CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAME WORK

A. Speaking

According to the 2006 English Curriculum and its supplement, the

emphasis of the curriculum is that the students are able to communicate in English

by mastering the whole skills.1 However, it is not easy to master all the skills;

there must be one important skill that covers the whole skills. Based on the

statement above speaking is the most important skill that should be mastered by

students in order to communicate in English fluently.

Speaking skill ensures the language learners to be able to communicate

actively in a target language. Thus, one’s eloquence in using a target language

orally is greatly determined by how well he or she learns speaking skills.

However, learning speaking is no easy task, let alone teaching it. Students often

encounter many problems. Confidence and being afraid of making mistakes are

two of the greatest psychological barriers that hold the learners back from

advancing in their study. Students tend to have fears before larger groups. This

happens especially in a culture that people tend to use other people’s weaknesses

as laughing matter.
1
Curriculum

7
 8

Although students are able to overcome this problem, adjusting their speech

to different situations, seem to be the problem of the more advanced learners.

Therefore, the language teachers should call for cultural learning to engage in the

learning of speaking. Many language learners I interview claim that the lack of

vocabularies obstructs them from producing a good speaking skill. These are the

most problem found in most language learners that urge an immediate solvency.

Building up confidence should be the first step a good language teacher

does to the learners. The teacher should be able to identify each learner’s

problems. This is a matter of constructing a mindset and a friendly atmosphere in

the classroom that speaking is a fun activity and that it is easy. Teachers should be

able to convince the students that speaking fears are common and that it happens

to everyone. This especially is effective to those who are new to language

learning. When they are advanced enough, the focus of the teaching should be

about how to develop what they have acquired

According to M. Solahudin in his book speaking is, “Kemampuan

berbicara dengan bahasa Inggris dan pembicaraan kita dipahami oleh orang

lain.”2 In order to express his or her needs, ideas, feeling and thought in real

communication, one must be able to ask as well as answer questions.

When you know a language, you can speak and be understood by others

who know that language. This mean we have capacity to produce sound that
2
M. Solahudin, Kiat-Kiat Praktis Belajar Speaking. Diva Press, 2008, p. 16
 9

signify certain meaning and to understand or interpret the sound produced by

others.3

According to Nunan, interactional speech is more fluid and unpredictable

than transactional speech. Speaking activities inside the classroom need to

embody both interactional and transactional purposes, since language learners

will have to speak the target language in both transactional and interactional

settings.4

Based on that statements we conclude that one of important aspects in

speaking is there is a communication or interacting between the speaker and

listener. So it will make the good attraction / understanding about the object of

topic.

Speaking is an activity used by someone to communicate with other. It

takes place very where and has become part of our daily activities. When

someone speaks, he or she interacts and uses the language to express his or her

ideas, feeling and thought. He or she also shares information to other trough

communication. Communication involves at least two people where both sender

and receiver need to communicate to exchange information, ideas, opinions,

views, or feelings.

There three factors when we make communication :

3
Hyams,Rodman,Fromkin, An Introduction to Language (USA, Wadsworth, Thomson, 2003), p. 4
4
Nunan David, Practical English Language Teaching, (New York, The Mc Graw Hill Companies,
2003), p. 56
 10

a. Clarity

It means that the words that the speakers use, must be clear, so that

listeners can understand what the speaker says. Here, the speaker must

consider speed and volume. The speed at which you speak is relevant her.

If you speak quickly, listeners may have difficulty. The volume with

which you speak can also have a bearing. Speak out and do not mumble.

Your words have to be loud enough to reach all your listeners.

b. Variety

Here the speakers must try to vary way of speaking such as pitch

(rise and fall of voice), emphasis, speed, variation, volume and pause. The

speaker is expected to fine variation in saying words do not speak

monotonously.

c. Audience and Tone

The way you speak and the tone you use will be affected by

audience to whom you are speaking. If you are discussing something with

your friends. You are likely to use informal conversational tone. If you are

giving a talk to a group of thirty people. It likely that you would speak more

formally and would raise the pitch and the volume of your voice in order to

make sure that what you say reaches all of your listeners. If you were telling
 11

a comic story, you would speak differently from way you would if you were

putting a point of view about which you felt strongly.

