THE AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD The Audiolingual Method ALM was

THE AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD • The Audiolingual Method (ALM) was firmly grounded in linguistic and psychological theory. It was conditioning and habit formation models of learning that were perfectly married with the mimicry drills and pattern practices of audiolingual methodology

The Characteristic of the ALM • New material is presented in dialogue form. • There is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases, and over learning • Structures are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught one at a time, and using repetitive drills. • There is little or no grammatical explanation • There is much use of tapes, language labs, and visual aids • Very little use of mother tongue by teachers is permitted

Example of a lesson using Audiolingual Method: • The teacher pronounces a particular phrase and asks the learners to repeat her statements. • The teacher corrects any mistakes as the learners sign. • The teacher repeats the extract until the group understands the contents. • The teacher asks an individual student to substitute a word e. g. “I am going to the park” changed to “I am going to the post office”. • This exercise can be extended by changing another part of the phrase e. g. “Are you going to the park? ”. • This particular exercise would be useful to teach the students in order to have mental state “language is set of a habit”

Advantages: Learners work out the grammatical rules themselves through repetitive drills. Cultural aspects can be included in lessons. Disadvantages: Language learning is not just habit formation. Memorization does not give insight into the language. Learners may not be stimulated by this repetitive method of learning through drills. Useful for: This method is useful for drill practices, especially in how to pronounce the language correctly.