Audiolingualism appeared in 1940 -1950 as a response to more traditional teaching methods. It has been associated with Behaviorism (Skinner) in the sense that in both the consequences of the stimuli are more important than the stimuli itself. Now, in the classroom Audiolingualism was carried out by focusing on certain principles, amongst others:
1) Writing is not as important as Speech.
2) Language is composed by habits and routines.
3) The emphasis is given on the language itself, not in the knowledge about the language.
These priniciples follow the idea of L1 language acquisition. For this, we want to teach L2, we have to follow the same steps that the acquisition of L1 follow. This means, that repetition of the target language is essential in the classroom, and that the input should always be delivered in the target language.
Audiolingualism was critisized because some aspects of the language are not the result of mere repetition.
The Cognitive-Code Learning was proposed by Chomsky, and it views the "the learning process as two-way process between the organism and its environment." (Nunan, 2009). The learner is not passive; on the contrary, he is able to interact with the environment. An exmaple of this is that he is given a limited set of rules, and the learner can use his creativity to create an infinite number of sentences. The learner is motivated to discover the rule underlying a structure and to reflect on the knowledge about the language.
It is important to point out that prior knowledge is essential when learning something new as the former must be linked with the latter.
As we discussed in class, there is not only one model which can be applied in all context. We can take elements from different models and plan a lesson according to what we believe is most significant for the students. It is very similar when we have to criticize a model; obviously it has many good aspects, although new models have appeared and have reconceptualised the main ideas. I think that Audiolingualism is right to propose habits and routines. It is a good way to organize yourself and not focus on what will come next, it helps to eliminate affective filter.
ResponderEliminarOn the other hand, Cognitive-Code Learning has based its model on the learner, which makes the process centred in him/her, looking for their needs.
I also think that the Cognitive_Code Learning is more student -centered, which might make learning more long lasting. However, it might be more difficlt for the teacher to reach every student through this method.
ResponderEliminarI think that the most important thing is to know how to use the language and to use it effectively rather than to know a lot about the language, as Audio-lingualism proposes. But I also think that it is very important to know about the language. I think it is necessary to know some language rules in order to apply them when we use the language.
ResponderEliminar