Taking Effective Strategies to Improve Audiolingual Teaching

By Tang Runguang After carrying out the reform and open policy to the outside world in China, there has appeared first concerned and widespread interest in learning foreign languages for communicative purposes. Chinas entry into the World Trade Organization and Bei ings success in wining the !id to hold the "##$ Olympic %ames indicate that our country has further contri!uted and integrated into the world. &ore and more people are ac'uiring the communicative functions of foreign languages. The atmosphere of learning foreign languages is rising to unprecedented height. There arises intense popular interest in learning foreign language. (specially (nglish craze) (nglish*ma ors now feel a sense of pressing study. They have a sense of competition !ecause of the mar+et demand for (nglish talents. A sense of pressure can ma+e one improved. A recent survey made among the Tourism and Culture College of ,unnan -niversity shows that ./.$0 of the students hope to develop their (nglish communicative a!ility of listening and spea+ing. &uch process has !een made in teaching and learning foreign languages. &uch, !ut not enough. &any learners are ac'uiring good pronunciation and s+ills to spea+ freely !y the Audio*lingual &ethod. The Audio*lingual &ethod or the Aural*oral &ethod of presentation has !ecome commonplace. The Audio*lingual &ethod is good !ecause it wor+s and !ecause it puts theory into practice. The Audio*lingual &ethod emphasizes oral*aural activity. 1t can motivate the students to communicate with each other and develop the students a!ility to listen and spea+. 2ow to conduct an audio*lingual class3 The wor+ consists of two parts4 training of listening comprehension and spo+en language training.

I. Listening Skills Training

A language is that of sounds first and in written form second. The phonetics is the outer form of a language. 1t can perform its function only as a language of sounds. 5istening is as important as spea+ing. Whether or not one has good spo+en (nglish, to a large e6tent, depends on listening. That is, if there is no listening a!ility, there will !e no spo+en (nglish. 7pea+ing cant go without listening. 7ometimes listening is more important than spea+ing. 1f you can listen correctly, you will find it difficult to understand what is said to you. Out of the 'uestion, you cant !egin to tal+ a!out e6pressing yourself. Therefore, it is very important to cultivate the students a!ility through a series of listening s+ills training. There are some general difficulties in listening4 8ifficulty in listening to pronunciation 8ifficulty in distinguishing different sounds The speed of listening cannot +eep up with that of spea+ing &any new words in listening 8ifferences in reading sentences with stresses, sound lin+ing, rhythm and pauses. 91t ma+es the students feel difficult in listing especially in speech current.: 7ome words that have the same pronunciation, !ut different meanings. 9These can
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!e easily confused in the course of conversation to the Chinese.: The pronunciation and speed re'uired !y the communicated situation is often fluent and fast. 7o often appears such a case that the learner understands the first half of the sentence and hasnt enough time to catch the second part. Tips for improvement: 1. To train students to have good pronunciation skills. The training of students pronunciation s+ills consists of strong and wea+ form of words, sound lin+ing, sentence stress, rhythm, sense groups and intonations. 1t is very necessary for students to have a !asic solid training a!ove*mentioned, if they want to listen to (nglish well and to spea+ it fluently. 2. To direct the students to imitate the pronunciation and intonations while listening to the tape-recording or listening to VOA and BB . As for the learner of (nglish as a foreign language, everything !egins with imitation. 1mitation sometimes is dull and dry as dust, !ut it is very important and essential. 7tudents can ac'uire the 7tandard (nglish !y imitation. %reat emphasis should !e laid on sound imitation and sound recognition trough listening. 1f you constantly insist on listening to <=OA> and <BBC> !y imitation, you will gain the 7tandard (nglish. !. The process o" success"ul listening should #e conducted into three stages$ prelistening stage% while-listening stage and post-listening stage. We can call the approach the three*phase classroom procedure. 1n the pre*listening stage the teacher should introduce some +nowledge around the topic and the students get prepared for what the listening will !e. 1n listening stage, the teacher should train students to listen for the ma or points, and train students to understand the main points. 1n post*listening stage, the teacher should encourage students to do wor+ related to the listening content, for e6amples4 'uestions related to the topic, retelling the ma or points, etc. &. 'istening materials should proceed "rom the eas( to the di""icult 1f there are too many new words in listening, the students undou!tedly feel difficult to follow it. The listening materials should !e preceded in an orderly way and to improve students listening a!ility step !y step. <Try to help the shoots grow !y pulling them upwards>, it will only lead to the opposite, and dampen the enthusiasm of the students. When selecting listening materials, as a su! ect teacher, he or she should ta+e the following principles into account4 The level of students comprehension The difficulty degree of the materials The content of the materials 7electing suita!le listening materials is a +ey pro!lem. 5anguage level is the first thing which the teacher should ta+e into account. The listening language should not !e !eyond the level of students comprehension. As for length, the listening materials should !e short. 1n terms of content, it should contain information which is familiar, interesting and thought*provo+ing so that the students feel they can gain something useful from it and really use their listening s+ills to the full. ). To train (our students* listening skills in the process o" listening When people listen, they listen with a purpose. Therefore, it is sometimes 'uite enough for them to grasp the main points. 1ts important for the teacher to direct his
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students not to worry a!out details and help them relieve themselves of the mental !urden of trying to remem!er all while listening. 1n order to improve the listeners a!ility, as a su! ect teacher, you should train your students listening s+ills in the process of listening4 5istening for %ist 5istening for 7pecific 1nformation 5istening for 8etailed 1nformation 1nferring ?ote*ta+ing +. To monitor the listening process 1t is not easy or difficult for a teacher to listen to monitor the process of listening. Therefore, when teacher listening, a teacher needs to detect the pro!lems that his students might encounter, to tac+le his students languages pro!lems. 5istening te6ts or situation are different from one another not only in different topics, !ut in different conte6ts, convey through different media, and uttered !y different spea+ers. 5istening contents can ta+e place in different conte6ts ranging from formal to informal. (6amples of the formal include a speech made !y government official at a conference. (6amples of the informal situations include such as attending a party, etc. 1n terms of medium, listening te6ts can !e delivered through television, radio, loudspea+ers, etc. 7o the listener has to learn how call up the +nowledge of different topics and learn to wor+ out the meaning first. 1t is a pro!lem for a teacher how to monitor the listening process and how to help your students !ecome successful listeners.

