Ie tbie inforoation needed by tbo studehte

lrtlil I IIlt !

J. R. Gl-adstone

1. Ie tbie inforoation needed by tbo studehte

for _the

proper

!&dorstanalia6

of

the

bablt _aaVor

_ooDcept?

. Z.

Aa

I.

aa

a.uativo

_{6pe€rker, 6uro a6out}

this

detail?

If

^{tbe o.neuer}

_{to elthor}

_queoticn

_ie

_No,

do

not uotrrerli"li'tr""oa"*

.or

questigar'ro are dlacuaelag

that

_Dot aspect I

of.the cultural pattern. ,. ;;;-";;;;;

our

cul.ture.

_Rather:

;:T::irJ['.x:"";::":;:ff:";: ::il":Jt

tqrrs8 to leara,

aad

rbar 1r

_vou

;;

";-;;;;"ut that

^partlcurar

knorl,edgo _tte theo ourely yor.E pupLle rvi11 _be able

to

^a16o.

.foof that

Ea

cosureance

or ths,"r.:::i:il,T;:;":f;J:.fl."il";:il:: ^.ffL"

qatortals that _d6,

rho teacher

wlII

_{bo abte}

to

"rr";;;;;-;"";;."

the

llnguiotic _iteos yithiu their tultural

_c

aot.ouly tho patterE. or

_{the lan.uase but}

".::';;::.t'||ril::#-nalce them n€aElBgful.

( Ff

i

II

!I

--l

i

'i6 " TRI-rllDri IU 'i'l[i

'Ili/rCll] lln

0I

n.iiDIiic Virl5inia Ircnch,/tl1en

Soile _JO yeal's have pa6scd sincc ilichacl i'est iicvoloi)ctl liis ^ilcrr

I'lethor1 Rcarlerst primariiy for school.l)o:r.s irr Iildia.r iror r:any years tlrcrcaf ter r thc ^m;rin tlrrust of reailing instrrrc ^l-i-on uas tor'ii, rl

snoothing thc road f or non-li}18l-i ^{s h- sp ca)<:l n} 6 stttrlcltts t ^f irst ^LJ' limiting tl.ie vocalrulary and thcn by corrl;r-oll ilr6 tirc granllitatical constructions used in the rnatcrials. 't-hc aim _'.vac to enablc

learners to tead English r:itirout disco',ra11in6; di-f iicultics.

shif t in _{_emp[e6:!g}

Today this effort Pcrsistsr ^and it is otill ^needcd--in ordcr to oncoura8e studentB and 6ive ^them the 6&tisfaction ^of

read j-ly Srasping irleas through the mcdium of prii:t. In recent timcs, howevcr, teachers havc bccotne incre;rsin6ly alarc of ^the

noed to train studcnts to copc r'rith unsi-mp1-:'-f ieri prosc--thc kind of ^{proso found} in matcrials for nativc ^spcal(crs.

Thcrc arc sevcral rea6ons for this s))if b in cmphaeis. ^one rgason is rclatcd to contenporary recognition of the fact ^that the rcading of ^{writt.en llnGl.ish} roquires 6fccj-aI sltills ^{bcyond thc} skil1s nocrle<I for undcrstanding thc epoltcu lan6ua6e, ^{bccause moot} convcrGational speccir is differcnt ^{from Inost} \"rittcn ^prose.

In thc history of ^{TESOL' there useC} to tle a tinc ^rriren it

vras &s6umed tirat writing ^was sinply tall< rvritt-cn ciovn--5ivc cr

takc a fcw fcaturcs of intonatioll ^and punotuation uscd b)' o"c ntcrlium ancl not by thc othor'. ^f t r+as turther aosunlcd that any oocon.-l-lan6uit6c lcarncr ^{vllo harl} mastc,rcrl thc rnrlirlcnts of oral i}tglish could casilj' ]caru to ^rcad Engtisht sincc ivritin6 ^v;rs rncrcly a irrocorrli of vltat is spo)<ctr. Onc sr:ldom 1'ti]'p6 _'11411 slrin:

nowadays.

