In this chapter the aim is to discuss various kinds of language drills and provide examples from two or three major Indian languages.
There are various types of drills. Mainly twelve types of drills can be thought of. Following are of ' restructuring range' type drills. Restructuring range indicates the arrangements, rearrangements and the complexities in the drills that a learner experiences to give a response.
1) Repetition(a) Verbatum repetition
(b) Open ended repetition
2) Substitution(a) Simple substitution/single slot substitution
(b) Substitution in various slots/mixed slot Substitution
(c) Substitution that forces a change in the structure
(d) Substitution that calls for a change in the cue
(e) Multiple slot substitution
(f) Progressive substitution/moving slot substitution
3) Expansion drill
4) Addition drill
5) Sentence formation drill
6) Fixed increment drill
7) Completion drill
8) Transformation drill
9) Transformation combination drill
10) Translation drill
11) Question and answer drill
(a) Questions with affirmative answer
(b) Questions with negative answer
(c) Questions eliciting alternate answers
(b) Guided comment or reply drill
(e) Simple response questions/Yes-No questions
12) Replacement drill1. Repetition Drill
Each and every drill has its own purpose. It is hoped that the repetition of sentences will automatically settle the structures and vocabulary in the minds of the learners. Mere introduction of the structure in the class room alone may not serve the purpose. Understanding and verbalizing a pattern or structure may help the learners to learn it but the ability to use the language cannot be achieved by practising the pattern alone.
The repetition drill is of great help in building up ' Kinetic memory', i.e. ., for the training of the perceptual motor skills.
The difficulty in this context is that memorizing materials in a second/foreign language is much more difficult than memorizing in the mother tongue.Aim
The Purpose of this drill is to enable the learners to internalize the structure or grammatical categories introduced in the lesson.
Procedure
Following five points should be kept in mind while administering drills:
1) Only the vocabulary introduced in the lesson will be made use of.
2) Let the learner listen to the utterance and then repeat it. It is a must to let the
learners listen to the sentences serveral times.3) The teacher has to repeat the utterance three times or more. The
repetition part should begin with chorus drill or mass drill and when the
learners as a group attain some success, the teacher will move on to
individuals by adopting chain drill.4) Sometimes, the teacher may not be able to administer a long sentence, in
which case, the long sentence should be broken into phrases or clauses
with appropriate pauses. The teacher has to begin with the last phrase and
build up the whole utterance. Similar exercise, however will be done in the
expansion drill also.
5) The teacher should repeat the items with natural speed, since slow or fast
stimuli will effect the pronunciation of the student and the speed of their
response perhaps in addition to distorting the meaning also.
The repetition of the structure indirectly provides the grammatical explanation. The context of occurrence itself points out the grammatical point. The teacher is the model and the learners will imitate him with the same speed, intonation and pronunciation. In addition to internalizing the whole structure, the learners will be able to discover new morphological and syntactic features aimed at teaching.
There are two kinds of repetition drill:
(a) Verbatum repetition and
(b) Open ended repitition
(a) Verbatum Repetition
The learner repeats the sentences given without any change.
I llustrations:
Tamil - T : avaru aaciriyaru
he teacher'he is a teacher'
L : avaru aaciriyaruT : avaru neettu vantaan
he yesterday came'he came yesterday'
L : avan neettu vantaan
T : nalla pat?icca raaman pariit?caiyil pass aanaan
well studied Raman examination pass -past"Rama who studied well, passed in the examination'
L : nalla pat?icca raaman pariit?caiyil pass aanaan
Telugu - T : neenu annam tin?t?unnaanu
I food eating'I am eating food'
L : neenu annam tin?t?unnaanu
T : vasanta vijawaad?a wel?l??indi
Vasanta Vijayawada wentT : baagaa cadiwinaa, aameki ma*ci maarkulu
well studied she good marksraaleedu
did not get'though studied well, she did not get good
marks'L : baagaa cadiwinaa, aameki ma*ci maarkulu
raaleedu
Hindi - T : maadhavi d?aans kar rahii he
Madhavi dance doing is'Madhavi is dancing'
L : naagamani vaizaagmee he
Nagamani Vizag in is'Nagamani is in Vizag'
L : naagamani vaizaagmee he
T : kam khaanee par bhii vah balvaan he
Less eaten even though he strong is'Even though he has eaten less, he is strong'
L : kam khaanee par bhii vah balvaan he
(b) Open Ended Repetition
The learners' responses may contain vocabulary items from his own imaginations.
Illustrations:
Tamil - naan vaa*kappoortu penaa
I what going to buy pen'what I am going to buy is pen'
naan vaa*kappoortu (puttakam)
I going to buy (book)naan vaa*kappooratu (kat?t?il)
'cot'Telugu - neenu cuud?abooyeedi sinimaa
I going to see movie'what I am going to see is a movie'
neenu cuud?abooyeedi (naat?akam)
I going to see (drama)neenu cuud?abooyeedi (sarkasu)
'circus'
Hindi - meeri deekhii huii tasviir
my seen (which?) picture'the picture that I have seen'
meerii deekhii huii (pustak)
my seen (which?) (book)'the book that I have seen'
meerii deekhii huii (naat?ak)
'drama'etc.
The parenthesis shows the optionality of the learners' choice.
After acquiring the basic sentences by repetition, substitution drill becomes most powerful and useful to overcome the restricted ability of being able to speak only a set of sentences of the same structure.
The sentence is composed of segments within a frame, the position of which is in a fixed relation to the position of other slots. The general structure of the sentence is retained but there will be changes in the semantic content.
Sometimes, substitution introduced into one frame necessitated a change of one or more segments of the sentence. Substitution drill may be of various types according to the mechanism of operation and they are:
(a) Simple substitution/Single slot substitution
(b) Substitution in different slots/Mixed slot
substitution(c) Substitution that forces a change in the
structure
(d) Substitution that calls for a change in
the cue
(e) Multiple slot substitution
(f) Progressive slot substitution/Moving slot
substitution(a) Simple Substitution
Aim
To enable the learners to begin to assimilate the structure and the variation in a single frame. It enables him to recognize and use the class of segments that can fit into a particular frame.
