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CHAPTER 3 The most familiar example is 'I get up. I bathe. I get dressed…,' but the same format may accommodate discussion of technical processes, negotiation with a landlord, public ceremonies, and many other topics. Another kind of sample, particularly suitable after the first 50-100 hours of instruction, is a passage of expository or narrative prose (see Chapter 7).

Whatever form the sample takes, it should contain at least one or two lines that lend themselves to lexical and/or structural exploration of the kinds that will be discussed in the next two sections of this chapter. If the sample does not contain such lines, then it will become an isolated compartment within the lesson, rather than a productive part of it. Appendix C illustrates this danger. Appendix G, among others, shows what we would consider to be a more desirable relationship between the sample and the rest of the lesson.

'Language in use' of course implies 'language as one part of a communication event,' and spoken language is always accompanied by other bodily activity, including gestures, facial expressions, posture,nearness to other people, and so forth. These aspects of communication ought to receive attention also. See Appendix B for examples.

In this and the following section, we have made frequent use of the word 'exploration.' This word is perhaps confusing, and hence ill-chosen. We have used it in order to emphasize the active, creative, partially unprescribed role of the learner, and to avoid an image of the learner as one whose every footstep is to be guided by a pedagogue. 'Exploration' in this sense stands in contrast to 'inculcation.'