Audio Lingual Method (ALM)

Audio Lingual Method (ALM)

What is ALM?

ALM means Audio-Lingual Method

Charles Fries (1945) led the way in applying structural linguistics in developing method. Later in its development, the principle from behavioral psychology (Skinner 1957) were incorporated.

 

What is the purpose of using ALM in Teaching English language?

ALM used to help students use target language communicativly automatically without stopping to thing, so they have to form new habits in the target language.

What are the principles of ALM?

• language forms occur within context.
• The native and target language have separated linguistic systems.
• Teacher is the model of target language.
• Language learning is a process of habit formation.
• It is important to prevent learners from making errors, and if there any they corrected immediately.
• The purpose of language learning is to learn how to communicate correctly.
• Particular parts of speech occupy particular slots is sentences.
• Positive reinforcement helps the students to develop correct habits.
• Students should learn to respond to both verbal and nonverbal stimuli.
• Each language has a finite number of patterns.
• Students should learn to answer automatically without stopping to think.
• The teacher should be like an orchestra leader, conducting, guiding, and controlling the students’ behavior.
• Students should learn structural patterns then learn vocabulary.
• Learning another language should be the same as the acquisition of the native language.
• A comparison between native language and target language will tell the teacher in which areas students may face difficulty.
• Speech is more basic to language than written form.
• The teacher responsible to present information about culture.

 

What is The role of the teacher in ALM?

The teacher is like an orchestra leader, directing & controlling the language behavior of the students.

 

What is The role of the student in ALM?

The students are imitators of the teachers’ model.

 

What is the role of the students’ native language in ALM?

The teacher uses only target language. Also he/she can use realia, actions, pictures to give the meaning.

 

What is the nature of interaction between teacher and students in ALM?

Teacher interacts with the students and the students interact between themselves.

 

How is the language viewed in ALM?

The language is viewed through phonology system, morphology system, and syntactic system.

 

How is the culture viewed in ALM?

It is viewed via everyday behavior and lifestyle of the native speakers.

 

What areas of Language are emphasized in ALM?

Mastering sound system and grammatical patterns are emphasized.

 

What skills of Language are emphasized in ALM?

Reading, writing, listening and speaking are emphasized.

 

How is evaluation accomplished in ALM?

Students may be asked to distinguished between words in a minimal pair, for example, or to supply an appropriate verb form in a sentence.

 

How does the teacher respond to students’ error in ALM?

Students’ errors are to be avoided if at all possible.

What are the characteristics of teaching and learning process in ALM?

• Imitation
• Repetition
• Culture information
• Inductively application of grammar

 

What are the techniques used in ALM?

Dialogue memorization

Students memorize the dialogue or short conversation to start the lesson with. This dialogue always includes sentence patterns and grammar.  

Backward build-up (expansion) drill

This drill used with long line of the dialogue. So, the teacher breaks the line into parts and supplies the students with a cue to expand it, usually the last phrase of the line.

Repetition drill

This drill is used to memorize the new dialogue. Students repeat the teacher’s model as accurate and as quick as possible.  

Chain drill

It is gain this name from the chain conversation that forms around the classroom. The teacher asks the first students or greets him, so the student answer him and direct the same or different question to the student who sets besides him to do the same and the chain continues.

Single-slot substitution drill

The teacher supplies the student with a cue, then students repeat the line and substitute the cue into the proper place.

Multiple-slot substitution drill

It is the same as Single-slot substitution drill, the difference is that the teacher supplies the students with cue phrase so the students find the fits parts of it.

Transformation drill

Students are asked to transform a specific sentence from form into another; for example, affirmative into negative.

Question and answer drill

The teacher asks the student a question and the student should answer the question very quickly.

Use of minimal pairs

The students are asked to differentiate between pairs of word that differ in only one sound; for example, (far/car).

Complete the dialogue

Students fill the erased words from the dialogue they have learned.

Grammar game

Students practice grammar within a context by a designed grammar games.

References:

Diane Larsen-Freeman. (2000). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford University Press, USA.