Método Del Audiolingüismo

The Audio-Lingual Method

1) History
While the grammar-translation method and direct method are largely developed in the European continent, the audio-lingual method is in origin mainlyAmerican. But it has had a considerable influence on language teaching in most parts of the world. A systematic audio-lingual method can hardly be identified until the late 50s. It appeared under variousnames. In the 50s, it was most frequently referred to as the aural-oral method. The term of "audio-lingual" was proposed by Brooks, and the method as a clear language teaching theory lasted only for abrief period from about 1959 to 1966 and was later severely challenged and criticized. The origin of the method came from the "Army Method" of American wartime language programs in WWII. Bloomfield’sbehavioristic theory, the contrastive linguistics developed by Fries and Lado, the new technology of the language laboratory and the generous financial support for language research and training formilitary purposes in the U.S.A. (The National Defense Education Act in 1957) were factors contributing to the development of audio-lingual method. Chomsky shook the theoretical bases of audiolingualismand led to a prolonged and heated debate on the method between 1966 and 1972.


2) Theory and Technique
Audio-lingual method reflects the descriptive, structural, and contrastive linguistics ofthe 50s and 60s. Its psychological basis is behavioristic. Mainly following Skinner, but also influenced by neo-behaviorists such as Osgood, its theory is an interpretation of language learning interms of stimulus and response, operant conditioning and reinforcement with an emphasis on successful error-free learning in small well-prepared steps and stages. The distinctive features of the methodare (1) separation of the skills---- listening, speaking, reading and writing---- and the primacy of the audio-lingual over other methods; (2) the use of dialogues as the chief means of teaching the...