Audio Lingual Method

Audio Lingual Method

1.      Definition of Audio Lingual Method

The Audio Lingual Method is a method of foreign language teaching which emphasizes the teaching of listening and speaking before reading and writing. It uses dialogues as the main form of language presentation and drills as the main training techniques. The audio-lingual method advised that students be taught a language directly, without using the students' native language to explain new words or grammar in the target language.

The Audio Lingual Method (ALM) is a method which was introduced in the United States of America (USA) in 1940s. Even though the method is considered very old, many language teachers still like it and believe that it is a powerful method. The emergence of the method was a response to the need for a radical change of foreign language teaching due to the unfriendly relationship between USA and Russia, which lunched its first satellite in 1957. The United States prevented from its people from becoming isolates people from scientific advances made in other countries. The method was much influenced by a method called Army Specialized Training Program (ATSP). The ATSP was triggered by the condition from which USA entered World War II and tried to send its army to take up positions in other countries. USA government found itself in a need of personnel trained in a large number and wide variety of language, and the audio-lingual method could be the answer. The method was also a response to the Reading Method and the Grammar Translation Method. At that time many Americans felt unsatisfied with the reading aim and they thought that speaking was more important then reading. There are some characteristic of Audio Lingual Method :

·         Language learning is habit-formation,

·         Mistakes are bad and should be avoided , as they are considered bad habit

·         Language skills are learned more effectively if they are presented orally first, then in written form,

·         Analogy is better foundation for language learning than analysis,

·         The meaning of words can be learned only in a linguistic and cultural context.

The main activities include reading aloud dialogues, repetitions of model sentence and drilling. Key structure from the dialogue serve as the basic for pattern drills of different kinds. Lesson in the classroom focus on the correct imitation of the teacher by the students. Not only are the students expected to produce the correct output, but attention is also paid to correct pronunciation. Although correct grammar is expected in usage, no explicit grammatical instruction is given. It is taught inductively. Furthermore, the target language is the only language to be used in the classroom.

Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:45-47) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with the Audio-lingual Method. The listing here is in summary form only.

a.      Dialog Memorization

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

b.      Backward Build-up (Expansion Drill)

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

c.       Repetition Drill

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

d.      Chain Drill

Students ask and answer each other one-by-one in a circular chain around the classroom.

e.       Single Slot Substitution Drill

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

f.       Multiple-slot Substitution Drill

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

g.      Transformation Drill

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

h.      Question-and-answer Drill

Students should answer or ask questions very quickly.

i.        Use of Minimal Pairs

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

j.        Complete the Dialog

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

k.      Grammar Games

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

2.      State the Level of Audio Lingual Method

Audio Lingual Method usually use in Junior High School.

3.      Skill and Components of Audio Lingual Method

a.      Skills

Audio Lingual method usually use in teaching listening and speaking first after that in reading and writing skills.

b.      Components

The components of Audio lingual method are grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.

4.      Procedure of Audio Lingual Method

The procedure can be as follows:

a.       The language teacher gives a brief summary of the content of the dialogue. The dialogue is not translated but equivalent translation of key phrases should be given in order for the language learners to comprehend the dialogue.

b.      The language learners listen attentively while the teacher reads or recites the dialogue at normal speed several times. Gestures and facial expressions or dramatized actions should accompany the presentation.

c.       Repetition of each line by the language learners in chorus is the next step. Each sentence may be repeated a half dozens of times, depending on its length and on the alertness of the language learners. If the teacher detects an error, the offending learner is corrected and is asked to repeat the sentence. If many learners make the same errors, chorus repetition and drill will be necessary.

d.      Repetition is continued with groups decreasing in size, that is, first the two halves of the class, then thirds, and then single rows or smaller groups. Groups can assume the speaker’s roles.

e.       Pairs of individual learners now go to the front of the classroom to act out of the dialogue. By this time they should have memorized the text.

5.      The strength and the weakness of Audio Lingual Method

The strengths of Audio Lingual Method (ALM) :

a.       All the students are actives in the class.

b.      The circumstance class are more interesting and life

c.       The speaking and listening skill are more drilled, so the pronunciation skill and listening skill are more controlled

The weaknesses of Audio Lingual Method (ALM)

a.       For the smart students this method is bored, because the procedure of the ALM method is majority repeat the sentence.

b.      Sometimes the students are confused because the teacher explain the material in simple way not in detail way.

c.       The grammar skill is not more drilled.

6.      Conclusion of Audio Lingual Method

The Audio Lingual Method has been explained in detail. The Audio Lingual Method (ALM) is a method which was introduced in the United States of America (USA) in 1940s. The method was accepted by people in other countries and introduced in Indonesia in 1960’s.

Form the explaining in the first chapter until second chapter it can be concluded that the Audio Lingual Method is the teaching method which emphasize the speaking and listening skill. It makes the students can pronoun and listen well. The Audio Lingual Method can make circumstance of teaching in the class more life. The Audio Lingual Method is more effective to make pronunciation and listening skill. However, this method does not emphasize grammar in detail.