The first audio-lingual textbooks consisted of chapters or units divided into three principal sections: a dialog, pattern drills, and some type of application activity. There was little grammatical explanation (none in some) and what there was was presented after the drills as a summary of the grammar involved in the preceding oral drills. Linguistically, the structures included were based on a scientific linguistic analysis of the two languages involved. Primary attention was given to structure rather than to vocabulary in order to spend more time in the development of automatic responses to oral or written stimuli.
Tapes for use in the classroom and the language laboratory accompanied the textbooks. Usually these tapes contained all the dialogs and most of the oral exercises. Sometimes there were take-home records for student use in memorizing the dialogs. Audio-visual aids to demonstrate the meaning of the dialogs and to serve as stimuli for conversation practice often were prepared to supplement the text itself. Many of the texts also had exercise manuals for improving writing skill.
The typical text was arranged in a polystructural format: i.e., several structures were introduced in the dialog as they would occur in a normal conversational situation. All texts did not necessarily follow this arrangement: some authors preferred to sequence their texts one structure at a time. Such monostructural texts as A Structural Approach to Spanish by Wolf, Hadlick, and Inman and Active French Foundation Course, Book I, by Marty did not incorporate dialogs at all. Another monostructural text, Spanish for Secondary Schools by Franco, Mueller, Vargas, and Woodward, placed the dialog after the presentation of structure and the follow-up drill.
Second and third edition audio-lingual texts have changed somewhat from the early editions. Although some texts can be identified as basically audio- lingual, the trend has been toward an eclecticism that combines elements of cognition and meaningful learning. Three of the major changes in approach have been to: (1) include grammatical explanations before the pattern drills, (2) give more complete descriptions of the grammar being presented, and (3) deemphasize the natural sequence of language learning. However, the use of dialogs to introduce new vocabulary and new structures, the use ot pattern drills, the stress on habit formation, the emphasis on oral skills, the desire to avoid and to eliminate student errors, and the reinforcement of student response by the teacher and/or the tape continue to be the basic elements in any text favoring the audio-lingual approach.
Presenting new material The first component of any text deals with the problem of presenting new material to the students. In texts favoring the audio-lingual approach, new material is introduced in dialogs. While studying the dialog lines, the students learn the language in the dialog. The next step is to focus on the sounds, structures, or vocabulary to be learned. This material is drilled in simple pattern drills requiring no change of structural forms or patterns.
DIALOGS
The dialogs contain the basic content of the unit or chapter. Dialogs are chosen as the principal means of introducing new content because audio- lingual theorists place primary emphasis in elementary courses on the oral aspects of language.
Another characteristic of the dialogs in early audio-lingual texts was that they were to be linguistically and culturally authentic. Linguistic authenticity meant that the utterances in the dialog were to be true to native speech. Thus, any structure might occur in any given dialog. However, only selected structures were to be learned in each unit. Cultural authenticity meant that the conversation was to take place in the second culture and be appropriate to the dialog situation. Some recent audio-lingual texts have departed from this quality in order to select simple language geared to the students' level of language learning.
NO-CHANGE PATTERN DRILLS
The language elements to be learned in the unit are isolated from the dialog for additional conditioning in no-change pattern drills. First, the teacher recalls the related dialog sentences to the students' minds before proceeding with two principal types of drills. The initial drill is the repetition drill. In this drill the teacher, or the tape model, gives the forms of the structure to be learned, and the students repeat, focusing jn the structure. Following is an example of a repetition drill:
Repetez
Michel marche dans le pare.
II reste dans le jardin.
Annette travaille dans la cuisine.
Maman donne I'argent.
Je marche sous les arbres.
Je travaille avec maman.
Je donne I'argent.
Tu travailles a la maison.
Tu prepares le dtner.
Est-ce que tu prepares le diner? 6
After having the students repeat the forms to be acquired, early audio- lingual authors proceeded to a substitution drill. This type of drill starts with a model sentence repeated by the students. The students are then given another word to incorporate into the model sentence. This type of drill is slightly more difficult for the students than the repetition drill in that it requires the students to remember the basic sentence as they continue with the drill. This is the first time in the sequence of going from dialog to conversational stimulus that the students go beyond simple repetition of the model. However, the students are required to make no structure changes in the sentence, so to this extent it is still a fairly simple task. The object of such a carefully controlled sequence is to keep the students practicing correct language rather than making all sorts of errors during the language learning sequence. The purpose of the substitution drill is to present examples of the linguistic variations possible with each pattern. Following are examples of substitution drills:
Vocabulary
Bist du im Haus? im Keller? im Hof?
im Wohnzimmer?
