R EPOR T RESUMES - ERICR EPOR T RESUMES EG 012 553 MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES, GRADES 3-12. BY-...

R EPOR T RESUMESEG 012 553MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES, GRADES 3-12.BY- FENLEY, GEORGE A., JR. AND OTHERSWEST VIRGINIA STATE DEPT. OF EDUCATION, CHARLSTON

PUB DATEEDRS PRICE MF-$0.75 HC-$5.24 131P.

FL 000 441

DESCRIPTORS- *STATE CURRICULUM GUIDES, *LANGUAGE GUIDES,*FRENCH, *SPANISH, *LANGUAGE LEARNING LEVELS, TEACHINGTECHNIQUES, GROUPING (INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES), AUDIOVISUALAIDS, RESOURCE MATERIALS, TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS, SECONDARYSCHOOLS, LANGUAGE TESTS, FLES,

THE WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT or' EDUCATION PREPARED THISCURRICULUM GUIDE FOR TEACHING FRENCH AND SPANISH wITH

AUDIOLINGUAL APPROACH. A SECTION OUTLINING METHODS ANDSTRUCTURES FROM LEVEL THREE TO LEVEL SIX SHOWS HOW A LONGERSEQUENCE OF LANGUAGE STUDY CAN BE CONSTRUCTED. OTHER TOPICSDETAILED ARE CLASS GROUPING BASED ON ABILITY, AUDIOVISUALAIDS, TESTING, TEACHER COMPETENCY, AND IN-SERVICE TRAININGFOR TEACHERS. DISCUSSIONS OF PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION ANDAUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT, A GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS, AND A14-PAGE LIST OF SOURCE MATERIALS COMPRISE THE APPENDIXES.(SS)

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MODERNFOREIGN LANGUAGES

GRADES 3-12

GEORGE A. FENLEY.

Specialist, Modern Foreign Languages

Prepared under the direction of

REX M. SMITH

State Superintendent of Free Schools

Bureau of Instruction and CurriculumWEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONSTATE CAPITOL, CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA

1963

FOREWORD

Today's problems have made it imperative for us to understand otherpeoples, their needs, their customs, their national personalities, and tohelp them understand us. Language is a tool with which understandingmay be achieved. We must learn the language of other people, just as theylearn ours; the desire to understand must he evident on both sides.

Until recently in the United States two years of modern foreignlanguage in high school was the almost universal pattern. Obviously thiswas too short an exposure for teaching all the language skills. Emphasiswas placed on reading and writing partly because modern foreign languagesinherited the goals and methods of instruction of the classical languagesand partly because reading and writing seemed the easiest to teach. Thesetwo skills were also considered most likely to be of use to the average highschool graduate. The oral skills, listening comprehension and speakingability, were almost completely neglected.

Since World War II it has been evident that because of changingworld conditions, particularly increased personal contact between peoplespeaking different languages, a command of the oral skills has become ofgreater practical value for most people. Also, linguists maintain thatthe reading and writing skills are learned more easily and better whenthey are based on a solid foundation of oral skills.

There is now almost complete acceptance on the part of the generalpublic, as well as school personnel, of the need for a strong program ofmodern foreign language instruction covering all four skills: listeningcomprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Faced with the task ofteaching all four language skills, teachers and school administrators areasking themselves many questions: How many years should we offer?What languages should we teach? What level of achievement is it reason-able to expect from the students? What skills should the teacher have?How may he acquire these skills? Should the teacher use only the foreignlanguage? Should the pupil never see the printed page? How mayrecorded material be used to teach the oral skills?

The purpose of this curriculum guide is to help answer these andmany other questions and to present new ideas in methods of instruction.

REX M. SMITHState Superintendent of Schools

ii

PREFACE

Modern foreign language instruction in West Virginia, as well asin the rest of the United States, has not, with a few notable exceptions,been of a nature to provide the mastery required ir, today's world.

An awareness of the new goa!s and the principles of language instruc-tion which will permit attainment of these goals is now sweeping the entirecountry. Teachers all over the United States are attending more in-serviceworkshops and discussion groups than ever before. The federal govermentis pouring unprecedented sums of money into NDEA Institutes for theretraining of teachers in the newer methods, use of equipment and material,and command of the language. Language association meetings havesubstituted discussion of new goals, material. equipment, and methods forthe previous discussion or subjects of literary interest. Language teachersare vibrant with interest in improving instruction in modem foreignlanguage as never before in the history of education in the United States.

Without the full support and warm encouragement of school adminis-trators, our goals in modern foreign language instruction will never bemet. Therefore, the very first section in this curriculum guide is a briefstatement of the responsibility of administrators; namely, State Departmentof Education officials, county superintendents, assistants, and supervisors.

An understanding of the nature of language is the foundation on whichall the principles of language instruction rest. This understanding alsoprovides the basis for the selection of -materials and the use of equipment.The nature of language is covered briefly in the Introduction. From thevery nature of language, the importance of the oral approach and the needfor longer sequences impose themselves.

As the teacher chooses equipment and texts, and as he outlines histeaching procedure, he will constantly have in mind the objectives ofmodern foreign language instruction. The objectives which the curriculumguide committee feels should be shared by every West Virginia modernforeign language teacher are expressed in the Objectives.

The pre-reading phase has received a tremendous amount of publicitywhich has resulted in the propagation of several misconceptions; e.g., thatthe student should never see the book, and that reading and writing arenot important. The essential principles and methods of this phase ofinstruction are covered in the section beginning on page 20.

Perhaps the question most frequently asked by teachers who feelacutely their responsibility for the achievement of 100-150 modernforeign language students each year is: What should I expect them tohave learned at the end of the first, second and third year, etc.?

In order to answer this same question, the State of New Yorkinvolved many of its best teachers for long work sessions. They established

iii

lists of structures to be covered at each level. After some discussion, thecommittee for the preliminary draft of the West Virginia Modern ForeignLanguage Curriculum Guide decided that it would not be feasible toattempt an improvement on the structures in the New York guides.Permission to use these structures was requested and graciously granted.The structures listed in the section on levels are then, with minor modi-fications, the work of the New York State Curriculum Guide Committeesfor French and Spanish.

In addition to the structures, a time allotment and suggestions forteaching the various skills are given. The section on levels is intended tobe »red as a guide an is not to be followed blindly regardless of thesequence of structures Presented by the text the teacher is using. Se_- theTable of Contents for the beginning page of the various sequences.

The use of electronic equipment opens up the possibility of group-ing. Until the present time there has been very little written on this methodof improving instruction, and practically no experience has been acquiredby any of the committee members. Therefore, the section on groupingis offered as a suggestion for the teacher who has mastered his equipment,familiarized himself with the material, has his class well under control,and who is anxious to experiment.

If the student is not tested on certain aspects of language learning,he will no doubt neglect those aspects. Oral testing is a new responsibilityand presents new problems for the teacher. Helpful hints are given in thesection on testing.

The need for in-service training is so important it warrants thespecial attention of teachers and administrators. Some helpful suggestionsare offered in the section on in-service training.

In order to teach a modern foreign language effectively a teachershould have certain competencies. These competencies have been outlinedby the West Virginia Committee for the Restudy of Teacher Educationin Modern Foreign Languages for the consideration of the West VirginiaBoard of Education. Since these recommendations have not yet beenacted on by the Board of Education, they must be considered here asonly tentative.

Many teachers and administrators are faced with the necessity formaking a decision between an electronic classroom and a languagelaboratory. A brief comparison of the two types of installations is givenin the section on audio-visual aids.

JOHN T. ST. CLAIRAssistant SuperintendentDivision of Instruct'on and

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The West Virginia State Department of Education wishes to expressits appreciation to the many people who have generously contributed theirtime and energy to the development of this curriculum guide.

Work on the preliminary draft:

Reba CastillosStonewall Jackson High SchoolP. W. ClarkeMoorefield High SchoolBeryle CrockettConcord College, Department of EducationHelen DoaneJefferson Elementary Sc linc4Naomi ciarrettWest Virginia State CollegeGeorge HarrisWeir High SchoolFrank HerreraWest Virginia UniversityMae HoustonCabell County Board of EducationFrank MarinoRiverside Junior High SchoolRuby Mc QuillenFollansbee High SchoolAlma NobleMarshall UniversityC. G. PeregoryBeckley High SchoolAnn PettigrewParkersburg High SchoolRuth RhoadesNorth Point Pleasant Elementary SchoolMary ShireySouth Charleston High SchoolLouise SmithFayetteville High SchoolSuzanne WallsLiberty Elementary School

Revision of the preliminary draft:

Elsie BolinCharleston High SchoolReba CastillosStonewall Jackson High SchoolHelma ForsythEast Bank High SchoolEmile FrereWest Virginia UniversityFlank HerreraWest Virginia UniversityMary ShireySouth Charleston High School

With a few minor changes, the structures to be taught on the variouslevels, the notes on the structures and the list of the most frequentlyused verbs, were taken from the New York State Curriculum Guides forFrench and Spanish.

