ComparisonandContrastbetweentheAudiolingualMethodandTotalPhysicalResponsetoEnglishLanguageTeaching

Abstract： To teach English， various approaches and methods have aroused wide concerns for many years. This article attempts to discuss similarities and differences between the Audiolingual Method and Total Physical Response（TPR）from the aspects that are the theories of both language and learning， and the roles of learners and the teacher. At the same time， it tries to show the strengths and limitations of these two methods， and further explores fitted teaching contexts of the Audiolingual Method and TPR.

Key words： the Audiolingual Method， TPR， language teaching

1 Introduction

Today， an increasingly vital role is given to English Language Teaching （ELT） for promoting frequent international communication， business and economic integration. Additionally， ELT has been attracting much attention to a great number of teachers and researchers， who attempt to probe into more productive English pedagogical methods and approaches. It is also pointed out that language teaching methods and approaches have their own distinctive theories. This essay， based on the Audiolingual Method and TPR， aims to explore similarities and differences of the two methods in terms of their underlying theoretical bases and characteristics， thereby defining for which group of learners they are suitable.

2 Similarities and differences of the Audiolingual Method and TPR

The Audiolingual Method is such a methodology which combines pronunciation with intensive oral drillings of sentence patterns. Its procedures are as follows. A model dialogue is firstly presented to students. Then each line of the dialogue will be repeated by students， individually and in chorus. Sentences in each line may be broken down into some words or phrases if necessary. Next， pronunciation， intonation， and fluency will further be emphasized by the teacher. Correction of errors of pronunciation or grammar needs to be direct and immediate. By contrast， TPR is built upon the combination of speech and action， which concentrates on teaching language via physical activity. Learners are required to follow a series of commands and then to respond physically before they start to produce verbal responses （Richards & Rodgers， 2001）. At the beginning of learning phase， the occurrence of errors can be allowed. Along with deepening language knowledge， the teacher should increasingly intervene and correct leaners mistakes so that more fine-tuned expressions can be produced by learners（Wei， 2014）.To be more specific， this chapter will be divided into three parts that are the theory of language， the theory of learning and roles that learners and teachers should play.

2.1 The theory of language

When it comes to the theory of language， the Audiolingual Method and TPR have their own features. Structural linguistics has influenced the Audiolingual Method， which has been put forward by American linguists in the 1950s.The Audiolingual Method displays several essential characteristics which distinguish from those of TPR. For example， elements in a language are linearly produced in a rule-governed way. In addition， language samples can be described at any structural level （phonetic， phonemic， and morphological）. Furthermore， language learning is regarded as a rigorous system in which pyramidal structured can be found that phonemic system leads to morphemic and these lead to phrases， clauses and sentences. However， TPR has been proposed by James Asher who notes that second language learning is similar to child first language acquisition （Richards & Rodgers， 2001）. Concretely speaking， the fact is that during the process of first language learning， babies are likely to respond to speech by motor responses who cannot speak out until sufficient vocabulary items and sentence structures for listening comprehension are accumulated （Tian， 2014）. Likewise， Asher claims that second language acquisition is a parallel process. In accordance with the theoretical basis， it is discussed that a large proportion of grammatical structures and words of the target language can be learnt from the skillful application of the imperative by the teacher （Richards & Rodgers， 2001）.

2.2 The theory of learning

The learning theory of the Audiolingual Method is based on behavioral psychology （Richards & Rodgers， 2001）. To behaviorists， a stimulus can be elicited to trigger a response. Accordingly， some kind of reinforcement then can be produced by the response （Bowen， n.d.）. In other words， in order to achieve language learning， learners should respond to a stimulus in correct ways and be positively reinforced （Hall， 2011）.Similarly， TPR is also regarded a stimulus-response view as the learning theory， which is moreover connected with the trace theory of memory in psychology （Richards& Rodgers， 2001）. It is stated that language is seen as echoing extrinsic stimuli that naturally produce responses. Physical responses are the impressive trace in memory （Wei， 2014）. The more intensively a memory association is tracked， and the more possible it will be recalled （Richards& Rodgers， 2001）.

