Language Teaching Methods: Audio-Lingual Method

Summary

In this video, Diane Larson Freeman, a teacher educator, introduces various language teaching methodologies, including the Audiolingual Method, Community Language Learning, Suggestopedia, and others. Filmed at a Washington DC studio, the video features experienced teachers demonstrating these methods with volunteer students. The lessons focus on language practice around a common theme, using interactive dialogues and drills. Freeman emphasizes the importance of adapting techniques to individual teaching contexts and encourages open-mindedness in evaluating their applicability. The video aims to provide viewers with a hands-on understanding of different approaches to language teaching.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video series is designed to give teachers a direct experience with various language teaching methodologies.
• 🎓 The focus is on methods such as audiolingual, community language learning, comprehension approach, suggestopedia, silent way, and the communicative approach.
• 🎥 The lessons in the video were filmed at USIA studios in Washington, D.C., and feature volunteers studying English.
• 👨‍🏫 Experienced instructors demonstrate each teaching method, adapting lessons to their own interpretations and experiences.
• 🏡 All the lessons revolve around a common theme—'a house'—to maintain coherence across demonstrations.
• ✂️ The lessons are condensed to save time, though all steps of each method are preserved.
• 📖 Viewers are encouraged to consult Diane Larson Freeman's book for a deeper understanding of these methodologies.
• 🤔 Teachers are urged to remain open-minded and find ways to adapt these techniques to their own classrooms, regardless of class size.
• 🗣️ The audiolingual method (ALM) focuses on habit formation through repetition and drilling, where the teacher acts as a model for students to emulate.
• 💬 Error prevention and positive reinforcement are key principles of ALM, with a strong emphasis on speech over written language.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the videotape series introduced by Diane Larson Freeman?

The purpose of the videotape series is to provide viewers with a vicarious experience of common language teaching methods, similar to what teacher trainees receive at the School for International Training (SIT).

What language teaching methods are demonstrated in the video series?

The methods demonstrated include the Audiolingual Method, Community Language Learning, the Comprehension Approach, Suggestopedia, the Silent Way, and the Communicative Approach.

What is the common theme around which the language lessons are designed?

The common theme around which the language lessons are designed is 'a house.'

How does the teacher introduce and demonstrate the audiolingual method (ALM)?

The teacher introduces the ALM by modeling a dialogue between a vacuum cleaner salesman and a housewife. The teacher plays both roles and asks the students to listen carefully and repeat the dialogue to practice.

What is the teacher's role in the audiolingual method?

In the audiolingual method, the teacher acts as a model of the target language. The students' role is to repeat the language accurately, forming correct habits through repetition and drills.

How does the teacher handle errors made by the students during the lesson?

The teacher corrects errors by modeling the correct form for the students to repeat, using drills like the backward build-up drill, where the students practice smaller parts of the sentence until they can say the whole sentence smoothly.

Why does the teacher avoid introducing the written version of the dialogue until the end of the lesson?

The teacher avoids introducing the written version of the dialogue until the end because, according to ALM principles, speech is considered more basic to language than its written form. Students focus on oral repetition before seeing the written text.

What kind of drills does the teacher use to reinforce grammar patterns in the lesson?

The teacher uses grammar drills such as a single-slot substitution drill and a question-and-answer drill to help students overlearn sentence patterns and achieve automaticity in the target language.

Why is positive reinforcement important in the audiolingual method?

Positive reinforcement, like saying 'good' or 'very good,' helps students develop correct habits by encouraging and reinforcing accurate language use, which is key to the habit-formation process in the audiolingual method.

What is the homework assigned to the students at the end of the lesson?