The illustrations were done by William Sayre.

GEORGE A. FENLEY, JR.Specialist, Modern ForeignLanguages

v

1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

t

Page

Responsibilities of Administrators 1

Introduction 4

Objectives 8

Basic Principles of Methodology 12

Pre-Reading Phase 20

Methodology for the Elementary Level 25

Methodology for the Secondary Level 27

Levels 40

Level I Beginning in Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 43Level I Beginning in Grades 7 and 8 61Level I Beginning in Grade 9 63Level I Beginning in Grade 10 63

Notes on the French and Spanish Structures 65

Notes on the French Structures 65

Notes on the Spanish Structures 68

Teaching with Audio-Visual Aids 73

Principles of Grouping 77

Testing 86

In-Service Training 90

Appendixes

Programmed Instruction 93Tentative Recommendations for Secondary School Modern

Foreign Language Teacher Competencies 95

Tentative Recommendations for Elementary School ModernForeign Language Teacher Competencies 98

Specific Recommendations by the Committee for the Restudy ofTeacher Education in Modern Foreign Languages 99

Audio-Visual Equipment 100

Glossary 106

Source Materials 109

vi

[

RESPONSIBILITIES OF ADMINISTRATORS

In order for a foreign language program to succeed, the interestand support of the administrators must be manifested by their concernwith the following problems.

--------__VG___/---1---)

County Modern Foreign Language Supervisor

Those counties which are large enough to justify the employment ofa full-time language supervisor should do so. Smaller counties shouldconsider giving some released time to one of their experienced modernforeign language teachers in order to permit this person to assumeresponsibility for articulation, coordination, and leadership in in-servicetraining for the language program.

In-Service

Membership in language associations and subscriptions to professionaljournals should be encouraged. Teachers need the stimulation of theexchange of ideas afforded by language association meetings and by readingprofessional journals.

A methods course taught by an experienced teacher should bearranged. College- or university-sponsored classes to improve the teacher'scommand of the foreign language should be encouraged; however, where

1

I

2 RESPONSIBILITIES OF ADMINISTRATORS

teachers are not concerned with obtaining credits, locally arranged adulteducation classes of a conversational nature, taught by a native speaker,can be very valuable.

Teachers should be encouraged to take advantage of exchangeteaching programs, grants and scholarships for study abroad. Foreignresidence provides an extremely important part of the cultural backgroundfor every modern foreign language teacher, in addition to improving hislanguage skills.

Workshops bliou'' b° county la area basis at leasttwice a year. Counties with less than six modern foreign language teachersshould consider combining with a neighboring county. These workshopsafford excellent opportunities for the teachers to discuss articulation,methods, material, equipment, and other common problems.

Guidance and Counseling Services

Counseling services should be available to provide information onavailable loans and scholarships, particularly on grants and exchange pos-sibilities for study abroad, to provide information on the increased needand opportunity for people with a modern foreign language proficiencyand to advise students on college entrance and degree requirements inmodern foreign languages.

Size of Class and Teacher Load

Learning to speak a language is to a great extent a process ofacquiring a physical skill. Each student should participate in muchindividual response under the teacher's attention so that individual errorsmay be more easily caught and corrected. Even with the use of electronicequipment, every effort should be made to keep classes down to 25students.

Every teacher needs at least one period a day for preparation. This isparticularly true for the teacher who is using electronic equipment togroup and help provide for individual differences.

Qualifications of Teachers

In hiring teachers, their qualifications should be evaluated withrespect to the minimum requirements set up by the West Virginia Com-mittee for the Restudy of Teacher Preparation for Modern ForeignLanguages. See appendix containing tentative recommendations for teachercompetencies.

ti

I

RESPONSIBILITIES OF ADMINISTRATORS 3

Scheduling

Within the range of possibilities permitted by the size of his schooland scheduling difficulties, the administrator should maintain a separateprogram for those who began a language in the elementary grades. Also,the academically talented college-bound students should be kept separatefrom terminal students whose only use of the language quite likely wouldbe as a tourist. In the early stages of language learning below the ninthgrade, the problem is not so serious. However, from the ninth grade on,where there is increased emphasis on reading and writing and where thestudents are under pressure to make rapid progress, the achievement andthe needs of the below-average and disinterested-terminal students varyso greatly from the achievement and needs of the academically talented,college-bound students that teaching a class with such different abilitiesand needs will result in frustration for all concerned.

INTRODUCTION

The Nature of Language

Language evolved from sounds to which meaning was ascribed.Spoken words stand as a symbol for some object or idea of humanexperience. Written language has been developed to make possible thepreservation, through the use of symbols, of the spoken language. Longbefore mankind wrote or read, he spoke. Even today there are cultureswhere the skills of reading and writing do not exist. Meaning may be

communicated through the spoken language entirely independently ofthe written language. In order to communicate in the spoken language,listening discrimination must be developed to a high level. The speakingskill must be developed to a point of automatic response.

Both listening discrimination and speaking are skills that have beenneglected in the foreign language classes of the past. However, withthe present-day increase in spoken communication between people of

4

INTRODUCTION 5

different languages, the development of electronic equipment and thetrend toward longer sequences, it is no longer necessary or even possibleto neglect these two important language skills.

With this newly acquired responsibility for teaching the oral languageskills, the teacher should remember that the range of permissible varia-tion in the spoken language is great. Changes in tonal patterns willexpress the entire range of human emotions. Voice quality changes withsex and age. In some countries, regions using the same written languagehave developed a spoken language so different that the inhabitants of oneregion are hardly able to understand those of another. In every regionthere is a constant audio development. The youth of today not only havea different vocabulary but pronounce words differently from the youth of100 years ago. However, until recently there has been no permanentaudio record of the spoken language.

The expressiveness, the flexibility, the constant development of thespoken language and the priority, in the learning sequence, of the spokenlanguage over the written all have important implications for the teacher,as will be brought out in the following sections.

Oral Approach

Learning a language is essentially a process of learning certain skills.In learning to understand and use one's native language, a natural sequenceof skills occurs: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The learning of a foreign language in our schools today cannot dupli-cate in many respects the processes involved in acquiring native speech.However, the essential steps must be the same. Language habits mustbe set through listening, imitating, and responding. This approach(designated variously as aural-oral, audio-lingual, hearing-speaking ororal) is now generally recognized as the most effective approach toforeign language teaching; and, in addition to being psychologically sound,provides a strong motivational factor in that the student is actually speakingthe language at the outset.

The Importance of Long Sequences

Much pratice over a long period of time is required in order to fixthe language habits that must be acquired in learning a language. Thetraditional two years of foreign language study in high school is hopelesslyinadequate. A longer sequence is needed k the program is to be of lastingvalue to the student. It is also important that the students get a longsequence in one language rather than two or three years in one languageand two or three more in a second.

6 INTRODUCTION

An ideal program would provide an articulated pattern of instructionbeginning in the elementary school and continuing through the senior year

of high school. Students showing interest and aptitude should be given the

opportunity to ndd a second foreign language in the secondary school.

Some school systems in West Virginia are beginning a ten-yearprogram. All those who can should do so. A typical program for these

schools is given on page 43.

For most schools a full four-year program preceded by two yearsduring which the pupils meet from three to five times a week for 20 to 30

minutes would be more realistic than attempting a ten-year program at the

outset. All schools at present offering two years of a modern foreignlanguage should immediately begin working to establish a program of four

full years plus two introductory years at the junior high school level. Forthese schools a suggested program is given on page 61.

In the school year 1961-62 approximately eighty-five senior highschools in the State did not offer a modem foreign language. Obviously,most of these schools will not be able to offer a six-year sequence im-mediately. A three-year sequence beginning in grade 10 would be arealistic goal for the immediate future. A suggested program is givenon page 63.

Which Languages

Individual students may have valid reasons for preferring one language

over another. However, among the four most frequently taught languagesFrench, Spanish, German, and Russianthe determining factor forthe school in making a choice may appropriately be the possibility ofmaintaining a long sequence; that is, the availability of a teacher and thelikelihood that the teacher will stay or that a replacement can be found if

he leaves. On this basis a reasonable balance among the languages taught

will no doubt be maintained throughout the State.

Who Should Study Modern Foreign Languages

In order to get a program started on the elementary level, it is fre-quently necessary to begin with a limited number of pupils. In thesesituations it would be reasonable to select the academically able. Ideally,

however, all children in elementary school should have an opportunity to

study a modem foreign language. During these years interest in languageis high. The child's capacity to imitate is at a maximum; his memory isexcellent; and his vocal mechanism is flexible, capable of making a great

INTRODUCTION 7

variety of sounds. Study of a language begun in elementary school should,-;ontinue for as long as justified by the interest and ability of the student.From the ninth grade on, terminal student should be in a separate trackwhere the expected level of achievement, especially in reading and writ-ing, would not be as high as for the college-bound students.

