Structural Pattern Drills: A Classification

This article attempts a reclassification of structural pattern drills, taking into account the theories of Skinner as well as Chomsky on language learning. Structural pattern drills are classified into mechanical, meaningful, and communicative drills and analyzed in terms of (1) expected terminal behavior, (2) response control, (3) the type of learning process involved, and (4) utterance response. The author believes that if there is more than one level of language and more than one type of learning, this should be reflected in the nature and use of drills in order to provide a systematic and more efficient progression in the classroom learning of foreign languages from mechanical learning to the internalizing of competence.