Procedure
The teacher presents the basic structure that needs to be practiced by the learners. A cue word to substitute in a slot is given and the learner is expected to give the new sentence retaining the same pattern. This is a simple substitution in the sense that neither the cue word nor the structure undergoes any change. The meaning of the words is already known. Some examples are given by the teacher himself to illustrate and then the learner is asked to proceed on similar lines.
Illustrations:
Tamil - siita oru nalla ponnu
Sita one good girl'Sita is a good girl'
ket?t?a 'bad'
siitaa oru ket?t?a ponnu
Sita one bad girl'Sita is a bad girl'
alkaana 'beautiful'
siitaa oru alakaana ponnu
Sita one beautiful girl'Sita is a beautiful girl'
Telugu - vasanta caala telivaina ammaayi
Vasanta very intelligent girl''Vasanta is a very intelligent girl'
andamaina 'beautiful'
vasanta caala andamaina ammaayi
Vasanta very beautiful girl'Vasanta is a very beautiful girl'
cur?kaina ammaayi
vasanta caala curukaina ammaayi
Vasanta very active girl'Vasanta is a very active girl'
Here the adjectives are substituted.
Hindi - maadhavi hos?iyaar lar?kii he
Madhavi intelligent girl is'Madhavi is an intelligent girl'
sundar 'beautiful'
maadhavi sundar lar?kii he
Madhavi beautiful girl is'Madhavi is a beautiful girl'
teej 'active'
madhavi teej lar?kii he
Madhavi active girl is'Madhavi is an active girl'
(b) Substitution in various Slots/Mixed Slot Substitution
Aim
To enable the learners to assimilate the grammatical category of the words with appropriate places of their occurance.
Procedure
Here the substitution will be simple but in different slots
with different grammatical categories. The learner has to know the grammatical category of the cue words. However, more complex items, such as gender, number, etc., will not be introduced.
Illustrations:
Tamil - avan puttakam pat?ikkuraan
he book reads'he reads a book'
naval 'navel'
avan naval pat?ikkuraan
he novel reads'he reads a novel'
eluturaan 'writes'
avan naval eluturaan
he novel writes'he writes a novel'
kate 'story'
avan kate eluturaan
he story writes'he writes a story'
Telugu - kis?oor kaaleeziiloo caduwutunnaad?u
Kishore college-in studying'kishore is studying in college'
in?t?loo 'in the house'
kis?oor in?t?loo caduwutunnaad?u
Kishore house-in studying'Kishore is studying at home'
aad?utunnaad?u is playing'
kis?oor in?t?loo aad?utunnaad?u
Kishore house-in playing'Kishore isplaying at home'
raamud?u 'Rama'raamud?u in?t?loo aad?utunnaad?u
Rama house-in playing'Rama is playing at home'
Hindi - vah acchii kitaab par?htaa he
He good book reads pres.'he reads a good book'
likhtaa 'writes'
vah acchii kitab likhtaa he
he good book writes pres.'he writes a good book'
siitaa 'sita'
siitaa acchii kitaab likhtii he
Sita good book writes pres.'Sita writes a good book'
burii 'bad'
sitaa burii kitaab likhtii he
Sita bad book writes pres.'Sita writes a bad book'
(c) Substitution that Forces a Change in the Structure
Aim
To enable the learners to know that substitution in a slot sometimes forces a change in the structures.
Procedure
When the learners substitute the cue words, the filler sentence needs some changes, like changes in gender, person, number, etc.
Illustrations:
Tamil - avan paat?am pat?iccaan
he lesson read-past'he read a lesson'
ava 'she'ava paat?am pat?iccaa
she lesson read-past'she read a lesson'
ava*ka 'they'
ava*ka paat?am pat?iccaa*ka
they lesson read-past'they read a lesson'
Telugu - maadhuri allari ceestoondi
Madhuri mischief do-pres.'Madhuri is playing mischief'
kis?oor 'Kishore'
kis?oor allari ceestunnaad?u
Kishore mischief do-press.'Kishore is playing mischief'
pani 'work'
kis?oor pani ceestunnaad?u
Kishore work do-press.'Kishore is working'
vasanta 'Vasanta'
vasanta pani ceestoondi
Vasanta work do-press.'Vasanta is working'
The above examples involve number-gender agreement. If the cue word is now, yesterday, or tomorrow, accordingly the filler sentence also needs some changes in the tense of the verb.
(d) Substitution that Calls for a Change in the cue
Aim
To enable the learner to know which grammatical category would
fit in the filler sentence. The learner is also expected to know the morphological variations of the cue word without separating them from syntax.Procedure
In this type of substitution, the cue word itself is to be changed before substituting according to the requirement of the filler sentence. The cue word will be given and the learner will change it according to the requirements before substitution.
Illustrations:
Tamil - nii pat?ikkan?um
You to read should (required)'you should read'
paar 'to see'
nii paarkkan?um
you to see should (required)'you should see'
kot?u 'to give'
nii kot?ukkanum
you to give should (required)'you should give'
Telugu - maadhavi cadawaali
Madhavi read-should'Madhavi must study'
cuud?u 'see'
maadhavi cuud?aali
Madhavi see-should'Madhavi must see
paad?u 'sing'
maadhavi paad?aali
Madhavi sing-should'Madhavi must sing'
tinu 'eat'
maadhavi tinaali
Madhavi eat-should'Madhavi must eat'
Hindi - raam koo par?hnaa caahiye
Ram (to) read must (required)'Ram must read'
soo 'sleep'
raam koo soonaa caahiye
Ram ( to) sleep must (required)'Ram must sleep'
khaa 'eat'
raam koo khaanaa caahiye
ram (to?) eat must (required)'Ram must eat'
Here, the filler sentence needs the infinitive (in case of Tamil) and conditional (in case of Telugu) and infinitive (in case of Hindi) forms of the verb. Therefore the learner has to change the verb form given accordingly before substitution.
(c) Multiple Slot Substitution
Aim
Since the learners have to choose the frame in which the substitution is to operate, they learn to distinguish between the different word classes. Thus they can explore the semantic variation within a given structural framework.
Procedure
Instead of substituting in only one frame, the learner has to do it in different frames without affecting any change in the grammatical structure.
