Drilling with flashcards can be a real bore. I remember losing students while I dragged them through a stack of cards. Their focus failed, their limbs grew restless, and I became nervous as they repeated after me. Fortunately, there are many techniques you can use to lighten up your presentations when you’re drilling vocabulary. The simplest is Volume Drilling.
Simply repeat the word or phrase while going from quiet to loud. Start drilling vocabulary quietly and holding the flashcard low. Hold it higher and higher as you get louder and louder to show the volume increasing.
The kids might be slow at first, but they catch on quick. You can get them to participate and add movement by raising or lowering their hands as they get louder or softer. It also helps to exaggerate your gestures. The kids don’t do as well with small motions.
Related Post: Movement
Later you can also mix the order up to keep them on their toes. For example, go from a whisper to a shout to something in the middle.
Tip: Don’t actually shout as loud as you can. You don’t want the students to get out of control or bother nearby classes. Let students get noisy…but not TOO noisy.
Soon, your presentation phases will fly by and your students will be ready and eager to continue their lessons and fun.
