tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jan 12 11:20:14 1996

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Re: Repetition

> : According to Matt Gomes:
> : >Being an instructional designer, I'd disagree with you that repetitive
> : >drilling is any kind of instruction.  What does that teach you?  And how
> : >effective is it?
> 
> And then replied:
> I agree with you, Paul.  Let me be more specific.  Using JUST repetitive
> drills for language acquisition is not an effective learning strategy in and
> of itself.  What you mention here is a model of language instruction that
> incorporates a host of other instructional methods.  You've taken "repetitive
> drilling" and added quite a few other aspect to it.
> 
> What I was trying to say is... one of the best ways to learn a language is
> to start USING it in a way that's MEANINGFUL to you.  Is repetition meaningful
> to you?  Will you go up to a warrior and start saying, "friend, jup, write,
> ghItlh, here-abouts, naDev"?  No... you'd start talking to him, make mistakes,
> he'll (hopefully) give you constructive feedback and you start the learning
> process.  Just like you said... immersion-type.
> 
> 
> -majIq
>

OK time for my two cents worth.  

     I am an instructor of English as a Second Language.  That's what 
I study.  That's what I do.  I am studying both linguistics and 
education at MA level.
  
     Immersion is wonderful.  It gives the student a feeling of 
acomplishment that is needed to keep motivation high.  It continually 
exposes the learner to native-speaker use of the language, and it 
helps the students to see the usefullness of what he or she is 
learning.  Unfortunately, it has some very big drawbacks.

     The most troubling of these is a condition known as 
fosilization.  Once fosilization has occurred it is a teachers 
nightmare to undo.  What happens is the student reaches the level of 
communicative competence long before he or she achieves fluency.  In 
other words the language learner is able to express the desired 
meaning in a way that the native speaker can understand, but is not 
correct native-speaker usage.  The listener understands.  The speaker 
achieves the desired result.  The impetus for progress is lost, and 
learning of any significance stops.

     Instruction through the use of such tools as MONITORED 
drills is invaluable.  These drills can take numerous highly creative 
forms.  They need not be mindless droning.  That kind of repetition 
IS useless.  But for the learner trapped in fosilization it is the 
only way out.  The students out-put must be compared to a strict 
standard of compaison till the need for improvement is percieved.  
Then progress in the target language can commence.  

     Maybe that's more that two cents worth, but I'll get down off my 
soap box now.  Thank you. *bows* {{:-)

Qapla'  

Qogh.

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