Second Language Learning and Language Teaching

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1. LISTENING
2. SPEAKING
3. READING
4. WRITING
spoken language
passive
active
passive
active
written language
Figure 13.1 The sequence of the four skills in the audio-lingual method
Of all the styles, the audio-lingual most blatantly reflects a particular set of beliefs
about L2 learning, which is often referred to as ‘habit formation’. Language is a set
of habits, just like driving a car. A habit is learnt by doing it again and again. The
dialogues concentrate on unconscious ‘structures’ rather than the conscious ‘rules’
of the academic style. Instead of trying to understand every word or structure, stu-
dents learn the text more or less by heart. Learning means learning structures and
vocabulary, which together add up to learning the language. Like the academic
style, language is seen more as form than meaning, even if its basis is more in struc-
tural than traditional grammar. Oddly enough, despite its emphasis on the spoken
language, the structures it teaches are predominantly from written language.
The goal of the audio-lingual style is to get the students to ‘behave’ in common
L2 situations, such as the station or the supermarket; it is concerned with the real-
life activities the students are going to face. In one sense it is practical and com-
munication-oriented. The audio-lingual style is not about learning language for
its own sake, but learning it for actual use, either within the society or without.
While the appropriate student type is not defined, the style is not restricted to the

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academically gifted. Indeed, its stress on practice can disadvantage those with an
analytical bias. Nor is the audio-lingual style obviously catering for students of a