In a process of speaking, a speaker has a concept of thinking to express

what he wants to say. It means that he would have sufficient vocabulary in his

mind and have good understanding of the structure of the language. To convey

his ideas and meanings in a certain situation he has to use appropriate pattern and

choose the correct words that fit into it.

In other word, we have to understand about the topic that we want to

speak about. We cannot make a conversation if we do not understand about the

topic. If we still want to speak without any understanding about the topic, which

would make people we want speak to confused. In speaking activities, teachers

must consider what they need to formulate the topic of study. Teachers have to

prepare type topic which will be submitted so that student can follow activity of

learning talk with good as according to goals from study, also student earn is each

other observation of form of conversation of what take place, and can evaluate.

B. Audio Lingual Method

The audio lingual method was developed in the United States during the

World War II as the combination of structural linguist theory, contrastive anylisis,

aural-oral procedures and behaviorist psychologhy. Audiolingual repetition drills

were designed to familiarize students with sounds and structural paterns of the
 12

target language (the language which learners are aiming to learn). Learners

supposedly learned to speak by practicing grammatical structures and then later

using them in conversation. So, an audilingual speaking lesson might involve an

interaction.

The concept of habit formation, of behaviorsm, is the theoretical basis of

the audiolingual method. Since learners needed to form good habits, lessons

involved a great deal off repetition. Students were not supposed to form bad

habits, so teacher treated spoken error quickly.

The writer may infer that the audio lingual method spends a great deal of

time of teaching-learning activities on the oral skills and habit-formation.

Stimulus, correct response and reward that are occured again and again in the

teaching-learning activities form the students’ habit, the more frequently these

happen, the stronger the habit become.

b.1. Theory of Learning

The language teaching theoreticians and methodologists who

developed Audiolingualism not only had a convincing and powerful theory

of language to draw upon but they were also working in a period when a

prominent school of American psychology - known as behavioral

psychology - claimed to have tapped the secrets of all human learning,

including language learning. Behaviorism, like structural linguistics, is

 13

another ant mentalist, empirically based approach to the study of human

behavior. To the behaviorist, the human being is an organism capable of a

wide repertoire of behaviors. The occurrence of these behaviors is dependent

upon three crucial elements in learning: a stimulus, which serves to elicit

behavior; a response triggered by a stimulus; and reinforcement which serves

to mark the response as being appropriate (or inappropriate) and encourages

the repetition (or suppression) of the response in the future (see Skinner

1957; Brown 1980).5

The quotations above mean that Audio-Lingual Method is a method

in teaching language to improve student language competent as the language

behavior, in mastering spoken language student must do more practice by

doin oral drill and pattern practice, because that the structure of behavior in

stimulation own of student. And the most important the method carried with

structural lingustic and behaviour psychology.

Language is primarily speech in audio lingual theory, but speaking

skills are themselves dependent upon the ability to accurately perceive and

produce the major phonological features of the target language, fluency in

the use of the key grammatical patterns in the language and knowledge of

sufficient vocabulary to use with these patterns.

5
Richard. J and Rodgers, Approaches and Method in Language Teaching, (UK, Cambridge University
Press, 1986), p. 50
 14

Basically that all be based on learning process as it is by change

people emotional and behavioral responses. Where the teacher as the

stimulation which to prove behavior of the learner, and the students as the

responses of the stimulation, that is the way how to create a feedback on

student and teacher.

Out of these various influences emerged a number of learning

principles, which became the psychological foundations of Audiolingualism

and came to shape its methodological practices. Among the more central are

the following:

1. Foreign language learning is basically a process of mechanical habit

formation. Good habits are formed by giving correct responses rather

than by making mistakes. By memorizing dialogues and performing

pattern drills the chances of producing mistakes are minimized.

