher gives commands to get students move about. “Open the window”; “Close the door”; “Stand up”; “Sit down”; “Pick up the book”; “Give it to John”. No verbal response is necessary.
  
• 
  The teacher uses imperatives for more complex syntax “Draw a triangle on the chalkboard”; “Walk quickly to the door and hit it”; “Walk slowly to the door and jump”; and “Put your tooth brush in your book”.
  
• 
  The teacher uses interrogatives “Where is the book?”; “Who is John?”; etc. Students feel comfortable enough to venture verbal response to questions and to ask questions and process continues.
  

 Learners should be relaxed in the classroom

 As opposed to TPR, in NA a great deal of communication and acquisition should take place.

 NA advocates the use of TPR at the beginning level of language learning, when “comprehensible input” is essential for triggering language acquisition.

• 
  NA aims at the goal of basic interpersonal communication skills through natural-like everyday language situations- conversations, shopping, listening to the radio, etc-.
  
• 
  Learners are remained a “silent period” until they have a “comprehensible input” enabling them to talk.
  
• 
  The teacher provides a “comprehensible input” that is understandable to the learners or just a little beyond their level.
  
• 
  The teacher provides learners with a “comprehensible input” by creating stimulating variety of classroom activities-commands, games, skits, and small-group work.
  

Reading:

Brown (4^th ed.): 103-8

Brown (5^th ed.): 78-80; 110-4