Drill

Drills, also know as repetition drills, language drills, substitution drills, and so on, tend to be teacher-centred exercises, and often, but not exclusively, oral-based.

Normally used to generate controlled practice in grammar points, drills are closely associated with more traditional methods of language teaching, such as the grammar translation method and the audio-lingual method, and are nowadays often considered too mechanical and far-removed from natural, spontaneous language.

However, dynamic use can be made of them to practise aspects such as linking and they can also be fun as short games in which the students themselves generate the sentences and pass the buck.

Examples

 * Teacher: I like tea (Sue)
 * Students: Sue likes tea


 * Teacher: Peter speaks French (not)
 * Students: Peter doesn't speak French