David Erl<c1,, pointccl .olrt in a rcccnt issuc of ^Ti)5'L qrrartcrl-y:

,ri,n.rl_hin5 that can bc rsrittr.:n can in thcol'y bc said r hut tllc ^I(inds

o-[ sentcnccs t]ral; rtciua]Iy 51t't slid ^{atld th'':} liin(ls 'c jl^1: actunlly gct writLon ^ro ^{by no rrcails} 1dt--utjcal.'r Corrcoqlrcntlyt tht:rc ^has bccn a si6nificant shift of aLl;cn!ion to\'^l-d srint':'n!ld ti'pts ^ll1C

gramrnatical cot]structions conr;ton1y 'vsrj'ttcn r''ncl ru;ril ' ^L"'t t selrioir hr.rard. ^,5omc typcs of constructions tllat '\rc ^{i'r!ivcr 1r:lrncd blr}

r

.i

I

)

-'iit1-I

-122-TESOL studcrts

for

conversrtional ?urPoscs L.\vc

to

bc taught

for

re€rdirrg. Tl,csc includc patterns

witir

transposcd clcnents--for cxamplcr ad.verbial- clr\u6cs

in initial- position

^(Atthough no6t pcoplc dcplorc

it, pollution is

widcspread) arr.l prcpositional phrases

in initial position--oftcn

accompanicd by

invcrsion

of subject ^and

vcrb

(Of spociat

inturcct to

tcacl:.crs

is thc

^Larnguage

- Mothodo).ogy

Ccntcr).

Partj.citr\ia1 constructions of. various kind.s

also prosent Breat

difficul-tics,

sincc thoy

arc

nar-cIy terugirt

for ora]

connunication

yot

frcquontl-y occur

in lrittcn [n6lish.

Fur-thsrmors

yot

frequently occur

in vrittcn En6lich.

FrEthcrnore, thcy nay turr- up any'rrherc

in thc

senterrce. Examplcs:

Fundetl by

thc Offioc of

Educat:.on, tho

project will tcgin

on Marc

h

¹

It

occurod

at a

moetin6

called

by

thc diotrict

supo:'intcndet.

Included

in the

discussion _were comments by tcachers l ^p1-annin6 to attcnd the mecting scireduled

for

^Jc. nuary

i.

Sincc such patterns occur rcpeatedly

in vritto.n

d.iscoursc thcrc

is ourrcntly

^nuch

stross

on thcsc p.rttern6. j.n _cLassos

for

inter-nedlato .and advancod TISOL etudcnts.

EPA4lqar :Ln expoeitory ^proac

trlornore precise

idcntification of

Braiilmatical construotione

corononl-y found

in

expooitory prose, terchers are indcbted

to

^a

Eutrber

of linguistic atuclios.

Jcan McConochic,

in a

computcr

study

of

engincoring

tcxtbook,

dj.scovir.od nany instanccs of postponed oubjccto

after It

and

Ihcrc.

Shtl

also

found and ex-tensive ir:,$o

of nonin;rlizrtior:,

as woI1 as many prgpositional phrasee _,used as noun

nodifiors.

Most of,

aIli

shp found rnuch uee

of

passivo cou.;tructions.

An

intcresting sidelight

on

this last point is

providcd by an

articlo

by Lackstrom,

Sclinkur,

antl

?rinblc in

tne ^EN*GLIS.H

TI{CIIINC trOlu}.I

fcr

^S ept cmber. -0c kt ober

1!/2.

^Thc

artlcLc

raaintains

that rrit is

ina.ccuratc t o say t ll.at _1i;rG6ive constructions

occur

^r

rnorc f:'equently

in

technical

uriting

th:.rr cl-sewhcrerrr becausc traqy

of

t)rc so-cal1cd Frssivo constructione found

in scientific

^proec aro actua.lly

stative constructions.

^A

stativc

constructions, 1il:o

a

^passivo

,

^{c onsists}

of a

f ornl

of

BE p1u,:

thc

pa6it participX.e

forn of a verb, but statives diffcr.

from passivos

in at

lcaEt throo ways.'

I I

ii

f

i

i(' t,I i'

n

Ia

tf

,( t't t

!i

'.

,,1

t

t il

r-)

t'

,.

i

I

t

*t

I

t: i

I tt

I I

-jzr:

First.

th-ey e:rprcss.

statcs or

conditii,ns

rnthcr

Uran acticns or proce66e6i sccond, thcy may

not

occur

,fith

_{an optional arjont or}

instrumcntl _and

thirdr

thcy may :rot co-occur rvith advcrbu

li}:c

slovly'

Hence

tiic followiag is

an examplc

of a stati.rc

corrstruction:

Thc we]le aro locat ^c ci ncar thc ::ciinotcr..