Language is verbal behavior - that is, the automatic production and

comprehension of utterances - and can be learned by inducing the

students to do likewise.

2. Language skills are learned more effectively if the items to be learned

in the target language are presented in spoken form before they are

seen in written form. Aural-oral training is needed to provide the

foundation for the development of other language skills.

 15

3. Analogy provides a better foundation for langu age learning than

analysis. Analogy involves the processes of generalization and

discrimination. Explanations of rules are therefore not given until

students have practiced a pattern in a variety of contexts and arc

thought to have acquired a perception of the analogies involved.

Drills can enable learners to form correct analogies. Hence the

approach to the teaching of grammar is essentially inductive rather

than deductive.

4. The meanings that the words of a language have for the native

speaker can be learned only in a linguistic and cultural context and

not in isolation. Teaching a language thus involves teaching aspects

of the cultural sysrem of the people who speak rhe language (Rivers

1964: 19-22).6

b. 2 Types of Learning and Teaching Activities

Dialogues and drills form the basis of audio-lingual classroom

practices. Dialogues provide the means of contextualizing key structures and

illustrate situations in which structures might be used as well as some

cultural aspects of the target language. Dialogues are used for repetition and

memorization Correct pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation are

6
Ibid, p. 51
 16

emphasized. After a diaogue has been presented and memorized, specific

gramatical patern in dialogue are selected and become the focus of varios

kinds of drill and pattern practice exercise.

The use of drills and pattern practice is a distinctive feature of the

Audiolingual Method. Various kinds of drills are used. includes the

following:

1. Repetition. The student repeats an utterance aloud as soon as he has

heard it. He does this without looking at a printed text. The

utterance must be brief enough to be retained by the ear. Sound is as

important as form and order

2. Inflectional. One word in an utterance appears in another form when

repeated.

3. Replacement. One word in an utterance is repla ced by another.

4. Restatement. The student rephrases an utterance and addresses it to

someone else, according to instructions.

5. Completion. The student hears an utterance that is complete except

for one word, then repeats the utterance in completed form.

6. Transposition. A change in word order is necessary when a word is

added.
 17

7. Expansion. When a word is added it takes a cenain place in the

sequence.

8. Contraction. A single word stands for a ph rase or clause.

9. Transformation. A sentence is transformed by being made negative

or interrogative or through changes in tense, mood, voice, aspect, or

modality.

10. Integration. Two separate utterances are integrated into one.

11. Rejoinder. The student makes an appropriate rejoinder to 3 given

utterance.

12. Restoration. The student is given a sequence of words that have

been culled from a sentence but still bear its basic meaning. He uses

these words with a minimum of changes and additions to restore the

sentence to its original form. He may be told whether the time is

present, past, or future.

b. 3 Principle of Audio Lingual

According to William, proclaimed the linguistic principle on which

language teaching methodology should be base: “Language is speech, not

writing... A language is a set of habits... Teach the language, not about the
 18

language... A language is what is native speakers say, no what someone

thinks they ought to say....languages are different.”7

The principle of audiolingual in learning are follow:

a. Foreign language learning is basically a process of mechanical habit

formation.

b. Spoken form before they are seen in written form.

c. Analogy provide better than analysis.

d. A linguistic and cultural context and not in isolation.8

State the main principles of Audio lingual method are:

1. Language forms do not occur by themselves; they occur most

naturally within a context.

2. One of the language teacher's major roles is that of a model of the

target language.

3. Language learning is a process of habit formation.

4. It is important to prevent learners from making errors. Errors lead to

the formation of bad habits.

5. Positive reinforcement helps the students to develop correct habits.

6. Students should 'overlearn,' i.e. learn to answer automatically without

stopping to think.

