Audio Lingual method and cognitive code approach are the processes of learning.

Both Audio
Lingual and Cognitive Approach deal with a language, especially a foreign language. This
assignment shall compare and contrast the audio lingual method to the cognitive code
approach.They both evolve learning by listening and speaking as well as using drills. They both
teach the language using the sequence Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (LSRW).

Audio lingual concentrate on listening, speaking and pronunciation. It was primarily an oral-
based methods. The audio lingual method based on behaviorist principals. The focus is on
accuracy and the long term goal is fluency in a certain language. Teachers introduce drill
practices; For example repetition, imitation, substitution, transformation, extension and
contraction (Rodgers, Rechards 78).

In cognitive we deal with both content and process of the language while audio lingual deals with
the production of sounds.

There is mechanical learning in audio lingual, drill consolidate and eliminate errors. The drills
includes ripple drills, substitution, choral and repetitive drill which forms habit formation. Forms
are emphasized at the expense of meaning.

But in Cognitive Code Approach, learning starts with giving rules and explanation before
teaching language through deductive approach. The learner is at center stage; the teacher,
educator, or instructor becomes a facilitator of learning, carrying the task of adapting the newly
learned foreign language structures to the needs of learners.

Cognitive theory acknowledges the role of mistakes; therefore, a cognitive-minded foreign

language teacher makes learners aware of the rules and should encourage students to create
correct structures in applying the rules.

The theory attaches more importance to the learner's understanding of the structure of the foreign
language than to the facility in using that structure

Cognitively- minded foreign language teachers pay attention to assimilation: assimilation of what
has already been learnt or partly learnt since how new rules are presented is important.

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 There is a fundamental relationship between language and culture. Foreign Language is at the
heart of language teaching and learning. The way the teachers teach language reflects the way
how much they have mastered and understood the target language as a profession.

In Cognitive Theory, language practice drills are employed to train learners to talk and to help
them master the basic structural patterns of the target language. This encourages language
competency whereas in audio lingual does not encourage language competency.

The Audio Lingual Method emphasizes on active and simply practice and not on mental strain on
the pupils while in cognitive code approach it is an overload on the part of the learners.

Learners are allowed to make errors as they learn a language in Cognitive Approach while in
Audio Lingual errors are not allowed as the learners memorize what the teacher say as they learn
through drills.

Principles of Audio-lingual method shows that Language is speech and not writing. This implies
that the emphasis is on correct intonation. Listening and speaking should be taught before reading
and writing. It should be realistic and situational from the start. The mastery of oral skills should
precede reading and writing which will act as reinforcements. The Language is a set of habit.
Learning is controlled through behavior. It teaches the language not about the language.
Instructions are given in the target language. Language forms occur within a context. Students’
native language interferes as little as possible with the students’ attempts to acquire the target
language.

Teaching is directed to provide students with a native-speaker-like model. Analogy provides a

better foundation for language learning than analysis. Errors are carefully avoided because they
lead to the formation of bad habits. Positive reinforcement helps the student to develop correct
habits. Students are encouraged to learn to respond to both verbal and nonverbal stimuli. The
teacher is regarded as an orchestra leader-conducting, guiding and controlling the students’
behavior in the target language. Learning a foreign language is treated on par with the native
language learning. A comparison between the native language and the target language is supposed
to help teachers to find the areas with which their students probably experience difficulty: this is
expected to help students to overcome the habit of the native language.

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 According to Chomsky, N. (1959). “The Language is not seen separated from culture. Culture is
the everyday behavior of people who use the target language.” One of the teachers’
responsibilities is to present information about that culture in context. The Students are taken to
be the imitators of the teacher’s model or the tapes. The dialogue is the chief means of presenting
vocabulary, structures and it is learned through repetition and imitation. Mimicry, memorization
and pattern drills are the practice techniques that are emphasized. Most of the interaction is
between the teacher and the learner and it is imitated by the learner. Listening and speaking are
given priority in language teaching, and they precede reading and writing. Correct pronunciation,
stress, rhythm and intonation are emphasized. The meanings of the words are derived in a
linguistic and cultural context and not in isolation. Students should be able to figure out the
speaker’s or writer’s intentions. The target language is the vehicle for classroom communication.

One function may have many different linguistic forms. Opportunities should be given to students
to express their ideas and opinions. Errors are seen as the natural outcome of the development of
communication skills. Fluency is much more important than accuracy. Creating situations to
promote communication is one of the teacher’s responsibilities. The social context of the
communicative events is essential in giving meaning to the utterances. The teacher acts as an
advisor during communicative activity, a facilitator of students’ learning, a manager of classroom
activity, or a co-communicator. When communicating, a speaker has a choice about
what to say and how to say it.

The students are communicators and are actively engaged in negotiating meaning. Language is
used a great deal through communicative activities such as games, role-play, problem solving.
Communicative activities have three features: information gap, choice and feedback. In the audio-
lingual method, the teacher’s role is central and active; it is a teacher-dominated method. The
teacher models the target language, controls the direction and pace of learning, and monitors and
corrects the learners’ performance. Language learning is seen to result from active verbal
interaction between the teachers and learners.

Although the cognitive approach is not a method in the sense of a "specific instructional
design or system" (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p. 245), cognitive theory does suggest
certain learning activities and principles. Many of these activities have been commonly

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 used in foreign language classrooms and textbooks since the 1970s. Among them are the
following:

All learning must be meaningful to the learner. When presenting grammar concepts, for
example, cognitive code theorists suggest that the teacher give explicit grammar
explanations accompanied by multiple examples to facilitate understanding. Chastain
(1971) insisted that grammar be taught deductively, with explanations of rules preceding
examples of their usage; Carroll (1971), however, maintained that "it hardly matters
whether one starts with the rule or the example, as long as this alternation [between rules
and example] exists" (p. 112).In order to develop automaticity in language use, students
need extensive practice using language skills. Often this practice is organized so as to
progress from highly structured to more open-ended activities (Rivers, 1981).

In as much as language use involves the application of a complex system of rules, students
need opportunities to apply these rules to express their own meanings in communicative
situations. In addition, students need feedback on their language use to help them
understand how to apply rules more effectively (Hadley, 2001).New material should be
sequenced in such a way that it can be integrated with students' previous knowledge. It
should also be reviewed periodically (McLaughlin, 1987).

Teachers can facilitate reading and listening comprehension by conducting pre-reading or

pre-listening activities that help activate students' background knowledge about the topic of
the text (Hadley, 2001).Students can benefit from instruction in language learning
strategies, including metacognitive strategies that help them plan, organize, and monitor
their learning. (McLaughlin, 1987; Oxford, 1990).

Finally, cognitive code approach has been compared and contrasted in many ways with
Audio-lingual Method .They both deal with how a learner learns the language which
enables them to have effective communication in their everyday life.

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 References

Carroll, J. B. (1971). Current issues in psycholinguistics and second language

teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 5, 101-114.

Chastain, K. (1971). The development of modern-language skills: theory to

practice. Philadelphia: Center for Curriculum Development.

Chomsky, N. (1959). A review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior. Language, 35, 26-58.

Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hadley, A. O. (2001). Teaching language in context (3rd ed.). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

Lightbown, P. M. (1985). Great expectations: Second-language acquisition research and

classroom teaching. Applied Linguistics, 6, 153-189.

McLaughlin, B. (1987). Theories of second-language learning. London: Edward Arnold.

Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language

teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rivers, W. M. (1981). Teaching foreign-language skills. Chicago: University of Chicago

Press.

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