The homework includes memorizing the dialogue perfectly and practicing selling the vacuum cleaner to someone, as part of reinforcing what was learned in the class.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Introduction to Language Teaching Methodologies

Diane Larsen-Freeman introduces herself as a teacher educator from the School for International Training (SIT). The video aims to provide viewers with a vicarious experience of several common language teaching methods, including the Audiolingual Method (ALM), Community Language Learning, and others. These lessons were filmed in Washington, D.C., with students who were studying English at the time. Larsen-Freeman emphasizes that the instructors adapt the methods based on their interpretations and experiences. She encourages teachers to observe, reflect, and consider how these methods could be applied or adapted to their own teaching contexts.

05:02

🗣️ Demonstrating the Audiolingual Method (ALM)

Michael Gerald, a colleague, demonstrates the ALM by acting out a sales interaction between a vacuum cleaner salesman and a housewife. The role-play begins with the salesman trying to sell the Hoover vacuum cleaner, while the housewife rejects the offer because her husband does the cleaning at home. The focus of this method is on listening and observing as students engage in repetitive drills. The teacher leads the dialogue and directs students to repeat phrases with correct intonation, pronunciation, and emotion. The emphasis is on repetition and memorization, aiming for habit formation in language learning.

10:05

🔄 Dialogue Practice Through Repetition and Role-Play

The instructor uses the dialogue to guide students through repetitive drills. The class participates in repeating key phrases such as 'Good morning' and 'Would you like to have the cleanest house in town?' in small groups and individually. Emphasis is placed on repetition and correcting pronunciation. The method aims to have students memorize and practice the dialogue without written material initially, focusing on auditory and oral skills. The teacher uses group drills to reinforce the dialogue, gradually involving different students in playing the roles of the salesman and the housewife.

15:06

👥 Role Reversal and Volunteer Participation

The lesson moves into more interactive participation, where students volunteer to act out the roles of the salesman and housewife in front of the class. The volunteers repeat the dialogue, and the teacher encourages active participation, role-playing, and the use of gestures to emphasize speech. This section highlights how role reversal and peer interaction reinforce learning, allowing students to practice real-life conversational structures while maintaining focus on the target vocabulary and expressions from the dialogue.

20:07

📚 Grammar Drills and Reinforcement

After role-play practice, the instructor introduces grammar drills. Students practice substitution drills, where they replace parts of the original dialogue with new vocabulary (e.g., 'Would you like to have the greenest lawn in town?'). The teacher uses drills to reinforce sentence structures and grammar patterns. These activities are designed to overlearn the structures, encouraging automatic responses. The class collectively participates, answering questions in unison, and is introduced to the written version of the dialogue for further practice.

Keywords

💡Audiolingual Method (ALM)

The Audiolingual Method (ALM) is a language teaching approach that focuses on repetitive drills and pattern practice to form habits in learners. It emphasizes listening and speaking over reading and writing. In the video, the teacher demonstrates ALM through structured dialogues about a vacuum cleaner salesman, showing how repetition leads to automaticity in language use.

💡Teacher as Model

In the context of ALM, the teacher acts as a model of correct language usage. The students imitate the teacher's pronunciation, grammar, and intonation. In the video, the teacher first models the dialogue between the salesman and the housewife, and students are expected to repeat it accurately to form proper language habits.

💡Habit Formation

Habit formation is central to the ALM, where language learning is viewed as creating automatic responses through repetition. The more a learner repeats a language structure correctly, the stronger the habit becomes. In the lesson, students are drilled on phrases like 'the cleanest house in town' to internalize the structure.

💡Backward Build-up Drill

A technique used in ALM where a sentence is broken down into smaller parts, starting from the end and building up to the full sentence. This method helps learners master difficult phrases. In the video, the teacher uses this technique to help students with a challenging sentence in the dialogue, starting from the phrase 'in our house.'

💡Overlearning

Overlearning refers to the process of practicing something beyond simple mastery until it becomes automatic. In the ALM, this is achieved through repetitive drills. The video illustrates this when students practice lines of the dialogue multiple times until they can recite them fluently.

💡Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement in ALM involves encouraging students with praise to reinforce correct language use. The teacher in the video frequently says 'good' or 'very good' after students correctly repeat lines of the dialogue, helping them feel confident and reinforcing good language habits.

