FADS AND FASHIONS IN FOREIGN-LANGUAGE TEACHING

ABSTRACT Skinner, the psychological theorist behind the audiolingual methodologists, might be forgiven for thinking that he had discovered the key to all human and animal behavior, and Chomsky, the linguistic theorist behind the cognitive code‐learning methodologists, might be commended for pointing out that Skinner had not found such a key. In any case, the Chomskyan model for language must still provide some indication of how the irregularities of a language are learned apart from such key concepts as language learning as hypothesis testing and language behavior as rule‐governed behavior. It is suggested here that practice is just such a key. © 1979 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages