Straw methods: clearing up misconceptions about ALM

Abstract

ABSTRACT Much of the ELT literature presents a confused and misleading account of the history of the audiolingual method (ALM) and its theoretical origins. While mistakes are inevitable in research, this paper attempts to show that there is a tendency for the mistakes to create an overly negative ‘strawman’ portrayal of ALM. A pattern of negative associations has been built up over time and this account is so widespread as to be accepted, almost entirely uncritically, in the literature. This paper will attempt to show the numerous differences between the accepted version of ALM and reality. It will also be suggested that ALM has, through selective scholarship, become a ‘straw method’ largely presented in teachers’ resources as a foil for modern ‘enlightened’ teaching approaches.