Though

this distinction

betwecn

lnssivc

^ancl

stative

cbn_

.6truct-ions shour-d doubtr.css bc nacrc, tire imprications

of

the study by McConochie _f or: tho teaching

of

r.:nd.ing rc,,;:iin

va1ii.

^She: con_

cludcd

that

TliSOL. studcnts ncod

not

^on).y

to icarn

how

to

form the passive but

also to

attach meaning

to

many

irrcgular

paet pa.rticiple

form6

that _{are oftcn}

_touched

_vcry

_J.ightly

in

^TITSOL classcs. :AI1 too

frequcntlyr

students are sent

off to

nemori.ze lorrg

lists of

irre-6u1ar paot

participlo

_forms,

_rrithout

_{much chancc}

to na.ter

them.

l'/hat aclvanied etudcnts nocd

is

^guiderl

practice in

,o"di.rg

E8torial

^d omparablc Lu

dlfflculty to

what

is

rcad by

thcir

EeBIJsh-spoalcing

dountorparts. rf

the rcading componcnt

of thc

course deale

exclueively

wlth sinplifierl naterial

from which tfoublcsomc ?attern6

havo bseD

elininated,

studcnts

will

forover

find

lcxtobooke _outeide tho TESOL class a1moet irnpoesible

to

rcad.

Anothor rcqcnt study _dcsi8ned

to

hc1;: tuachcrs

train

61ud6.1a

to

cope

with

uslnplifi-ocr proso

is

a ph.D. cri.cscrtation by Mary Eleanor Piercer who !ra6 toaching

in

Eg,ypt Hhen shc

first

pe:rccived

tho

special problcme T'isoL stuccnts encountcr r.rhilc reading textbooks intended

for

nativo speaker.s

of linglich,

:

Gradually _u'ho

""ro to rcalize that

IESOL sturlcnts necd

to

be

trained

to

nake sp,ecay prodictions about what

to

cxpcct _from ^.oach

succoad.ing gentenc€

in a

^passago

of

connectod.

discoursc.

Without

lcading

tho ontire

scntcnce, students neoc

to

dccido

inetantly

whethcr

or not

thc' ocntonse adv&ncc6

the

thcmc

to

any

si5nificant

dcgroc, vrhether

the

sontcnce

ncrcly offcrs lllustrative dctail,

whcthc!

in fact

th'e 6cntcnce

just

_{rostates an idea} prcvlousl-r. prr>_

ecntcd--in which casc

it

can safcLy bc

Lcft

unrcad..

Ihc Pierce study strosscc thc ^necd. for tcaching TESOL stu_

dsnts _how to rrtake'advantagc of lho high rcdu.ndancy in r..rlttcn English Ey3following proccdurcs _r.rhich tho nar.tive spcaltor uso6

automatically.t, In plrticular,, aG tho r,rritcr points out, sturicnts nsod holp in (a) aistinguiehing botl.rcol mei;. ids15 ancl suppo:,ting

dctails, (b) rccognizin6 rcpetitivc statcments, (c.) iduntifying

-)Zt+-ciie sui) j.jct of ;'. cor,plr x l;\))iLJricc, ;'rirl (ri) ti':vclopin;; cx!!ctarrcy

f or t'Ii., iyi," of ^pl'.; .lic L:.oll ^sr'i,:11 iir cuL:juct Iiril3l''L rcqui:'u'

:

Ir: I r'-l.lrL.:ci v!in' Tlrol:lii5 i';ttcliiugiir'rnt (:' l'lii:sli-rig t1;" l-971'

Tlj;,OL ConfJr.'uncL') Lll'f,o,.l t\.)rtcilJrlr to ilivo sttrtlunts Ir:rctico ^j-ir ir6uussing whrtt ntiilitt cor,lc I.ic:<t-r'

In cf icct, both statcr;lonts Jltllllsigc tllo j-r,r;,o::ter.c c o1' ^j' ri' crlasin6 thc studJnt rs :Lvr.r'!cuesii of thc spccif ic lolc-; ^{p1:r;'uiL b1,r} in-,liviiual sctrti)ncJs rvi't]:in ll ^pacsagu of ?r'osc. ^rio';:, e'Iso cifI rr';t'"-tion'to thc e.blc rcaclcrts hi.bit of ilrcC.ictinil ^fi.'om ';hu :ji'!lri'c'c ^of a sontclcc hoH thc rcGt of u, sclltolicc wi.I1 probabl; 5o.

tlhat cI.'r\ssroor:l ^ac

bivitirs

mielit ^bt)

vations?