OBJECTIVES

Language Competence

To attain facility in all four skillsunderstanding, speaking, reading,and writing the languageshould be the aim of all students who study amodern foreign language.

International Understanding

A study of a foreign language can contribute to international under-standing by helping students secure a realistic view of some of the problemsof the world, by helping them obtain a deeper understanding of the reasonsbehind the differences in customs and beliefs, by showing them the con-tributions made by various countries to the world community, by assisting

8

OBJECTIVES 9

them in evaluating the services rendered by various international organiza-tions devoted to better world understanding, by awakening in them adesire to understand the problems and way of life of other people, andby indicating to others our sincere interest in their customs and country.

A person may learn endless facts about the culture and civilizationof another peopl,. and still feel isolated from them unless he can participatein their culture by reacting to it in their language. It is the responsibilityof our schools to prepare students for this experience.

As Marjorie Johnston so clearly explains, "Language is itself anintegral part of the behavior system of a people and at the same time a

UNDERSTANDING

means for the expression and summing-up of this system or culture.Every stage of foreign language learning must relate in some manner tothe life and civilization of the people because the linguistic forms belongin a frame of reference which is different from that of the learner."'

In a world where more and more Americans are meeting people fromother lands, the ability to communicate has become increasingly important.

(Marjorie C. Johnston, "How Can Modern Language Teaching Promote International Under-standing," The Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary-School Principals, Vol. 40,No. 224 (December, 1956), p. 71.

10 OBJECTIVES

Professor William R. Parker states, "Never have so many Americansencountered so much foreign speech with so little equipment for communi-cation and so much depending upon communication. . . America's newrole in the world simply aggravates our national sensitivity to this un-precedented problem cf stepped-up communication. . . Given an atmos-phere of global tensior., which is the atmosphere in which we live today,it would seem that no nation, particularly not a nation with frighteningpower and enviable wealth, can long 'get by' without even trying to talk theother fellow's language. . . That is why Americans, praying for peaceand seeking an increase in international understanding, now gather todiscuss foreign language study as a means to those ends."' When thedesire to understand is actually present and sincere, language study canspeed and increase understanding among the nations of the world.

Career Opportunities"

Language study is a necessary phase of preparation for many voca-tions and positions of responsibility. For this reason foreign languagesare required in many fields of study in our undergraduate schools and forresearch in almost all our graduate schools. The knowledge of a foreigntongue may be a secondary asset but, nevertheless, a vital asset in securingcertain positions which could not be properly filled by a person lackingthe language background. Therefore, many schools of commerce, journ-alism, music, and libra:73, science have a foreign language requirement. Inthe foreign service, alined forces, peace corps, foreign missions, businessand industry, men and women with a knowledge of foreign languages areneeded.

Cultural Background

Ey attainment a a cultural background is meant not only acquiringan acquaintanceship irith productions in the fine arts, but also some knowl-edge of the history, geography. political system, economic conditions andsocial, customs of the: people concerned.

Such knowledge and understanding of another country give a persona better perspective and basis for P.valuation of his own country and shouldtherefore help him to be a bettc.J. citizen of his own country and of theworld. This cultural background should be the goal of every educatedAmerican.

I William R. Parker, "The National Interest and Foreign Languages," (Prepared for theU. S. Commission for UNESCD, Department of State), pp. 68-70.

Occupational Information Bullotin #1.2 Uniwrsity of Michigan, Sources of Employment for foreign language majors and minors:

OBJECTIVES 11

College Entrance Requirements

By 1958 more than 25 per cent of the institutions granting abachelor's degree required a foreign language for entrance. This informa-tion still does not give a true picture of the importance of foreign languageunits for college entrance, since many colleges which do not have a foreignlanguage requirement admit very few students without high school foreignlanguage experience. All freshmen in the following institutions which haveno foreign language entrance requirement offered two or more units foradmission in 1953: Boston University, Chatham College, Goucher Col-lege, Johns Hopkins University, Skidmore College, Sweet Briar College,Wheaton College (Mass.), and William Smith College.'

In 1958 the report of the Commission on Liberal Education of theAssociation of American Colleges recommended that the minimum foreignlanguage requirement for college entrance be raised as rapidly as possibleto four years. In accordance with this recommendation, the increasingimportance of proficiency in a foreign language is reflected in the trendamong colleges and universities to institute or increase foreign languageentrance requirements.

Success in Tests

For some high school seniors success in various tests is naturallya very important objective. In its national contest the American Associa-tion of Teachers of French offers desirable prizes to those students whoare in the advanced category. Admission and sometimes scholarships toa chosen college or university may well depend upon the scores made inthe College Board Tests. The newer Advanced Placement Tests are like-wise of great importance to some high school seniors; many colleges grantthem advanced credit and warmly welcome them if they have indicatedby their record and their test scores that they were able while still in highschool to do college-level work.

Such tests formerly emphasized reading, translation, vocabulary andgrammar, with relatively minor attention being given to the oral aspectsof language proficiency. During the last few years, under the influenceof the oral approach to language teaching, more attention has been givento testing the oral skills, listening comprehension and speaking ability.The grammar-translation method of teaching will no longer prepare ahigh school student to do well on these tests.

3 Marjorie Johnston, llo Remer, Frank Sievers, Modern Foreign Languages: A CounselorsCaddr. U. S. Department of Health. Education, and Welfare. p. 2R,

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF METHODOLOGY

Explanation of Grammar

A single element of grammar should be introduced at one time, andthe student must be given time for assimilation. Too much attention toexplanation is not conducive to forming a set of habits. After several illus-trations of a new principle, the student is ready for pattern practice.

Upon introducing the direct object pronoun, for instance, the studentsrequire only the briefest explanation of what is involved. This is donebetter by example. The instructor would form the sentence-le vois lamaison. (yo veo la casa). By removing "la maison" (la casa) and placingla (la) in front of the verb, he shows the student how to manage this con-struction: .le la vois. (yo la veo). After a number of such examples,the student is ready for the pattern drills which will set the habit. As theother pronoun objects are introduced, the student will make an analogywith the pattern already learned; thus he will need little or no explanationand very few examples. Although the student by now understands whathe is doing, he must practice the principle many times until the responseis absolutely automatic; otherwise he will not attain fluency.

When to explain and not to explain has to be left to the teacher'sjudgment. He will know whether his practice material is accomplishingall that is necessary for the class. Sometimes difficult items, such as theuses of the subjunctive, require more explanation and sometimes moredrill. The student, however, learns to speak only by actively handling thelanguage, not by analyzing it or generalizing about it.

Use of English

Since this is the only opportunity that most students have during theday to be exposed to the foreign language, every effort should be madeto eliminate English from the classroom. This is the closest approach tobeing in a foreign country. If it is required of him, the student will gradual-ly make the effort to express himself in the foreign language. If he ispermitted to use English, he will accept this permission as standard pro-cedure and will be unwilling later on to make the necessary effort. In-sistance upon his use of the foreign language will elicit a good pupil re-sponse and create a good classroom atmosphere. The faster learners catchon quickly and take pride in not resorting to English; the slower learnersfollow their example.

If the teacher feels that it is essential to use a word or two ofEnglish in order to get the class under way, he should do so. Some

12

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF METHODOLOGY 13

teachers find it helpful to reserve a short period at the end of the classin order to clarify in English anything that has not been understood. Thetwo languages must never be mixed, because the student will then try toapply English usage to the foreign language. This also tends to destroy therhythm and intonation patterns of the foreign language.

Whenever important tests are given, the use of English is justi-fiable if there is any doubt about the student understanding the question.Pattern drill instructions on tape may be given in English. In class a fewexamples by the teacher usually suffice, but the teacher must be certainthe student knows exactly what is expected of him. When given in English,directions should be repeated in the foreign language also; and, as the yearprogresses, directions in the foreign language will be all that is necessaryfor daily classwork.

Where the teacher finds himself using English frequently in class,it might be helpful for him to make a brief record each day of what he hassaid in English. If, after a few weeks, repetitions become obvious, theseremarks should be translated into the foreign language and taught to thestudents as part of their work in listening comprehension.

Final decision on the exclusive use of the foreign language has tobe left to the teacher. The most important consideration is time for practice;English may be justified as a time-saving device.

Translation for the Advanced Student

For the person who takes brevity, accuracy, and clarity as his goalsin writing, there is no linguistic exercise more demanding or more rewardingthan translation. In writing our own ideas, if the exact word does not occur,we may use an approximate synonym. If we have not made ourselves clearon the first try, we repeat the thought from another point of emphasis. Intranslating this is not possible; we have a responsibility to render thethought of the original with complete fidelity and with no extra explana-tions. Since the student will be translating only that which is well written,he will be under constant pressure to improve his power of written expres-sion.

