Typical Techniques of Audio-lingual Method
1) Dialog Memorization
(Students memorize an opening dialog using mimicry and applied role-playing)
(2) Backward Build-up (Expansion Drill)
(Teacher breaks a line into several parts, students repeat each part starting at the end of the sentence and “expanding” backwards through the sentence, adding each part in sequence)
(3) Repitition Drill
(Students repeat teacher’s model as quickly and accurately as possible)
(4) Chain Drill
(Students ask and answer each other one-by-one in a circular chain around the classroom)
(5) Single Slot Substitution Drill
(Teacher states a line from the dialog, then uses a word or a phrase as a “cue” that students, when repeating the line, must substitute into the sentence in the correct place)
(6) Multiple-slot Substitution Drill
(Same as the Single Slot drill, except that there are multiple cues to be substituted into the line)
(7) Transformation Drill
(Teacher provides a sentence that must be turned into something else, for example a question to be turned into a statement, an active sentence to be turned into a negative statement, etc)
(8) Question-and-answer Drill
(Students should answer or ask questions very quickly)
(9) Use of Minimal Pairs
(Using contrastive analysis, teacher selects a pair of words that sound identical except for a single sound that typically poses difficulty for the learners – students are to pronounce and differentiate the two words)
(10) Complete the Dialogue
(Selected words are erased from a line in the dialog – students must find and insert)
(11) Grammar Games
(Various games designed to practice a grammar point in context, using lots of repetition)