^'f o

illustIrrtu, k:t

^{us lool(}

at

a

liuy

^Elcanor

|i;rci, a d

t):cil Cuci.ic ^hovr

suijgus'; ^!r.-i by tir.sc

c onstruc t;J

b c ^{us c cl.}

ob:c::

-psssaEc i,;, f -lt ^{rir L} JhE

(I) A coll-cur is not iust :. ?1:!cc ^f o:: stu,iyin3. : (2) llost cc:l lrIjuu offcr ^{many oijSor} thin6.. (J) Stueonts can rxcct _i)cop1c fj:oIt d.j.fir!;l.t pl-3cc6. (4) ttrcy ci.n lc.rrn from thost: peoplc aslwcll ns iroiti c;1:iss-work. ⁽ r) ^A st ^detit rs _{,:tost valu:.L14 au'l uscf u1 inf} or;:e.ti on ^j s so:;''-timcs 6:ir.cd flon ^sucl-t inf crr,lnl co:Ivcl'sa.tions. '(6) ^{itatLy op1:o-} tuli.-ti,:s ^if or'cultui'.r1 lcLivitius aro c.lso prosi:rrt on ;Iic c.u':rrc. ⁽⁷⁾ The thcrtol I vorl(shopr or dramr.'. gr'oup, is ^{aL\rJyc: populae.} (3)

s';u-C.cntp vrho :1rc intsrcste u irr ,lriijic ^cer' join tllo band or thu o.rchcstri' (9) ttrose virii,ilg to ^{rlcvc1o1; tl1Ji1'} ability in pai:l;it:Ij ^u'rn :loiIlt nrt 61r.ssus. (i(l) Tf,cr' aru i1'rrrj iL i,li;ioni'-I pursi'i-ts f ol tllosu ^ivho arc intercs.tef . ⁽ 1f ) It is possr-b1i-' lo f inc'l soiacthiLrg f or ^evcry

tastc.. ^,

, ^f f a ^pessagv lilic thc Picrc; i)11:r'l':ri-'} L i; "rsud, sl l'l'nts

r,riinL,

1. Ir'iuniify tllj cub.i'ct of cl1cI] ss:tL(rnc-' '(si,parab-'ri3 it

fron. thc procl icate ^by .. shsh) .

I 2. Dir"r"s th,, ^kincl of preiication rrnich thuy :' wouid

c::-:

pcct _. to find for cubicct.

: ). ^Diicuuu th.r d.'8rco to uhich c;rch sontuncc cithcr:

intr'o-cluc.,s ^a- n:rin iLl,;:r or r.:!uatE an idsa prcviously ^prcscntcd.

' q. Dtscovur th.r ^l,Jor(IE that l-ink ons idua to :rnotilcr ^(-Co:'

o:<tnpIc r ^otirr.rr, thcy, thcse? as wc}I as, ^such., irlsor aCclitionai) _' , tn ^short r ^{cxorciscs rol:rtsc1} to such a !ass'1gc oug)lt to trr:ir studcnts to rc:'.ct to _'.^'i ttcr, discoursc ac c:lpcricncucl

ri:g1isi'-slcalij- ng rc::dJrs ^d.o..

I

-1? 5-trcn,l_Slnrc

I.io.,t that l,,io hr.rru IoolicLl lt ;;or;" rcr_,.lillq matcri;.-l _{:l-,.i con_}

sirl''rcd somc proco(iurcs _f or ur;ing it in c1::r;r: , ,..,r\r ;l- ;ltt ^f.Jl.: ljo\, thcs.

proceduree }clate to cuiicnt t:.unc.ls i,n r.c.al(.li ii,j. O:rc o1l ti:s ,ioit oJ_

viou. is trro crnpll..sis on cxpoct-,r.r.c1.. _ir;is ol, slr_ciriicto r..le ,rcvis_

iD6 tccl'ririquL.rc tnat cpcclficalli. tr:riri s c c oi-rrf _lel;rr- i1 sturlirts to

f orr,t _cxpcc tations cbouL f ortircoi. ing s"i.,i;clc;c _ori th! blsis of cpe_

- cifioally icir_.ntif icd 1in1;uistic cl.,rcs.

tl sccondr rclatuci trcn.i _l.i:rs to rlo Uitli r.: itril:.nc1r. Ctu,-Jr:,;s

1rc bcing tr:rinccl to rt.l<c ucc of the rc 1n,1..rircy iorinr, tn 1i.n5u;r5c _.

