A workshop was given to identify and point out the limitations of mechanical language laboratory drills, and to compare them to drills which have been classified as being meaningful or communicative. Mechanical drills do not require an understanding of the meaning of the sentence; there is not consideration of context; and there is no connection from one sentence-item to the other. Meaningful drills require that the student know the meaning of the key words in the sentences being drilled. In addition, communicative drills require the student to take part in communication, that is, to be involved in a meaningful exchange of information. Workshop participants identified mechanical drill types from examples provided them and then constructed meaningful and communicative drill types that focused on the same teaching point as the mechanical drill. For example, students could be presented with a diagram of a family tree and be required to base the answers on the diagram. A communicative drill might require factual answers to the questions it asks. Because the construction of meaningful and communicative drills is not easy, it is hoped that the examples provided here will challenge readers to find real-life situations and to create useful drills for them. (AMH)