Merits

• ALM develops the mastery of foreign language in all 4 skills, beginning with listening as the basis for the teaching of reading and writing.
• The method develops comprehension and fluency in speaking the FL very early in the students’ learning experience.
• Audio lingual materials are more systematically and scientifically designed.
• Reading and writing are not neglected. The students are trained to build skills in these areas step by step.
• Students enjoy learning to use the target language from the first day of their introduction to it. There is active participation by all students for most of the time.

Defects

• Students learn in a mechanical way and may become well-trained parrots.
• The technique of memorization and drilling may be intensely tedious and boring.
• Appropriate for children; for adult learners memorization and drilling needs to be accompanied by some explanation.
• ALM makes considerable demands on the teacher, e.g.
• near native articulation and intonation because he has to model utterances for his students all the time.
• considerable energy of the teacher in order to keep oral practice moving smartly.
• careful preparation and organization of materials.
• imagination and enterprise.