Page:Adapting and Writing Language Lessons.pdf/130

Rh SUMMARY

The augments that we have listed here are just a beginning. C. Ray Graham, director of language instruction at the Peace Corps' Escondido Training Center, points out several other directions in which to look for more: use of blackboard cartoons as a simple, enjoyable and flexible source of present reality; reference to the trainee's past, his parents, etc., in addition to his present and his future; directed dialogs ('A., ask B. where Sanchez is. ')

But all these suggestions are suggestions, and only that. They apply to one actual situation, but by that very fact they will be inapplicable in others. Their purpose is to demonstrate how the principles of Chapter 3 might work themselves out in one setting, and to stimulate the creative imagination of any reader who may need to augment  or another programmed course in some other setting.

What we are calling 'augmentation' does not just add something; it adds something for a purpose. The purpose is to move from the secure base provided by the Units, and toward doing in Spanish things that the student needs or wants to do anyway. Every 'augment' should give the student something to do; it should also give him at least two reasons for doing it. One reason will be linguistic: he is gaining practice with a particular sound or sentence pattern. : he is doing something that he wants to do at the moment, or he is preparing for some clearly defined effect that he wants to have on Spanish speakers in the foreseeable future. He may, for example, be learning to pronounce their names in a non-irritating manner, or making himself able to produce the names of people, places and things. It is this constant, close tie-in with the student's non-linguistic