Drilling, as a language-learning activity, has fallen out of favor over the past few decades, but it is finding support in Skills Acquisition Theory (DeKeyser, 2007) literature and as falling within Butzkamm and Caldwell’s (2009) generative principle of language development.
When drilling was last in vogue, modern technologies and language learning tools had not developed. Now, tools such as spreadsheets and simple text-to-speech generators like that within the Quizlet application can be combined to produce almost limitless pattern practice opportunities that can be carried out by an individual using tools they already carry with them.
This presentation will show how a spreadsheet was developed which could produce double-sided Quizlet flashcards, drawing on both randomity and strict adherence to grammar-pattern rules. Drills using these flashcards, which fostered automaticity, were assigned to first-year non-English major students with tremendous results.