Audiolingual Method and Behaviorism: From Misunderstanding to Myth

Abstract

This article contends that the modern descendant of B. F. Skinner's experimental analysis of behavior, ‘behavior analysis,’ and as well his 1957 masterwork Verbal Behavior, have rarely if ever been seriously contemplated by applied linguists for possible contributions to the field. Rather, a pat literature of dismissal has developed that justifies itself on (a) a fictitious link between the audiolingual method and undifferentiated behaviorism, and/or (b) a demonstrably erroneous notion that operant psychology is too simplistic to effectively take up language issues. In reality, behavior analysis is alive, well, and making significant contributions in applied language settings, but not typically in the second language area.