Translating is admirably adapted to assuring a complete understandingof ideas read. How could one express accurately and clearly in anotherlanguage ideas which he has only vaguely understood?

Translating is a rewarding approach to the study of style. Thethorough and intensive study necessary for translation makes one aware ofstrengths and weakness which would normally leave only an indefiniteimpression.

14 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF METHODOLOGY

The constant search for the exact word, th. proper turn of an ex-pression over a wide range of thoughts will develop a person's sensitivityto nuances of expression as no amount of reading in one language would do.

For the development of flexibility and clarity, translating has much tooffer. Rudolf Flesh has expressed this conviction well: "Translating is theideal form of intellectual exercise. Whenever we translate, we are forced toabandon the mental patterns we are used to and get the hang of otherscompletely alien to our thinking. There is nothing quite like it to gainmental flexibility, which is practically the main ingredient of clear thinking.If foreign languages didn't exist, we would have to invent them as atraining device for our minds."'

Translation is to a certain extent an art, but also to a certain extent askill, one which may be developed greatly under the guidance of a skilledteacher. However, only the student who has attained a near-nativeproficiency in the foreign language is ready for translation. The onlyteacher who can help him is one whose knowledge of both English and theforeign language is superior to that of the student. The teacher must beone who can accurately be called bilingual. This situation will rarely presentitself below the college level.

Translation for the Beginning Student

One of the goals in foreign language study is to teach the studentto understand, to think, and to express himself in another language. Thisgoal will be more difficult to attain if a beginning student constantlylearns a foreign language by translating it into English. Such training can-not help but convince him, perhaps only subconsciously, that a foreign lan-guage is nothing more than a code for ideas which originally came fromEnglish and ultimately come back to English. This we want to avoid.

However, there are times when the teacher wants to know, andshould know, whether the student understands the foreign language.Translation seems to be the most expedient way to ascertain whether thestudent does understand. If the teacher would ask the student to explain inhis own words what the meaning is, without looking at the text to work outa word for word translation, the danger of the student thinking of theforeign language as a code for English would be to some extent avoided.If the student requires three sentences in English to explain one in aforeign language or condenses a long paragraph into two or three shortsentences, the teacher should accept this as indicating understanding andtherefore sufficient.

1 Rudolf Flesh, The Art ol Clear Thinking, New York: Harper and Brothers, p. 48.


Translations should not be used on daily or weekly tests; on themore important quarterly ur semester exams they may be justified as anefficient means of determining the student's understanding of the foreignlanguage. First, however, the teacher should make an effort to determineunderstanding in some other way; for instance, by asking simple questionsin the foreign language. Where the teacher feels obliged to resort to atranslation, he should insist that it be free translation, rendered in good andflowing English. Word for word translations which show the influence ofthe foreign language in word choice, structure, and position in Englishshould be downgraded.

Translation from English into the target language does the most harmwhen assigned for homework to be corrected in class a day or two later.The student, with frequent assists from the vocabulary and recently learnedrules of grammer, pieces his sentences together with a generous sprinkling oferrors. If he is a serious student, he goes over his sentences several times,thus implanting the errors more firmly in his mind. The one rapid correc-tion the teacher makes does not outbalance the impression left by theerrors. A week later he would very likely mice the same errors again.

Retranslation2

A teacher who is fond of translation into the foreign language mayfor daily work want to use retranslation, which eliminates to a great extentthe disadvantages of translation for the beginning student. Retranslationwould oe handled in the following manner.

After the students have worked with a reading lesson for meaningand pronunciation, after they have repeated it by breath groups and bysentences, after they have memorized answers to the questionnaire based onthe reading lesson, in short, after they have become thoroughly familiarwith the reading lesson, they may be asked to translate a portion of itfreely into good Er glish. Immediately their English translation shouiu berendered back into the original foreign language. In this way they willnaturally select the right word, the proper structure, and the correct wordorder. Errors they would normally make as a result of the influence ofEnglish would not occur to them.

Dictation

Dictation is indispensable for teaching writing and is helpful in rein-forcing a knowledge of structures learned orally, through a new learning

2 Goddard, Eunice R., "Retransiation, A Substitute for the Theme," Modern Language Journal(December, 19271.


process, that of writing. Dictation is also excellent for testing many pointsof grammar, particularly in French, where the spelling changes but thepronunciation does not.

In the early stages of language learning, perhaps nothing more thancopying should be required. After a little practice in copying, the studentscould be required to take dictation of material they have studied thoroughly.Eventually they could be expected to take dictation of unfamiliar material ofabout the same difficulty as that they are working with. As a testing devicedictation may be used. at all levels beyond the elementary.

Phonetics

The matter of phonetics in Spanish is simple and comes naturally withthe mastering of actual conversations. The student acquires this skillthrough the repetitive process and pronounces correctly by imitation ofmodels he hears in listening and speaking practice. Isolating words to indi-cate sound is not satisfactory since it leaves out the elements of pitch, rhy-thm, and intonation, all of which affect pronuncation. When new sounds arecompared with familiar English sounds, care should be taken that thestudent does not assume that the familiar English sound is sufficientlyaccurate. Special emphasis, or exaggeration of a sound, should be usedonly when the student has repeatedly failed to hear the new sound. Poemsand songs are helpful in teaching pronunciation; but where pronunciationhas been altered to fit the rhythm of a poem or song, the student shouldalso be taught the standard pronunciation.

In French the need for phonetics is greater than in Spanish. Aknowledge of phonetics sufficient to help the student check on thepronunciation of words he looks up in the dictionary is necessary. This maybe done through a careful teaching of key words for each symbol to whichthe student may then refer for comparison with the word he is looking up.

Some teachers feel that it is time well spent to go beyond the teachingof the key words and to teach the sounds corresponding to the phoneticsymbols. For most of the symbols little extra work is involved; however,for those sounds which are difficult to distinguish (a, a; 0, oe) and for thelong and short, and the open and closed variations of the same sound,teachers and students alike should rely on learning the pronunciation of keywords from recordings of native speakers, rather than on learning to re-produce the isolated sound. Placing the sound in a familiar word makes iteasier to gauge the exact length and the degree of openness of the sound.

Phonetics is a specialized branch of language learning which shouldbe taught by a specialist. The average teacher has neither the time nor the

-------"...mkv>-7'


training to teach more than a summary knowledge of phonetics to hisstudents.

Those teachers who feel the need of a course in phonetics them-selves, but who do not have an opportunity to take a course in summerschool, might be interested in working with one of the following recordedphonetics courses.

Delattre, Pierre, Advanced Training inFrench Pronunciation.Middlebury College Book StoreMiddlebury, Vermont

Pleasants, Jeanne VarneyPrononciation FrangaiseIntonationsMorceaux ChoisisGoldsmith's Music Shop, 401 W. 42nd Street,New Ynrk 36, NPAY Vnrk

Vocabulary

During Levels I and II, vocabulary is limitedespecially during LevelI. Not until basic expressions and patterns become automatic shouldvocabulary be increased. New words should be learned in context, not asvocabulary lists. In order to make the learning situation as natural as pos-sible, the student's environment must be taken into account when makinga choice of words to be learned.

Review

The need for constant review cannot be stressed enough. Whilecontinuing to introduce new material, the teacher should systematicallyreview the previous lessons. The student should not be expected to learndialogs and patterns so well he can recite them several days later withoutreview. If, after a brief glance at the material or alter listening to oneor two playings of the material on tape, the student can go through thedialog or pattern drill with only a few hesitations, this should be considered


sufficient. Learning material repeatedly to this level of retention will serveto fix it sufficiently well for subsequent recall when needed.

After patterns have been learned orally, they may be reviewedthrough dictations in class or through written home assignments. Thus,through the use of a new channel of learningwriting--review is mademore effective.

Doing the required amount of review in teaching the four languageskillsunderstanding, speaking, reading and writingand covering the firstand second years of tht. traditional textbook in two years is obviously im-possible. Where a sequence of three years or more of a language is offered,the teacher should schedule his work so as to cover the texts for the firstand second years over a three-year period.

In those schools where it is not yet possible to offer more than twoyears, the teacher should not feel frustrated at spending more than ayear covering the first-year text. This is preferable to insufficient reviewor neglecting one of the four skills. As an extreme example, it would bebetter to spend two years covering the first-year text and know it well thanto cover both first- and second-year texts poorly in the same length of time.

Integration with Other Subjects Fourth or Fifth Level

Many schools, particularly in Europe, have for years divided thecurriculum into two or more languages. In the United States some experi-mental work of this nature has been done with gratifying results.

