Unit 7

The emphasis on the spoken form of the language in second/ foreign language teaching has made it necessary to create new techniques. The old written exercises have been supplemented by the oral exercises. This does not mean to say that the old techniques are completely replaced. But it is a question of lettering the goal determine the means. There are techniques and devices to develop spoken language; and there are others to develop reading and writing. So it is now the teacher`s responsibility to select those that will achieve the goals.
In olden times the whole process of instruction including language instruction took place through the oral medium. It was not only language teaching but testing was also done orally. In recent times, use of drills and exercises has been felt to be a vital component in language teaching. No language drills in the formal and real sense of the term were used until recently. Prior to the formalization of language drills in language instruction, good oral mastery through mere repetition has not been possible. It is in this context that the need for a discussion on language drills has been felt to be essential.
The drills that are going to be discussed are called structural drills or pattern drills. They are primarily intended for oral practice.
A distinction should be made between drills and exercises before going into details. Exercises may contain a strong written element, and it may require time to respond, whereas drills contain materials to be heard and aim at evoking immediate and instant oral responses. Drills may also be given for a written check up Drills and exercises help the learners to practice and consolidate the rule of the language by which they would develop both grammatical and communicative competences. They also help the learners to develop requisite skills and devices for better performance. Exercise presuppose certain knowledge of the rules of the language, whereas drills do not necessarily presuppose such knowledge of the rules of language.
Pattern drills form the basis for the audio-lingual method of teaching foreign/second languages. The assumptions behind the importance of drills according to Rivers (1970) are:
1) Foreign language learning is basically a mechanical process of habit formation. Corollary I : Habits are strengthened by reinforcement.
Corollary II : Foreign language habits are formed most effectively by giving the right response, not by making mistakes. Corollary III : Language is behaviour. Behaviour can be learned only by inducing the learner to behave.
2) Language skills are learned more effectively if items of the foreign language are presented in the spoken form before written form is introduced.
3) Analogy provides a better foundation for foreign language learning than analysis.
These assumption of language learning were challenged by transformational grammarians. Language learning according to these grammarians involves internalizing a complex systems of rules, which generate only grammatical sentences in the language. Moreover, the transformational theory distinguishes between the two well known and controversial factors of competence and performances. Competence was explained as the intuitive knowledge of the complex system of rules and performance as the actual utterances made. The theoretical implications of these grammarians are worth mentioning even though the theory has not yet provide a sound and concrete method of teaching a foreign/second language effectively.
It should be remembered that the grammatical rules provide information about the language and learning rules imply learning the language. It does not make much difference for the learner who likes to use the language. Whether it is the prescriptive rules in a traditional grammar or ordered sets of descriptive rules in a transformational grammar, it is only the actual use of language that counts and not the use of rules to construct sentences.
The objection raised by transformational grammarians against the pattern practice is that it develops a defective competence by parroting the utterances produced by the teacher and that it cannot, on any account lead to an acceptable performance. Though the objection seems to be valid, this can be over ruled by stating the following. The native speaker of a language communicates through an intricate system of patterns without the awareness of the nature of these patterns. Moreover, the native speakers internalized these patterns along with their physical growth. The second language learners will have passed through that process earlier. So they are equipped with the basic ability of internalizing the patterns. This ability of internalizing can be made use of in the context of second language acquisition also.
In other words, by internalizing the patterns through drills, the learner himself will formulate simple or complex rules which would produce only grammatical sentences in the Target Language. The learner can master a grammatical item or structure through constant repetition of the teacher`s utterance. This is poss?ible only by administering oral drills in the classroom. Nelson`s (1977) experiments substantiate the point that repetition does facilitate memory regardless of whether the dependant variable is uncued recall or cued recall or recognition.
Language is a means of communication. Language habits are acquired through practice and not through prescription. If one wants to communicate in an effective manner, the manipulation of language structure is necessary. So language patterns are repeated to the point of memorization so as to establish them as habits. Drills are made use of to help the learners grasp the structural points and help