Page:Adapting and Writing Language Lessons.pdf/80

Rh printed lesson) toward a perimeter (the end of the lesson) beyond which lies darkness. He sees his task as providing additional activities (dialogs, drills, games, or whatever) that lie not too far beyond the perimeter, and which may help to extend it. If this adapter were a plant, he would be a morning glory vine in the springtime, putting out its tendrils in search of anything at all to which it can attach itself. The second kind of adapter warms himself by a portable hearth wherever the interests of the students seem to lie, and may forget where home was; botanically he would be a dandelion whose seeds are scattered by the wind. In this book, we suggest that a prospective adapter begin by making a careful survey of both sides of the gap he is trying to bridge. Once he has done so, he can connect the two sides by using whatever devices he is most comfortable with. The point is that he is working with two basic documents and not just one. Certainly he must take account of the lessons that he has set out to adapt, but just as certainly he must exploit the sociotopical matrix that summarizes his students' interests. He must satisfy the demands of the textbook, but in ways that will be satisfying to those who learn from it. He works around two foci, and not just one. Depending on the nature of the original materials, he may find himself preparing Cummings devices to go with dialogs, or dialogs to go with Cummings devices, or drills to go with either or both, or all of these to flesh out an existing set of grammar notes. In all cases, his most creative contribution will probably lie in suggesting how the learners can make early and convincing use of what they have just learned to manipulate.