II. Spoken Language Training:

5anguage is a means of communication. 5anguage is first and foremost oral, spo+en language. 1t can perform its function only as a language of sounds. 7o pronunciation and intonation are the spirit of spo+en (nglish. 1f ones pronunciation is poor, he or she will not pro!a!ly e6press his meaning clearly and wont understand the meaning of other peoples speech easily. Without a good pronunciation, one cannot !egin to have a conversation freely in (nglish. 7tudents difficulties in spo+en languages can !e classified as follows4 5ac+ of opportunity to spea+ An6iety over ma+ing errors and losing face in front of others ?arrow scope of topics and repetition of low level 5imited voca!ulary Tips for improvement: 1. The teacher*s e""orts should #e directed at teaching his students the #asic "unction and #asic conversation techni,ues. What should we teach our students in oral class3 What are the !asics that should he taught3 What are the !asic functions and conversation techni'ues commonly performed in our everyday communication3 1t is the first pro!lem to !e solved for a teacher, and it is also the first pro!lem to !e taught to our students. A: Function %ive permission &a+e suggestions Complain and apologize %ive instructions
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 As+ for information &a+e re'uests (6press li+es and disli+es 7tate intentions As+ for and give advice As+ for and offer help B: Conversation Techniques 7tart and end a conversation Bring other people in @eeps conservation going Avoided silence 2esitate Chec+ understanding 8raw the attention of others 7how understanding 1nterrupt others As+ for reception or clarification Arevent interruption 2. The teacher*s oral lessen should #e conducted into three stages known as the --model

