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expression of simple generalisations. In other words, the generalisation summed up what had already been practised.

The Audiolingual method enjoyed many years of popularity, and even to this day, adaptations of this method are found in contemporary methodologies. It is one of the methods with a firm theoretical background. Although materials were carefully prepared, tested out, and disseminated to educational institutions, its popularity was not to last forever. When it failed to teach long-term communicative proficiency, its popularity waned. It was discovered that language was not really acąuired through a process of habit formation and over leaming, that errors were not necessarily to be avoided at all costs, and that structural linguistics did not tell everything about language that the leamers needed to know. The influence of behaviouristic theory brought too mechanical character of leaming. It is evident that an extreme mechanical training of stereotyped stractures did not allow and sometimes even held back its transfer to real communicative situations. The phenomenon of creativity disappeared.

2.4.2. The main characteristics ofthe Audiolingual Method

1.    New materiał is presented in dialogue form.

2.    There is dependence on mimicry, memorisation of set phrases, and over leaming (i.e. it is believed that language leaming is habit formation.

3.    Stractures are seąuenced, and taught one at a time.

4.    Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills.

5.    There is little or no grammatical explanation: grammar is taught by inductive analogy rather than deductive explanation.

6.    Skills are seąuenced - listen, speak, read, write.

7.    Vocabulary is strictly limited and leamed in eontext.

8.    Teaching points are determined by contrastive analysis.

9.    There is much use of tapes, language labs, and visual aids.

10.    There is an extended pre-reading period at the beginning of the course.

11.    Great importance is attached to pronunciation, with special attention being paid to intonation.

12.    The cultural background of the target language is stressed.

13.    Some use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted.

14.    Successful respońses are immediately reinforced.

15.    There is a great effort to prevent student errors.

16.    There is a tendency to manipulate language and disregard content.

The Audiolingual method is a method of foreign or second language teaching which (a) emphasises the teaching of speaking and listening before reading and writing, (b) uses dialogues and drills, (ć) discourages use of the mother tongue in the classroom, (d) often makes use of contrastive analysis. The Audiolingual method was prominent in the 195Os and 1960s, especially in the United States, and has been widely used in many other parts ofthe world. The theory behind the Audiolingual method is the aural-oral approach to language teaching, which contains the following beliefs about language and language leaming: (a) speaking and listening are the most basie language skills, (b) each language has its own uniąue structure and rule system, (c) a language is leamed through forming habits. These ideas were based partly on the theory of structural linguistics and partly on behaviourism. (Richards 1992:25)

2.5. Communicative Language Teaching 2.5.1. Background

The term Communicative language teaching became fashionable and freąuently used in the theory of foreign language teaching from the mid-1970s and beginning of 1980s. It is said to be the product of educators and linguists who had grown dissatisfied with the Audiolingual and Grammar-translation methods of foreign language instruction. The Audiolingual method was declared nonviable and sociolinguists (Hymes, Halliday) began speaking and writing about the importance of semantics and

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