If the teaching material is useful and interesting there is nothing else to do but to keep the rule ’plant, care and rejoice’.
We plant – Good quality explanation of any language elements, i.e. vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, etc. It is senseless to skip theory and hope for revelation via experience. In a non-native environment nobody is exposed to the target language so much that makes it worth waiting for Ms. Eureka. A small dose of well-chosen theory in the right time is the ’shortcut through the woods’. Of course, the dinner is not ready yet, but at least we have set the table.
We care – Bulbs of knowledge have no chance to sprout, grow and flourish without care and attention. The road to fluency leads through experience. Question of quantity. Sufficient opportunities to experience the language, especially orally, and to make mistakes in order to gain the ability to make spontaneous and correct utterances. Drilling is important, however, not the end of the journey, and beware of overdosing. Just by piercing a pallet of target boards we will not become excellent hunters.
We rejoice – As a result of clear explanations and sufficient practice language elements reach status ’KNOWN’. Students know what they know because they gain real experience and not because drilling exercises guide them.