Illustrations:
Tamil - viit?t??ule nereya porul?u irukkutu
in the house lot of things are'a lot of things are in the house'
kuut?aiyilee 'basket (in the)' ,
kaaykari 'vegetables'
kuut?aiyilee nereya kaaykari irukkutu
'there are lot of vegetables in the basket'Telugu - skuulloo caalamandi vidyaarthulu unnaaru
school-in many students are'there are many students in the school'
in?t?loo 'in the house',
pillalu 'children'in?t?loo caalaamandi pillalu unnaaru
in the house many children are'there are many children in the house'
aafiisuloo 'in the office',
pyuunulu 'peons'
aafiisuloo caalamandi pyuunulu unnaaru
in the office many peons are'there are many peons in the office'
Hindi - sinima haal m? jyaada loog he
cinema hall in many people are'there are many people in the cinema
hall'
klaas m? 'in the class',
kam 'less'
klass m? kam loog he
class in less (number of ) people are'there are less number of people in the class'
ghar m? 'in the house',
acchee 'good'
ghar m? acchee loog he
house in good people are'there are good people in the house'
Multiple substitution can also be changed as simple substitution, substitution that forces a change in the structure and substitution that calls for a change in the cue.
(f) Progressive Substitution/Moving Slot Substitution
Aim
To enable the learner to know that by substituting words in various slots, he would get a number of sentences, understand the order of their occurrence and the grammatical categories.
Procedure
This drill puts a double burden on the learners' memory. He must remember the preceding sentence in which he has substituted and he must make a new one according to the cue word given. The pattern of substituting in each succeeding slot is maintained.
Illustrations:
Tamil - T : avan neettu kaaleyilee e*ka viit?t?ukku vantaan
he yesterday morning our house to came'he came to our home yesterday morning'
T : raaman 'Raman'
L : raaman neettu kaaleyilee e*ka viit?t?ukku vantaan
Raman yesterday morning our house to came'Raman came to our home yesterday morning'
T : muntaanaal?u 'day before yesterday'
L : raaman muntaanaal?u kaaleyilee e*ka
Raman day before yesterday morning ourviit?t??ukku vantan
house-to came'Raman came to our home day before yesterday
morning'T : maaleyilee 'evening'
L : raaman muntaanaal?u maaleyilee e*ka
Raman day before yesterday evening ourviit?t??ukku vantaan
house-to came'Raman came to your home day before yesterday
evening'T : kat?ekku 'shop - to
L : raaman muntaanaal?u maaleyilee u*ka
Raman day before yesterday evening yourkat?ekku vantaan
shop-to came'Raman came to your shop day before yesterday
evening'T : poonaan 'went - to'
L : raaman muntaanaal?u maaleyilee u*ka
raman day before yesterday evening yourkat?ekku poonaan
shop-to went
'Raman went to your shop day before yesterday
evening'Telugu - T : kis?oor monna kaaleziliiki vel?l?æd?u
Kishore day before yesterday college to went'Kishore went to college day before yesterday'
L : kis?oor monna kaaleziiki vel?l?æd?u
T : vasanta 'Vasanta'
L : vasanta monna kaal_eziiki vel?l?indi
Vasanta day before yesterday college to went'Vasanta went to college day before yesterday'
T : ninna .'yesterday'
L : vasanta ninna kaaleziiki vel?l?indi
Vasanta yesterday college to went'Vasanta went to college yesterday'
T : sinimaaki 'to a movie'
L : vasanta ninna sinimaaki vel?l?indi
Vasanta yesterday movie to went'Vasanta went to a movie yesterday'
T : vaccu 'come'
L : vasanta ninna sinimaaki vaccindi
Vasanta yesterday movie to came'Vasanta came to a movie yesterday'
Hindi - T : raam kal dilli jaaegaa
Ram tomorrow Delhi will go'Ram will go to Delhi tomorrow'
L : raam kal dilli jaaegaa
T : siitaa 'Sita'L : siitaa kal dilli jaaegii
Sita tomorrow Delhi will go'Sita will go to Delhi tomorrow'
T : sinema 'movie'
L : siitaa kal sinemaa jaaegii
Sita tomorrow movie will go'Sita will go to a movie tomorrow'
T : parsõ (past) 'day before yesterday'
L : siitaa parsõ sinemaa gayii
Sita day before yesterday movie day before yesterday'Aim
It provides the learners with an idea of the order of occurrence of the words in a sentence and how the sentences could be built up.
Procedure
The learner is given words one after the other. He has to keep on adding one word after the other. He has to keep on adding one word after the other in a particular order. The direction of the building on is maintained. The learners should know the grammatical category of the cue word along with its meaning.
Illustrations :
Tamil - T : vantaan 'came'
L : vantaan
T : viit?t?ukku 'to the house'
L : viit?t?ukku vantaan
house to came'came to the house'
T : e*ka 'our'
L : e*ka viit?t?ukku vantan
our house to came'came to our house'
T : kaaleyilee 'morning'
L : kaaleyilee e*ka viit?t?ukku vantaan
morning in our house to come'came to our house in the morning'
T : in?n?ekku 'today'
L : in?n?ekku kaaleyilee e*ka viit?t?ukku vantaan
today morning in our house to came'came to our house in the morning today'
T : avan 'he'
L : avan in?n?ekku kaaleyilee e*ka viit?t?ukku vantaan
he today morning in our house to came'he came to our house in the morning today'
Telugu - T : cadiwæd?u 'read'
L : cadiwæd?uT : pustakam cadiwæd?u
book read'read the book'
T : mañci 'good'
L : mañci pustakam cadiwæd?u
good book read'read a good book'
T : skuulloo 'in the school'
L : skuulloo mañci pustakam cadiwæd?u
school in good book read'read a good book in the school'
T : aa 'that'L : aa skuulloo mañci pustakam cadiwæd?u
that school in good book read'read a good book in that school'
T : raamud?u 'Rama'
L : raamud?u aa skulloo mañci pustakam cadiwæd?u
Rama that school in good book read'Rama read a good book in that school'
Hindi - T : khaayaa 'ate'
L : khaayaa
T : khaanaa 'food'
L : khaanaa khaayaa
food ate'ate food'
T : acchaa 'good'
L : acchaa khaanaa khaayaa
good food ate'ate good food'
T : hoot?al m? 'in the hotel'
L : acchaa m? acchaa khaanaa khaaya
hotel-in good food ate'ate good food in the hotel'
T : kal (past) 'yesterday'
L : kal hootal m? acchaa khaanaa khaaya
yesterday hotel in good food ate'ate good food in the hotel yesterday'
T : goovind ne 'Govind'
L : goovind ne kal hootal m? acchaa khaana khaaya
Govind yesterday hotel in good food ate'Govind ate good food in the hotel yesterday'
TOP
4. Addition DrillAim
The possibility of adding one word after the other enables the learners to acquire the basic mechanism by which a sentence can be expanded without affecting the basic structure.