💡Grammar Drill

Grammar drills are a core part of the ALM, designed to help students internalize sentence patterns. In the video, the teacher uses drills like the single-slot substitution drill, where students replace one word in a sentence while keeping the structure intact, such as 'the cleanest house' with 'the greenest lawn.'

💡Speech Over Writing

A principle of the ALM that prioritizes spoken language over written language. In the video, students focus on repeating spoken dialogues before they are shown the written version. This supports the idea that speaking and listening are more fundamental in language learning than reading and writing.

💡Dialogues

Dialogues are structured conversations used in the ALM to teach language patterns through repetition. In the video, the teacher uses a dialogue between a salesman and a housewife about vacuum cleaners as the basis for the lesson, allowing students to practice sentence structures and vocabulary in context.

💡Error Prevention

In the ALM, teachers aim to prevent students from making errors, as errors are believed to lead to the formation of bad language habits. In the video, the teacher quickly corrects any mistakes by providing the correct version of the sentence for students to repeat, ensuring that errors do not become ingrained.

Highlights

Diane Larson Freeman introduces various language teaching methods through a videotape series for teacher trainees.

The series includes methods such as the Audiolingual Method (ALM), Community Language Learning, Comprehension Approach, Suggestopedia, Silent Way, and Communicative Approach.

Each method is demonstrated using an intermediate-level lesson on a common theme: a house.

The audiolingual method (ALM) is demonstrated first, focusing on habit formation through repetition and drills.

The lesson revolves around a scripted dialogue between a vacuum cleaner salesman and a housewife.

The teacher models the dialogue, and the students repeat it to form language habits.

Backward build-up drills are used to help students master difficult phrases by repeating them incrementally.

The teacher emphasizes error correction to prevent the formation of bad habits, reflecting the ALM's focus on accuracy.

Grammar drills, including substitution and question-answer drills, are employed to reinforce sentence patterns.

The principle of overlearning is central to the ALM, where students practice language structures until they become automatic.

Positive reinforcement, such as 'good' or 'very good,' is used frequently to encourage students and promote correct language habits.

Students do not see the written form of the dialogue until the end, as ALM emphasizes speech over writing.

The lesson concludes with students being asked to memorize the dialogue for homework and apply it in a role-play task.

The videotape series encourages teachers to remain open to all methods and adapt techniques to their own teaching contexts.

The series provides a condensed version of language teaching methodologies to introduce teacher trainees to their core principles and techniques.