7
Ibid., p. 53
8
Ibid, h. 51
 19

7. Students should acquire the structural patterns; students will learn

vocabulary afterward.

8. The learning of a foreign language should be the same as the

acquisition of the native language.

9. Speech is more basic to language than the written form. The 'natural

order’ of skill acquisition is: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

10. Language cannot be separated from culture. Culture is the everyday

behavior of the people who use the target language.

C. The Technique of English Teaching

Teaching of English for learner using many ways, for example though

reading a source of book, listening by media or narative speaker, picture, plays or

games etc.

Speaking by using audio method English learning for learner is fun and

enjoyable. Speaking pleasure by using repetiting combining word and

conversation, students are ready and interested in seeing the written forms of the

language.

M. Solahudin said, “Speaking berkaitan dengan listening. Artinya apa yang kita

bicarakan adalah pengulangan dari apa yang pernah kita dengar sebelumnya.”9

From the theories above, it is clear enough that audiolingual are liked. Learning

by repetiting is suitable for learner, games are easily adaptable to English

9
M. Solahudin, Kiat-kiat Praktis Belajar Speaking. Diva Press. PT. Gramedia Pustaka Utama,
2008, p. 18
 20

language classrooms, give the student opportunity to expand their language

experience through fun and play.

This probably the most challenging time in teaching preparation that the

teacher experienced. It is completely different kind of technique, which requires a

new approach to teaching. The teacher has to make more conducive in the

classroom. Eventually that the changes on the technique of English teaching will

be baneful for the students and for the teacher.

There is the technique of English teaching:

1. Begin with a positive message

If you put a new message in the same place every time-on an overhead

or on the board-students will learn to look for it when they come into

the room. Music serves the same purpose it set a positive mood for the

session.

2. Write three important goals for the class so that students can see them.

Three goals are manageable for one class session. When they are

visible, they keep us all on track. At the end of the class, referring to the

goals gives everyone a sense of progress and closure for the day.

3. Arrange for model test to be taken in a lab or at home on the honor

system.
 21

Your time with the students is too valuable for you to spend four hours

proctoring each model test. That would add up to twelve hour of class

time for all the model tests.

4. Ask students to write their question a note card and bring them to class.

5. Use class time to teach and practice academic skill

6. Focus on speaking and writing in class

7. Provide counseling and encouragement as part of the class routine

A habit is pattern of behavior that is acquired through repetition. Researches

indicate that following study habits are characteristic of successful students. The

teacher must make motivation to the students not only by technique of the

teaching but we can improvement by positive habits from students.

D. Action Research

Action research can be described as: any research into practice undertaken

by those involved in that practice, with an aim to change and improve it. It is

therefore, a process of enquiry by you as a practitioner into the effectiveness of

your own teaching and your students’learning.

Action research is about both ‘action’ and ‘research’ and the links between

the two. It is quite possible to take action without research or to do research

 22

without taking action, but the unique combination of the two is what distinguishes

action research from other forms of enquiry. It is, of course, not restricted to an

educational context.

d.1 Defining Action Research

The most important component of action research is that it does include

both action and reflection that lead to enhance practice.

Kemmis and Mc Taggart distinguish it from the normal practice of teaching in

the following way:

a. It is not the usual thinking teachers do when they think about their

teaching. Action research is more systematic and collaborative in

collecting evidence on which to base their group reflection.

b. It is not simply problem solving. Action research involves problem-

posing, not just problem-solving. It does not start from a view of

‘problems’ as pathologies. It is motivated by a quest to improve and

understand the world by changing it and learning how to improve it

from the effects of the changes made.

c. It is not research done on other people. Action research is research by

particular people on their own work, to help them improve what they

do, including how they work with and for others.

 23

d. Action research is not “the scientific method” applied to teaching. There

is not just one view of “the scientific method”; there are many.’

(Kemmis and McTaggart,1992, pp.21-22)10

However, if action research is different to the normal practice of teaching, to

what extent is it ‘research’?