The !est way of teaching spea+ing the AAA model. What do the three As stand for3 They stand for presentation, practice and production. The procedure of an oral lesson aiming at teaching new language items can !e idealized into three stages +nown as the AAA models. !. Topic-activit(An e""ective wa( o" practicing oral work Topic*!ased activity is an effective way of practicing oral wor+. 7tudents have more opportunities to practice their oral wor+ in this way. They can practice special su! ect or topic with their +nowledge. They can practice from teachers control to free tal+, from accuracy to fluency. Their conversation techni'ues practice and their target languages practice of the special su! ect can !e aimed at 9or can !e target at.: &. .roup work An e""ective wa( o" conducting an oral lesson Advantages: %roup wor+ creates a rela6ed atmosphere of free learning and e6pressing. The students have less psychological pressure when spea+ing in (nglish. %roup wor+ provides a psychologically positive affective climate. 5anguage learning, to a large degree, is an emotional and psychological e6perience. %roup wor+ is a process of discussing. By such a cooperative learning, students attitudes affect each other. Within group wor+, students receive peer encouragement and supportB overcome some difficulties in their e6pressing. %roup wor+ promotes students interaction in spea+ing. The students have a sense of comfort and security, not afraid of losing face. They freely present their +nowledge, show off their a!ilities and s+ills. %roup wor+ initiates students independence. 7tudents feel that learning foreign languages is an en oyment. &eaningful learning arouses students learning desire and interest. The teacher s role in a group !ork is to design learning activities and direct or encourage students active participating" ). A seminar-discussion-#ased approach What is a seminar*discussion*!ased approach3 1t involves dividing the class into groups and ma+ing each of these groups responsi!le for one topic or pro!lem of the te6t. (ach group must discuss thoroughly the topic, and then one mem!er of each group will !e responsi!le for presenting the topic or pro!lem. This usually involves giving a
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summary of the te6t. 1ntensive reading a high level of the audio*lingual teaching. 7eminar, in some degree, is a high level of discussion, a process of high oral proficiency. 1t is an effective way towards teaching of the intensive reading. Advantages: 1t is student*centered and the classroom is very active. 1t leads to a !etter understanding of !oth in depth and in !readth. &ost of students prepare thoroughly for their presentation. 7tudents are highly motivated to do a good o!. 7tudents cooperate e6tremely well with their fellows when this approach is used. The role of the teacher is to clarif# and highlight the main points" +. The teacher*s e""orts should #e directed at ena#ling his students to use /nglish in the classroom 1n the classroom the teacher and the student must conduct their (nglish class as far as possi!le in (nglishB less in Chinese, if need !e, in the mother tongue. We cannot rule out these possi!ilities, !ut we must have a language atmosphere to spea+ (nglish. 1t doesnt mean using (nglish to practice its grammar and voca!ulary, !ut to communicate. 1n order to serve the purpose for use and communication, the teacher training program must !e feasi!le. The good, successful teacher*training programs should !e with some necessary mechanical s+ills and solid practice. The practice of !asic training inside the classroom is the first step. This is !ecause the mechanical s+ills and solid practice are close to those in real situations outside the classroom. This is !ecause the practice of !asic s+ills inside the classroom can !e transferred in later daily life situations. 1n the classroom the teacher*training programs of spo+en language should contain the followings4 practice in ma+ing sentences, 'uestion*and*answer practice, practice in retelling the meaning of te6t, practice in ma+ing summary to the main ideas of the te6ts. Of course, all this must !e on the !asis of reading or reciting the te6t fluently. Classroom teaching should !e aimed at the students practice and application outside the classroom, at helping the students deal with day*to*day life in (nglish. As the students (nglish inside the classroom improves, they will !e a!le to use (nglish to deal with daily life situations. 0. The teacher*s e""orts should #e directed at ena#ling his students to speak /nglish out o" the classroom The training of spo+en language that we want to place on the classroom teaching is very limited. The large amount of training must !e depended on practice outside the classroom. Traditional classroom teaching serves social practice and needs, and in turn the social practice improves the classroom teaching. All +nowledge !egins with practice. A good theory comes to light only after many repetitions of such a process4 from practice to +nowledge and then !ac+ to practice again. Dust thin+ a!out it, if a person ust studies in a room doing nothing a!out spea+ing, can he improve his spo+en language3 A students mastery of a foreign language is not !y how much he +nows a!out it, !ut how well he can use it, how well he can spea+ in pu!lic. 1n class students learn to spea+ in (nglish, and after class, (nglish stops and Chinese starts. Thats no good. Whether they can spea+ in (nglish well depends on practice. There is no panacea. Once the students put their (nglish into use, it comes to communicate. This certainly
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increases their courage and interest of spea+ing (nglish. (ach effort to spea+ for the students as a useful progress and it !uilds up their will power to preserve in spea+ing. As long as they adhere to spea+ing (nglish, they can find out they have already made improvement on what have !een made. As time passes, the students can 'uite unconsciously apply their +nowledge to meeting the demands of what they need to say. 1. 2aintaining dail( e3posure to /nglish listening and speaking% making "re,uent visits to the words in common use. The enhancement of ones oral wor+ depends on many factors. The first factor is the amount of ones daily e6posure to (nglish listening and spea+ing. The general rule is that the more e6posure a person has, the !etter his (nglish will !e. 2is e6posure to (nglish is an input to his learning. 2is use of (nglish is a part of his life. The second factor is the amount of ones voca!ulary. Words are !loc+s of language. (nglish has an enormous spool of voca!ulary. The students do not need to +now them all !ut those that are relevant to their practical purpose. 1n particular they should ma+e fre'uent visits to the words in common use. A !lind spot in audio*lingual teaching4 some students are eager to gain their listening and spea+ing competence without a good mastery of voca!ulary. (nglish voca!ulary not only directly influences the effect of reading, !ut also the effect of listening and spea+ing. =oca!ulary input is a !asis of (nglish learning. 1f there is no a certain amount of voca!ulary as a !ac+up, spo+en (nglish will !e li+e the water without a source. Fuic+ and accurate response to the 'uestion is not easy in communication and it is a long standing pro!lem for many (nglish ma ors. The +ey to develop ones s+ills of listening and spea+ing is to strengthen practical training. There is no other way out. Ac'uiring the a!ility to communicate for ones (nglish re'uires constant practice. The on*and*off wor+ing ha!it is harmful. 1f one falls away from day*to*day practice, he cannot spea+ fluent (nglish. 7o improvement is !ased on practice. 7uccess is decided !y perseverance. All hard wor+ will !e rewarded in the end. After the four*year university course, the (nglish*ma or students are e6pected to !e competent at (nglish in four s+illsGit is not a realistic attitude. There is a gap !etween students language a!ility and the re'uirements of their o!s after graduation. The classroom or the school (nglish plays an important !ridge*role to the outside (nglish.

