MAIN FEATURES (G. V. ROGOVA)

1. The development of audio lingual skill first, i.e. , listening comprehension and speaking, that is why the methods are called audio lingual. The justification of the priority of spoken language in foreign language learning is found in the observation that a language is first of all a system of sounds. Used for social communication: writing is a secondary derivative system people use for the recording of spoken language. Children normally learn spoken language before they written language. It is though that reading and writing might, at least in the beginning interfere with the development of audio lingual skills;

2. Great care in teaching speaking so that the learner could use they spoken forms as accurately as possible, that is, with native like sentence patterns and pronunciation. For this purpose the student should have some adequate modal of speech preferably in the person of a native or near-native speaker of the language, or in the form of a recorded voice of such a speaker. This is now becoming possible because of modern teaching equipment such as radio, television, language labs and teaching machines.

3. The rejection of translation as the name tool of instruction. All the exercises performed by the students are usually within the target language. The use of the student’s native language is minimized. It is admitted to supply meaning to the student, although, even in this case the target language supported by whatever props, pictorial materials or pontomic gestures, in preferred.

4. Teaching grammar through pattern practice. The grammatical exercises is usually take the form of drills in which the student is asked to substitute words for other words, or to make changes in sentences, e. g. , from singular to plural, from past to present, from active to passive, following the model.

5. Extensive use of “real-life” communication situation for stimulating the student’s language activity. This is done to involve the student in the act of communication in the target language, and in this way to arose his interest in language learning and increase his motivation.

6. the development of reading and writing first using the linguistic material characteristic of written language with the

aim of getting information ( reading) and sending information (writing).

Critics of the audio lingual method would focus mainly on the fact that much the method consists of mechanical drilling. Practice activities tend to be repetitive and boring. More serious is the dangerous that students might produce analogous pattern without realizing what they are saying.

The features of contemporary methods may be illustrated by Voix et images de France (голос и образ Франции) and Fries American English Series. Voix et images de France is a French course which has been worked out by the Research Center is Saint Cloud in France.

The method is known as the Saint Cloud audio visual method. The situations and speech patterns have been carefully selected.

All these are reproduced by native speakers. Students “receive” the material through audio and visual perception, i.e., they see a picture (or a series of picture) on a screen or in the book and listen to the conversation from a tape-recorder. They assimilate the material by the memorizing the language and the situations in which this material can be used. The work takes the student trough the following stages:

1. Receptive stage: the student listens to the conversation 2-3 times and tries to grasp it;

2. Reproductive stage: the student reproduces the phrases and the

sentences said by the speakers.

The method is popular with foreigners who come to France. The course has been created for adult learners. It is an intensive course, i.e., students learn a foreign language for 3-6 months 20-25 hours a week; therefore it can not be utilized in schools.