ELT 213 APPROACHES TO ELT I The Audio-Lingual Method WEEK 5 Assist. Prof.Dr. Seden Eraldemir Tuyan

Direct Method (DM) vs. Audio-Lingual Method(ALM) Similarity: oral-based approach Differences Direct Method Audi-Lingual Method use of vocabulary in situations drilling the use of grammatical sentence patterns no strong theoretical base strong theoretical base in linguistics and psychology

Audio-Lingual Method Psychology: Linguistics: Bloomfield Structuralism Skinner Behaviorism Linguistics: Bloomfield Structuralism

Linguistic Structuralism: Language is a system of forms, from smaller units (such as sounds) to bigger units (such as sentences). It studies the distribution of units within the system (e.g., phoneme vs. allophone).

Allophone Definition:  An allophone is a phonetic variant of a phoneme in a particular language. Examples:  (English) [p] and [pH] are allophones of the phoneme /p/. [t] and [tH] are allophones of the phoneme /t/.

Behaviorism: any physical action is a behavior and can be changed and modified. In language learning, acquiring the sentence patterns occurs by responding correctly to stimuli by the help of shaping and reinforcement. While learning L2, habits of native language can be overcome and new habits can be formed.

Principles Observation 1: A dialogue is used to introduce a new structure. Principle: Form appears inside the context, not in isolation Observation 2: Only L2 is used in the classroom. Actions, pictures or realia are used to give meaning (like in Direct Method) Principle: L1 and L2 have different systems and they are treated differently to avoid interference (not mentioned in Direct Method as a principle)

Observation 3: Dialogs, drills are introduced by the teacher Observation 3: Dialogs, drills are introduced by the teacher. T corrects mispronunciation by modeling the sound. Principle: The teacher is the model. His/Her native-like accent does matter. Observation 4: Ss repeat each line of the dialogs several times. Principle: Language learning is habit formation and habits should be repeated to get fixed in mind.

Observation 5: backward build-up drill is used when Ss cannot repeat a sentence correctly Principle: Errors are barriers for habit formation Observation 6: T. initiates a chain drill Principle: Using the language to communicate is the primary goal Observation 7: Single- and multiple-slot substitutions are used Principle:A sentence includes several slots and each slot needs a special part of speech.

Observation 8: T. says ‘Very good’ to Ss when they answer correctly Principle: Positive reinforcement is preferred to no/negative reinforcement Observation 9: Spoken and picture cues are used Principle: Stimuli can be verbal/ nonverbal Observation 10: Transformation and question-and-answer drills are used Principle: Language is a set of patterns or structures. Pattern practice leads to form habits (habit formation)

Observation 11: When Ss can handle sth., T asks the questions rapidly Principle: ‘Overlearning’ is expected: Automatic response, without thinking Observation 12: T. gives cues, calls on individuals, encourages Ss., holds up pictures one after the other. Principle: The teacher is like an orchestra leader Observation 13: Vocab is limited and introduced through dialogues Principle: Learning the structural patterns comes before vocabulary

Observation 14: No grammar rules are given Observation 14: No grammar rules are given. It is learned through examples and drills Principle: L2 learning is equal to L1 acquisition (we don’t memorize rules to learn L1). Rules are induced from examples. Observation 15: T. does a contrastive analysis to identify possible problems that might occur (e.g. pronouncing ‘little’ as /iy/ instead of /i/); T. uses minimal pairs— ‘sheep’ : ‘ship’; ‘leave’ : ‘live’ Principle: In lang teaching Ss should overcome the habits of their L1. A comparison between L1 and L2 shows the areas of probable difficulties.

Observation 16: Dialog is written by the end of the week Observation 16: Dialog is written by the end of the week. Limited written work is done Principle: Speech is more basic than the written form. The “Natural Order” is to be adopted for L2 acquisition listening, speaking, reading, and writing Observation 17: Supermarket alphabet game, a discussion of American supermarkets and football are included in the teaching Principle: Culture is not only literature or the arts; it is everyday behavior of people

Reviewing the Principles Goals of the Ts: Teach Ss to use L2 communicatively; Ss overlearn L2 (using the language automatically); Ss form new habits in L2. Role of Ts & Ss: T is the orchestra leader: she directs and controls the language behaviors; T. is a good model for imitation; Ss are imitators; Ss follow T’s directions.

Characteristics of teaching/learning process: Vocabulary and structural patterns are presented through dialogs and learned through imitation and repetition; Drills are conducted; Positive reinforcement to Ss responses; Inductive grammar teaching; Cultural info is contextualized; Reading and Writing is based on oral work.

Nature of interaction: T – Ss (initiated by T); Ss – Ss (directed by the teacher). Students’ Feelings: No principles. Language/culture viewed: Influenced by descriptive linguists: each language has a unique system at different levels (phonological, morphological, syntactic); Graded level of complexity (simple patterns for beginners); Daily speech is emphasized: culture consists of everyday behavior.

Areas of language emphasized: Minimum vocabulary; Grammatical pattern is important (e.g. ‘she called’, ‘I won’ & ‘the team practiced’ are the same grammatical patterns; Natural order is important (L, S, R, W); Oral/Aural skills are very important and so does pronunciation. Role of L1: Use of L2 in the classroom to avoid interference of L1; Contrastive analysis helps identifying possible interference problems.

Evaluation: Discrete-point; Minimal pairs. Error correction: Errors are to be avoided; If possible T. should be aware of Ss difficulty (contrastive analysis).

Techniques of AL – Dialog Memorization T: Hello. How are you? S: Fine, thanks. And you? T: Fine. Where are you going? S: I’m going to the school. Would you like to come? T: Sure. Let’s go together.

Techniques of AL – Backward Build-up drill teaching long lines of dialogues Breaking down the line into several parts Repeating a part of the sentence I’m to the I’m going to the post office. going post office

Backward build-up drill T: Repeat after me: post office. S: Post office. T: To the post office. S: To the post office. T: Going to the post office. S: Going to the post office. T: I’m going to the post office. S: I’m going to the post office.

Techniques of AL – Repetition Drill

Techniques of AL – Chain Drill To make students ask and answer questions with each other.

Techniques of AL – Single/Multiple-slot Substitution Drill To give cue phrases To make other changes To fit cue phrase into line

Substitute drill- Use the cue. ‘I’m going to the post office.’ 1. single-slot substitution drill: S: ‘I’m going to the bank.’ The bank 2. multiple-slot substitution drill: S: ‘She is going to the post office.’ She the park S: ‘She is going to the park.’

Techniques of AL – Transformation Drill To change a certain kind of sentence pattern to another form. Statement Question Active Passive Affirmative Negative

Transformation drill T: ‘They are going to the bank.’ S: ‘Are they going to the bank?’ or T: Giang buys a new car. S: A new car is bought by Giang.

Techniques of AL – Question & Answer Drill Practicing the target language with answering questions and the question patterns.

Techniques of AL – Question & Answer Drill Bank T: Are you going to the bank? S: Yes, I am. I’m going to the bank Library T: Are you going to the zoo? S: No, I’m not going to the zoo. I’m going to the library

Techniques Dialogue memorization Backward build up drills Repetition drills Chain drills Single-slot substitution drills Multiple slot substitution drills

Techniques Dialogue memorization Backward build up drills Repetition drills Chain drills Single-slot substitution drills Multiple slot substitution drills

Techniques Transformation drills Question and answer drills Use of minimal pairs Completing the dialogue Grammar game

Related videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvz-GLyZ7bM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30mXvCVVjj0&NR=1