This sort of program is not possible in many West Virginia schools atthe present time. Nevertheless, teachers can help prepare their students forsubject-matter work in a foreign language by giving them good auraltraining. On the elementary level, work in arithmetic and perhaps geo-graphy will help prepare the pupil. On the junior and senior high schoollevels, intensive work with questions based on the reading lesson is excellentpreparation for the student who later may have a chanc; to study a subjectin the foreign language.

Normal Speed

New material should be spoken at the low end of normal speed. If thesentences are spoken too slowly, sound patterns are distorted. After beingbroken into small, meaningful breath groups for repetition, the completesentence should be given. Unfamiliar utterances should be spoken at leasttwo to five times by the teacher. The units must be small enough for thestudent to handle; this is a new language, and he is relying only on his ear.

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Care must be taken not to change the articulation of any of the sounds inthe process of breaking sentences into breath groups. In teaching a foreignstudent to understand the following sentence, breaking it up word for wordinto "I want a cup of coffee." would not help him greatly to un-derstand the sentence spoken informally. Breaking the sentence up intothree breath groups which maintain the informal pronunciation would help:"Iwanta cupa coffee."

The teacher must constantly keep in mind that the goal is to teachthe student to understand the language as it is spoken and not to makeof him an orator and model of oral purity in the foreign language. Thisdoes not mean that he will not indicate to the student the differencebetween colloquial, informal, and standard speech. The well-educatedperson knows what level to use in a given situation in his mother tongue.He should accept as a distant but attainable goal the ability to distinguishbetween these levels in the foreign language and eventually to use theselevels appropriately.

".":;.',....S......

PRE-READING PHASE

Pupils in the sixth grade and above have become strongly visuallyoriented in their learning. It would be an unfortunate disregard of thevalue of the visual sense for effective learning not to make use of thissense in modern foreign language instruction. However, when a studentlooks at a foreign language cognate, he will be influenced more by Englishintonation, pronunciation, and syllabication than if he is attempting tosay a foreign language sentence with no other aid than imitation of anative-speaking model. Furthermore, if he is forced to rely entirely on hisear for understanding, he will improve his auditory discrimination and con-centration. Most language experts therefore agree that all foreign tnguagestudy should be preceded by a completely oral pre-reading phase.

While there is disagreement among experts "n how long the pre-reading phase should last, there is little disagreement on the importanceof the pre-reading phase. How long a lapse of time the teacher permitsbefore the printed page is introduced is of lesser importance. Whateverthe delay, the student will find when he sees the printed page that hisEnglish linguistic habits will influence his oral reaction to the printedword. The influence of the student's mother tongue is sure to be present,and the teacher will have to be prepared to combat it regardless of thelength of time between the introduction orally to *he material and thepresentation of the printed page.

In addition to helping eliminate the influence of the student'sEnglish linguistics habits, there are other advantages of oral work whetheror not it is a part of the pre-reading phase. A basic structure and itsvariations may be imitated and repeated far more often in oral than inwritten work. Mistakes made may be immediately corrected and thus do nothave an opportunity to become as firmly rooted as written mistakes, whichsometimes are not, corrected for several days.

Some teache. 3 hesitate to attempt a pre-reading phase because theyfeel they do not lave sufficient oral mastry of the language. It mustbe emphasized that he teacher does not need a fluent conversational ability.Fluency can be a handicap. All languages have many ways of expressingmost simple ideas; for instance: "Would you like a cup of coffee?" "Wouldyou care for a cup of coffee?" "How about a cup of coffee?" "Let's have acup of coffee."

The fluent teacher has difficulty remembering how he expressed him-self in the previous lessons. For the beginning students, it is important thathe not be exposed to variations for expressing the same general idea. Many

20

PRE-READING PHASE 21

teachers find that their difficulties arise more from limiting themselves to

the material planned than from a lack of conversational fluency.

The teacher must plan carefully what expressions he intends to in-

troduce. These expressions must be available in recorded form, or else the

teacher's command should be complete and his pronunciation accurate for

the expressions chosen.

In addition to planning the expressions to be used, the teacher must

also plan the sentence modifications (i.e., change of person, number, etc.)

to be introduced and the amount of drill necessary. The rate of introduction

of new material must be planned. Teachers working with a pre-reading

phase for the first time must usually be cautioned that a class cannot master

nearly as much material orally as it can cover in the traditional manner. The

recycling of review items must also be carefully organized, so that the

student will get the necessary review without feeling that he is forever study-

ing the same material. Since learning a language is essentiallylearning a set

of habits, review is extremely important. All items, pronunciation, gramma-

tical structure or vocabulary, once introduced, should be reviewed every

week. The most difficult or most important items should be reviewed more

than once a week.

Finally the transition to the textbook should be planned. Many text-

books contain introductory lessons which are easilyadapted to a pre-

reading oral phase. These should be used when available. Where textbooks

do not contain these introductory lessons, theteacher should take as many

expressions as possible from the text he will be using. From other sources

he could complete his pre-reading phase material with everyday expressions

which he would continue to use after beginning work with the textbook.

Where expressions are taken from sources other than the textbook, the

teacher should include subsequent reading and writing of these expressions

in his classwork.

The pre-reading phase should be a building-up period which blends in

smoothly with textbook work, not one method of teaching to be abruptly

discarded after a month or more in favor of another method.

In all aural work, whether pre-reading or not, the teacher has two

main roles to playfirst as a model, second as a judge. The first role,

that of model, may be taken over to some extent by recorded material, but

even with the best recorded material the teacher should makethe initial

presentation with his own voice. It is much easier for the students to achieve

initial understanding with a live voice than with a recording. In order for a

teacher to do this, it is naturally preferable that his voice be native or

near-native. However, this degree of proficiency is not essential.If the

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22 PRE-READING PHASE

teacher impresses on the class that his voice is not to be taken as a modelbut is being used only to facilitate understanding of the recorded voice, hemay use h is voice effectively in speeding up the students' comprehension ofthe language and their ability to pronounce it correctly.

In the second role, that of judge, the teacher must rely completelyon himself. Without having native command of the language, it is possiblefor him to distinguish correct pronunciation from incorrect, and gram-matically correct expression from incorrect. The teacher must, in fact, beable to do this in order to decide when correction and additional drill are inorder and when the time has come to pass on to a new lesson. The teacherwould. also take the element of boredom into consideration and would notinsist on perfection at the expense of student interest. Instead he wouldmove on to a new point and a day or two later try again for improvement onwhat the students had previously failed to master.

The class should repeat in chorus after having listened carefully whilethe teacher models each breath group two or three times. If the repetitionsounds satisfactory, the teacher should proceed to the next breath group;if not, the students should listen to the teacher as he models the samebreath group two or three more times before attempting another repetition.

After this introduction with the teacher's voice, the recorded modelshould be used. If the students still have trouble repeating after the recordedmodel, the teacher should rewind the tape after each breath group so thatthe class may listen again. Where the students are having difficulty, it ismuch more helpful to go over each breath group five to ten times beforemoving on to the next than it is to go over the entire exercise from be-ginning to end the same number of times.

These repetitions may be easily obtained with the tape recordereither by using the rewind function or by depressing the stop button; and,using both hands simultaneously, rewind both reels manually the desireddistance.

Once the students have become familiar with the passage, thebreath groups should be lengthened. Following full class choral workthe teacher could request repetitions from half the class or from a singlerow. This would facilitate detection of errors.

To E.Jd variety, the teacher should occasionally ask for a doublerepetition. The class, after hearing the model once, repeats twice.This forces them to remember the expression a little longer and is excellentfor developing audio retention.

PRE-READING PHASE 23

In breaking up long sentences into breath groups, it is best torebuild the sentences from the end in this manner:

this game.we have finished this game.

as soon as we have finished this game.We are going to come home as soon as we have finished this game.

This is true because it is easier to observe natural rlythm and intona-tion patterns than it would be if the sentences were built up from the be-ginning.

Sentences should be broken only where a natural pause is possible.For instance, in the above sentence the following division would beincorrect:

finished this game.as we have finished this game.

come home as soon as we have finished this game.

While these divisions may be theoretically possible, they would not beused in the type sentence given originally. As a result, the intonation forthese breath groups would necessarily be different from that requiredfor the original sentence.

In directing the activities of the class, the teacher should develophand signals to keep the students moving at a rapid pace.

When a student has been asked to perform as an individual andmakes a mistake or hesitates, the teacher should supply the correct answerand ask for a repetition from the student; then two or three questions later,he should come back to him again with the same question. This will impresson the student that hesitating or fumbling will not excuse him from reciting;also he will learn that when he has required the teacher's help, he isexpected to profit by it and to be able to remember and give the correctanswer vhcequently. The class should not be required to wait while theteacher drags a correct answer out of an unprepared student. Language isnot to be reasoned out or guessed at. It is a set of habits to be acquired.The student either knows or he does not. If he does not know the responseautomatically, the teacher should quickly help him and then move on tothe next student.