Transcripts

hello my name is Diane Larson Freeman

I'm a teacher educator at the school for

international training it's common in

language teaching education programs to

survey current language teaching

methodologies at sit we do this by

giving our teacher trainees a direct

experience with each

method the purpose of this videotape

series is to provide you with a similar

the vicarious experience involving

common methods the audiolingual method

Community language learning the

comprehension approach suggestopedia

silent way and the communicative

approach the intermediate level lessons

you will observe were taped at the

Television Studios of the usia in

Washington DC and it is through the

courtesy of the usia that this program

is being made available to

you the students were all volunteers who

were studying English at the time the

instructors are experienced language

teachers and teacher Educators from sit

who have each taught students in various

parts of the world using the methods

they demonstrate for you here for the

sake of coherence the instructors have

designed their lessons around a common

theme namely that of a house what you

will see are somewhat condensed versions

of the original lessons all the steps of

the lessons have been preserved but some

of the participation has been trimmed in

the interest of time the instructors

have tried to Faithfully depict each

method but of course each instructor is

also putting the principles into

practice based upon his or her

interpretation and

experience first I will introduce each

method next you will observe the method

in practice afterwards I will point out

the Salient techniques and principles

associated with each

method the lessons are meant only to

introduce you to these methods all of

the methods have a richer repertoire of

principles and techniques than can be

fully portrayed here if you wish to

learn more you may choose to consult my

book techniques and principles in

language teaching public by Oxford

University press as you view the tape

try to remain open to what you see you

may be missing out on something valuable

if you reject any of the things you

observe in these lessons because you

don't see how they could apply to your

own

situation for example there are about 25

students participating in these lessons

your own classes may be much larger than

these rather than thinking this will

never work with a large class think

instead is there anything worthwhile for

me in this Tech technique and if the

answer is affirmative next ask yourself

how then can I adapt this technique to

my own circumstances or what other way

can I put this principle into practice

let your imagination create the

possibilities for

you the first method we will observe is

the audiolingual method or

Alm it's a method with which many of you

may already be familiar my colleague

Michael Gerald will now demonstrate the

Alm watch carefully what the teacher is

doing and what he is asking the students

to

do good morning class good morning how

are you fine thanks how are you fine

thanks good I'm happy to hear that today

today's lesson is going to be about two

people about a Salesman a special kind

of a Salesman now you know what a

Salesman is that's a person who sells

something to somebody else a Salesman

we're going to uh today the salesman is

a vacuum cleaner salesman and the other

person here's the vacuum cleaner

salesman and let me write

that the other person is a woman or we

could we could call her a housewife so

now I want you to just listen and watch

what I do listen carefully watch what I

do and try to understand

okay now I'm the salesman now okay I'm

going to be both people I'm going to

play two roles I'm going to be the

salesman and the woman

okay ring ring ring ring ring ring ring

ring now the woman

hello hello Madam would you like to have

the cleanest house in

town yes of course I

would then Madam you need the amazing

Hoover vacuum

cleaner no I

don't

salesman what why

not

because my husband does the cleaning in

our

house

oh okay now listen and I'll do it one

more time you just listen and and don't

talk this time listen again I'll do it

one more time

salesman rings the

bell

woman good

morning good morning Madam would you

like to have the cleanest house in

town yes of course I

would then Madam you need the amazing

Hoover vacuum

cleaner the woman says

no I

don't salesman says what why

not and the woman says because my

husband does the cleaning in our house

and the salesman says

oh all right

now we're going to learn this together

now I'm going to help you learn how to

say this whole dialogue Okay so please

repeat the first line is the woman says

good morning good morning good morning

good

morning the salesman says good morning

would you like to have the cleanest

house in town good morning would you

like town okay house in town just say

that much house in the cleanest house in

town the cleanest house in town okay now

just Group D here the cleanest house in

town the cleanest house in town a the

cleanest house

in that's okay the cleanest house in

town the cleanest house in town the

cleanest house in town the cleanest

house in town okay now just you the

cleanest house in town the cleanest

house in town the cleanest house in town

the cleanest house in town the cleanest

house in town cleanest cleanest the

cleanest house in town the cleanest

house in town Good Very very good okay

this group the cleanest house in town

the cleanest house in town the cleanest

house in town the cleanest house in town

ah no just right now just this group

okay that's good in a minute in a minute

the cleanest house in town just the

cleanest house in town you man the

cleanest house in town the cleanest

house in town good everybody the

cleanest house in town CLE house in town

would you like to have the cleanest

house in town would you like

would you like to have the cleanest

house in town would you like to have the

cleanest house in okay would you like to

have the cleanest house in

town have the in town good okay you

would you like to have the cleanest

house in town the the cleanest house in

town would you like to have the cleanest

house in town good okay from the

beginning now the this the um the woman

says good morning everybody good morning

good morning says good morning Madam

would you like to have the cleanest

house in town good morning Madam would

you like to have the

C okay good now the woman says yes of

course I would yes of course I would yes

of course I would yes of I would all

right this half of the class yes of

course I would yes of course I would

this half yes of course I would yes of

course I would you please yes of course

I would yes of course I would yes of

course I would yes yes of course I would

yes you have to say it with say it with

feeling right yes of course I would yes

of course I good thank you you sir yes

of course I would yes of course I would

yes of course I would okay everybody yes

of course I would yes of course I would

salesman says then Madam you need the

amazing Hoover vacuum

cleaner you need

amazing vacuum cleaner vacuum cleaner

Hoover vacuum cleaner Hoover vacuum

cleaner the amazing Hoover vacuum

cleaner the amazing Hoover vacuum

cleaner then Madam you need the amazing

Hoover vacuum cleaner

M cleer okay this group then Madam you

need the amazing Hoover vacuum

[Music]