Notwithstanding Kemmis and McTaggart’s differentiation between action

research and teaching, there is obviously a close connection between the two

and it is this close connection that makes the approach a particularly attractive

one for practitioners. The self-initiated approach to research and to an

improvement in practice is another strong attraction of the action research

approach. Indeed, some have argued that it is a legitimate part of good

teaching.

Action research involves practitioners in studying their own professional

practice and framing their own questions. Their research has the immediate

goal to assess, develop or improve their practice. Such research activities

belong in the daily process of good teaching, to what has been called the

'zone of accepted practice’ (Zeni,1998, p.13). 11

10
The Open University, Action Research A Guide for Associate Lectures (COBE, Walton Hall Milton
Keynes MK7 6AA), p. 8
11
Ibid, p. 8
 24

d.2 The History and Scope Action Research

The term ‘action research’ can be interpreted quite broadly. Its history

is of relevance: Bentz and Shapiro (1998) traced its origin to ‘two independent

sources – Kurt Lewin, a person of science, and John Collier, a person of

practical affairs.’ They emphasised different aspects of inquiry. Lewin (1946)

argued that ‘realistic fact finding and evaluation are prerequisites for any

learning’, whereas Collier (1945) stressed ‘the requirement for cooperation

among the administrator, the scientist and the layperson’ (Bentz and Shapiro

pp.127-8). Bentz and Shapiro comment that ‘early studies … were more

concerned with changing the behaviour of persons or organisations in a

specific direction than in using action research as a means of participant

problem solving.’12

The idea of using research in a “natural” setting to change the way that

the researcher interacts with that setting can be traced back to Kurt Lewin,

asocial psychologist and educator whose work on action research was

developed throughout the 1940s in the United States. “Lewin is credited with

coining the term ‘action research’ to describe work that did not separate the

investigation from the action needed to solve the problem” Topics chosen for

his study related directly to the context of the issue. His process was cyclical,

12
Ibid, p. 19
 25

involving a “nonlinear pattern of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting

on the changes in the social situations”13

Stephen Corey at Teachers College at Columbia University was

among the first to use action research in the field of education. He believed

that the scientific method in education would bring about change because

educators would be involved in both the research and the application of

information. Corey summed up much of the thought behind this fledgling

branch of inquiry. We are convinced that the disposition to study…the

consequences of our own teaching is more likely to change and improve our

practices than is reading about what someone else has discovered of his

teaching., Corey believed that the value of action research is in the change that

occurs in everyday practice rather than the generalization to a broader

audience. He saw the need for teachers and researchers to work together.

However, in the mid 1950s, action research was attacked as unscientific, little

more than common sense, and the work of amateurs Interest in action research

waned over the next few years as experiments with research designs and

quantitative data collection became the norm.

By the 1970s we saw again the emergence of action research.

Education practitioners questioned the applicability of scientific research

designs and methodologies as a means to solve education issues. The results

13
Http://www.scribd.com/Action_Reseach
 26

of many of these federally funded projects were seen as theoretical, not

grounded in practice. The practice of action research is again visible and seen

to hold great value. Over time, the definition has taken on many meanings. It

is now often seen as a tool for professional development, bringing a greater

focus on the teacher than before (Noffke & Stevenson, 1995). It is

increasingly becoming a tool for school reform, as its very individual focus

allows for a new engagement in educational change. Action research

emphasizes the involvement of teachers in problems in their own classrooms

and has as its primary goal the in-service training and development of the

teacher rather than the acquisition of general knowledge in the field of

education.

d.3 Steps in Action Research

Within all the definitions of action research, there are four basic

themes: empowerment of participants, collaboration through participation,

acquisition of knowledge, and social change. In conducting action research,

we structure routines for continuous confrontation with data on the health of a

school community. These routines are loosely guided by movement through

five phases of inquiry:

Action Research Cycle

1. Identification of problem area

 27

2. Collection and organization of data

3. Interpretation of data

4. Action based on data

5. Reflection

1. Identtify a Problem Area

Teachers often have several questions they wish to investigate; however, it

is important to limit the question to one that is meaningful and doable in the

confines of their daily work. Careful planning at this first stage will limit

false starts and frustrations. There are several criteria to consider before

investing the time and effort in “researching” a problem. The question

should an important guideline in choosing a question is to ask if it is

something over which the teacher has influence. Is it something of interest

and worth the time and effort that will be spent? Sometimes there is a

discrete problem that is readily identifiable. Or, the problem to be studied

may come from a feeling of discomfort or tension in the classroom. For

example, a teacher may be using the latest fashionable teaching strategy,

yet not really knowing or understanding what or how kids are learning.

1. be a higher-order question—not a yes/no

2. be stated in common language, avoiding jargon
3. be concise
 28

4. be meaningful
5. not already have an answer

2. Gather Data

The collection of data is an important step in deciding what action

needs to be taken. Multiple sources of data are used to better understand

the scope of happenings in the classroom or school. There are many

vehicles for collection of data: Select the data that are most appropriate

for the issue being researched. Are the data easy to collect? Are there

sources readily available for use? How structured and systematic will the

collection be? Use at least three sources (triangulation) of data for the

basis of actions. Organize the data in a way that makes it useful to

identify trends and themes. Data can be arranged by gender, classroom,

grade level, school, etc.

journals self-assessment Diaries

individual files samples of student attendance
logs of meetings work, audio tapes
videotapes projects, photos
case studies performances memos
surveys interviews questionnaires
records – tests, report portfolios focus groups
cards field notes anecdotal records
Select the data that are most appropriate for the issue being researched.

Are the data easy to collect? Are there sources readily available for use?
 29

How structured and systematic will the collection be? Use at least three

sources (triangulation) of data for the basis of actions. Organize the data

in a way that makes it useful to identify trends and themes. Data can be

arranged by gender, classroom, school, age level etc.

3. Interpret Data

Analyze and identify major themes. Depending upon the question,

teachers may wish to use classroom data, individual data, or subgroup

data. Some of the data are quantifiable and can be analyzed without the

use of statistics or technical assistance. Other data, such as opinions,

attitudes, or checklists, may be summarized in table form. Data that are

not quantifiable can be reviewed holistically and important elements or

themes can be noted.

4. Act on Evidence

Using the information from the data collection and review of current

literature, design a plan of action that will allow you to make a change

and to study that change. It is important that only one variable be altered.

As with any experiment, if several changes are made at once, it will be

difficult to determine which action is responsible for the outcome. While

the new technique is being implemented, continue to document and

collect data on performance.

 30

5. Evaluate Result

Assess the effects of the intervention to determine if improvement has

occurred. If there is improvement, do the data clearly provide the

supporting evidence? If no, what changes can be made to the actions to

elicit better results?

6. Next Steps

As a result of the action research project, identify additional questions

raised by the data and plan for additional improvements, revisions, and

next steps.

d.4 Benefit of Action Research

Action research can be a worthwhile pursuit for educators for a

number of reasons. Foremost among these is simply the desire to know more.

Good teachers are, after all, themselves students, and often look for ways to

expand upon their existing knowledge.

1. Focus on school issue, problem, or area of collective interest

Research done with the teacher’s students, in a setting with which the

teacher is familiar, helps to confer relevance and validity to a

disciplined study. Often, academic research is seen as disconnected

from the daily lives of educators. While this might not always be true,
 31

it can be very helpful for teachers to pick up threads suggested in

academic circles, and weave them in to their own classroom. It is also

comforting for parents, or education administrators outside of the

school, to know that a teacher is not just blindly following what the

latest study seems to suggest, but is transforming the knowledge into

something meaningful.

