Techniques, Textbooks, and TechnologyJon Henry Ordoñez

MECHANICAL, MEANINGFUL, AND COMMUNICATIVE DRILLS

• In the decades of 1940s through the 1960s, language pedagogy was obsessed with the drill. Often great proportions of the class time were spent drilling.

• A drill may be defined as a technique that focuses on a minimal number of language forms through some type of repetition.

MECHANICAL, MEANINGFUL, AND COMMUNICATIVE DRILLS

• Drills are commonly done:

- chorally

- individually

• They can take the form of:

- simple repetition drills

- substitution drills

- moving substitution drill

MECHANICAL, MEANINGFUL, AND COMMUNICATIVE DRILLS

• In referring to structural pattern drills, Paulston and Bruder (1976) used three categories:

- Mechanical

- Meaningful

- Communicative

MECHANICAL, MEANINGFUL, AND COMMUNICATIVE DRILLS

• Mechanical drills have only one response from a student.

• Meaningful drills may have a predicted response or a limited of possible responses.

• Communicative drills offers the possibility of an open response and negotiation of meaning.

CONTROLLED TO FREE TECHNIQUES

CO

NTR

OLLED

• Teacher-centered

• Manipulative

• Structured

• Predicted student responses

• Pre-planned objectives

• Set curriculum

FR

EE

• Student-centered

• Communicative

• Open-ended

• Unpredicted responses

• Negotiated objectives

• Cooperative curriculum

TAXONOMY OF TECHNIQUES

CO

NTR

OLLED

• Warm-up

• Setting

• Organizational

• Content explanation

SEM

I-C

ON

TR

OLLED

• Brainstorming

• Storytelling

• Q & A, Referential

• Cued narrative/dialogue

• Information transfer

• Information exchange

• Wrap-up

• Narration/exposition

• Preparation

FR

EE

• Role-play

• Games

• Report

• Problem-solving

• Drama

• Simulation

 

fin.