Wir sind in der Kuche. in der Schule. in der Stadt. 7
Structure
Mme Duval
II
Maman Elle La fille
prepare le diner.
Le gargon
marche
travaille
reste
dans le jardin. 8
In some early audio-lingual texts, structure and vocabulary were supposed to be acquired during practice with the dialog lines and with repetition drills and substitution drills. In other texts, a summary of the grammar was added after the students had already thoroughly practiced the structures involved.
This generalization normally consisted of a listing of the forms followed by a short explanation of the important features of the structure. For example:
|
Present Progressive |
||
|
subject |
verb |
-ing form of the verb |
|
pronoun |
to be |
|
|
1 |
am |
|
|
You |
are |
|
|
He, She, It We |
is are |
talking, eating, etc. |
|
You |
are |
|
|
They |
are |
1. The present progressive is made up of a form of the verb to be and an -ing form of the verb.
2. Forms of the verb to be change to agree with the subject. The -ing form of the verb never changes.
3. To make the -//inform of the verb, remove the infinitive sign, to, and add -ing to the end of the verb.
Since the first editions of the audio-lingual texts were published, various changes have been incorporated into the audio-lingual approach, many of which have centered around measures to improve student comprehension of the material being presented. There is much less reluctance now than in the early days of audio-lingual teaching to use the first language. Some texts give first-language translations or use pictures to assist in student understanding of the dialog. The other major change regarding comprehension is that the newer editions have tended toward earlier and more complete presentations of structure.
Transformation pattern drills The next portion of a text favoring the audio- lingual approach consists of pattern drills in which the students are required to make some change in form or pattern. (This characteristic habit formation type drill has changed only slightly in the intervening years since its initial introduction in Modern Spanish.) The purpose of these drills is to condition the same linguistic skills into the second-language learner as those of the first-language speaker. The format of the drills is a direct application of S-R psychology to second-language teaching. The student receives a linguistic stimulus, he responds, and this response is reinforced immediately either by the teacher, the tape, the record, or the text.
By the time the students reach the level of transformation pattern drills, they are expected to "be able to make the changes in structures they have been
repeating in the dialog lines and simple pattern drills. At this level, the students are asked to respond with a proper choice of forms or patterns. However, the response, due to the amount of drill with each prior to this selection of forms, is still to be an automatic, unconscious one, free from analysis.
Table captionThe following are examples of transformation pattern drills: PERSON-NUMBER SUBSTITUTION DRILL
|
Model |
Students |
|
Wo ist Jochen? |
Wo ist Jochen? |
|
er? |
Wo ist er? |
|
-wir? |
Wo sind wir? |
|
-ich? |
Wo bin ich? |
|
-ihr? |
Wo seid ihr? |
|
du? |
Wo bist du? |
|
-Sie? |
Wo sind Sie? |
|
-Jochen? |
Wo ist Jochen? 9 |
|
PATTERNED RESPONSE DRILL |
|
|
When are you leaving? |
Pm leaving now. |
|
When is he leaving? |
He's leaving now. |
|
When are they leaving? |
They're leaving now |
|
When are we leaving? |
We're leaving now. |
|
When is she leaving? |
She's leaving now. |
|
When am 1 leaving? |
You're leaving now. |
CHANGING NUMBER: SINGULAR *
Tu discutes tout le temps! je regarde un documentaire.
II manque toujours les informations.
Je prepare le petit dejeuner.
Vous presentez Philippe ci Marie.
Nous dtnons tout de suite.
Elies goutent toujours le dessert. Nous dejeunons dans une heure.
* PLURAL
Vous discutez tout le temps! Nous regardons un documentaire.
Ms manquent toujours les informations.
Nous preparons le petit dejeuner.
Tu presentes Philippe 3 Marie.
Je dine tout de suite.
Elle goOte toujours le dessert.
Je dejeune dans une heure. 10
CHANGING TENSE: PRESENT TO FUTURE
Er nimmt den Kuchen.
1. Sie essen den Apfel.
2. Wir kaufen Gemuse.
3. Ihr trinkt ein Glas Wasser.
4. Sie zahlt die Rechnung.
5. Ich mache nichts.
Er wird den Kuchen nehmen.
6. Du bringst das Obst.
7. Sie tanzt gem.
8. Er isst Nachtisch.
9. Du ubst Trompete.
10. Wir spielen Tennis. 11
In the earlier editions the answers to all these drills were given in the text. In the later editions the answers are presented in the first drills and gradually eliminated as the students progress through the various drills.
