The Audio-Lingual Method, like the Direct Method is
also an oral-based approach. However, it is very
different in that rather than emphasizing vocabulary
acquisition through exposure to its use in situations,
the Audio-Lingual Method drills students in the use
of grammatical sentence patterns. It also, unlike the
Direct Method, has a strong theoretical base in
linguistics and psychology. Charles Fries (1945) of
the University of Michigan led the way in applying
principles from structural linguistics in developing
the method. and for this reason, it has sometimes
been referred to as the 'Michigan Method'. Later in
its development, principles from behavior al
psychology (Skinner 1957) were incorporated. It was
thought that the way to acquire the sentence
parterns of the target language was through
conditioning- helping learners to respond correctly
to stimuli through shaping and reinforcement.
Learners could over come the habits of their native
language and form the new habits required to be
target language speakers.
LARSEN-FREEMAN, Diane. Techniques and Principles in Language
Teaching. 3rd ed. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press,
2011.