L'iloir naturaf t\;n(luucy ic to trc.:rt c:lch sclltuircc i.:s tllou6ir it i;:_

urtcd arr importlnt ncr.r i.]ca.

Inr.(or _unit.s

A thirrl cr.rphasis tocl..y is thu cmphasls on c,.11:cctc.l. dic_

coursc--on para1plphs and wholc e.says. I'hiIc icohtu I scntcnccs aecr and perhaps nlr.rsys rvi.1I be, thc sub j.,,ct _o-f ;rucn;ll:.1ysis, t.rcrc is now a growing co;]cora r,rith le problcnj thet rLrj.sc,r+hen Gontcnces are wovcn togcthcr ir.to tho fabric of a Flt:ilgr..pi1.

I{L.ncc'trc finrj cviLlcr,.cu of ^jr. f orr:-t}. rl..vcIopr.l:r.t ::r ^,lI5CI rcadin6 obviously rclatcd to cxpcct:_ncy an(l rc(l1na-.,:1cy. Tl;is is tlto currcnt _concorn vith s.:oucncc signafs. ^iJ,..ruc ie.l .,ttcr:tion is bcin4 paid to sequc]rco si:1lta1s 1iir., ^: roruo,i:t , i.iorJ'yci, n,:r.ortirL.:Itrsg _r

unfcr _sucL circunst:.nccs, lcti. tor,, :lrl s: o::. ^.r,1.. ec lrc l1ci.:.,::ts

th:rt clo not ontcr into to coDStl,uJ;ion oi i1 su:)1i.,[cc ..rtturci: in icolr-tion. _L'ach of tI:.r:t p,oirul).,,:;cr !l,u c.xistur.c,, of othcr su:.bc,nccs

in an uttcranco J.al.gcr r:rn a c;.t:.11c scntc:.cr.:.

leirrnin _{readin b}

A fifth emphasis in present-day readinE instruction l-6

clearJ,y related to all of ie foregoing. ft tras to do with a neaisr

of dcveloping expectJ.Dcyr a lncans of interprctin6 the EramEratical

constructions _{commonly found} in viritten prosc. I refer to ^ar.

instructional ploc;, _thart is not ncw but rvirich h,1._ takcx o:: ^.arl.cled

sig:rificancc _{i11 rocerrt yci:lr} rj. Ii.,is is thc po.lic;,, of ^{1j.,,. yi} ril stil_

dcnl;E practicc writin6 ti:c kinrle o F [ngI1,.;h frosc t]t.rt thc;. ^.1i11

ncc r[ to ruld.

In conposj_tion _courr.;cs for )tiltivs tcacher:; iravc traditionall.r .l_ro^r;cd thc

spciikcrr; of ilnql j-sh, _r.:ost 'rreadci.-vriter cor.tractr,

i

!

(

{

i

-725-aad tho crosc 1-elationshi.p bctvrecn the way something is writtba and

the ^way it is to be rcad. But it sr:ems to ne that tod.ay lge are

findin6 rcnuwcd ori,pirasis on conposition as trainins for reacl

This mery be duc in ])iu. t to tilc Ccncrative Brami:rarii.r.nr s co:rcern with docp structuro vis-a-vis surface structurc. It may also arisc out

of the fact that, in nany scireo].s today, TESOL is taught by elencn_

tary school t,-.il.chers for whom Lhc ttcxlcricnce chartfl has long becn

-a -standard iustructional dct'icc.

Such tcachcrs have contraouly encouragcd stuctcnts to conopose

a story or cBsay oraIly. Tiicn i;hoy writc the story d.ovrn ancl edit it into a forr,. a?Iropriatc to cotncctcd {.iecoursc. It ie durin6 the rreditingrt stage tnat stud.cnts lcarrr to apply processes of dclction, ^embe <lclir.g, trnd tr..trsposition. I! the procuss, _stu6cnts

bccomc cn5agr-d in lvhat Ii. Douglaa _Bror,,n ca1ls rrcreatively _stru5gling with the language.rl

-

Througl, such coopcrativc vcntur.es

in

constructing

writte::

prose, studcnts rnay note horv constructions

f.ike participial rorii-fj,ers rel.rte

^+-o si"nlpler

construction6.

