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- <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>Introduction</title><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL-NS Stylesheets V1.76.1"/><link rel="home" href="index.xhtml" title="GERMAN Basic Course"/><link rel="up" href="index.xhtml" title="GERMAN Basic Course"/><link rel="prev" href="pr01.xhtml" title="Preface"/><link rel="next" href="ch01.xhtml" title="Chapter 1. Unit 1"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">Introduction</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pr01.xhtml">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center"> </th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="ch01.xhtml">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><div class="preface" title="Introduction"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a id="d5e18"/>Introduction</h2></div></div></div><p> AIM </p><p>It is the aim of the course to provide the student with a useful control of the
- structure of the spoken language and of a basic vocabulary which meets at least some of
- the specialized needs of the Foreign Service. After completion of the basic course the
- Foreign Service Officer should be able to make limited practical use of the language in
- his official duties and social obligations. He will furthermore have the means, given
- the proper surroundings and personal motivation, for continued rapid and efficient
- development of proficiency. </p><p>MATERIALS </p><p>The materials in this first volume of the text are organized into twelve lessons or
- units. Each unit contains a set of basic sentences for memorization. These are in the
- form of a dialog based on one or sometimes two specific situations in which a person
- might find himself in Germany. Notes to the basic sentences are provided as necessary to
- clarify occasional difficulties in vocabulary and idiom and to provide additional
- background on some cultural features unfamiliar to Americans. Notes on pronunciation are
- included in each of the first eight units. Phonological features which have been found
- to be particularly difficult for American students are here presented with explanations
- and pronunciation practice drills. The notes on grammar in each unit single out those
- structural features illustrated in the basic sentences which are appropriate for
- systematic consideration at that stage in the course. Substitution drills provide for
- the manipulation of forms by substituting specific items in fixed sentence frames. They
- are intended to build habits of association, so that in a given syntactic environment
- the appropriate grammatical form automatically comes to mind. As the German vocabulary
- is all familiar, no English equivalents are given in these drills. Variation drills
- provide for the manipulation of larger syntactic patterns. In each group a model
- sentence, underscored, serves as a guide. Associated with it are additional sentences
- incorporating the same syntactic pattern but in which most of the individual word items
- have been replaced. English equivalents are given to serve as cues for recall of the
- German variant sentences. Vocabulary drills provide both practice in the use of new
- vocabulary items and also allow for manipulation of sentence elements whose particular
- form and arrangement depends upon their association with that vocabulary item. The
- manipulation of both variation and vocabulary drills depends on the use of English
- equivalents. Specific translation drills are also provided, however. In most cases they
- present the material of the basic dialog in the form of a narrative. They thus provide
- content review of the basic sentences and practice in the transformation from active
- dialog to descriptive narration. The response drills are question and answer drills on
- the situations of the basic dialogs. Conversation practice and additional situations in
- outline bridge the gap to free conversation with small pieces of supplementary dialog
- for acting out and situations providing for a freer play of the student's imagination.
- The finder list in each unit notes all new vocabulary which has been presented. </p><p>METHOD AND PROCEDURE </p><p>This is a course in Spoken German; the forms and patterns of the language are
- intentionally colloquial. The emphasis in instruction is everywhere on speech, and an
- indispensable component of the learning process is the voice of a tutor, or instructor,
- whose native language is German. On no account should the student attempt to use these
- materials without either a native instructor or recordings of a native instructor's
- voice. The method of instruction incorporates guided imitation. repetition,
- memorization, pattern practice. and conversation. </p><p>Working under the supervision of a linguist the tutor's role is to serve as a model
- for speech and to guide the student to accurate imitation by constant repetition and
- correction. The student's Job is to watch and listen to the tutor carefully and to
- imitate as exactly as he can the sounds which he hears. He must be prepared for constant
- correction and repetition. Each time however the instructor will give him a model to
- follow by repeating the item first. The student should never attempt to read from his
- text but should always wait until he hears the word or utterance as the tutor speaks it
- for him. As far as possible he should leave his book closed during the presentation of
- new dialog material and keep his eyes on the tutor, students will be asked to repeat in
- chorus and individually and will be expected to repeat many, many times, even when
- their imitation has been good and accurate. Only by constant repetition after an
- authentic model for speech can habitual fluent and accurate reproduction of the sounds
- and forms of the foreign language be achieved. </p><p>The basic sentences are preceded by "build-ups" giving the component parts of the
- utterance separately. Each new item which is introduced appears first as a build-up. The
- tutor will ask the students to repeat the build-ups separately first, then combined into
- larger units and finally the complete new sentence or utterance. The basic sentences are
- sub-divided into numbered sections, each to be treated as a unit, repeated in chorus and
- individually, with and without build-ups, until the students' imitation is
- satisfactory. Then a new section may be begun. The time required to cover each section
- in this way will differ widely depending on the size and ability of the class. After
- acceptable imitation and accurate pronunciation has been achieved in one or more
- sections they are assigned for memorization outside of class or repeated in class until
- memorized. The student should be able to give either the German sentence or its English
- equivalent on request or switch from one to the other and back again. The tutor will
- drill by repeating each sentence for each student in the class, then by giving each
- student a different sentence, repeating it for him first, and finally asking the
- students to recite the sentences in order, the first student the first sentence, the
- second student the second sentence, etc., without receiving a cue from the instructor.
