Discusses research supporting the contention that listening fluency should be taught first and oral response delayed because languaqe acquisition takes place without any overt performance. Includes extensive bibliographic references. (PMJ)

The foreign language instruction in the United States has followed a paradigm commonly called the "audio-lingual" method for almost twenty years. This paradigm is basically response-oriented and based upon structural linguistics and behavioral psychology. It focuses attention on speaking as the primary skill. It has not lived up to expectations.…