Differences Between Audio Lingual and Communicative Language Teaching Methods
Differences Between Audio Lingual and Communicative Language Teaching Methods
Differences Between Audio Lingual and Communicative Language Teaching Methods
The audio lingual method, or the Army method, or also the New key, is the mode of language instruction based on behaviourist ideology, which professes that certain traits of living things could be trained through a system of reinforcement. The instructor would present the correct model of a sentence and the students would have to repeat it. The teacher would then continue by presenting new words for the students to sample in the same structure. There is no explicit grammar instruction everything is simply memorized in form. The idea is for the students to practice the particular construction untill they can use it spontaneously. In this manner, the lessons are built on static drills in which the students have little or no control on their own output.
The communicative language teaching is am approach to the teaching of second and foreign languages that emphasizes communication or interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language. The clt was the product of educators and linguists who had grown dissatisfied with earlier Grammer Translation and Audio Lingual Methods, where students were nott learning enough realistic, socially necessary language. Therefore they became interested in the development of communicative style teaching in the 1970s, focussing on authentic language use and classroom exchanges where students engaged in real communication with one another. The goal of clt is of creating communicative competence in the learners. It makes use of real life situations.
The CLT and ALM differ from various aspects. Basic differences as presented by Finocchiaro and Brumfit(1983) are given below:
Ccontext
Learning objectives
Goal
Drilling
Pronunciation
Grammatical explanation
CLT: Any device which helps the learners is accepted - varying according to their age, interest, etc.
ALM: Communicative activities only come after a long process of rigid drills and exercises.
Native language
Translation
CLT: Translation may be used where learners need or benefit from it.
CLT: Reading and writing can start from the first day, if desired.
Teaching Patterns
CLT: The target linguistic system will be learned best through the process of struggling to communicate.
ALM: The target linguistic system will be learned through the overt teaching of the patterns of the system.
Competence
Language variation
Sequencing
CLT: Sequencing is determined by any consideration of content function, or meaning which maintains interest.
Error
CLT: Language is created by the individual often through trial and error.
Accuracy
CLT: Fluency and acceptable language is the primary goal: accuracy is judged not in the abstract but in context.
Intrinsic motivation
CLT: Intrinsic motivation will spring from an interest in what is being communicated by the language.
ALM: Intrinsic motivation will spring from an interest in the structure of the language.
Teacher's function
CLT: Teachers help learners in any way that motivates them to work with the language.
ALM: The teacher controls the learners and prevents them from doing anything that conflict with the theory.
Interaction
CLT: Learners are expected to interact with other people, either in the flesh, through pair and group work, or in their writings.
ALM: Learners are expected to interact with the language system, embodied in machines or controlled materials.
Learner Laguage
CLT: The teacher cannot know exactly what language the learners will use.
ALM: The teacher is expected to specify the language that learners are to use.
Teachers' responsibility
CLT: The teachers assume a responsibility for determining and responding to learner's language need.
Communicative language teaching often uses a functional-notional syllabus. A notional-functional syllabus is more a way of organizing a language learning curriculum than a method or an approach to teaching. On the other hand, Audiolingualism is a linguistic, or structure based approach to language teaching. The starting point is a linguistic syllabus which contains the key items of phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language arranged according to their order of presentation.
Instructional materials:
In communicative language teaching, instructional materials have the primary role of promoting communicative language use. In audio-lingual method, instructional materials assist the teacher to develop language mastery in the learner.