The audio-lingual method (ALM), also called the aural-oral or Army method, assumes that language learning is a matter of habit formation and errors require immediate correction so that bad habits cannot take hold. ALM relies on structured dialogues and repetitive drills to reinforce targeted language forms. Critics of audio-lingualism charge that it is not a thinking-person's method and fails to emphasize meaningful communication. However, research shows substantial language learning gains in programs that combine communicative interactions with ALM's focus on language structure.
ALM activities are anchored in dialogues presented at the beginning of each teaching unit. These dialogues, with carefully controlled vocabulary and grammar, present a familiar sociocultural context and showcase specific grammatical patterns that will be the focus of the unit. Students are often asked to memorize dialogues and perform them in front of the class.
To aid in dialogue memorization, students attempt to repeat exactly what the teacher says. Since ALM is based on listening and speaking, the dialogue may be presented through listen-and-repeat drills before students see the printed words in the textbook. Here is a typical exchange:
Teacher: "Hi, Mark. How's it going?"
Students: "Hi, Mark. How's it going?"
In this type of imitation drill, the teacher models language segments to be repeated, starting at the end of the sentence and working back, adding a chunk at a time until the entire phrase can be repeated fluently. For example:
Teacher: "Classroom."
Students: "Classroom."
Teacher: "The classroom."
Students: "The classroom."
Teacher: "In the classroom."
Students: "In the classroom."
Teacher: "Is in the classroom."
Students: "Is in the classroom."
Teacher: "Troy is in the classroom."
Students: "Troy is in the classroom."
Students repeat sentences, making small changes based on substitutions. The following substitution drill reinforces subject-verb agreement:
Teacher: "Mary is in the classroom."
Students: "Mary in the classroom."
Teacher: "The girls."
Students: "The girls are in the classroom."
Teacher: "The child."
Students: "The child is in the classroom."
Teacher: "I."
Students: "I am in the classroom."
For more advanced substitution drills, the teacher can supply multiple constituents for substitution into the sentence, as in:
Teacher: "Alex has a red car."
Students: "Alex has a red car."
Teacher: "The brothers. Three blue kites."
Students: "The brothers have three blue kites."
ALM activities often involve manipulating structures in a systematic way. In transformation drills, sentences are changed through the application of a grammatical rule. For example, students may be asked to turn a statement into a question:
Teacher: "Sandra is in the classroom."
Students: "Is Sandra in the classroom?"
Teacher: "The girls are in the classroom."
Students: "Are the girls in the classroom?"
Teacher: "I am in the classroom."
Students: "Am I in the classroom?"
The teacher starts a question-and-answer chain by asking one student a question. That student answers and then turns to the next student, asking the same question. One by one, students ask and answer the question until all students have participated.
Teacher: "Hi, my name is Brooks. What's your name?"
Student 1: "I'm Yousef." (Turns to Student 2) "Hi, my name is Yousef. What's your name?"
Student 2: "I'm Sofia." (Turns to Student 3) "Hi, my name is Sofia. What's your name?"
ALM activities can be extended to achieve limited communicative expression. Application activities might include responding to open-ended drills, adapting the dialogue to new situations, using language from the lesson as the basis for personal expression and performing role plays that depart from the dialogue to some degree.