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This essay is an attempt to examine both theories and practical teaching methods of SLA. First of all， it will mainly concentrate on the behaviorism methodology and two specific teaching methods： grammar-translation and audio-lingual. Compared with each other， the advantages and weaknesses of both methods will be demonstrated separately.
1. Behaviorism Methodology
The origin of second language acquisition as a scientific field is embedded in the behavioristic tradition， which dominated the field from the 1940s to the 1960s （Gass and Selinker， 2001）. As a general theory of learning， behaviorism considers the language learning （Whether first or second） adhere to the same principles， which was defined as a stimulus-response connection （Ortega， 2009）.
From behaviorists’ points of view （Skinner， 1957）， the formation new habits， reinforcement and then practice of this habit lead to the advancement of language learning. Human beings are exposed to numerous stimuli in their daily environment. The response they give to these stimuli will be reinforced if some successful and desired outcomes are obtained. And then through repeated reinforcements， a certain stimulus will lead to the same response automatically， which is the foundation of the formation of habits. Applied to the language learning process， a certain question will call for a certain response and the responder will repeat this answer if he （she） once received a positive feedback， therefore a new habit for a new language has been developed in this way （Mitchell
1. Behaviorism Methodology
The origin of second language acquisition as a scientific field is embedded in the behavioristic tradition， which dominated the field from the 1940s to the 1960s （Gass and Selinker， 2001）. As a general theory of learning， behaviorism considers the language learning （Whether first or second） adhere to the same principles， which was defined as a stimulus-response connection （Ortega， 2009）.
From behaviorists’ points of view （Skinner， 1957）， the formation new habits， reinforcement and then practice of this habit lead to the advancement of language learning. Human beings are exposed to numerous stimuli in their daily environment. The response they give to these stimuli will be reinforced if some successful and desired outcomes are obtained. And then through repeated reinforcements， a certain stimulus will lead to the same response automatically， which is the foundation of the formation of habits. Applied to the language learning process， a certain question will call for a certain response and the responder will repeat this answer if he （she） once received a positive feedback， therefore a new habit for a new language has been developed in this way （Mitchell