The Audio -

Lingual Method
Group 6
Definition
The Audiolingual Method is a method for foreign
language teaching which emphasized
the teaching of listening and speaking before
reading and writing. This method is combination
between behavioral psychology and linguistic. It’s
also called “Army Method” because this
method is appeared since the World War II for
the American armies who had to learn language
quickly and intensively. In the Audiolingual
Method, the students first hear a

language. Later, they speak the language and after

that, they read and write in it. Mother tongue

is discouraged in the classroom when this method

is used. The Audiolingual Method does not

learn lots of vocabulary. Rather, the teacher drills

speaking and grammar because in this method,

grammar is most important for the student. In

other word, the student must repeat grammar

pattern after the teacher.

 GOALS AND PRINCIPLES
The general goal of the Audiolingual Method is to enable the target language

communicatively.The main principles on which

the audio lingual method is based are the following :

1. Foreign language learning is basically a process of mechanical habit formation.

2. The student are able to give correct response rather than by making mistake.

3. Language skills are learned more effectively if the items to be learned in the target language

are presented in spoken form before they are seen in written form.

4. Aural-oral training is needed to provide the foundation for the development of other language
skills.

5. Drills can enable learners to form correct analogies. Hence the approach to the teaching of

grammar is essentially inductive rather than deductive.

6. The meaning that the words of a language have for the native speaker can be learned only in

a linguistic and cultural context and not isolation.

 Features of The Audio-Lingual Method
1. Foreign language is the same as any other kind of learning and can be explained by the same

laws and principles (Stimulus-Response- Reinforcement).

2. Learning is the result of experience and is evident in changes in behaviour. The aim is for

linguistic competence and accuracy.

3. Foreign language learning is different from first language learning.

4. Foreign language learning is a process of habit formation.

5. Language learning proceeds by means of analogy (habit- formation involving discrimination

and generalization) rather than analysis (deductive learning of rule, as the Grammar

Translation Method) and involves attending to form and structure.

6. Errors are the result of first language interference and are to be avoided at all costs in the

course of instruction. Teachers must specify what language the student will use and control

student interaction with the language.

7. Focuses on all its practices and procedures shifted from reading, translating and deductive

explanation of grammar rules to the listening, speaking and the inductive presentation of

language patterns in the spoken language.

 The techniques used by the

Audiolingual Method are:

1. Repetition drill
The 2. Single- slot substitution drill
3. Question-and-answer drill
Techniques of 4. Expansion drill
5. multiple- slot substitution drill

Audio-Lingual 6. Backward build-up drill

7. Chain drill

Method 8. Complete the dialogue

9. Transformation drill
10. Use of minimal pairs
11. Grammar game
12. Dialogue memorization
 Advantages
1. It was the first method which was based on scientific linguistic and psychological
theories.

2. With its simpler techniques, this method widened the scope of the language learner.

3. Syntactic progression of language patterns receives more importance than vocabulary and

morphology.

4. Language learning involved in learning different skills.

5. They promote the use of a simple technique

 Disadvantages
Despite these advantages, ALM started to be criticized in the 1960s from different
sources: first, between 1966 and 1972 Chomsky initiated a prolonged and heated debate on the

method ’s language and learning principles. Secondly, it was found that the ALM didn’t act as

the panacea for teachers who started to complain that not all their needs were met by this method.

In addition, students expressed their dissatisfaction with the mechanical drills in classes and

called them tedious and tiresome. They complained that what they acquired was more like

parroting and less like real communication the required outside of their classrooms.

For these reasons, since 1970 audio- lingual as a method came to its end, even though

parts of it still continue to be used in the modern language teaching methods.

 Conclusion
The audio-lingual method is an approach to language teaching that emerged in the mid-
20th century and was heavily influenced by behaviorist psychology. The method emphasizes the

importance of listening and speaking skills, and stresses the need for students to learn language
through repetition and practice.

While the audio-lingual method was popular for a time, it eventually fell out of favor due

to criticisms that it was too focused on rote memorization and did not sufficiently develop

students' communicative abilities. However, some elements of the audio-lingual approach

continue to be used in language teaching today, particularly in the area of pronunciation and

intonation.
Thank You
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