DRILLS ARE BACK IN FASHION! THIS TIME WITH TASTE AND STYLE

This paper aims to give the concept of drilling in the teaching of a foreign language a fresher look. Not long ago, all of a sudden drilling went through a process of ostracizing. It was practically banned from EFLT avant-garde contexts which embraced the communicative methodology rather radically. Past the golden age of the audio-lingual methods, drilling was denied a place in language learning. However, language learning theories, and reality itself, have come to its rescue and it has recovered its place.

Especially in more basic levels, more mechanical practices can give students important opportunities to experiment with the language presented, thus making them more confident and secure. At this stage, practice favours both fluency and memorization and naturally leads to accurate and consistent production.

Drills also allow for valuable moments of concept-checking, which proves to be essential in determining the course of the lesson. 

On the other hand, acknowledging the place of drills in foreign language learning is not enough when we think of the language as a means to communication. Although the general focus of drills is mainly structures and vocabulary, mechanical practices don't necessarily have to be meaningless and boring. In fact, the more meaningful they are, the more likely students are to relate to them and retain the new linguistic information. The challenge lies on how to turn repetitive exercises into personal expression. 

There are ways to make this kind of activities relevant and communicative and this is what this essay will attempt to show. 
Different possibilities have been devised and will be tackled in a practical manner so as to offer a starting point for adaptation and other applications.