Drilling in the Classroom

28 June 2013Martin Sketchley

www.eltexperiences.com

Contents

• Discussion

• The theory of drilling

• Benefits & drawbacks of drilling

• Activities to include

• Video review

• Any questions

Drilling in the Classroom

• When was the last time you did any form of drilling?

• When do you normally do any type of drilling?

• Can you think how drilling could be adapted?

• What are the benefits and drawbacks of drilling?

Drilling: The Theory

• Based upon the ‘behaviourist’ model of language learning

• Included with an ‘audiolinguistic’ approach to language teaching

• Continuous practice will make perfect!

Benefits of Drills• It develops learner confidence

• Helps learners get their tongues round new words

• Picks up pace and maintains student attention

• Develops ability to produce and understand connective speech

• Less confident students can take part and not get embarrassed

Drawbacks of Drills

• Drilling not looked upon as communicative and more ‘Pavlovian’

• It is didactic

• Other teachers consider drills as boring

• Students could just sit back and hide behind others

• It can hurt!!!

Why Should We Drill?

• Drilling is essential for pronunciation practice

• Drilling helps with the automisation and memorisation of language chunks

• Drilling can be seen as a step towards fluency

• Drilling, if done correctly, can work well

Activities in Practice

• Circle drilling

• Silent drilling

• Emotional drilling

• Volume controlled drills

• Traditional drills

Circle Drilling

• Prepare a number of flashcards

• Get students to sit in a circle

• Get faster and faster during the activity

Silent Drilling

• Prepare a dialogue:

“In a post-office”

“Hotel reception”

• Act the dialogue and pronounce words silently

• Repeat each utterance until correctly guessed by learners

• Then get learners in pairs/groups to repeat the dialogue

Emotional Drilling

• Prepare various pictures showing differing emotions

• Prepare separate cards with target vocabulary

• Drill target vocabulary as normal without emotion pictures

• Then drill the vocabulary again with the emotion pictures

Volume Controlled Drills

• Drilling varying the volume

• Start off soft and then build up to a ear-shattering noise

• YLs really enjoy this type of drilling, but then again so could adults

• It is very easy and requires very little preparation

Traditional Drills

• Nominated drilling: the teacher nominates students to repeat

• Choral drilling: getting the whole class to drill at the same time

• Substitution drills: substituting key vocabulary with prompts

Video: Drilling With Asian Learners

• Watch the video of Rachael teaching YLs

• Afterwards, discuss the video with a partner

Questions for Reflection

• When is the best time to incorporate drilling?

• How frequently do you use drilling in your classes?

• Do you think a focus on pronunciation is a necessary part in every class?

• Do you think drills are a useful technique in class and affect student pronunciation?

• How comfortable are you at drilling exercises?