Tlicy

also learn to

rcCog-trizo synonyrnous sentonces,

to

detect

potcnti.rl

ambi6uj.tics,

to

ap-preciate.thc

f unct,io:l u:ici fcircc

oi

^yarious sequ.nce

signals.

lle

might say,

thon, that a fifth

trend

in

prcscnt-Cay TESOL _rearJ.i.n6

instruction is

toward incrcascd

attcntion to

vrritinS ^a s_!.r ai.n_r-rgJig readinS.

Vcnturcs in coopcra[ivc coriposition vrriting can ^b,.:13in

welL beforc thc ^adyilnged stagc of instruction, and thc atudents xxay

be eithcr children or adul-ts. Fcr younger lcerners, thc cxcrcise itr ^proso writing may cvolvc fron sonctlling as sinplc as a.passage

of ^rrTarzan Tall(". The tcacitcr may rvrito the follorving on thc

chali(-boarCs

Big

crocodilc

sr,,im

river. Prctt y girl

swim r,ive

t,

i i II I t i

I

t tI

! i,t

I

i

I

I t

1

i

i

l

! I

i f

dile. Cro co di:Le scc girl. Crocodile hungry. Coocodile open mouth.

Eat

nirf i

1;o

i.n

Uoing t)li.s 16 rarv roatorial

for a story, _the

cl-ass riccidcs vrhat

tr

do about

thu lirst sentcncc.

^l',ihat

othcrrord.s

shoulC bc aodcd

order ^+.o

colvcrt tlris

^IrTarzan Talkrr

into thc kind of v;riting

orxxal ly found j.n b,Jok5? Sornconc mery 'sug;.n Et ³ Abi cro co d.ile i s wLrnmtnR In a rlvc Anothcr _nay propo6e: A biq crocodile tras

.\ trrird ney choose to conbine the first two r

t-t t ti

-1

t

Ii

tl

f

Ii t

L

iI t II It

t

It_t

I I

i

it

Il

tt I

t-Ew]-mrnLnA }n thc ri.ver.

se)1toncc6: ^11, bifl crocodl-le ^and a prctty gi.r1 were svrirnmi ng in ^+.he rivcr. i fourth ;tay tirirrk tiL.; story woul_d be imiri'o?ed by vritin6.

-127:

Y/hil-c a pretty girl rvas slvinning in a river, .a bj.g crocodile vas swimming therer t'oo.

Guidcd by

thc tcachcr, thc

class discusses the

possibilities

and considers

thc cifccto of thc

varicus arrrrngements.. Thus the studcnts

learn that

they can expxess

a single

idea

in

^two

or

^morc

different

wayor and

that thcy

s,ln prcducc various

effects

^by

choosing fronr among various gramnatical

constructions.

Teachers who engagc

thcir

students

in

such oxercj-ses avolal

thc

^{misuse of}

linguistics that

Dwi6ht Bolin6er nust have had

ln

mind when he

dcplored

tho fact that, in his

vicw, ^rtBoth structuralism and trans-formationalism concentrate olr

the

form

of

^6entence6 and

their

part6,

and neglect meaning, which

is the part of

^lan6uage

that

most

eludce

thc

studentr

s

^gra6p.rr

idea form

Ihe

^group- cornpo

sition

ses6ionr

in

^r,vhich students work from

to

surface s,tructure, can ^{shotiJ them hour} y,,riter6 arrl,ve

at

the

of

sentencc 6.' found

in writtcn

^prose.

vcrsatility

i.n surface structure s

Another exi:rcisc lcading

to a

moaningful grasp

of

sr:.rface

structurcs

is suitable for ^junio:' or

scnior high

sctrool.

^The

teacher

distribute6

^{anong -uiro} studcnts

classifieci

^ads clipped from

a

newspapcr, and, each s,;udcnt inturpretG

llis

ad

to the

cl-aso. For

instance,

a stude[t

may interprc t i,OST: Child's ^g1a ssesr ^brown rims as ^tlSome chiLd has l-ost his glasses. They have brown rirns_t^ll

or ^rrclasses with brown rins ha.vc becn lost by a child _rrr or iiri pair of childr s _6;lassos with broryn rinls has bccn lostil The student is

encouraged to expl,rin thc ad il as many diffcrent \yay6 as poesible, This sort of cxurcise d.cvclops vcrsotility uith regard, to sur-facc structuros. Ip pteparcs thc btudent to reCognize synon)rnous sentencos when he ^'mceter thcn in his roadin6. Practibe in comparing

varioue types of sentcnccs is cxccilent preprration for the roaCi-nG

of tcxtboolr.s in the subjcct-mattor ficlde,

A1] too often, tcachcrs have left the d.evelopment of slcill in rcco8nlzr,ng synonymous sentcnccs to chonce. They have tracli-bionally cal,lcd attcntion to synor:yriis for individual vrorcls, but they have done lcss with altcrnative rvays of handlin8 iar8er units.