cleaner all right you the

then Madam you need the amazing Hoover

vacuum cleaner then Madam you need the

amazing Hoover vacuum cleaner good very

good very good all right you try it then

Madam you need the amazing Hoover vacuum

cleaner then Mom you need the amazing

Hoover vacuum cleaner vacuum cleaner

very good everybody then Madam you need

the amazing Hoover vacuum

cleaner now you remember that we don't

write down these dialogues as we're

saying them because at the end of the

class I will give you a copy so you can

read it right now concentrate on

memorizing it just from the sounds okay

and later you'll be able to see it in

writing so from the beginning the woman

says good morning good morning the man

says good morning Madam good morning

okay good morning Madam would you like

to have the cleanest house in town good

morning would you like to have the

cleanest house

yes of course I would yes of I would

then you need the amaz then Madam you

need the amazing Hoover vacuum cleaner

then you need the amazing Hoover vacuum

cleaner no I don't no I

don't what why not what why not what why

not what why not what why not yeah what

why not what not okay use the gestures

see what what why not what why not try

try it with your hands use your hands

what why not yeah what why not and your

shoulders say my shoulder what why not

why not okay everybody together what why

not why not okay and the woman says

because my husband does the cleaning in

our

house in our house in our house the

cleaning in our house the cleaning in

our house my husband does the cleaning

in our house my husband does the

cleaning in our house because my husband

does the cleaning in our house because

husb this group here please just you

just this group because my husband does

the cleaning in our

house our house okay listen to me

because my husband does the cleaning in

our house wait wait okay just you please

you try it because my husband does the

cleaning in our house does does does the

cleaning does the cleaning now again

because my husband does the cleaning in

our house because my husband does the

cleaning in our house good very good

everybody because my husband does the

cleaning in our house because my husband

CLE in our house and then the salesman

says

oh no he's sad

oh I will I will be the I will be the

salesman and you all of you will be the

woman okay I'm the salesman so I ring

the bell ring ring ring ring good

morning good morning good morning Madam

would you like to have the cleanest

house in

town then Madam you you need the amazing

Hoover vacuum cleaner

no what why not

because okay now now we'll change and

you will be the salesman and I will be

the uh the woman

okay ring the bell ring the

bell good morning good morning

the cleanest house in town the cleanest

house in town would you like to have the

cleanest house in

town yes of course I

would the amazing Hoover vacuum cleaner

no I

don't why not because my husband does

the cleaning in our

house all right can we have uh two

volunteers two volunteers come up please

and how about a woman now and yes Hassan

you can be the salesman have ears and we

need a woman

Sonia

please oh just you begin uh ring the

bell good morning good morning Madam

would you like to have the cleanest

house in town of course then then we I

got the hover amazing hover vacuum

cleaner then you need this you need you

need the amazing hover vacuum cleaner oh

no I

don't what why not what why not because

my husband does the cleaning in our

house

[Music]

oh thank you I'm sorry I'm sorry you

didn't sell

it the next one the next one we have two

more people please two more people to do

this two more volunteers two more Brave

courageous

volunteers here's one what are you you

want to be the salesman saleswoman okay

and come on yes yes you're the housewife

[Music]

