Audio Lingual Method or The Structural Approach- Meaning, Types of Structure, Procedure of teaching, Principles, Aims, Characteristics, Merits & Demrits

 Audio Lingual Method or The Structural Approach

This approach came into existence in the sixties in Tamil Nadu and was further popularized by Central Institute of English Hyderabad. This approach has found recognition in the schools of Uttar Pradesh under the guidance of the English Language teaching Institute Allahabad.

The structural approach is the result of researches made in the field of teaching English as a foreign language. The American linguists supported this method. They regarded English as a living and evolving thing and not merely as a form of expression. It is also known as "Aural Oral Approach", "Aural Linguistic Approach" and "Structural Approach"

The Aural-Oral Approach means, "teaching a language by giving opportunities to the students to hear and speak the language." 

"Structural approach is a scientific study of the fundamental structures of the English language, their analysis and logical arrangement."-Brewington 

Menon and Patel has defined it as "the structural approach is based on the belief that in the learning of a foreign language, mastery of structures is more important than the acquisition of vocabulary."

The Structural Approach is based on the belief that in the learning of a foreign language, mastery of structure is more important than the acquisition of vocabulary. It is believed that learning through listening and speaking is much suitable to the students. 

Structures are the baste language patterns (there are about 275 of language patterns which constitute the core). Every structure embodies an important grammatical point. Structures are graded in a manner that each structure follows naturally from the one immediately preceding. Drills form an important part of the structural approach.

Types of Structures 

Structures are tools of a language. They should not be confused with sentences Structures had not to have any grammatical background, whereas sentences are grammatical order of words Structures can be divided into following four categories

1. Sentence Patterns: A sentence pattern is a model for sentence, which will be of the same shape and construction although made up of different words. eg. He reads a story. Shut the window. Stand up.

2. Phrase Patterns: Phrase pattern is a group of words which has meaning even without being a sentence. This structure also follows order of words and this order cannot be changed, e.g., on the table, for six years, the old woman.

3. Formulas: Groups of words used regularly on certain occasions are called formulas eg.. Good morning, Excuse me. Thank you.

4. Idiomatic Structures: Groups of words that must be learnt as a whole because it is not always possible to understand the meaning from the knowledge of the separate words are known as idiomatic structures, e.g., inspite of in order to, live form hand to mouth.

Selection of Structures 

Those structures should be selected which have the following characteristics:

1. Usefulness: Usefulness of a structure depends on how frequently it occurs in spoken and written form and how far it provides for the further building up of the language

2. Simplicity: The simplicity of a structure depends on its form and meaning. 

3. Teachability: It is easy to teach structures that are easily demonstrated in a realistic situation rather than those structures, which are abstract and cannot be demonstrated. 

4. Surrender Value: When one structure leads to another, it is said to chair This way one item can be correlated with the other. have a surrender value. For example, this is a chair and this is the leg of the

5. Structures should be up to the level of the learner's age

6. They should be upto the level of the learner's capacity to learn. 

Procedure of Teaching

In this approach, every structure is taught separately Steps can be as under :

(i) First of all, presentation of item is made in appropriate situations by the teacher.

(ii) Practising of oral drill by the student of these situations.

(iii) Presentation of the item in some new situations.

(iv) Oral drill by the students of situations which were created in the third step.

(v) Overall Drill.

Principles of Structural Approach

According to F.L. French the three principles of structural approach are :

(i) Importance of the child's activity rather than the activity of the teacher.

(ii) Importance of speech for firmly fixing word as speech is the basis of acquiring other skills like reading and writing.

(iii) Importance of language habit formation because it helps to arrange words in suitable English sentence pattern in order to replace the sentence pattern of the child's mother tongue.

Besides this some other principles should be followed : 

(i) Mastery of structures,

(ii) Meaningful situation, 

(iii)Use of text books, and

(iv) Method and situation of teaching.

Aims of Structural Approach 

Aims of Structural Approach are as follows:

(i) To lay the foundation of English through drill and repetition of about 275 graded structures.

(ii) To enable the children to attain mastery over an essential vocabulary of about 3000 root words for active use. 

(iii) To correlate the teaching of grammar and composition with the reading lessons.

(iv) To teach the four fundamental skills namely understanding, speaking, reading and writing.

Characteristics of Structural Approach 

Characteristics of Structural Approach are as follows

(1) It is very important in forming language habits.

(ii) It is important for the speaking point of view. Structures are presented orally and the students practice them through a number of oral drills, then reading and writing skills are introduced.

(iii) Practice of structural approach makes pupils active.

(iv) The approach involves selection and grading of structures to be taught, the difficult and complex structures are taken up at a later stage

(v) It is a multi-skill approach. It aims at achieving the four fold linguistic aims of teaching English.

Merits of Structural Approach

Main merits of structural approach are as follows:

(i) It facilitates the learning of English by imparting the knowledge of its structures.

(ii) It creates appropriate environment for learning the language.

(iii) Due to much oral drilling, whatever is learnt in the class, remains stable in their mind.

