For me t’s all about creating “working “sheets, not worksheets. I try to create activities where the student has to do more of the work, rather than just filling in a quick answer. It really is true to work smarter not harder for the teacher!
I also think that when we talk about skills and skill teaching, it’s more than just memorization and recognition which are skills, but there are other skills: listening, sound recognition, spelling, solving a problem, sharing, information, and more
One example is when I taught vocabulary and grammar surrounding travel, I told the students “you might not remember the French, but I’m gonna teach you how to book a flight, how to plan what you’re going to do on that trip, and how to write a letter if your luggage is lost.” It’s that kind of skill also that I tried to focus on.