III. Reform of the Traditional English Teaching

1. 4e"orm o" the intensive reading teaching The traditional teaching mode of the specialized course should !e reformed. The teacher should ta+e strategies to ma+e students en oy classroom teaching and learning activities. (specially the su! ectGthe 1ntensive Heading teaching should !e considered as the first choice to cultivate students spo+en competence. 1ntensive reading generally deals with authors, !ac+ground information, language points, paraphrases, paragraph analysis, etc. ,ou cant say this is important and that is not. We shall !ear in mind that 9or should !e aware of that: the intensive 9cram: teaching or !reed instruction 9force*fed instruction: is helpless, and its efficiency is also poor. 1n 1ntensive Heading should also give the first priority to improve students audio*lingual a!ility. 1ntensive Heading integrates five s+ills into one. 1t has a lot of ways to improve students listening and spea+ing competence. Ior e6ample, retelling the te6t, 'uestions*and* answers practice, summarizing the te6t content, etc.
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1ntensive (nglish Heading is an advanced level of audio*lingual teaching. 1t is not childrens oral wor+. 1t is 'uite different from 5i ,angs <Gcrash oral course. 2. ollege /nglish re"orm College (nglish teaching should !e reformed and improved and should upgrade the application competence, particularly the a!ility of listening and spea+ing. C(T*C is one of the most influential national tests and it has attracted widespread attention and concern around the country. 7ome of its negative impact, e.g., e6cessive focus on the passing rate. The <pass> rate of C(T*C is often used to compare one students level with others and the level of one university with its peers. Thus a teacher whose class fails to secure a high passing rate suffer a great pressure, and even more students who cannot get the certificate of C(T*C or J, are also deprived of future o! opportunities. Teaching for test has !ecome a practical effect across the country. &any e6perts 'uestioned its practical effect. They pointed out that the test has misled teaching and learning and resulted in an e6cessive attention to the test, ignored the nature of a language, its function of communication, and in terms of the aim or o! ective of foreign language teaching is far*reaching. 1t is not a test to evaluate language proficiency, !ut a spreading of test*oriented education. 1n the past, priority was given to reading, and reading C#0 is in its scoring system. ?ow the traditional college (nglish teaching has !een improved. The new sylla!us has given the priority to listening and spea+ing. The weighting of the new college (nglish Band C shows the importance of listening4 listening /E0 in its scoring system. ?evertheless, it is not 'uite enough, far from the nature of teaching, a wea+ness is always a wea+ness, and we should strive to improve in these areas. The focal point of our teaching should shift from grammar*translation method into the audio*lingual method or into the communication approach. The classroom teaching should !e considered as the first choice to cultivate students audio*lingual competence. The teacher and students could ta+e full advantages of the classroom teaching. 5istening and spea+ing*oriented teaching has to !e emphasized. Teachers must spend a larger proportion of their instructional time on the audio*lingual teaching.