2. Form of teacher professional development

Research and reflection allow teachers to grow and gain confidence in

their work. Action research projects influence thinking skills, sense of

efficacy, willingness to share and communicate, and attitudes toward

the process of change. Through action research, teachers learn about

themselves, their students, their colleagues, and can determine ways to

continually improve.

3. Collegial interactions

Isolation is one of the downsides of teaching. Teachers are often the

sole adult in a room of children, and have little or no time scheduled

for professional conversations with others. Action research in pairs or

by teams of teachers allows time to talk with others about teaching and

teaching strategies. By working on these teams, teachers must describe

their own teaching styles and strategies and share their thoughts with
 32

others. As a team they examine various instructional strategies,

learning activities, and curricular materials used in the classroom.

Through these discussions with colleagues they develop stronger

relationships. As the practice of action research becomes part of the

school culture, we see increased sharing and collaboration across

departments, disciplines, grade levels, and schools.

4. Potential to impact school change

As teachers get into action research, they are more apt to look at

questions that address school and district concerns rather than

questions that affect the individual teacher. This process creates new

patterns of collegiality, communication, and sharing. Contributions to

the body of knowledge about teaching and learning may also result.

Development of priorities for school-wide planning and assessment

efforts arise from inquiry with potential to motivate change for

improvement’s sake.

5. Reflect on own practice

Opportunities for teachers to evaluate themselves in schools are often

few, and usually happen only in an informal manner. Action research

can serve as a chance to really take a look at one’s own teaching in a

structured manner. While the focus of action research is usually the

 33

students, educators can also investigate what effect their teaching is

having on their students, how they could work better with other

teachers, or ways of changing the whole school for the better.

Conversations can take on a different focus from attempting to “fix” to

arriving at understanding.

6. Improved communications

Team work within the school or district brings individuals together for

a shared purpose. Educators involved in action research become more

flexible in their thinking and more open to new ideas (Pine, 1981).

Studies by Little (1981) suggest positive changes in patterns of

collegiality, communication, and networking.

E. Conclusion

Audiolingualism holds that language learning is like other forms of

learning. Since language is a formal rule-governed system, it can be formally

organized to maximize teaching and learning efficiency. Audiolingualism thus

stresses the mechanistic aspects of language learn ing and language use.

There are many similarities between Situational Language Teaching

and Audiolingualism. The order in which the language skills a re introduced,

and the focus on accuracy through drill and practice in the basic structures and

sentence patterns of the target language, might suggest that these methods drew
 34

from each other. In fact, however, Situational Language Teaching was a

development of the earlier Direct Method and does not have the strong ties to

linguistics and behavioral psychology that characterize Audiolingualism. The

similarities of the two methods reflect similar views about the nature of

language and of language learning, though these views were in fact developed

from quite different traditions.

Action research— its history, the different variations occurring in the

field, and a step-by-step process that may be adapted by educators or schools to

address their need for learning more about practice and successful

interventions. While there may be different terms to describe the steps in action

research, the basic concept is the same. Educators are working in their own

environment, with their own students, on problems that affect them directly.

They are at the place where research and practice intersect and real change can

occur. Results of their actions can be seen first-hand, and they can build on this

information. There are many uses for action research. It is used in curriculum

development, as a strategy for professional development, as part of pre-service

and in-service programs, and in systems planning for schools and districts. The

active participation of teachers and others is part of what makes this a viable

and useful tool. The investment of time and energy by the participants provides

a sense of ownership and connection to the process and outcomes. Activities of

action research and the mindset of those involved in the process become an
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integral part of the professional repertoire of many educators. When they see

the value of their work as they progress through the steps and the reflection

time that is used to discuss strategies and methods, they find that the benefits

go far beyond student achievement. Practitioners develop skills in analyzing

their own teaching methods and begin to unconsciously utilize the principles of

action research in their professional life.

Action research will not provide all the answers to our questions about

how students learn or what educators can do to improve practice. But action

research happens at the place where these questions arise; it happens where the

real action is taking place; and it allows for immediate action.