Characteristics of Audiolingual Method

Characteristics of Direct Method.

By the end of the 19th century the above mentioned method had failed to meet the requirements of time and society and the reaction to the failure was the creation of the Direct Method, which once more stressed the ability to use rather than to analyze language as the goal of language instruction. The proponents were opposed to teaching of formal grammar and aware that language learning was more than the learning of rules and the acquisition of translation skills. Spoken word was given primacy. Printed word must be kept away from the learner until she/he has good grasp of speech. Material was first presented orally with actions and pictures and mother tongue was never, never used. Culture was considered an important aspect of learning the language.

Practical goals and immersion into foreign environment, together with focus on speaking and listening practice are the major strengths of the Direct Method. Learners have opportunities to activate all channels of perception. Moreover, language acquisition is facilitated by enormous authentic input.

The greatest weaknesses are connected with an underestimated role of reading and writing and counterproductive prohibition of using mother tongue. Lack of explicit rules leads to various misinterpretations and problems in creative use of language, which, together with time consuming drilling, comprise the greatest threats of the method.

In the middle of the 20th century a new method, which adapted many of the principles and procedures of the Direct Method, was created. The method based on the principles of behaviorist/stimulus-response theory and structural view on language was called the Audiolingual Approach.

According to this approach the new material is presented in the form of dialogue. Based on the view that language learning is habit formation, the method fosters dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases and over-learning. Structures are sequenced and taught one at a time with the help of repetitive drills. The teacher should provide little or no grammatical explanations because grammar is to be taught inductively. The teacher should mind that vocabulary must be strictly limited and learned in context. Skills must be sequenced and developed in order; there must be an extended pre-reading period at the beginning of the course. The teacher must reinforce successful responses and take great care to prevent learner errors. There is a tendency to focus on manipulation of the target language and disregard content and meaning.

A wide use of authentic materials, presenting language items in dialogues rather than in isolation (as it used to be done in previously discussed methods/approaches) and introducing natural order of skills presentation: listening, speaking, reading, writing, makeup the main strengths of the approach. The method provides opportunities for successful pronunciation practice with the help of some useful types of phonetic exercises and predict learners’ difficulties through comparative analysis of structures.

However, an overestimated role of mechanical drilling where meaning is often irrelevant and lack of flexibility are the weaknesses of the approach, leads to its threats. First of all, boredom and demotivating learners due to endless repetitions and imitations proposed, uninteresting drills for the sake of training, no challenge for learners.

Дата добавления: 2017-01-13