Audio Lingual Method - Ecem Tuzluca

Criticism

Listening and speaking are emphasized but other two skills should be given equal importance.

No cognitive learning.

Not a natural, real communication.

Teacher-centered.

Disadvantages

The method is based on false assumptions about language. 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.

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.

Sample Activity Videos

Video 1

Video 2

Evaluation

Test would be a discrete-point in nature.

Each question on the test would focus on only one point of the language at a time.

Principles

Language is given within a context.

Native language and target language are kept apart.

Teacher should provide students with a native-speaker-like model.

The more often something is repeated, the stronger the habit and the greater learning.

Errors should be immediately corrected by the teacher.

Purpose of language learning is communication.

Positive reinforcement helps students to develop correct habits.

Language can't be seperated from culture.

Spoken form is more important than written form.

Lesson Procedures

Listen

Repeat

Memorize

Adapt to students' interest

Act out

Select wrong structure/vocabulary

Drill them

Explain

Follow up

Goals

accurate pronunciation

oral comprehension

ability to respond quickly and accurately in speech situations

knowledge of sufficient vocabulary to use with grammar patterns

Techniques

Dialog memorization

Students memorize an opening dialog using mimicry and applied role-playing.

Use of minimal pairs

Using contrastive analysis, teacher selects a pair of words that sound identical except for a singlesound that typically poses difficulty for the learners - students are to pronounce and differentiate thetwo words.

Complete the dialog

Selected words are erased from a line in the dialog - students must find and insert.

Grammar game

Various games designed to practice a grammar point in context, using lots of repetition.

Drills

Backward build-up(expansion) drill

Teacher breaks a line into several parts, students repeat each part starting at the end of thesentence and "expanding" backwards through the sentence, adding each part in sequence.

Repetition drill

Students repeat teacher's model as quickly and accurately as possible.

Transformation drill

Teacher provides a sentence that must be turned into something else, for example a question to beturned into a statement, an active sentence to be turned into a negative statement, etc.

Single-slot substition drill

Teacher states a line from the dialog, then uses a word or a phrase as a "cue" that students, whenrepeating the line, must substitute into the sentence in the correct place.

Multiple-slot substition dirll

Same as the Single Slot drill, except that there are multiple cues to be substituted into the line.

Areas and Skills Emphasized

Speaking

Listening

Reading

Writing