This drill is otherwise called expansion/extension drill. The filler sentence is expanded by adding new items to it. While the drill is administered, the learners' familiarity with the lexical elements of the drill is very important. In addition to knowing the meaning of the items, the learners should also know the grammatical category of the item to be added to the filler sentence in appropriate places.
Addition of the items can be either to the left side of the master/filler sentence or to the left of the verb. According to the structure of the language concerned, this may take place either on the right side or on the left side of the verb.
Illustrations :
Tamil - T : naan pooneen
I went'I went'
L : naan pooneen
T : cennekku 'to Madras'
L : naan cennekku pooneen
I Madras to went'I went to Madras'
T : neettu 'yesterday'
L : naan neettu cennekku pooneen
I yesterday Madras to went'I went to Madras yesterday'
Telugu - T : neenu raastunnaanu
I writing am'I am writing'
L : neenu raastunnaanu
T : paat?ham 'lesson'
L : neenu paat?ham raastunnaanu
I lesson writing amT : telugu 'Telugu'
L : neenu telugu paat?ham raastunnaanu
I Telugu lesson writing am'I am writing the Telugu lesson'
Hindi - T : mE) nee deekhaa
I saw'I saw'
L : mE) nee deekhaa
T : sinemaa 'movie'
L : mE) nee sinemaa deekhaa
I movie saw'I saw a movie'
T : kannad?a 'Kannada'
L : mE) nee kannad?a sinemaa deekhii
I Kannada movie saw'I saw a kannada movie'
T : acchii 'good'
L : mE) nee acchii kannad?a sinemaa deekhii
I goood Kannada movie saw'I saw a good Kannada movie'
T : kal 'yesterday'
L : mE) nee kal acchii kannad?a sinemaa deekhii
I yesterday good Kannada movie saw'I saw a good Kannada movie yesterday'
Such addition is possible in the case of most of the major Indian language to the left of the verb.Since the order of occurrence of the items/word order is not very important in some languages, it is advisable to maintain the pattern of adding the words in one direction. If this is not done, this drill cannot be effectively administered as a chorus drill since the cues areapt toelicit more than one correct response.
The drill may also be carried out by introducing the conjuctive markers also. However the conjuction used should not alter the word order in the sentence. By the use of expansion drill, the learner will become aware of the fact that sentence consists of stringing together various clauses, phrases and words. Thus this drill helps the learners to build up longer sentences by combining words, phrases and clauses starting from the basic sentence.
Aim
This drill enables the learners to understand that a number of sentences could be constructed by using a series of words or phrases.
Procedure
Before concentrating on difficult or complex patterns to make a habit formation in the learners' mind, this type of drill is given.
A chart will be given and the learners have to form sentences by making use of the items occurring in different frames of the chart.
Illustrations :
Tamil
_________________________________________________
avan kalluurikku poo
‘he’ ‘to college’ ‘go’
viit*t*ukku
‘to home’
_________________________________________________
avarkal, kalluuriyileeyiruntu vaa
‘they’ ‘from college’ ‘come’
pal,l,iyileeyiruntu nat*a
‘from school’
_________________________________________________
36 sentences can be constructed from this chart
Telugu
_________________________________________________
aame skuuluki vaccu
‘she’ ‘to school’ ‘come’
il,l,iki
‘to home’
sinimaaki
‘to movie’
bazaariki
‘to market’
_________________________________________________
vaallu skuulunuńci vel,l,,u
‘they’ ‘from school’ ‘go’
in,t*inuńci nad)ucu
‘from home’ ‘walk’
sinimaanuńci parugettu
‘from movie’ ‘run’
bazaarunuńci
‘from market’
_________________________________________________
64 sentences can be constructed from this chart
Hindi___________________________________________________
vah skuul aana
'he' 'school (to)' ' to come'ghar
'house (to)'sinemaa
'movie (to)'bazaar
'market (to)'
_______________________________________________________
vee skuul see jaanaa
'they' 'from school' 'to go'ghar see calnaa
'from house' 'to walk'sinemaa see
'from the movie'bazaar see
'from the market'
__________________________________________________________48 sentences can be constructe from this chart
In this drill a phrase, a clause or an expression is repeated before or after a series of other expressions.
The feature of this drill is that the cue given by the teacher goes on increasing and the part of the utterance added by the learners remains constant or fixed. It is the teacher's cue that goes on increasing in terms of length and/or complexity. The portion of the addition by the learner which remains unchanged could be either in the right or left extremes.
Aim
This drill enables the learners to understand that a certain portion in a sentence can be fixed while increase in the rest of the sentences will give new sentences.
Procedure
The cue which could be a word, a phrase or a clause is given by the teacher to which a fixed expression (either to the left or right) is added by the learner, thereby giving a completely meaningful sentence. In this drill, it is the cue that varies.
Illustrations:
Tamil - T : naan viit?t??ukku varuvataa conneen
I house to (that) would come said'I said that I would come home'
L : naan viit?t??ukku varyvataa conneen
T : naan u*ka viit?t??ukku
I your house-to
L : naan u*ka viit?t??ukku varuvataa conneen
I your house-to (that)would come said'I said that I would come to your home'
T : naan naal?e u*ka viit?t??ukku
I tomorrow your house toL : naan naal?e u*ka viit?t??ukku varuvataa conneen
I tomorrow your house-to (that)would come said'I said that I would come to your home tomorrow'
Telugu - T : kis?oor raajaman?d?ri vel?taanani ceppæd?u
Kishore Rajahmundry would go(that) said
'Kishore said that he would go to Rajahmundry'The portion underlined is fixed. The teacher now gives
the cues that should be added to the fixed portion by the
learner and the new expression given.T : kis?oor raajaman?d?ri reepu
Kishore Rajahmundry tomorrowL : kis?oor raajaman?d?ri reepu vel?taanani
Kishore Rajahmundry tomorrow would go(that)ceppæd?u
said'Kishore said that he would go to Rajahmundry
tomorrow'T : Kis?oor raajaman?d?ri reepu meilloo
Kishore Rajahmundry tomorrow mail (in the)L : kis?oor raajaman?d?ri reepu meilloo
Kishore Rajahmundry tomorrow mail(in the)vel?taanani ceppæd?u
would go(that) said'Kishore said that he would go to Rajahmudry
tomorrow by mail (in the mail)'Hindi - T : laks?mi mad?raas gayii
lakshmi Madras went'Lakshmi went to Madras'
The underlined portion is fixed. The teacher would give the cues that should be added to the fixed portion by the learner and the new sentence given.