Another addition in recent texts favoring the audio-lingual approach has been the increased use of realistic drills. These are also transformation drills. However, they differ from the drills described previously in that they resemble a language exchange that could very well occur in a real language situation.
DIRECTED DRILL
Preguntele al sehor si habla espanol.
Preguntele a la senorita si canta bien.
Preguntele a la sefiora si compra la bolsa.
Preguntele al sehor si toca la guitarra.
Preguntele a la senorita si nada en el mar. 12
DIRECTED DIALOG
Preguntele a Pepe si el esta en la foto.
eEstas en la foto?
Pepe, diga que sf, y a ver si adivina cual es usted.
Sf, a ver si adivinas cual soy yo.
Diga que claro: ese que esta sentado en el sofa.
Claro: ese que esta sentado en el
sofa.
No, ese es Camilio. 13
Pepe, diga que no, que ese es Camilio.
CUED RESPONSE
Was ist das? (Saft)
(Milch)
(Lappen)
(Cafe)
(lllustrierte) 14
Das ist der Saft.
’’Moeller et al. (1970, p. 114). Reprinted by permission.
,2 Schmitt et al. (1972, p. 22). Reprinted by permission.
°From A-LM SPANISH, Level 1, New Second Edition, by Barbara Kaminar de Mujica, and
TRANSLATION DRILL
Although not so commonly used as repetition drills, substitution drills, and the various types of transformation pattern drills previously mentioned, translation drills are used in some texts. The cues are given in the first language, and the students are asked to respond in the second language.
These drills are used to practice structures in which the forms are completely different from the first language. The teacher should be aware that these exercises are still pattern drills. They are not the typical translation exercises of a grammar-translation text. There are only minimal changes from one sentence to the next, and the students are to give automatic responses.
Model
Me gusta el libro.
I like the class.
I like the parties.
I like the school.
I like the teachers.
Students
Me gusta el libro.
Me gusta la clase.
Me gustan las fiestas.
Me gusta la escuela.
Me gustan los profesores.
Application activities Even though the students are approaching a functional ability to use language forms to communicate, audio-lingual proponents are conscious of the students' tendency to create incorrect language forms in spite of the large quantity of drills undertaken to condition new language habits. Therefore, great care is taken to control, as far as possible, what the students may try to say. At this stage the students are beginning to select language responses, but the teacher and the text attempt to keep them within the bounds of their linguistic capabilities in order to avoid language error.
DIALOG ADAPTATION
In this activity, questions are asked about the dialog that require answers directly from the dialog or answers that require only minor changes in the appropriate dialog line.
Johnny: What's your name?
Jane: My name is Jane. What's yours?
Johnny: Mine is Johnny.
Questions based on the dialog structures:
What's your name?
Guillermo Segreda, copyright © 1974 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., and reprinted with their permission.
14 From A-LM GERMAN, Level 1, New Second Edition, by George Winkler, copyright © 1974 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., and reprinted with their permission.
RESPONSE DRILLS: NONDIRECTED ANSWER What time do you get up?
What time do you go to bed?
What time do you eat lunch?
RECOMBINATION NARRATIVES
More difficult than the preceding activities are the recombination narratives. The structures and vocabulary are recombined in short readings. The students should be familiar with all the semantic and syntactical forms in the narrative, but the context is new to them. These recombination narratives give the students an example of how the parts of language are put together in a combined whole. The chief purpose of these narratives is to provide reading practice, but they also serve as the basis for question-and-answer practice over the content.
GUIDED PRESENTATION
However, the time comes when the students must be given more freedom to talk. Guidelines are still maintained, but more freedom of answer is permitted. In many texts, for example, at the end of the unit the students are expected to give very short oral or written reports in which they are to use the vocabulary and structures learned in that unit. By answering the guiding questions, the students can construct short paragraphs. Naturally, these reports become longer and more complex as the semester progresses.
Your Family
What's your name? What are your parents' names? What is the name of your brother? Sister? Where do you live? Where do you go to school? Where does your father work? Where does your mother work?
CON VERSA TION S TIM UL US
You see a new girl in the hall. You walk up to her, introduce yourself, and find out her name and where she lives.
All during the process of building up the students' abilities to the point where they can really use the language, one of the basic principles is to have the students practicing correct forms. Creative use of the language in which incorrect forms might be derived by the students is to be avoided. The students are to be carefully guided in order to be kept from making mistakes. Models are provided for many of the activities. Most of the others guide the students by limiting their answers to structures with which they should be completely familiar.