Many questions require only a yes or no answer in normal conversa-tion. To promote learning the structure, a teacher may sometimes require acomplete answer. To provide naturalness, a yes or no answer shouldsometimes be permitted. A simple signal should indicate what answer isexpected.

24 PRE-READING PHASE

Did you go swimming yesterday?

Yes, or

Yes, I went swimming yesterday.

Pattern drill in the pre-reading phase should be kept simple, sincea certain amount of explanation, if not grammatical analysis, must normallyaccompany pattern drill. The simple substitution form of pattern drill,such as the following, requires very little explanation and would be helpfulin drilling basic structures.

I have a book.

pencil.

I have a pencil.

pen.

I have a pen.

For homework during the pre-reading phase, assignments may begiven in books in English to give the students background informationon the history, geography, and customs of the people whose language isbeing studied.

Students should not be encouraged to practice orally outside ofclass until they have achieved an acceptable degree of proficiency orunless they have a recorded model to imitate at home.

For more detailed help on the pre-reading phase consult: "ModernForeign Languages in the High Schools, Pre-reading Instruction." PatriciaO'Connor. Bulletin 1960, No. 9, OE 27000, Superintendent of Documents,U. S. Government Printing Office.

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METHODOLOGY FOR THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL

Skills are developed only through practice. Whatever the techniquesused, the student must practice to the point of mastery.

The first step is recognition or listening comprehension. To achievethis, the teacher should introduce each sentence with his own voice in shortbreath groups, saying each breath group several times at the slow end of thenormal range of speed while the pupils listen. This should be followed bythe same type of exercise using a recorded native voice as a model. Thepupils should be encouraged to accept the recorded voice rather than theteacher's as the model to be imitated. After listening to the recorded voiceseveral times for recognition, the pupils should attempt the second stepimitation. If their attempts at imitation indicate that they have not heardsome of the foreign language sounds, the teacher should again model withhis own voice, calling attention to what the pupils had failed to reproduce.

In the lower elementary grades, this is the essence of modern foreignlanguage instruction: recognizing and imitating the model voice. Naturally,the pupils' imitations should consist of entire sentences as soon as they areable to memorize short but complete sentences.

Variety may be provided and interest developed by using filmstripsor slides, flash cards, movies, and other audio-visual aids which will indicatethe situation in which the dialog the pupils are using would be appropriate.

It is important not to ask for individual responses before the pupilknows the dialog. Individual work before the class should be considered areward for having learned the lesson well. Most of the practice must beobtained in choral work. There is not sufficient time to give pupils muchindividual practice.

Spaced practice is more effective than intensive drill; it is better towork on a dialog for a few minutes each day for six to eight lessons thanspend two nr three entire lessons on it.

English should be kept to a minimum. However, it is better touse an occasional word or sentence in English than to leave the pupils inthe dark as to the meaning of a foreign expression. Before beginning prac-tice on the dialog, the teacher should be sure the pupils know what the situa-tion is. Sometimes this may be done easily by acting and gestures. Some-times it is preferable to give a brief summary in English.

With a heterogeneous group the teacher should not wait until theyall have learned the dialog perfectly before going on to the next lesson. Assoon as most of them can go through the dialog with only a little prompting

25

26 METHODOLOGY FOR THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL

from the teacher, it should be left for a week or more and then returned tooccasionally for review.

Songs are helpful at all levels to teach pronunciation, intonation,and rhythm; and they are enjoyed by students at all levels. The pupilsshould be given the standard pronunciation of words which have beenaltered to suit the rhythm of the song. Games are helpful for motivationand for teaching useful expressions and listening comprehension. Gamesand songs, however, should not take up all the class time to the exclusionof dialogs, questions and answers, and commands.

Since normally little time is allotted to foreign language instructionin the elementary school, the teacher should concentrate on the oral skills.However, in the fifth and sixth grades, when the pupils manifest a strong in-

7.4A122

'UNTILTHE STUDENT

READY. Noic/

terest in reading and writing the foreign language, a start may be made inteaching these skills, particularly the reading skill. Some pupils want verybadly to learn to read. There is no harm in satisfying this desire, providingthe material used is taken from that which has been mastered orally andproviding also that not much time is taken from the teaching of the oralskills.

METHODOLOGY FOR THE SECONDARY LEVEL

In a conversation two skills are indispensable: understanding andspeaking. The first involves the training of the ear to grasp from a streamof sounds, symbols that express the thoughts of the speaker; the second in-volves the lingual ability to respond. Both understanding and speaking arebased on sound: the ability to record mentally and to reproduce the so»ndsymbol. The practice of listening for comprehension has not received aswide approval as speaking, reading and writing because listening for com-prehension is not a procedure in which the student is obviously active. Yetlistening for comprehension is not a truly passive activity; it involves on thestudent's part an effort at:

1. Recognition of separate sound symbols.

2. Imp Arement of pronunciation by listening and comparing thenative model with his own.

3, Remembering what was said and how it was said.

4. Understanding the meaning of what was said.

Comprehension is absolutely necessary as the basis for a goodspeaking skill. Conversation is not a monologue but a two-way activity;the speaker must understand what is being said before he can answercorrectly.

Listening for comprehension should:

1. Enable the student to understand the speech of natives at normalspeed.

2. Enable the student to understand the language with slight regionaland individual variations.

3. Increase vocabulary by presenting a variety of words in context.

4. Review known structures and constantly work new but similarstructures into a situation which the student understands.

=live in comprphensinn practice is listening and trying toMc: main objectunderstand what is being said. It is of the utmost importance that thestudent does not follow the written material while he is listening. If hedoes, it will become an exercise in reading. When it becomes necessaryto consult the text, the sound should be turned off. The text should beclosed before the sound is turned on again. Normally the student will showhow well he understands what he hears by answering specific questions inthe foreign language based on the material heard.

27

28 METHODOLOGY FOR THE SECONDARY LEVEL

The following methods can be used both for practice in oral expres-sion and for testing the degree of comprehension. The examples are givenonly to indicate the types of drill that may be used. In an actual teachingsituation, the teacher would choose easier or more difficd. sentencesaccording to tho lovel of his class. The atrioaai or drill necessary woulddepend upon the difficulty and number of new constructions in the readinglesson. For any given lesson, the teacher would not attempt to use all thedrill exercises shown below.

The student has listened to the following paragraph:

Depuis ma jeunesse j'aime beau-coup alter a la peche. .1e mesouviens de Ia premiere fois, corn-me si ce n'etait qu'hier. Unecanne a peche sur repaule, unpetit morceau de pain dur pour ledejeuner dans ma poche droite,et comme amorce, un morceau defromage sec dans ma poche gau-che, je suis sorti de chez moi plusheureux que si j'avais gaga lepremier 1-4 de la grande loterie deNoel.

1. True-false statements maythe paragraph.

(a) Il est sorti une canne a Ochesur l'epaule.

(b) Le fromage sec emit pour ledefeuner.

(c) Il avait gaga le premier lotde la grande loterie de Noel.

Desde muy joven me ha gustado itde pesca. Me acuerdo, como sifuera ayer de Ia primera vez quecon calla al hombro, un pedazo depan pequefio y duro en el bolsilloderecho para el almuerzo y un tro-zo de queso duro en el bolsilloizquierdo para cebo, salt de casamas alegre que si me hubiese toca-do el premio gordo en la loteria deNavidad.

be made by the teacher based on

(a) A mi no me gusta it de pesca.

(b) Llevaba el pan para cebo.

(c) El queso estaba duro.

2. Short questions which are clear and specific so that the studentwill know exactly what is required may be asked. The student will answerin a complete sentence for construction, repetition of vocabulary, andmimicry of intonation.

(a) Question: Est-ce que le painetait dur?

Answer: Oui, le pain emitdur.

(a) Question: A ande !ha yo?

Answer: Usted iba de pesca.

METHODOLOGY FOR THE

(b) Question: Qu'est-ct avaitcomme ainorce?

Answer: 11 avait un morceaude fromage comme amorce.

(c) Question: Qu'est-ce qu'il avaitsur re; Jule?

Answer: 11 avait une canne apeche sur l'epaule.

SECONDARY LEVEL 29

(b) Question: Monde llevaba lacana?

Answer: Llevaba la calm alhombro.

(c) Question: Que llevaba en elhombro?

Answer: Llevaba la calla en elhombro.

3. Multiple choice statements may be based on the listening exercise.

(a) 11 aimait (manger dufromage sec) (alter a la peche)(alter a pied).

(b) 11 avait , fusil) (une cannepeche) (un veston) sur

epaule.

(a) Me acuerdo, como si fueraayer, de (un pedazo de pan,)(del bolsillo) (la primera vezque fui de pesca).

