THE USAGE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD IN MILITARY SPHERE

THE USAGE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD IN MILITARY SPHERE

Erkinova Sabohat Karimjon qizi

Englis teacher of Chirchik HTCES

ABSTRACT

Listening is one of the four basic skills in learning a foreign language besides listening, reading, and writing. It has been taught since the students entered a junior high school, however, there are some difficulties faced by vocational school students to listen to the recording. After doing observation, some teachers say that they still have difficulties to teach listening to  students since students are not able to express what are on their minds because their lack of actual language. To help the teachers in teaching listening to students, teachers may use an interesting teaching method to present their teaching materials that also help them in creating a fun class. One of the alternative methods is Audio-lingual teaching  method. The  objectives of  the  study were  to explain  the  students’  ability  to recognize word meaning in the context and to recognize the content of the text. The design of  the  research used  a  collaborative  classroom  action  research (CAR).  This  kind  of research was designed by a group which consisted of teacher and researcher from the educational university.

Keywords: listening comprehension, audio-lingual, recognizing  word meaning and the content of the text, classroom action research.

Listening is one of the four basic skills in learning a foreign language besides listening, reading, and writing. It has been taught since the students entered a junior high  school,  however,  there  are  some  difficulties  faced  by  vocational  school students to listen to the recording.

After doing observation, some teachers say that they still have difficulties to teach listening to  students since students are not able to express what are on their minds  because their  lack of  actual  language.  To help  the  teachers in  teaching listening to students, teachers may use an interesting teaching method to present their teaching materials  that also help them  in creating a  fun class. One of  the alternative methods is Audio-lingual teaching method.

Due to  the fact, it  needs some  efforts to improve  the  students’  ability  in listening. One of the improvements of the listening comprehension deals with the method which is reflected  in the material and the way of teaching given  to the students. Brown (1994:135) states that this in combination with some new ideas about language learning coming from the disciplines of descriptive linguistics and behavioral psychology went  on to become what  is known as  the Audio-lingual Method (ALM). The audio-lingual teaching method is defined as a method which emphasizes on repetition of the words to help the students to be able to use the target language communicatively.  The  purpose  of  the  repetition/drills  is  to  break  down  the troublesome sentences into smaller part. Drilling is a key feature of audio-lingual approaches to language teaching  which placed emphasis on repeating structural patterns through oral practice (Brown, 1998: 137). Based on the general background of the study above, the research questions can be stated as: How is the students’ ability to recognize word meaning in the context? How is  the students’ ability to recognize the content of text?

The concepts of audio-lingual method

Using contrastive The Audio-lingual Method, also known as the aural-oral, Functional  skills,  new  key  or  American  method  of  language  teaching  was considered  a  “scientific”  approach  to  language  teaching  (Lado  in  Omaggio, 1986:61). Many people, across the world, showed an intense  and abiding interest in modern languages. Dissatisfaction with the traditional methods, their validity, and adequacy, especially with their treatment of spoken language led to the birth of the Audio-lingual method which is based on the aural-oral approach. It put the accent on the acquisition of oral language skills through oral practice based on repetition and analogy (Larsen, 2000). Haycraft  (2002)  Audio-lingual  theory  is  derived  from  linguistics  and psychology. It is a combination of structural linguistics theory, contrastive analysis, aural-oral procedures, and behaviorist psychology. In this theory language is seen as having its own unique system. The system comprises several different levels: phonological, morphological, and syntactic. Each level has its own distinctive patterns. Language learning is viewed as the acquisition of a practical set of communication skills. It entails language and learning  the  rules  by  which  these  elements  are  combined  from  phoneme  to morpheme to word or phrase to sentence. Language is primarily spoken and only secondarily written.