L : laks?mi madraas gayii
T : meel se 'by mail'
L : laks?mi meel se madraas gayii
Lakshmi mail-by Madras went'Lakshmi went to Madras by mail'
T : subah 'morning'L : laks?mi subah meel se mad?raas gayii
Lakshmi morning mail-by Madras went'Lakshmi went to Madras by morning mail'
TOP
7. Completion Drill
Aim
To enable the learner to know the grammatical category the item to be filled in a given sentence and the position of its occurrence.Procedure
The drill may be administered in different ways. The word to be filled in may or may not necessitate a change. It is always advisable to give cue words which need some change before filling in. A multiple choice answer may be given which helps the learners to identify and select the appropriate word.
Illustrations:
Tamil - T : liila oru ________ pon?n?u. (alaku)
'Leela is a _______ girl. (beauty)'
L : Liilaa oru alakaala ponnu
'Leela(is) a beautiful girl'Telugu - T : maadhavi caala _________ pilla. (allari)
'Madhavi very ________ girl. (mischief)'
L : maadhavi caala allari pilla'Madhavi (is) (a) very mischeous girl'
Hindi T : ghar m? sab loog ________ hE). (buud?haa)
house in all people _______ are. (old)
L : ghar m? sab loog buud?hee hE)
house in all people old are
'all the people in the house are old'
The learner is expected to change the given noun form into an adjective form (in the case of Tamil and Telugu) and make
the necessary changes in the adjectival form taking care of the subject - number concord in the case of Hindi and then fill in the blank. Multiple choice type of the same drill may be given as follows:
Tamil - T : liilaa ______ pon?n?u
Leela _______ girl
(alaku, alakaana, alakaa)
L : liilaa alakaana pon?n?u
'Leela is abeautiful girl'
Telugu - T : maadhavi caala _________ pilla
Madhavi is very ________ girl
(andam, andamaina, andanga)
L : maadhavi caala andamaina pilla
'Madhavi is a very beautiful girl'
Hindi - T : sahar m? sab makaan __________ hE)
city in all buildings ________ are
(bad?ii, bad?aa, bad?ee)
L : sahar m? sab makaan bad?ee hE)
'all the buildings in the city are big'
The cue words are a noun, an adjective and an adverb.
Unless the learner knows the grammatical category of the words given and the grammatical category of the word form to be filled in, he cannot choose the correct one to complete the sentence.
The drill may also be administered without giving a cue word. This will move the learners away from the structural nature to a point where he is required to recall his vocabulary. The learner will thus complete the blank with appropriate words from his stock of vocabulary.
Examples:Tamil - T : avanukku koñcam _________ veen?um
to him some ___________ wantedL : avanukku koñcam pan?am veenum
to him some money wanted'he wants some money'
(some _______ is wanted by him)Telugu - T : maa uuru vel?l?eenduku naaku ________ kaawaali
my place go to to me ________ needed
'I need _______ to go to my place'L : maa uuru vel?l?eenduku naakuselawu kaawaali
my place go to to me leave need'I need leave to go to my place'
(leave is needed by me to go my place)Hindi - T : skuul jaane keliye uskoo ________ caahiyee
school go for him to ________ required'_______ needed for him to go to school'
L : skuul jaane keliye uskoo kitaab? caahiyee
school go for him to books required'books are required for him to go to school'
A drill which demands a transformation of one sentence type into other types, such as affirmative to negative, interrogative or imperative or by changing their mood, voice, aspect, tense, etc., is called transformation drill.
Aim
The drill is based on the principle of opposition, i.e., change in the paradigmatic axis. Each drill brings one of the grammatical oppositions into picture. Such features belong to
the target language. Lexical content is not too important in this drill whereas the mechanism is very important. So the drill helps the learner to know the mechanism or operation to make the required transformations.
Procedure
The learner listens to a sentence which can be transformed into other types of sentence involving a grammatical change. The grammatical structure may or may not vary, but the transformation operates on the same grammatical point.
Illustrations:
The drill can be designed in many ways. Some illustrations are given below:
(1) The learner is instructed to transform affirmative into negative. Examples:
Tamil - T : avan paat?am elutunaan
he lesson wrote not'he wrote (his) lessons'
(Change/Transform it into a negative sentence)
L : avan paat?am elutale
he lesson wrote not'he didn't write(his) lessons'
Telugu - T : vaal?l?u sinimaa cuusæru
they movie saw'they saw the movie'
(Change/Transform it into a negative sentence)L : vaal?l?u sinimaa cuud?aleedu
they movie saw not'they didn't see the movie'
Hindi - T : raam ne pustak par?hii
Ram book read'Ram read the book'
(Change/Transform it into a negative sentenceL : raam ne pustak nahii par?hii
Ram book not read'Ram didn't read the book'
(2) The learner has to provide questions for the statements given as cues.
Examples:Tamil - T : raaman neettu vantaan
Raman yesterday came'Raman came yesterday'
L : raaman neettu vantaanaa?
Raman yesterday come did'Did Raman come yesterday?'
Telugu - T : vaal?l?u sinimaa cuud?aleedu
they movie see not'they didn't see the movie'
(Transform it into question. Interrogate
the action)L : vaal?l? sinimaa cuusd?ra?
they movie see did'did they see the movie?'
T : (Interrogate the subject)
L : evaru sinimaa cusæru?
who movie saw'who saw the movie?'
or
vaal?lu eemi cusæru?
they what saw did'what did they see?
