Although neither the behavioristic psychologists nor the descriptive linguists were language teachers, their ideas have profoundly influenced the direction that second-language teaching has taken. First, descriptive linguistics accepted most of the basic tenets of behaviorism with regard to language and learning.
Later, these ideas along with their own were put into effect in establishing the intensive language courses of the Army Specialized Training Program. The same basic principles were incorporated into the audio-lingual classes of the schools.