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hippocampus

Joined: 27 Feb 2012 Posts: 126 Location: Bikini Bottom
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:13 am Post subject: Is Drilling Boring? |
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Yes, that is the question. Is drilling boring? What do you think? Ought I to create a poll? |
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Christian St.Bacon
Joined: 26 Oct 2011 Posts: 54
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:52 am Post subject: Is drilling boring - by definition yes - HOMOPHONE ;-) |
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If the teacher/lesson is boring, then most likely yes
as with everything in teaching, it's about 'delivery'..............
Shukran very much

Last edited by Christian St.Bacon on Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:57 am; edited 1 time in total |
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spanglish
Joined: 21 May 2009 Posts: 742 Location: working on that
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:56 am Post subject: |
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My students always sit up and get a little more involved when we get to the drilling part. They enjoy the independent sounds linked words make and perhaps my jerky music conductor movements as well... |
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Glenski

Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 5:03 am Post subject: |
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Depends on the culture of the students, plus their goals in improving, and how long the drills are. |
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 1082 Location: China
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 5:49 am Post subject: |
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Their alternate meanings are synonymous--to drill a hole is to bore--but I'd argue if what you're doing bores your students (i.e.: unengaging mindless parroting just to conform to a teacher's expectations), it's not drilling based on what I've highlit below:
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Definition of DRILL
transitive verb
1a : to fix something in the mind or habit pattern of by repetitive instruction <drill pupils in spelling>
b : to impart or communicate by repetition <impossible to drill the simplest idea into some people>
intransitive verb
2: to engage in an exercise
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drill
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Personally, I'm not a fan of decontextualized drill instruction which I've argued is old school, especially here in Asia where, as everyone knows, such rote instruction actually inhibits accuracy and fluency. A well-known coursebook author/teacher trainer/teacher herself even acknowledges this. In The Language Instinct, Stephen Pinker proves that by 3 1/2, children largely master quite complex grammatical rules not by copying, but by noticing.
Currently I'm teaching from a curriculum which is heavily vocab intensive. Not surprisingly, training consisted of over 20 drilling methods/games but what is surprising is the fact it wasn't written by Asians. |
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