Hindi - T : kis?oor qunt?uur gayaa
Kishore Guntur went'Kishore went to Guntur'
(Transform this into a question.)L : kyaa, kis?oor qunt??uur gayaa?
what, Kishore Gunter went''did Kishore go to Guntur?'
Here the question is a do type one. Wh- questions also can administered. The instructions given to the learner should very explicit.
(3) Imperative sentences can be elicited by giving instruction like this.
Examples:Tamil - ______ enkit?t??e col?l?u*ka (Instructions)
me askT : katave terakka enkit?t?e collu*ka
door open me ask'ask me to open the door'
L : katave tera
door open'open the door'
T : cooru caappit?a enkit?t??e collu*ka
rice eat me ask'ask me to eat rice'
L : cooru caappit?u
rice eat'eat rice'
Telugu - _________ ani ceppu (Instructions)
'say that/tell . . . that ask/to'
T : paapaayini in?t?iki rammani ceppu
Papai house to come that tell'tell Papai that she should come home'
L : in?t?iki raa
home come'come home'
T : maadhavini annam tinamani ceppu
Madhavi food eat that tell'ask Madhavi to eat food'
L : annam tinu
food eat'eat food'
T : ammani katha ceppamani ceppu
mother story tell that ask'ask many to tell a story'
L : katha ceppu
story tell'tell a story'
T : cilakani maisuuru rammani ceppu
Chilaka Mysore come that ask'ask Chilaka to come to Mysore'
L : maisuuru raa
Mysore come'come to Mysore'
Hindi - _________mujh se puuchiye / kahiye (Instructions)
me with ask(hon.)/ tell(hon.)T : mujse kahiye ki mE) darvaazaa khooloo)
me with tell that I door open'tell me that I should open the door'
L : darvaazaa khooliye
door open(hon.)'please open the door'
T : mujhse puuchiya ki mE) kab dillii jaau)u)ga
me with ask(hon.) that I when Delhi go(fut.)'ask me when I would go to Delhi'
L : aap dillii kab jaaenge
you(hon.) Delhi when go(fut.)'when will you go to Delhi'
Transformation - Combination Drill
Aim
To enable the learner to know how to make complex and compound sentences by transforming one of the given simple sentences to the required form like reducing it to a relative clause construction, etc. This kind of drill enables the learner to group the logical relationships between different constituent parts and to express them with only a single structure.
Procedure
The learner is expected to transform the finite verb of the first sentence to conditional or relative participle and combine the transformed expression with the second sentence.
Illustrations:
Tamil - T : Combine the following two sentences:
a) mayilu meekatte kan?t?atu
peacock clouds saw'peacock saw the clouds'
b) mayilu aat?utu
peacock dances'peacock dances'
L : mayilu meekatte kan?t?u aat?utu
peacock clouds having seen dances'having seen the cloud, the peacock dances'
Telugu - T : Combine the following two sentences:
a) vaal?l??u raatrantaa peekaad?æru
they night all through cards played'they played cards all through the night'
b) vaal?l?u pagalu nidra pooyæru
they day time sleep (past)'they slept during the day time'
L : vaal?l?u raatrantaa peekaat?ad?i pagalu
they night all through card played day timenidra pooyæru
sleep (past)'having played cards all through the night:
they slept during the day time'Hindi - T : Combine the following two sentences:
a) raam ne sinemaa deekhaa
Ram movie saw'Raw saw a movie'
b) raam ghar aayaa
Ram house came'Ram came home'
L: raam sinemaa dekhaar ghar aayaa
Ram movie having seen house came'having seen the movie Ram came home'
Here the finite verb of the first sentence is transformed the verbal participle form and after some deletions (here an equi- NP deletion) the sentence is combined with the second one.
This drill is otherwise called as interpretation drill in the bilingual method of
language teaching.
AimThe translation/interpretation drill will help the learners to retain the meaning and establish a firm association between that meaning and the sounds in the target language. By this the learner can overcome the difficulty of properly associating the meaning and the sounds together.
Procedure
The teacher gives an oral stimulus in mother tongue to the learners for which they
should respond in the target language.This drill should not force the learner to concentrate on working out the content of the statements he intends to say and therefore the stimulus in mother tongue is used to supply the idea or the concept to be expressed in the target language.
This activity would be of help to a homogeneous group only. But if another language is used as a medium same language can be used for providing the stimulus.
However, it is upto the teacher to decide whether to use this drill or not since some scholars believe that mother tongue is a hindrance to the learners.
Illustrations:
T : I have a book
Tamil - L : enkit?t?e oru pustakam irukkutu
me with one book is'I have a book'
Telugu - naaku oka pustakam undi
me for one book is'I have a book'
Hindi - meraa eek pustak he
my one book is'I have a book'
T : I have a box
Tamil - L : enki t? t?e oru pet?t?i irukkutu
me with one box is'I have a box'
Telugu - naaku oka pet?t?i undi
me for one box is'I have a box'
Hindi - mera eek baksaa he
my one box is'I have a box'
This drill is otherwise called the Response Drill.
Aim
To give an opportunity to the learners to react automatically to situations, making use of the sentence patterns they have already learnt in the target language.
Procedure
The drill is so formulated that it uses the structures already learnt by the learners. So it gives them a more natural directions, leading them to normal conversation since the real life situation are also involved.
The main draw-back of this type of drill is that it cannot be used for chorus drill since the answers may differ from one learner to the other.
Illustrations:
Question will be framed based upon the patterns introduced in the lesson.
Tamil - T : nii*ka kaaleyilee enna caappit?t?ii*ka?
you morning-in what ate'what did you eat in the morning?
L : naan kaaleyilee tooce caappit?t?een
I morning-in dosa ate'I ate dosa in the morning'
T : nii*ka avanukku enna kot?uttii*ka?
you him-to what gave'what did you give him?'
L : naan avanukku pan?am kot?utteen
I him-to money gave'I gave him money'
Telugu - T : nuvvu in?t?iki eppud?u vel?tawu?
you home-to when go'when would you go to home?'
L : neenu in?t?iki reepu vel?taanu
I home to tomorrow go'I shall go home tomorrow'
T : vasanta hydraabaaduloo em cestoondi?