- Repetition outside of class, preferably using recorded materials as a guide, should be
- continued to the point of over-learning. The student should not only be able to give the
- correct German sentence immediately upon hearing an English equivalent, at random
- selection, he should also be able to give the correct German sentence with equal ease
- and speed of response upon hearing its German cue. As a final step the students are
- expected to act out the basic dialog in entirety from memory, with the tutor or with
- other students. Only when the basic sentences have been mastered to this extent can they
- be considered to provide an adequate basis for control of the spoken language. It should
- be noted at this point that the English text accompanying the basic sentences is not
- primarily a translation but rather a set of conversational equivalents. Many apparent
- discrepancies will be found if the student, or the tutor, looks for word-for-word
- correspondence between the English and German text. It does not exist. Rather, in such
- and such a situation this is what is said in German and this is what is said in English. </p><p>The pronunciation practice drills are to be taken up after the presentation of the
- basic sentences has been completed and memorization has been started. Items are arranged
- in groups according to the particular phonological feature concerned. Words in vertical
- columns present the same phonological feature in different environments. Several columns
- in a practice group contain related phonological features or related phonological
- environments in which the same feature recurs. Words are to be repeated first in chorus
- and then individually by each student after the tutor, at first following the vertical
- columns and later, for variation and comparison, horizontally across the page.
- Particular attention should be paid to items in contrast. These are minimum meaningfully
- distinctive sound patterns, accurate control of which is important for communication and
- comprehension. Contrasting word pairs are linked by a dash, and after separate practice
- for accuracy the items should be repeated by pairs to bring out the exact distinctions
- between them. </p><p>The notes on grammar are earmarked for home study. After each unit has been started
- and the first hour or more has been spent in class on repetition of the basic sentences
- the student should read through the grammar notes to acquaint himself with the
- grammatical points presented in that unit. During the whole time a particular unit is
- being worked on in class the student should continue to study the grammar section. Many
- questions which he may feel tempted to raise in class will be found to be answered in
- the notes on grammar. The tutor is specifically requested not to discuss the language
- with his students, and the students are asked not to ply him with questions. Time in
- class is to be spent using and manipulating the language and not in talking about it. In
- each unit one or more grammatical features are presented, and the basic sentences have
- been designed, as far as is possible consistent with natural expression, to incorporate
- and illustrate those features. Each point of grammar discussed is illustrated by
- sentences which are natural utterances in the language. They are taken in nearly every
- case from the basic sentences of the current or preceding units. Thus the examples are
- already familiar to the student, and the patterns they contain, which will be drilled
- and practiced in the sections to follow, are patterns which the student has already
- begun to assimilate by memorizing the sentences of the dialog. </p><p>After the basic sentences of a unit have all been repeated several times and
- memorization has been well begun, work can be started on the drills. The material is
- designed to provide a maximum of additional experience in using the forms and patterns
- of the language learned in the basic sentences. It is not assumed, however, that the
- learner is automatically able to transfer the experience gained in the basic sentences
- to error-free manipulation of these forms and patterns. The drills are by no means a
- test of what the student can do with the elements given him. It is a matter of no great
- importance whether he can or cannot "figure them out" by himself. The goal is to learn
- to speak the language accurately and fluently, and this aim can only be achieved by
- correct repetition of the forms and patterns involved. Therefore all the sentences in
- each drill group are first to be repeated after the tutor in their correct form. The
- tutor then cues each student in turn for repetition of one of the drill sentences until
- all students have given all sentences correctly. </p><p>In the substitution drills the model sentence and all its variants are first repeated
- in chorus after the tutor. He then gives the model sentence again, the class repeats it
- in chorus, after which each student is cued individually with an item to be substituted
- and repeats the sentence with the substitution called for. in some cases the cue is the
- exact form which fits into the sentence. In some cases a cue is given which requires the
- student to choose the proper form to fit the syntactic environment of the model.
