Accepting the fundamental ideas of behaviorism also involved a shift away from beliefs commonly held prior to that time. Specifically, this viewpoint rejected the mentalistic (the mind is the center of learning) interpretations of learning that had prevailed for so long. Learning was not viewed as a mental process, but as a mechanical one. Teaching did not involve the proper arrangement of information to be presented, but the establishment of learned connections between selected stimuli and desired responses. Conditioning the desired responses depended upon providing immediate and appropriate reinforcement.
The implications for the classroom of this apparently simple explanation of learning were far-reaching and indeed revolutionary. No longer were learners supposed to sit passively in their seats soaking up the information presented by the teacher. Instead, the students were to respond actively, and the teacher's role was to reinforce the correct response.
The most complete description and application of these theories of learning were made in the preparation of linear programmed materials. 4 The basic principles of programming are (1) specification of desired behavior, (2) minimal steps in learning, (3) active response to presented stimuli, and (4) immediate reinforcement. The same tenets, applied to language teaching, produced a method that advocated the use of mimicry-memorization and pattern drills to teach language skills.