Vasanta Hyderabad-in what doing'what is Vasanta doing in Hyderabad?
L : vasanta hydraabaaduloo udyoogam castooudi
Vasanta Hydrabad-in job doing
'Vasanta is working (doing job) in Hydrabad'T : waad?iki eem kawaali?
him to what needed'what is needed by him?'
L : waad?iki padi ruupaayalu kaawaali
him-to ten rupees needed'ten rupees are needed by him'
Hindi - T : aap ne uskoo kyaa diyaa?
you him-to what gave'what did you give him?'
L : mE) ne uskoo eek pustak diyaa
I him-to one book gave'I gave him a book'
T : siita ne kyaa khaayaa?
Sita what ate'what did Sita eat?'
L : siita ne rooti khaayii
Sita bread ate'Sita ate bread'
Question can be asked for which only the patterns learnt already can be made use of to construct the answer. Chorus drill may be possible in such cases.
A series of questions which elicit information on a variety of subjects cannot be considered as pattern drill. Examples:
Tamil - T : niinka nettu citamparattukku ponii*kal?aa?
you yesterday Chaidambaram to go-past'did you go to Chidambaram yesterday?'
L : aamaa
'yes'
T : unkit?t?e yaaru connaa*ka?
you to who told?''who told you?'
L : peeraaciriyarutaan enkit?t?e connaaru
professor only(himself) me told
'Professor himself told me'
T : u*ka nan?pare cantippii*kal?aa?
your friend meet-will'will you meet your friend?'
L : aama, naan cantippen
yes, I meet-will'yes, I will meet'
Telugu - T : miiru selawuloo in?t?iki vel?tunnaaraa?
you on leave home-to going'are you going home on leave?
L : awunu, miikewaruceppæru?
yes, you who told'yes, who told you?'
T : sæstrigaaru ceppæru. akkad?a subbaarawuni
Mr. Sastri told there Subbaraokalusukun?t?aara?
meet-would"Mr.Sastri told me. Would you meet
Mr.Subbarao there'L : enduku?
'why?'
T : neenu oka paarselu istaanu. waad?iki ivvan?d?i
I one parcel give him-to give(hon.)'I shall give a parcel. Please hand it over to him'
L : saree
'O.K.'T : caala thænks 'many thanks'
L : parawaaledu, danikeemundi
doesn't matter, what is there?''doesn't matter, what is there?'
Hindi - T : aap aagraa kab jaa rahe hE)?
you(hon.) Agra when going are'when are you going to Agra?'
L : mE) aagraa nahii) jaa raha hµ); dillii jaaµ)ga
I Agra not go ing am Delhi go(fut.)'I am not going to Agra; (I will) go to Delhi'
T : aap meerelie eek kaam kar sakege?
you me for one work do can(hon.)'can you do one thing(work) for me?'
L : kya caahte hE)?
what want are'what do you want?'
T : yah kitaab misraajii koo diijiye
this book Misra(hon.) to give(hon.)'please give this book to Mr. Misra'
L : jaroor dee dµ)ga
definitely give away'I shall definitely give it'
The dialogue in the lesson may have questions and answers. That does not mean a question and answer drill adopted should have all questions and answers which elicit different informations with different structures. The material producer may not get more questions to ask from within the lesson. So he has to look for topics, structures and from within the lesson. So he has to look for topics, structures and vocabulary from the previous lessons too.
Following are the three types of questions and answer drills:
(a)Questions with an Affirmative Answer
Do type of questions to elicit an affirmative answer will be given.
Illustrations:
Tamil - T : nii*ka sinimaa paarttii*kal?aa?
you movie see-did'did you see a movie?
L : aamaa, naan sinimaa paartteen
yes, I movie saw'yes, I saw a movie'
T : nii*ka paat?am paticceen
you lesson read-did'yes, I read the lesson?'
L : aamaa, naan paat?am paticceen
yes, I lesson read'yes, I read the lesson'
Telugu - T : miiru br?ndaawana gaard?ensu cuusæraa?
you Brindavan Gardens see-did'did you see Brindavan Gardens'
L : awunu, meem br?ndaawana gaard?ensu cuusæm
yes, we Brindavan Gardens saw'yes, we saw Brindavan Gardens'
T : miiru naagarahol?ee vel?l?æraa?
you Nagarahole went'yes, we had been to Nagarahole'
L : awunu, meem naagarahol?ee vel?l?æm
yes, we Nagarahole went'yes, we had been to Nagarahole'
Hindi - T : kyaa tum ne vah sinema deekhaa?
what you that cinema see-did'did you see that cinema?'
L : haa) mE) ne vah sinema deekhaa
yes. I that cinema saw'yes. I saw that cinema'
T : kyaa, tum ne khaanaa khaayaa?
what, you food eat-did'did you take/eat (your) food?'
L : haa) mE) ne khaanaa khaayaa
yes. I food ate'yes, I ate (my) food'
(b) Questions with a Negative Answer
Do type of questions which elicit a negative answer placing 'no' at the beginning.
Illustrations:
Tamil - T : nii neettu pat?icceeyaa?
you yesterday read-did'did you read yesterday?
L : ille, naan neettu pat?ikkale
no, I yesterday read-didn't'no, I did not read yesterday'
T : nii paat?am elutuneeyaa?
you lesson write-did'did you write the lesson?'
L : ille, naan paat?am elutale
no, I lesson write-didn't'no, I did not write te lesson'
Telugu - T : miiru saalaarjang myuuziyam cusæraa?
you Salarjung museum see-did'did you visit Salarjung museum?
L : leedu, meem saalaarjamg myuuziyam cuud?aleedu
no, we Salarjung meseum see-didn't'no, we did not visit Salarjung museum'
T : waal?l?u ninna paart?iiki vaccæraa?
they yesterday party to come-did'did they come for the party yesterday?'
L : leedu, waal?l?u ninna paart?iiki raaleedu
no, they yesterday party to come-didn't'no, they did not come for the party yeasterday'
T : manam ellun?d?i piknikki vel?daamaa?
we day after tomorrow picnic-to go(fut.)'shall we go to a picnic day after tomorrow?'