The Principles of Audio-Lingual Method

Bushra  (2001)  describes  the  principles  of  the  Audio-lingual  method  as follows:

(1) Instructions are given in the target language 

(2) Language forms occur within a context 

(3) Students’ native language interferes as little as possible with the students’ attempts to acquire the target language 

(4) Teaching is directed to provide students with a native –speaker like a model

(5) Analogy provides a better foundation for language learning than analysis 

(6) Errors are carefully avoided because they lead to the formation of bad habits 

(7)  Positive  reinforcement  helps  the  student  to develop  correct  habits 

(8) students are encouraged to learn to respond to verbal and non-verbal stimuli 

(9) The teacher is  regarded as an orchestra  leader conducting,  guiding and controlling the students’ behavior in the target language (10) learning a foreign language is treated on par with the native language.

Explanation

Based on Skinner’s Behaviorism theory, it assumed that a human being can be trained using a system of reinforcement. Correct behaviour receives positive feedback, while errors receive negative feedback.

This approach to learning is similar to the Direct Method, in that the lesson takes place entirely in the target language.

Emphasis is on the acquisition of patterns in common everyday dialogue.

The Audio-lingual Method was widely used in the 1950s and 1960s, and the emphasis was not on the understanding of words, but rather on the acquisition of structures and patterns in common everyday dialogue.

These patterns are elicited, repeated and tested until the responses given by the student in the foreign language are automatic.

Some characteristics of this method are:

• Drills are used to teach structural patterns
• Set phrases are memorised with a focus on intonation
• Grammatical explanations are kept to a minimum
• Vocabulary is taught in context
• Audio-visual aids are used
• Focus is on pronunciation
• Correct responses are positively reinforced immediately

Modern Usage

The Audio-lingual Method is still in use today, though normally as a part of individual lessons rather than as the foundation of the course. These types of lessons can be popular as they are relatively simple, from the teacher’s point of view, and the learner always knows what to expect.

Some of the most famous supporters of this method were Giorgio Shenker, who promoted guided self learning with the Shenker method in Italy, and Robin Callan, who created the Callan method.

Developments & Problems

This extensive memorization, repetition and over-learning of patterns was the key to the method’s success, as students could often see immediate results, but it was also its weakness.

It was discovered that language was not acquired through a process of habit formation.

The method’s insistence on repetition and memorization of standard phrases ignored the role of context and knowledge in language learning. As the study of linguistics developed, it was discovered that language was not acquired through a process of habit formation, and that errors were not necessarily bad.

It was also claimed that the methodology did not deliver an improvement in communicative ability that lasted over the long term.

Summary

When – 1950 to 1970, some sporadic or selective use today;

Focus – Sentence and sound patterns;

Characteristics – Listening and speaking drills and pattern practice only in English;

Supporters – B.F. Skinner, Leonard Bloomfield, Robin Callan.

CONCLUSIONS

Listening is one of the four basic skills in learning a foreign language besides listening, reading, and writing. It has been taught since the students entered a junior high  school,  however,  there  are  some  difficulties  faced  by  vocational  school students to  listen to the  recording.  After  conducting  the  research,  the  students’ means score showed the improvement in cycle 2. It is concluded that using audio-lingual could help to improve students’ listening comprehension.

REFERENCES 

1. Anderson,  Stephen  C.1985.  "Animate  and  inanimate  pronominal  systems  in Ngyemboon-Bamileke.”Journal of West African Languages 15(2): 61-74.

2. Brown. A and Dowling. P.1998. Doing Research/Reading Research: A mode of Interrogation for Education. London: The Falmer Press.

3. Brown, James Dean. 1988. Understanding Research in Second Language Learning. United States of America: Cambridge University Press.

4. Bygate, Martin.2000.Teaching and Researching Speaking. London: Longman.

5. Derewianka, Beverly.1990.Exploring How Texts Work. London: Primary English    Teaching Association.

6. Direktorat  Jenderal  Pendidikan  Dasar  dan  Menengah,  Direktorat  Pendidikan Lanjutan  Pertama.2004.Pelajaran  Bahasa  Inggris  Kelas  VII.  Jakarta: Dit.PLP, Ditjen Dikdasmen, Depdiknas.