- Regardless of which type of cue is given or how simple or complex the exercise may
- appear to be, the student's task is to make the substitution without hesitation and to
- repeat the sentence accurately at normal conversational speed. Although no English
- equivalents are given in the substitution drills and the first task is rapid, fluent and
- accurate manipulation of the material in German. the tutor may ask for spot translations
- into English here and there, and on the second or third repetition of the drill he may
- give English equivalents as word or sentence cues in place of the German cues provided. </p><p> In most of the variation drills and in all of the vocabulary drills the cues take the
- form of equivalent English sentences. Basic procedure remains the same as in the
- substitution drills. All sentences in a given variation or vocabulary group are first
- repeated after the tutor in their correct form. The tutor then gives the pattern
- sentence again, and the students repeat it in chorus, after which they are required
- individually to recall and repeat the correct German sentences for which an English
- equivalent is given. Students may work with their books open here, covering up the
- right-hand side of the page on Which the German sentences are printed and taking their
- cues from the English sentences on the left-hand side of the page. </p><p>Conversion drills require the conversion of one or more elements in a sentence from
- one form to another - singular to plural, present tense to past tense, etc. No English
- is provided for these sentences as a rule. However, as in the substitution drills the
- tutor may ask for a random spot translation into English, and he may go through the
- drill a second or third time giving English sentence cues for which the student gives
- the German equivalent. </p><p>Translation and response drills, as noted above, are in most cases directly related to
- the basic sentences. In translation drills the procedure is similar to that followed in
- variation and vocabulary drills. Students may work with their books open, covering the
- German text and reading the English sentences themselves, or if preferred, books may be
- left closed while the tutor gives the English equivalents. In the response drills it is
- often appropriate for the tutor to address two or three questions to the same student
- and then two or three more to the next, so that the drill takes on a more natural
- character of conversational interchange. Both drills should be repeated in entirety
- several times, however, or until all students have had a chance to respond to all items. </p><p> It will be noted that all drill material is provided with both a cue and a correct
- response, so that all may be prepared by the student outside of class and repeated and
- practiced by him as often as necessary to achieve complete accuracy and fluency. In many
- cases there is more than one possible response to a given cue, and instructors are
- encouraged to accept all responses which are truly equivalent. If a correct response has
- been given, however, instructors are not to suggest variant forms which may occur to
- them, as this only introduces unnecessary complexity of choice to an exercise which is
- difficult enough as it is. </p><p>In the conversation practice brief conversations, usually on the same theme as the
- basic dialog, are read through by the tutor three or four times while students listen.
- Then the tutor takes one role while one student takes the other, and they repeat the
- conversation together. The student's aim here is not primarily to memorize and repeat
- exactly, but to give as accurate an equivalent as possible in his own words. After
- acting out the conversation with the tutor the student goes through it again with
- another student, he in turn with the next student, and so on until all have taken both
- parts in the dialog. </p><p>The situations are brief descriptions, in English in the earlier units, later in
- German, of occurrences similar to those on which the basic dialogs are based. Two or
- more students then act out what has been described in their own way and using their ov.i
- words. They are free to use their imagination and fill in any supplementary details that
- occur to them. The whole conversation should not be prolonged however more than four or
- five minutes maximum duration. Then other students may try their hand at the same
- situation. </p><p>The narratives, beginning with the fifth unit, are designed for reading purposes. In
- the early units they introduce a minimum of additional vocabulary and unfamiliar forms,
- and they may be used in the class for oral narration, the student re-telling in his own
- words what he has read. In later units some features of expository prose - matters of
- both form and style - which differ from normal spoken usage are introduced through the
- narratives in order to bridge the gap between conversational German and those reading
- skills of a specialized nature which require particular study and attention. </p><p>The ultimate goal of the course, as has been stated above, is to speak accurately,
- fluently and easily. The text provides for the assimilation of all basic forms and
- patterns of the language by the guided imitation, memorization, and manipulation of a
- large number of sentences and by practice in confronting several widely occurring
- everyday situations. Actual living use of the language in free conversation is a
- necessary and essential adjunct. The tutor should therefore encourage his students from
- the start to use the language in every way possible, above and beyond what is provided
- for in the text. After the first few days of work both students and tutors should avoid
- the use of English in the classroom for any purpose at all, and they are encouraged to
- speak German outside the classroom as well. Only by constant use of the skill he is
- learning can the student hope to master it and retain it as a useful tool of his
- profession.</p></div><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pr01.xhtml">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"> </td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="ch01.xhtml">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">Preface </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.xhtml">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Chapter 1. Unit 1</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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