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Mention the common teaching techniques used in the ‘Audio-Lingual-Method.’
The “Audio Lingual Method” is one of the earliest and most established methods of teaching second languages. It originated during the Second World War. The Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) was established in 1942 to develop American soldiers’ foreign language communicative skills. This method mainly focuses on communicative competence with limited and common communicative structures.
Teaching Techniques or ALM:
The Audio-Lingual Method (ALM) focuses on developing listening and speaking skills through repetition and drills. Below are the standard teaching techniques used in this method:
Dialogue Practice: Dialogues are the central part of ALM. Learners practice dialogues that contain helpful vocabulary and sentence patterns. Memorizing these dialogues helps develop fluency and familiarise students with the language’s structure.
Repetition Drills: Repetition is vital in ALM. Students are asked to repeat words, phrases, and sentences after the teacher to reinforce correct language habits. This helps in mastering pronunciation and sentence structure.
Substitution Drills: In substitution drills, learners replace a word or phrase in a sentence with a different one while maintaining the same sentence structure. For example, replacing “he” with “they” in a sentence allows students to practice different forms.
Transformation Drills: Students are asked to transform sentences from one grammatical form to another, such as changing an affirmative sentence to a negative or converting direct to indirect speech.
Question-Answer Drills: The teacher asks questions in these drills, and the students respond quickly. This method encourages quick thinking and reinforces sentence structures in a communicative context.
Chain Drills: Chain drills involve one student asking a question and another answering, continuing in a chain. This technique encourages class participation and interaction.
Language Laboratory Use: Language labs enhance listening and speaking skills. Students listen to recordings, repeat what they hear, and practice pronunciation.
In short, the “ALM” relies heavily on repetitive drills, memorization, and structured practice to develop language habits in termination. These techniques are designed to reinforce correct language patterns and create automatic responses in learners.