Page:Adapting and Writing Language Lessons.pdf/65

CHAPTER 3 a hinge' to be noticeably heavier than 'I need a label,' depending on whether the native language has initial /h/ (German has; French and Spanish have not), or final voiced stops (French has; German and Spanish have not).

In general, of course, we try to make early lessons rather light. But Alex Lipson is one authority who advocates putting some heavy items into the very first sessions of a new class, while the students are in their freshest and most open state. This is one example of how none of the three qualities has absolute positive value, and temporary lack of one of these qualities is not necessarily bad.

Transparency is primarily a cognitive problem: how readily can the user of the materials see the units and their relationships? Looking at a textbook as a whole, we may ask:

Do these materials make clear at least one way in which the teacher may use them in class?

Is it easy to find where a given point of grammar has been covered?

With regard to single lessons, we may ask:

To what extent does the student know what he is doing and why?

How easily can a teacher or adapter find places where he can make changes or additions without destroying the lesson?

With regard to single lines, we may ask:

Can the meaning be put across without translation?

Can the student see the structure of this sentence clearly enough so that he will be able to use it as a help in composing or comprehending new ones?