Henccr in many clrrsses, studcnts nccd practice in dcclcling which bwo sontcnces from a sct of t,:Lrcc have appropriateli. thc samc

lcanin6. Thcy r.ray corlsj-del: ir.:rC Ciscuss sc'i;s like the folloving:

-...-_-:4,

-)co-'1 b.

2:i1.

3c.

The 1,o1.5 did not nicntion ti,uir suspicions to the mechanic.

The toys did not say lrlything to the suspicious mechanic.

TLc' boys rli,l not te1J. ti:r mcchanic thst thcy werc suspicious.

Rcacirin6 out dcsporetcly, !'rank graspcd Kenrs shirt.

Dospcrtrtely, Irank rc.'.chod out and graspcd Kents shirt.

^nrani{ : cachcd I(en, who ciesperatcly g:'aeped his shirt.

Ed had to stop rurrning iong enougir to catciT his breath.

Althougtr Ed long;cd to stop anC catch hi6 breathr he had to

l<ocp runnin6.

Ed longed to stop and catch hic breath, but he had to keep

runnin6.

E!!r

il

;I ^li

?,

ta

f

ar

i

:

i

t-1

: i I

i

I f

!.

ackncvrlcdging complcxity

inother, sixtli

ti.:ildcncy

in

present-<iay rcading

instruction

_i

is

suggcotcd by

thc

fore6oin6

fivc.

^Todaj.

thclc

appears

to

^be

a

_i trend ^away from

sinplifyi4g the

langua6c -lecLrning process,

a trcnd

_i

toluard acknowled3ir^3

its con.plcxity. In

^an

earlicr

day,

thc

I

emphasis was on streamlining

the

^procose, on

identifying the sroaL-

_i

lesi

lumbor

of

languagc fcatures and olemcnte e6sontia].

to tho

i

cxpression

of ideas.

Tcachers

in

ny generation were brought, up

on .

i

thc Fries

dictum

that

'tl,ij.ilijuaga

is

learned when

withia a

limitod.vocab- ^I

ulary.the

student has maEtcrcd

the

^soutrd 6yste6 and

the

basic

struc-

|i

turol devicss.rr In

those day6--a[d cvcn today

in

elcmentary

courses

i

--thc

^{stross wac orr supplying}

^a

^Limited Eet

of

signaling devicoo

for

II

thc

otudentrs use

in productiol of

Englieh oentences; Today,

atten-

_it

tion

^has shi ft ^e d,--part i cul

arly in

Dore ad,vanced. classes--to coaprehen- _[ siou

of a vastly

cxprinclcd. repcrtory

of p.ltterns.

^t

I

' _{Thus wc} mi;iht sur^r up

tiiis 6ixth

trend by not

ing

t.hat

there

I_I

16 _Ero,wing emphasi-s on

t},c

conprchension

of the

very complcx

nct-

^j

rvork

of lin6uistic

fcirtures found

in written d.iscouree.

^t

iill of

^these

cfforts

^{and ompherses are}

relaiec lc a ocverlth ,l'

_I

over-archi.ng phcnomenon

in

TE,30i, vrhich becomcs apparent as

vre

!

nLovc f orvrard throuUh

thc _1970s. I

hi:Lve errvL-rl

dt for last,

sinco

lt

!_t

io in

many uays

the

nost

significant of

a1J. those mentioncd..

Iur-

i

thermore,

it

is.

inplicit iir

rlost

of the

other tr-.ndcnebs

I havc

touchcd

on. This is

thc movc

to

restore roading

to a position of

iI

hiC;h

priority in thc

process

of

Learning zr eeoond l-anguage

i In

i

tec not-tor:-listarrt pa6tt it

^r.va

s

fasllj.onable

to

^assruae

that reading

I^I

i.rstnrctions

^{coul-d. an0 shuuld bc postpoacd}

until after

severaf ^tuore