L : vaddu, manam ellun?d?i piknikki
no, we day after tomorrow picnic-tovel?l?addu
go-not'no, let us not go on a picnic day after
tommorrow'Hindi - T : kyaa aap ne taajmahal deekhaa?
what, you(hon.) Tajmahal see-did'did you see Tajmahal?'
L : nahii), mE) ne taajmahala nahii) deekhaa
no, I Tajmahal not see-did'no, I didn't see Tajmahal'
T : kyaa, aap yahaa) se jaipur jaaegee?
what, you(hon.) here from Jaipur go(fut.hon.)'will you go to Jaipur from here?'
L : nahii) nE) jaipuur nahii) jahuuga
no I jaipur not go(fut.)'no, I will not go to Jaipur'
(c) Alternative Answer
Here the learner has a choice to answer the question. He may give one of the two or three possible alternative answers. For a chorus drill, it may be of little use since different learners may think of different answers. These question answer drills are of great help for practising verbs. They are also used to tech vocabulary, idioms, etc.
Illustrations:
Tamil - Q : nii e*ga viit?t?ukku neettu vanteeyaa?
you our house to yeaterday come-did'did you come to our house yesterday?'
A : (1) Positive:
a) aamaa, naan neettu u*ga viit?t?ukku
yes, I yesterday your house-to
vanteen
came'yes, I came to your house yesterday'
b) aamaa, vanteen
yes, came'yes, (I) came'
(2) Negative :
a) ille, naan neettu u*ga viit?t?ukku
no, I yesterday your house tovarale
come not'no, I didn't come to your house
yesterday'
b) ille, varale
no, come-not'no, (I) didn't come'
Telugu - Q : miiru monna paart?iiki vaccæraa?
you day before yesterday party to come'did you come to the party day before yesterday?'
A : (1) Positive:
a) neenu monna paart?iiki
I day before yesterday party tovaccænu
cameb) awunu, vaccænu
yes came'yes, (I) came'
(2) Negative :
a) neenu monna paart?iiki
I day before yesterday party toraaleedu
came-not'I did not come for the party day before
yesterday'b) leedu, raaleedu
no, came-not'no, (I) did not come'
Hindi - Q : kyaa, maadhavi guntuur jaaegii?what, Madhavi Guntur go(fut.)
'will Madhavi go to Guntur?'
A : (1) Positive:
a) maadhavi guntuur jaaegii
Madhavi Guntur go(fut.)'Madhavi will go to Guntur'
b) haa), jaaegii
yes, go (fut.)'yes, (she) will go'
(2) Negative :
a) maadhavi guntuur nahii) jaaegii
Madhavi Guntur not go(fut.)'Madhavi will not go to Guntur'
b) nahii), nahii) jaaegii
no, not go(fut.)'no, (she) will not go'
(d) Guided Comment or Reply Drill
This drill may be included along with the question answer drill.
Aim
To train the learner to use one structure in the place of the other.
Procedure
The cue to be given may be a question or a statement which requires an appropriate controlled or free reply by the learner. However the cues are selected so that the entire group gives me structure only.
Illustrations:
Tamil - (1) kaaviri mukkiyamaana aaru : aanaa ka*ke
Kaveri important river but Ganga
rompa mukkiyamaana aaru
(very)more important river
'Kaveri is an important river, but Ganga is
more important river'ka*ke kaaviriye vit?a rompa mukkiyemaana aaru
Ganga Kaveri than more important river'Ganga is more important than Kaveri'
(2) ava vayacu 20: aanaa avaru vayacu 40
her age 20 but his age 40'she is 20, but he is 40'
avaru aval?e vita vayacaanavaru
he her than (aged) older'he is older than her'
Telugu - (1) naagaman?i andamayna ammaayi
Nagamani beautiful girl'Nagamani is a beautiful girl'
vasanta caala andamayna ammaayi
Vasanta very beautiful girl'Vasanta is a very beautiful girl'
vasanta nagaman?ikan?t?e andamayna ammaayi
Vasanta nagamani more than beautiful girl'Vasanta is more beautiful than Nagamani'
(2) neenu reepu in?t?iki vel?taanu
I tomorrow home-go go(fut.)'I shall go home tommorrow'
waad?u iwwal?a in?t?iki vel?taad?u
he today home-to go(fut.)'he will go home today'
waad?u naakan?t?e mundu in?t?iki vel?taad?u
he me than earlier house-to go(fut.)'he will go home earlier than me'
(3) maadhuriki muud?eel?l?u
Madhuri to three years'Madhuri is three years old'
gun?d?uki ren?d?eel?l?u
Gundu to two years'Gundu is two years old'
gun?d?u maadhurikan?t?e cinnawaad?u
Gundu Madhuri more than young(mas.)'Gunda is younger to Madhuri'
Hindi - (1) raamaarau biis saal kaa he
Ramarao twenty yaar 's is'Ramarao is twenty years old'
kis?oor baarah saal kaa he
Kishore twelve year 's is'Kishore is twelve years old'
raamarau kis?oor se bar?aa he
Ramarao Kishore than older is'Ramarao is older than Kishore'
This drill is closer to a substitution drill in which the substitute belongs to the same part of speech as that of the one replace.
Here the learner replace one unit with another, which though does not belong to the same part of speech, has a definite relationship with the one it replaces.
Aim
To some extent this drill helps the learners to know the technique of contracting long sentences, and to know the changes in the replacements.
Procedure
A basic sentence is given and the learner is asked to replace some part of the sentence. A model is given so as to avoid using the grammatical terms in the instructions.
Instructions:
Replace the possessive + noun form by a pronominalized form.
Tamil - atu ennoot?e peenaa
that my pen'that is my pen'
atu ennoot?etu
that mine'that is mine'
Telugu - adi naa pustakam
that my book'that is my book'
adi naadi
that mine'that is mine'
or
aa pustakam naadi
that book mine'that book is mine'
idi naa pet?t?i
this my box'this is my box'
idi naadi
this mine'this is mine'
or
ii pet?t?i naadi
this box mine'this box is mine'
Hindi - yah meera ghar he
this my house is'this is my house'
yah meeraa he
this mine is'this is mine'
or
yah ghar meeraa he
this house mine is'this house is mine'
This drill has limited application because it can be used only with certain structures. This drill is also called Reduction Drill. The car is small is reduced as It is small, etc.