Main elt methods and approaches

Main ELT methods and
approaches.
The Audio-Lingual method
The Cognitive-Code Approach

History:
 The Audio-Lingual method (ALM), also known as “The Army
Method”, gained attention in the 1950s, largely in the USA
where it was rooted in the military’s need during world war 2
to train large volumes of personnel in disparate language.

People learning language using the ALM.
-1950s.

Definition:
 ALM or ‘Audiolingualism’ is a method for foreign language
teaching. It emphasizes the teaching of listening and speaking
more than writing and reading.
 ALM focuses first, on ‘Behaviourism’ ; in other words, the way
people act or behave. Also, on the fact that anything could be
learned through conditioning, meaning to train or influence a
person mentally, so they do or expect a particular thing without
thinking about it.

 Second focus of ALM is on ‘structuralism’ and structural linguistics
that emphasized grammatical structure that studies the relationship
between its parts. In ALM grammar is prioritized over vocabulary,
and accuracy over fluency, giving the learners the opportunities to
make or produce errors which are seen as potentially contagious.
Finally, the learner will speak automatically.

Behaviourism Based on Skinner’s Behaviourism
Theory, behavioural psychology
influenced audiolingualism where
behaviourists believed that humans are
organisms that are capable of learning
many behaviours.
It mainly depends on 3 elements:
• Stimulus: bring out behaviour
• Response: triggered by stimulus
• Reinforcement: marks the response
as being appropriate, encourages
repetition which is important in the
learning process.B.F. Skinner
“Give me a child, and
I’ll shape him into
anything.”

Structuralism
 The theory of language embedded in the audio-lingual method is called structural
linguistics, the term structural referred to the following characteristics:
•Elements in a language are linearly produced in a rule-governed way.
•Language sample could be described at any structural level, for example,
phonetic, phonemic, morphological, etc.
•Linguistic levels are hierarchically structured (system within a system.)
phonolog
Morphology
Phrases
sentences

Objectives of ALM
Short term objectives:
• Listening comprehension
• Accurate pronunciation
• Recognition of speech symbols
• The ability to produce those symbols in writing
Long term Objectives:
• Maintain language as the native speakers use it.

Syllabus:
 Based on a linguistic or structured-based approach to
language teaching, built on:
• Step by step linguistic syllabus which contains:
1. Phonology.
2. Morphology.
3. Syntax.
• Lexical syllabus of basic vocabulary

Roles in ALM
 Teacher Roles:
In ALM the teacher plays the roles of an orchestra leader. It is
a teacher-centred method where the teacher is responsible to
control the learning pace.
 Learner Roles:
The learners in ALM are seen as organisms that could be
trained. They are not encouraged to take initiation into
interaction especially for students at early stages of learning.

 Instructional material roles:
Textbooks are not relevant in this method, at least not at the
first stages of learning. Audio-visual equipment and tapes
often have central roles. Language laboratories are also
essential, for it gives students the chance to follow the
dialogues line-by-line in the recorded dialogues.

• Picture 1: Students listening
carefully.
• Picture 2: The teacher playing the
role of an orchestra-leader.
• Picture 3: Students taking
advantage of language lab.
Picture 1 Picture 2
Picture 3

Activities
1. Repetition: Students repeat the utterances aloud as soon as they hear them.
Example:

2. Inflection: One word in an utterance appears in another form when
repeated.
Example:

3 . Replacement: One word in an utterance is replaced by another.
Example:

4. Restatement: The student rephrases an utterance and address it to
someone else according to the instructions.

5. completion: The student hears an utterance that is complete except for
one word and repeats the utterance in complete form.
Example:

6. Transposition: A change in word order is necessary when a word is added.
Example:

7. Expansion: When a word is added it takes a certain place in the sequence.
Example:

8. Contraction: A single word stands for a phrase or a clause.

9. Transformation: A sentence is transformed by being made negative or interrogative
through changes in tense, mood, voice, aspect, or modality.

10. Integration: Two separated utterances are integrated into one

11. Rejoinder: The student makes an appropriate rejoinder to a given utterance. He is
told in advance to respond in one of the following ways:
•Be polite.
• Answer the question.
• Agree.
• Agree emphatically.
• Express surprise.
• Express regret.
• Disagree.
• Disagree emphatically.
• Question what is said.
• Fail to understand.

12. Restoration. The student is given a sequence of words that have been culled
from a sentence but still bear its basic meaning. He uses these words with a
minimum of changes and additions to restore the sentence to its original form . He
may be told whether the time is present, past, or future.

Features of ALM:
 Target language / some mother tongue.
 Teacher centred .
 Mechanical habit-formation activities with little opportunities for mistakes to be
made.
 Immediate reinforcement of correct answers.
 Presentation of new structural patterns and vocabulary through oral repetition and
memorization of scripted dialogues.
 Oral pattern-drills of key structures from dialogues (repetition drills, chain drills,
substitution drills…)
 Inductive learning of grammar rules based on dialogues (no explicit grammar
teaching)
 Use of tapes, visual aids, and ultimately language laboratories.
 Reading and written works is based on earlier oral work, sometimes given as
homework .

Conclusion
 In conclusion the audio-lingual method emphasizes the
learning of listening and speaking more than reading and
writing. It is a teacher-centred method, and learners are only
viewed as organisms that could be shaped or trained to
produce correct answers. However, the method was rejected
when Chomsky argued that the human brain has a Language
Acquisition Devise (LAD) which allows them to develop
language skills instead of emphasizing habit formation as
process of language learning.

The Cognitive-Code Approach

History of CCA
 The cognitive code approach gained popularity after the rejection of the
audio-lingual method or more specifically the behaviourist psychology in
the late 1960s. The greatest pioneers of the CCA are John B. Carroll and
Kenneth Chastain.
J. B. Carroll Kenneth Chastain

Definition
 Cognitive code approach emphasizes that language learning
involves active mental process, and not just a process of
habit-formation. It also focuses on the four language skills (
listening, speaking, reading, and writing) not only some of
them in comparison to the ALM.

Theory of Language
The theory of language embedded in the CCA
emphasizes a cognitivist psychology. In other words,
it involves mental processes, and it gives more
importance to the learner’s understanding of the
structures of the foreign language.

Theory of Learning
 The theory of learning of the CCA is about generative
grammar and the deep structure which consists of structural
applied linguistics.

Objectives of CCA
 The cognitive code approach is meant to make students more
creative when it comes to language use, and also give them
the ability to reflect on what they learn. Consequently, they
would not be only repeating after the teacher.

Roles in CCA
 Learner roles:
The students are responsible for their own learning. In the CCA The
students are the leaders, and the teacher builds on what the students
already know. Furthermore, he helps them relate new materials
themselves, also make them reflect on what they learn.
 Teacher roles:
In the cognitive code approach the Teacher plays a role of a facilitator.
Thus, it is necessary that the teacher has an advanced proficiency in the
language in order to explore the different needs of students.

Conclusion
 The cognitive code approach emerged as a response to the
audio-lingual method which was based on habit formation.
CCA emphasized that learning requires a mental process, and
it gave importance to meaningful practice. However, the CCA
was only an approach which means it did not consist of a
design, nor did it consist of a procedure. It was essentially a
theoretical proposal because it did not lead to the
development of any teaching method in relation to classroom
procedures and activities.

Thank you for your attention.
Work done by: Meryem Berrada

Main elt methods and approaches

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