2.3 The roles of learners and the teacher

To the Audiolingual Method， learners are like being treated as passive receptacles of language knowledge， and respond to stimuli and hardly have the opportunity to control the content， pace or style of learning （Richards & Rodgers， 2001）.Learners almost completely rely on mechanical mimicry， and memorization of a set of phrases （Brown， 2006）， and they are encouraged and supported by positive reinforcement through constant repetitions of correct words， phrases and sentences （Hamer， 2007）， who also do not always have to understand the meaning of what they repeat （Richards & Rodgers， 2001）. With respect to TPR， learners are the main listeners and performers. They receive comprehensible input and should not be made to feel self-conscious and are encouraged to speak when they are ready to speak （Richards & Rodgers， 2001）.

The teachers role in the Audiolingual Method is key and active. It should be a teacher-dominated way. They control the content， pace of learning and supervise learners performance （Richards & Rodgers， 2001）. Little mother tongue is allowed to apply to this method （Brown， 2006）. Likewise， the teacher plays active and direct role in TPR. Moreover， the instructor decides what to teach， who models and presents the new materials. （Richards & Rodgers， 2001）

3 Advantages and limitations of the Audiolingual Method and TPR

The Audiolingual Method has a great effect on learners and teachers. As for its advantages， firstly， great significance is attached to pronunciation. It is productive for learners to improve stress， rhythm， intonation， fluency and accuracy. Secondly， it enables learners to learn from the mistakes via being corrected by the teacher. Admittedly， there are several disadvantages. First of all， it is a process of mechanical habit formation and neglects the real circumstance outside of the classroom. Language acquisition， however， is primarily a result of mental process rather than habit formation when learners produce speech. Therefore， it is not realistic for learners to have a better communication with others through this training. Moreover， the constant repetitions and drillings may be boring and unsatisfactory， which may not be a suitable and effective way for learners to study for a long time.

TPR also has its limitations. It seems that learners are accessible to limited number of words， phrases or sentences in the classroom. Nonetheless，TPR does not force students to speak until they are ready to speak， and students can be easy to feel more comfortable in a relatively stress-free learning environment.

4 Conclusion and implications

In the final analysis， the Audiolingual Method and TPR have been in vogue for a period of time. These two methods have contributed substantially to ELT. Although today the Audiolingual method is seldom applied to ELT as a systematic method， yet it is valuable for drill-based activities， dialogue-building and the emphasis on practice. Thus it is helpful for limited English proficient learners， and relatively less helpful for advanced learners. Accordingly， TPR places a premium on comprehensible input and stress mitigation on acquiring target language. Its characteristics are beneficial to the learners at the beginner level， especially for young learners. Clearly， effective teaching is expected to be mixed with several methods and approaches. These two methods are just a set of techniques and can be compatible with others so that productive teaching finally will be achieved.

References：

[1] Brown， H. D. Principles of language learning and teaching[M]. New York： Longman， 2006.

[2] Richards， J.， & Rodgers， T. Approaches and methods in language teaching[M]. New York： Cambridge University Press， 2001.

[3] Harmer， J. The practice of English language teaching[M]. Harlow： Longman， 2007.

[4] Hall， G. Exploring English language teaching： language in action[M]. New York： Routledge，2011.

[5] Tian， D.J. The implementation of Total Physical Response in college English classrooms[J]. Overseas English， 2014：61-62.

[6] Wei， W. Brief analysis of Total Physical Response teaching method in second language teaching classrooms[J]. Journal of Tongling College， 2014， （4）：124-125.

[7] Bowen， T. （n.d.）. Teaching approaches： what is audiolingualism？ Retrieved September 10， 2011， from， http：//www.onestopengish.com/section.asp？docid=146488.

作者简介：

田雯（1988～ ），女，贵州贵阳人，助教，碩士，英国约克大学对外英语教学，主要研究方向为对外英语教学。