It is excellent drill.

Good practice in speaking is also to be obtained by the pupil's narrating
to the teacher in the language of the original, the contents of each
paragraph. He need not of course attempt to recite by heart the words of
the text, but merely repeat the sense.

Mr. Chardenal recommends the pupil to translate mentally an increasing
number of sentences daily and to repeat them as frequently as possible
during the day. The sentences should illustrate important rules. His
object is to induce mental work, personal labour on the part of the
pupil.

Arminius Vambery's method was to enter into imaginary conversations with
himself.

All these methods do not mean discordance but agreement. All methods
which concurrently with Grammar, mean practice or induce it, are good.
This is the pith and secret of all successful systems: _practice with
method_ often, much, and aloud but by all means master the Grammar as
quickly and thoroughly as possible, and thus practice strengthens
grammar, while grammar guides and illumines practice.

Dr. Abercrombie in his work, "Intellectual Powers" chapter "Memory," says
the depth, the permanence of an impression on the mind depends upon the
distinctness of the perception, the intensity with which it is
contemplated, the length of time during which it is kept before the mind,
the impression being very much strengthened by being repeatedly brought
before the mind. This labour must be a voluntary act on the part of the
individual. He adds: "The habit of listless activity should be carefully
guarded against by the young, and the utmost care should be taken to
cultivate the opposite, namely, of directing the mind intensely to
whatever comes before it in reading or observation. This may be
considered as forming the foundation of a sound intellectual character."

Lord Macaulay attributed his marvellous memory to a very simple method,
adopted when a boy. When reading, at the bottom of each page, he
required himself to give an account of its contents. At the outset, said
he, he needed to reperuse the page three or four times, but he ended by
being able almost to recite a book from beginning to end after having
once read it through. This is also the essential feature recommended by
Dr. Abercrombie in his "Intellectual Powers" chapter on memory. Such a
method of summarising each letter, order, invoice, or conversation at its
close would also give good results to the Merchant,