Page 39 - Teaching English at Primary Level: From Theory into the Classroom

The Audiolingual Method

diversity, pupils are exposed to different cultures through activities focused
on topics,suchasfood,music,dance,art,clothing, sports,storytelling,videos
and photos, etc. They learn that certain cultural traits are shared around the
world while others vary. For example, they develop the awareness that peo-
ple aroundthe worldeat in different ways: eating traditional dishes, eating
with different utensils (forks and knives in Europe, chopsticks in China, or
hand eating in India), noisily consuming food (making slurping sounds when
eating noodles in Western countries is considered rude, whereas in Japan it
is a way of indicating that you are really enjoying them).
An important aspect of the model is that the linguistic and cultural traits
are discovered together with children through various projects and activi-
ties. The selection of topics depends above all on the linguistic and cultural
background of children in each group, as well as the wider community the
children live in. All the activities in the proposed model are designed to fos-
ter pupil participation and interaction with the teacher who discusses new
destinations by train with the pupils and designs new activities in other lan-
guages. This is an important aspect of the model as it gives the teacher the
possibility to create a learning space which enables learner-initiated activi-
ties and discussions.

The Audiolingual Method
The audiolingual method, which emerged in the 1950s as a reaction to the
grammar translation method, followed the behaviourist models of learning,
using the stimulus-response-reinforcement pattern. It relied on the theory of
language (structural linguistics) with a strong emphasis on grammatical pat-
terns. A typical audio-lingual lesson begins with a dialogue which contains
the grammar and vocabulary to be focused on in the lesson. The learners try
to memorise the dialogue through drilling and repetition. This is followed
by pattern drills, aimed at reinforcing the grammatical structure introduced
in the dialogue. Great emphasis is placed on correct pronunciation, stress,
rhythm and intonation. Finally, the procedure involves exercises in which
learners are asked to transfer the new patterns to new situations (Nunan,
2015; Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Besides plain repetition, some well-known
drilling techniques are (Nunan, 1991):

1. Replacement: one word in an utterance is replaced by another.
Example: I like my brother. –Ilike him.
2. Completion: the learner completes the utterance with the appropriate
word.

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