(iv) It develops and improves speech habits of students.

(v) This is an interesting method of teaching English because teaching aids are used which motivate the students and they learn English easily.

(vi) This method enables to make proper selection and gradation of the learning material.

(vii) It encourages students for free exposition or expression of thoughts.

(viii) The four pillars of language learning-listening, reading, writing and speaking are accomplished by this method.

(ix) This approach is useful in teaching of prose and poetry.

(x) It is based on scientific principle. The work of the teacher is systematic which amounts to 'economy of efforts'.

Demerits/Limitations

Limitations of this methods are as follows

(i) This approach is more suitable for lower classes because at higher level, the students feel bored by repetition of drills. 

(ii)This approach is material-centered, while the modern concept of education gives emphasis on child-centered education and activities. 

(iii) Selection and gradation of structure do not help to eradicate the problems of English.

(iv) This approach is not suitable for teaching text books prescribed in curriculum.

(v) This method minimizes language learning because entire language can not be learnt by mutation and repetition.

(vi) This method is not suitable for teaching prose, poetry, grammar and pronunciation.

(vii) It tends to overlook the linguistic habits already formed while learning the mother tongue.

(viii) Only well-graded and well-selected structure pattern can be taught through this approach.

Linguistic Approach

 Linguistic Approach

During the second world war, the problem of teaching foreign languages and English as a foreign language for full communication was faced adequately. This gave rise to a new approach known as the linguistic approach or Lingua method Linguists insist on the imitation and memorization of basic conversational sentences as spoken by native speaker. They also provided the descriptions or the distinctive elements of intonation pronunciation, morphology and syntax that constitute the structures of the language which gradually emerges as one masters the basic sentences and variations. The powerful idea of patterns; practice was developed because patterns rather than individual sentences particularly can be transferred from the native language.

The subject-matter of this approach contains:

(i) Basic conversational sentences for memorization.

(ii) Structural notes to help the students perceive and produce the stream of speech and sentence patterns of the foreign language.

(iii) Pattern practice exercise to establish patterns as habits

(iv) Laboratory material for oral aural practice out of class

(v) Opportunity for use of the language in communication rather than in translation.

Thus, this method limits itself to the working knowledge of a language and it is easier to learn in this way since one has not to go through intricacies. It is also easier since it needs minimum labour and saves so many technicalities. Besides this, it makes use of the latest technical devices in language teaching.

Communicative Approach- Characteristics, Advantages & Disadvantages

Communicative Approach

The educationists have seen and analysed shortcomings in the previously adopted methods and approaches and worked at introducing and developing a new method or approach suitable for teaching English in Indian conditions. Their activities resulted in the origin of a new approach named as communicative approach. It lays emphasis on the practical or user aspect of the language. It enables the students to communicate their ideas freely in and outside the class-room. This approach came into being as a result of realisation that with rapid development and industrialisation, the Indian people have to increasingly interact with the world and a method was needed to help to bridge the gap. As the basic purpose of a language is to impact ability to communicate one's ideas, notion, needs and feelings. This approach aims at communicative competence, including linguistic competence and ability to use the language appropriately.

Characteristics 

The main characteristics of this approach are as follows:

(i) It is based on the principles of use, communication and practice' in real situations. A situation can be un-predictable, varied and spontaneous.

(ii) It is based on the need analysts and looks forward to plan new kinds of syllabus and curriculum.

(iii) It is based on the old maxim of simple to complex and concrete to abstract, in which the simpler exercises are put at first followed and receiving the complex ones for a later stage. The progress is based on the performance requirement and not on the grasp of grammar or vocabulary.

(iv) It lays stress on the use of language rather than in its structures.

(v) It also lays stress on the semantic value of the language, it was means, to understand the meaning of vocabulary in real life situations.

(vi) The students are provided enough opportunities to communicate with the help of dialogues debates, discussions, dramas and other class-room activities.

(vii) It is an integrative approach which takes care of the four objectives of language learning.

(viii) It is a student centerd approach and puts the student in the core of the learning process.

Thus it is different from the traditional approaches of teaching English as it aims at the competence of the students in real life situations and results in development.

Advantages 

This approach has the following advantages

(i) This approach enables the students to communicate their ideas, feelings and thinking in a logical manner.

(ii) It develops the speech ability in the students.

(iii) Difficult and complex concepts can be taught through this approach. 

(iv) It is presented in such a way that the learner commits minimum errors.

(v) Diagnosis and remediation is also provided to the weak students.

(vi) It is based on the functional utility of the language.

Disadvantages 

The disadvantages of the communicate approach can be numerated as follows:

(i) This is a new approach and yet to be tested in language learning.

(ii) It ignores grammar and structures of language.

(iii) It requires trained teachers to teach with this approach. Teachers should have mastery over speech factor of the language.

(iv) It has not yet been fully implemented anywhere and its result is still quite ambiguous. It can be said that, though being a good approach it needs experimentation in the real life situations. It would need proper training of teachers and development of adequate and suitable training aids need to be effective.