(b) Sall de casa muy alegre por-que (me habia tocado elpremio gordo,) (iba de pesca)(llevaba la ea& en el bol-sillo).

In the multiple choice exercises, the student must repeat the completestatement while giving the correct answer. Filling in blanks is not enoughto establish good oral habits.

4. The student may be asked to give in the language a short summaryof what he has heard.

5. The student can be asked to restate what he has heard in a dif-ferent tense or from the viewpoint of a bystander who has heard the samething.

Teaching the Speaking Skill:

The functional purpose of a language is to communicate ideas. In additionto memorizing dialogs and answers to questions on the reading lesson, oralwork with pattern drill is an effective exercise in developing speaking ability.The main purpose of these drills is to set patterns of behavior by practice;i.e., to enable the student to acquire an automatic response to a givensituation.

Pattern drills provide a series of examples consisting of a singlegrammatical structure. Although other elements of grammar will be pre-sent, the only element that should vary is the one being taught.


Before the pattern drills begin, the comprehension of the readinglesson should be complete.

The following are examples of different types of pattern drillsbased on the paragraph on page 28.

A. Analogy drills:

I. Reflexive

Teacher: Je me souviens de Jean-Pierre. Et vous?Student: Moi aussi, je me souviens

de Jean-Pierre.Teacher: II se souvient de mon

ami. Et elle?Student: Elle se souvient de votre

ami.

II. Irregular verbs

Teacher: le vais a la peche. Etlui?

Student: Lui aussi, it va a lapeche.

Teacher: Tu vas a la peche. EtJean et Joseph?

Student: Eux aussi, ils vont a lapeche.

Teacher: Its vont a la peche. Ettoi?

Student: Moi aussi, je vais a la',eche.

III. Change of tense

Teacher: Je suis sorti de chez moihier. Et vous?

Student: Je sortirai de chez moidemain.

Teacher: II est sorti de chez luihier. Et nous?

Student: Nous sortirons de cheznous demain.

1

I. Impersonal verb

Teacher: A mi me gusta pescar.1Y a usted?

Student: A mi me gusta pescar.Teacher: A ti to gusta pescar. 1Y

a Juan?Student: A Juan le gusta pescar.Teacher: A Juan le gusta pescar.

IY a nosotros?Student A nosotros nos gusta

pescar.

II. Irregular verbs

Teacher: Yo voy de pesca.jl?

Student: El va de pesca.Teacher: Ta vas de pesca.

Juan y Jose?Student: El los van de pesca.Teacher: Juan y Jose van de

pesca. iY nosotros?Student: Nosotros vamos de

pesca.

1Y

1Y

III. Change of tense

Teacher: Yo voy de pesca hoy.1Y el?

Student: El Ira maliana.Teacher: Jose fue de pesca ayer.

1Y usted?Student: Yo ya he ido.

METHODOLOGY FOR THE SECONDARY LEVEL 31

IV. Comparison using plus . .que

Teacher: Marie est heureuse. EtLouise?

Student: Louise est plus heureuseque

Teacher: Jean et Pierre sontheureux. Et toi?

Student: Moi, je suis plus heureuxqu'eux.

V. Comparison using aussi .que

Teacher: Jean a un petit morceaude pain. Et Joseph?

Student: Joseph a un morceau depain aussi petit que celui deJean.

Teacher: Nous avons de petitsMoyr'eaux de pain. Et Joseph etJean?

Student: lls- ont des morceaux depain aussi petits que les notres

VI. Comparison using autant . .que

Teacher: J'ai du fromage. EtJoseph?

Student: Joseph a autant defromage que vous.

Teacher: Nous avons du fromage.Et Joseph et Pierre?

Student: Its ont autant de fromageque nous.

V. Comparison using plusTeacher: J'ai du pain sec. Et

Joseph?Student: Joseph a du pain plus sec.

IV. Comparison using mas . .que

Teacher: Juan estci alegre.Pepe?

Student: Pepe estci mas alegre queJuan.

Teacher: Juan y Pepe estcinalegres. nosotros?

Student: Nosotros estamos masalegres que Juan y Pepe.

V. Comparison using tan . . .como

Teacher: Juan tiene un pedazo depan pequelio. j17 Pepe?

Student: Pepe tiene un pedazo depan tan pequelio como Juan.

Teacher: Pepe y Juan tienenpedazos de pan pequellos.ellos?

Student: Ellos tienen pedazos depan tan pequelios como Pepe yJuan.

VI. Comparison using tanto . . .como

Teacher: Yo tengo queso.Pepe?

Student: Pepe tiene tanto quesocomo usted.

Teacher: Ellos tienen queso.nosotros?

Student: Nosotros tenemos tantoqueso como ellos.

V. Comparison using masTeacher: Yo tengo pan duro.

Pepe?Student: Pepe tiene pan mas duro.

After most of the class has achieved some degree of mastery of thematerial by means of pattern drills, new devices should be used to varythe activity and to assist in complete mastery.


I. Using direct dialog:

The teacher asks a student to tell another student the contents ofthe material being studied.

a. Dites a Pierre que vous avez a. Dile a Pepe que usted tiene unun morceau de pain. pedazo de pan.Pierre, j'ai un morceau de pain. Pepe, yo tengo un pedazo de

b. Dites a Jean que Pierre a une pan.

canne a peche. b. Dile a Juan que yo tengo elJean, Pierre a une canne a cebo.peche. Juan, 8 tiene el cebo.

II. Words from the paragraph on page 28 are given, with whichsentences may be constructed.

Teacher: J'avais, canne, epaule Teacher: Navidad, premio gordo,Student: J'avais une canne a Oche loteria, tocar.

sur l'epaule. Student: Me hubiese tocado elTeacher: Jeunesse, aimer, Oche premio gordo en la loteria deStudent: Depuis ma jeunesse Navidad. or: Me toco el premio

j'aime beaucoup aller a la peche. gordo en la loteria de Navidad.

III. Completing sentences by using clues:

Teacher: Depuis maj'aime beaucorp

Student: Depuis ma jeunessej'aime beaucoup aller a la peche.

jeunesse Teacher: Llevaba el pan en elbolsillo

Student: Llevaba el pan en elbolsillo izquierdo.

Teacher: Llevaba el pan en el

Teacher: Depuis ma jeunesse

Student: Depuis ma jeunesse j'aimebeaucoup aller a la Oche.

Student: Llevaba el pan en elbolsillo izquierdo.

Teacher: Llevaba el _______ ___________.Student: Llevaba el pan en el

bolsillo izquierdo.

Using the principles of methodology given above, the followingpattern drills may be used in textbook adaptation to the oral approach.While textbooks differ, it is reasonably safe to say that most of themfail to give a sufficient number of examples of grammatical drill. The

I


teacher must supply additional examples. In doing this, he should dis-tinguish between presentation drill and practice drill.

The presentation drill is used to introduce the new structure and,therefore, should be quite simple. The most simple is merely a repetitionof a given structure, and may be used to introduce any point of grammar.

Teacher: Donnez-moi le livre. Teacher: Deme usted el libro.Student: Donnez-moi le livre. Student: Deme usted el libro.

Another form of repetition drill may be used:

Teacher: Je bois du café. Marie, Teacher: Yo tomo café. Maria,dites-moi que vous buvez du digame usted que toma café.café. Student: Yo tomo café.

Student: Je bois du café.

The repetition drill may also be used with a question:

Teacher: Nous allons acheter dupain. Jean, qu'est-ce vous allezacheter?

Student: Nous allons acheter dupain.

A simple substitution drill maygrammar.

Teacher:chat.)

Student: ll a vu le chat.

Teacher: Nosotros vamos a com-prar pan. Juan, 1 que va usted acomprar?

Student: Nosotros vamos a com-prar pan.

also be used to present most forms of

ll a vu le chien. (le Teacher: El ha visto el perro (elgato.)

Student: El ha visto el gato.

After the structure has been presented, it should be practiced. Inpractice, slightly more difficult drills should be used. Some examplesof sentence modification, transformation, or mutation drills, replacementor substitution drills, integration drills, and progressive substitution drillsand their uses are given 1,-1ow.

In preparing the ails, several basic principles should be kept in-"" Each point of structure should be introduced with a repetition drillthen practiced with one or more of the types of drills listed below. A suf-ficient number of examples should be given so that the pupils knowexactly what to do before they begin to practice by themselves.

In the practice phase of the drill, a sufficient number of examplesshould be given so that the structure being covered is overlearned. Thisnumber will vary with the structure but will hardly ever be less than tenor twelve. Each particular drill should be gone over several times and


should be reviewed in subsequent lessons. It would be better, for instance,to cover a drill three times on Monday, twice on Wednesday, and once onFriday than six times on Monday.