good morning good morning man man would

you like to have uh you would you like

to you have the cleanest house in town

yes I do of course I would of of course

I would oh then you need the amazing

hover vacum cleaner oh I don't why what

not because and my husband do the clean

in my in our house

now we're going to do a little grammar

practice grammar practice okay um would

you like to have the cleanest house in

town you like to have the cleanest in

to prettiest

house the Prest good would you like to

have the prettiest house in town would

you like

the greenest lawn would

you would you like to have the greenest

lawn in town would you like have in town

good okay now again this time individual

people okay we'll do it again would you

like to have the cleanest house in town

do you like to have do you like to have

the cleaning house town cleanest

cleanest would you like to have the

cleanest house in town would you like to

have the the cleanest house town in town

in town okay good would you like to have

the cleanest house in town do you like

to have a cleaning house in town would

would you like would you like to clean

house okay wait would you like to have

the cleanest house in

town like CEST house in town would you

like to have the cleanest house in town

would you like to have the cleanest

house in town would you like to have the

cleanest house in town would you like to

have a cleanest uh house in town the

cleanest house in town the the cleanest

house in town okay everybody would you

like to have the cleanest house in

town okay now you try again please you

like toan to have to clean the cleanest

house in town okay everybody would you

like to have the cleanest house in town

would you like to the CEST to the

prettiest house would you like to have

the Prest house in town good the biggest

car would

youest greenest lawn you lawn would you

like to have the greenest lawn in town

would you like to have the greenest lawn

in town very good very good now I will

ask the question would you like to have

the the cleanest house in town you

answer yes of course of course I would

yes of course I would okay I ask the

question you give the answer would you

like to have the cleanest house in town

yes of course I would would you like to

have the biggest car in town yes of

course I would would you like to have

the greenest lawn in town of course I

would yes of course I would yes of

course I would would you like to have

the prettiest house in town yes of

course I now you asked me the questions

cleanest house ask me the question

yes of course I would prettiest

house yes of course I would biggest car

would you

like yes of course I would the greenest

lawn would

you yes I of course of course I would

yes it's only now at the end of the

grammar drilling that the students see

the printed

word okay now this time I'll read it and

then you repeat after me read it and

repeat okay good morning good morning

good morning Madam good morning Madam

would you like to have the cleanest

house in town would you like to have the

cleanest house in town yes of course I

would yes of course I would then Madam

you need the amazing Hoover vacuum

cleaner then Madam you need the

amazing no I don't no I don't what why

not what why not because you see my

husband does the cleaning in our house

because you see my husband does the

cleaning in our house oh

oh all right now for your homework for

tomorrow I want you to memorize this

memorize it and tomorrow in class

tomorrow I'm going to ask you to say

this perfectly with no mistakes without

the paper okay you understand yes so

homework tonight is to memorize this

perfectly okay and then the other thing

you have to do you have two things for

homework you have to sell this vacuum

cleaner to someone okay sell this vacuum

cleaner to someone for homework

okay that's all for today thank you for

coming see you tomorrow

[Music]

goodbye as the lesson began we saw the

teacher presenting a dialogue to the

class the students just listened to the

teacher at first one of the Alm teachers

major roles is that of a model of the

target language it's the students job to

repeat as accurately as they can the

teacher's model language learning is

seen to be a process of habit formation

the more often the students repeat

something the stronger the habit and the

greater the

learning we saw how the students

stumbled over one of the lines of the

dialogue they were repeating when this

happened the teacher used a backward

build-up drill with a Troublesome line

he started at the end of the sentence

and had the students repeat the final

phrase to this he added each phrase in

turn until the students were able to say

the whole sentence smoothly the teacher

corrected students errors in other ways

as well for example by quickly saying

the phrase for the students to hear and

repeat it's important to prevent

Learners from making errors since errors

lead to the formation of bad habits

later in the lesson the teacher used

grammar drills a single slot

substitution drill and a question and

answer drill these drills help students

to learn or even better to overlearn the

sentence patterns of the target language

the overlearning leads to

automaticity you may have noticed that

the teacher often said good or very good

in this way he positively reinforced his

students work such reinforcement helps

the students to develop correct

habits it wasn't until the end of the

lesson that the students got to see the

written version of the dialogue which

they were learning this is consistent

with the Alm principle that speech is

more basic to language than the written

form