PATTERN DRILLS

Not long ago, structural pattern drills became the core of foreign-language teaching, only to fade into oblivion when the don't-memorize trend took over. The conceit behind pattern drills is simple: Given a language structure known to be grammatically correct, a variety of sentences, based on the original one, can be made made. For example: the simple Spanish structure voy a dormir, I am going to sleep, can result in voy a comer, vamos a bailar, van a estudiar, I am going to eat, we are going to dance, they are going to study. The pattern ir a, going to, is correct, ergo the resulting new sentences must also be correct. Possibly, this is what children observe when acquiring their own language. They detect patterns and build upon them. If me gustaría acompañarte is correct, me gustaría hablarte, me gustaría explicarte, me gustaría decirte, must also be correct. The structure is the same, only the verb differs. ¿Qué vas a hacer, escribir, cantar, explicar, cocinar, must be correct also. A simple concept that has been displaced by the "speaking method" and "aprender jugando."