Only one point should be emphasized in each drill. The drill shouldcontain as .much of the text material as possible. This means situationaland cultural content as well as vocabulary, grammar, and model sentences.New vocabulary should be introduced before the presentation drill isbegun.

Students should be given sufficient drill in one form of a structuralitem before going on to the next. This is important for competingstructures; for instance, in studying verbs in French that take a, de, or nopreposition, they should be well drilled on a before going on to de andthen to verbs that do not take a preposition. A final step would be todevelop a drill mixing all three forms. Also, in working with such structures,it is especially important not to vary the rest of the sentence. For instance,if the first sentence was Nous commengons a etudier le frangais and thenext sentence was Nous voulons lire le frangais, the student would not knowwhether the a wa.s dropped because of the verb vouloir or the verb lire.However with a change from Nous commengons a etudier le frangais toNous voulons etudier le frangais it would be obvious that the a was droppedbecause of the verb vouloir.

In conducting the drills, if the vocabulary and the situational contentare familiar, it should not be necessary to give the students access to thedrill in written form. If they are not sure of the pronunciation and in-tonation, it would be wise to go through the drill in chorus. If there is anydoubt about their understanding the meaning of any sentences, theteacher should ask for a free translation; or, in an advanced class, ask aquestion in the target language, the answer to which would indicate whetheror not the student understood the sentence.

The replacement or substitution drill is a form of the . nsformationor mutation drill and may be used to drill some of the following points ofClr In '% VIM rriesir5 &

Direct pronoun objects

Teacher: Je prends le crayon.Student: Je le prends.

Indirect pronouns objects

Teacher: Je donne le livre a Jean.Student: Je lui donne le livre.

Teacher: Tomo el lapiz.Student: Lo tomo.

Teacher: Le doy el libro a Juan.Student: Le doy el libro.

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Direct and indirect pronoun objects

Teacher: Je donne le livre a Jean. Teacher: Le doy el libro a Juan.Student: Je le lui donne. Student: Se lo doy.

Adverbial pronouns En and YTeacher: Nous buvons de la biere.Student: Nous en buvons.Teacher: Je vais a la maison.Student: J'y vais.

Disjunctive pronouns

Teacher: Jean va au cinema avec Teacher: Juan va al tine conHenri. Enrique.

Student: Jean va au cinema avec Student: Juan va con el.lui.

Demonstrative pronouns

Teacher: Je veux ce chapeau-la.Student: Je veux celui-la.

Teacher: Veo ese sombrero.Student: Veo ese.

Demonstratives before relatives

Teacher: Voila le velo que j'ai Teacher: Al li esta el velo queachete. compre.

Student: voila celui que j'ai Student: Al li esta el que compre.achete.

Possessive pronouns

Teacher: Tu as le tien.Student: Vous avez le votre.

Possessive adjectives

Teacher: C'est mon frere.Students: Ce sont mes freres.

Teacher: Di tienes el tuyo.Student: Usted tiene el suyo.

Teacher: Es mi hermano.Student: Son mis hermanos.

Alternate form of demonstrative adjective

Teacher: J'aime bier cette plume- Teacher: Me gusta mucho aquellalA plum,a

Student: J'aime bien cette plume- Student: Me gusta mucho estaci. pluma.

Disjunctives before relatives

Teacher: C'est Henri qui ouvre la Teacher: Es Enrique el que abrefenetre. la ventana.

Student: C'est lui qui ouvre la Student: Es el que abre la ventana.fenetre.


Integration drillsuse of qui,que, dont:Teacher: Voici la jeune fine. Elle

va jouer avec Marie.Student: Voici la jeune fille qui va

jouer avec Marie.Teacher: Je vows donne le crayon.

Je viens d'acheter le crayon.Student: Je vous donne le crayon

que je viens d'acheter.Teacher: Voila la jeune fille. Il

vous a parle d'elle.Student: Voila la jeune fille dont

it vous a parle.

Use of parce que, a cause de,depuis que, quand:Teacher: II a manqué le rendez-

vous. Il etait en retard. (parceque)

Student: Il a manqué le rendezvousparce qu'il etait en retard.

Teacher: Nous ne pouvons pas yaller. Il fait mauvais.

Student: Nous ne pouvons pas yaller a cause du mauvais temps.

Teacher: Vous etes a l'ecole. Vowdevez itudier. (quand)

Student: Quand vous etes arecoleVOUS ileVEZ atudier.

Teacher: J'ai commence a lire. J'aibeaucoup appris. (depuis que).

Student: Depuis que j'ai commencea lire j'ai beaucoup appris.

Integration drillsuse of que,de quien, a quien:Teacher: Aqui estd la joven. Va

a jugar con Maria.Student: Aqui esta la joven que va

a jugar con Maria.Teacher: Le doy el lcipiz. Acabo

de cornprar el lopiz.Student: Le doy el lcipiz que acabo

de comprar.Teacher: Alli estd la joven. El le

ha hablado de ella.Student: Alli esta la joven, de

quien el le ha hablado.Teacher: Alli esta el joven. Le

hemos hablado al joven.Student: Alli estd el joven a quien

hemos hablado.

Use of porque, a causa de, desdeque, cuando:Teacher: Falto a la cita. LlegO

tarde. (porque)Student: Falt6 a la cita porque

llego tarde.Teacher: No podemos ir Oa.

Acausa del mal tiempo. (acausade)

Student: No podemos ir allci acausa del mal tiempo.

Teacher: Usted estd en la escuela,usted debe estudiar. (cuando)

Student: Cuando usted esta en laescuela, debe aitiiiiiiir.

Teacher: He empezado a leer. Heaprendido mucho. (desde que).

Student: Desde que he empezadoa leer, he aprendido mucho.

The fixed increment drill consists of a fragmentary stimulus anda fixed increment to be combined with it. It is particularly useful fordrilling the subjunctive and the use of prepositions with verbs.


Teacher: Je fais mes devoirs Ilfaut que

Student: ll faut que je fasse mesdevoirs.

Teacher: Etudier le francais Nouscommencons

Student: Nous conzmenconsitudier le frangais.

.Teacher: Etudier le frangais Ilneglige

Student: Il neglige d'etudier lefrangais.

Teacher: Etudier le frangais Elleveut

Student: Elle veut etudier lefrangais.

For a change of pace or fordrill is good.

Teacher: Je vais voir ma mere(mon pere).

Student: Je vais voir mon pere.Teacher: Chercher.Student: Je vaLs chercher mon

pere.Teacher: llStudent: ll va chercher mon pere.Teacher: Charles*Student: ll va chercher Charles.Teacher: NousStudent: Nous allons chercher

Charles.Teacher: VisiterStudent: Nous allons visiter

Charies.

Teacher: Hago mis ejercicios. Espreciso que

Student: Es preciso que Naga misejercicios.

Teacher: Estudiar el espatiol Em-pezamos a

Student: Empezamos a estudiarel espariol.

Teacher: Estudiar el esparzol Else descuida

Student: El se descuida de estudiarel espanol.

Teacher: Estudiar el espatiol Ellaquiere

Student: Ella quiere estudiar elesparzol.

a review, a progressive substitution

Teacher: Voy a ver a mi madre.(mi padre).

Student: Voy a ver a mi padre.Tencher: misc./7r.Student: Voy a buscar a mi padre.Teacher: ElStudent: Va a buscar a mi padre.Teacher: Carlos*Student: Va a buscar a Carlos.Teacher: NosotrosStudent: Vainos a buscar a Carlos.Teacher: VisitarStudent: Vamos a visitar a Carlos.

The transformation (mutation or sentence modification) drill is easyto handle once the pattern has been understood and will provide drill onmost points of grammar.

Change to negative

Teacher: J'ai un livre.Student: Je n'ai pas de livre.

Teacher: Tengo un libro.Student: No tengo libro.

* If Charles or Carlos Is used as the subject, the exercise could be adjusted accordingly.


Change to interrogative

Teacher: Ve a su amigo.Teacher: Ve a su amigo?

Person to person

Teacher: Quiere leche.Student: Quieren leche.

Teacher: 11 voit son ami.Student: Voit-il son ami?

Teacher: 11 veut du Tait.Student: Its veulent du bit.

Teacher: Nous ...eons du yin.Student: Nous avons bu du yin.

Tense

Teacher: Tomamos vino.Student: Hemos tomado vino.

Transformation Drills for Special Purposes

An example of a structure inFrench that gives students a greatdeal of difficulty is the parti-tive. Once the students have beenintroduced to the partitive withpresentation drills, the transfor-mation drill is useful for providingoverlearning.

Change of person with affirmative

T: rai du café. IlS: 11a du cafe.T: VousS: Vous avez du cafe.

Change of person with the negative

T: Je n'ai pas de café. 11S: Il n'a pas de cafeT: VousS: Vous n'avez pas de café.

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