pieanne  +  82215 Fri, 18 Mar 05 07:04 PM Hello! I know it's a bit off-topic, but I find it is related to any kind of teaching: Do you find it OK to tell a student/pupil, of any age, in any discipline, to learn something by heart, and then ask, when they have to write a paper, "recite your lesson about XWZ"? I personally am totally against it; I find it's completely against the comprehension of any thing. I'd be very glad to have your opinion on the matter. Thanks... pieanne Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005 South of France ...But I'm Belgian! Veteran Member 7,517 I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...

	abbie1948  +  84917 Tue, 29 Mar 05 07:42 PM Hi, I completely agree with you! The excercise simply involves retaining the words for a sufficient length of time to enable recitation parrot-fashion! No learning or comprehension is required, and the whole thing is a complete waste of time. I have also found the same to be true of repetetive writing. abbie1948 Joined on Thu, Mar 24 2005 England Senior Member 2,657 Hope that helps. Abbie

	pieanne  +  85046 Wed, 30 Mar 05 08:40 AM I'm glad to have your opinon about this! pieanne

	Novalee  +  85556 Fri, 01 Apr 05 02:12 AM Hi all I do think the same as you: repetition brings no real learning or developing of any skill needed to learn a language. However, I find drilling very useful in some specific occasions. For example, with little children when they are learning some vocabulary, the alphabet or pronunciation, be it in songs, chants or even a contest! In any other different occasion I find it boring for the children... and for me! What do you think? Novalee Joined on Fri, Jun 11 2004 Full Member 104 Pronunciation, Vocabulary

	julielai  +  85579 Fri, 01 Apr 05 04:27 AM Yeah, I find reciting helpful in some instances. e.g. when I first learned Japanese, I memorized the dialogs in the lessons. So when I practised Japanese, I could automatically reply with some stock responses I've memorized. And when I've practised enough, the memorization part goes away and my speech becomes automatic. The same idea with reciting literary masterpieces (like SHakespeare's sonnets). But I wouldn't memorize my teacher's remarks. Oh no. Learning how to write Chinese characters takes drilling also. But I stopped memorizing after I got in secondary school......That shaped my personality somewhat....I'm more creative than my classmates who did memorize, but they tend to store more facts in their heads. julielai Joined on Sun, Oct 24 2004 Senior Member 3,827 Just another blogger (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/julie-lai)

	abbie1948  +  85635 Fri, 01 Apr 05 11:18 AM Hi Novalee, I agree, drilling has its uses, and can even be fun for both adults and children. Mindless repetition however serves no function. abbie1948