IF AN EFFORT WERE MADE TO HAVE STUDENTS CONTINUALLY HEAR AND PRODUCE THE LANGUAGE BEING STUDIED IN A FAIRLY REALISTIC WAY FROM THE BEGINNING, THEY WOULD BE MORE MOTIVATED TO LEARN AND WOULD MAKE THE TRANSITION FROM THE CLASSROOM TO PRACTICAL SITUATIONS AND MORE ADVANCED STUDY MORE EASILY. THE TRADITIONAL KINDS OF STRUCTURE DRILLS INCORPORATED IN MOST AUDIOLINGUAL RUSSIAN TEXTS ARE UNREALISTIC IN THE DEMANDS PUT ON THE STUDENT'S MEMORY AND ARE MEANINGLESS CITATION FORMS REQUIRING PURELY MECHANICAL RESPONSES. IF THE TEACHER, FROM THE BEGINNING LEARNING STAGES, WERE TO ASSUME THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CAREFULLY USING MASTERED STRUCTURES AND IMPORTANT VOCABULARY IN DRILLS DESIGNED TO VARY SENTENCES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, THE CONVERSATIONAL STYLE OF THE DRILLS WOULD BE MAINTAINED BY MAKING THE STUDENTS THINK WHAT THEY ARE SAYING. FURTHERMORE, BY THE SYSTEMATIC EXPOSURE TO THE VARIOUS COMMON INTONATION PATTERNS EMPLOYED IN THESE DRILLS, THE STUDENT WOULD IMPROVE IN PRONUNCIATION. THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN "THE SLAVIC AND EAST EUROPEAN JOURNAL," VOLUME 11, NUMBER 1, SPRING 1967, PAGES 66-70. (AB)