Behavioral practice has fallen out of favor. Drills can sometimes be useful if it is made meaningful. An information gap is one example of a drill with a communicative purpose. Here are some old school Behaviorist drills: chain drills, substitution drills, and transformation drills.
Chain Drill - Model the drill first:
"Are you having a good time?"
"Yes I am having a good time."
Next, the teacher will ask one student the same question. The student will give the same answer. That student turns to another student and asks the same question. Each student will ask the question and answer the question. This forms a chain of questions and answers around the class. Every student asks and answers the question. Each student hears the questions and answers many times.
Substitution Drill - Use the same question as used in the above drill but substitute one word for another word. First, model for the students.
"Are you having a bad time?"
"No I am not having a bad time. I am having a good time."
This drill can then be used as a chain drill.
Transformation Drill (oral) (what, when, how, why, etc.). Change the form of the same question and then give the answer. First, model it for the students.
"What kind of time are you having?"
"I am having a good time."
This drill can also be used as a chain drill.
Personally, I think we should stick with the information gaps and find someone who... activities. They are drill-like (the same form gets repeated numerous times) but not as tedious.
Here's some more information on drills.
Posted by James Trotta at March 9, 2006 6:58 AMI read your blog on drilling, or on the history ALM style labs. I had to go to such a lab in the late 90s when studying Italian in college. Mostly we got the answers from someone else, went to the lab, and did homework for other classes. As far as intrinsic motivation goes, drills are lacking...
Posted by: James Trotta at November 16, 2006 2:59 AMESL blog is one of many Blogs for learning English & teaching English. Translation services information.