HOW TO TEACH FOREIGN LANGUAGES EFFECTIVELY

The aim of this book is to provide the classroom teacher of modern languages with practical aids in the teaching of his subject. It de­votes itself, therefore, primarily to the description of various meth­ods of instruction and to the presentation of a generous collection of illustrations, examples, model lessons, suggested procedures, games, and devices.
Over forty complete lessons in French, German, Italian, and Span­ish to illustrate the various phases of language instruction have been included. These lessons are eminently practical, for they have all been tried out in the classroom and found successful. They are culled largely from the daily observation notes of a supervisor in a foreign language department of over a thousand teachers, who give instruction in nine foreign languages to 170,000 pupils. To many years of experience in the New York school system may be added the fruits of observation at various times in hundreds of classrooms in foreign countries.
Since the book is to be a practical guide, no attempt has been made to present the historical development and the psychology of language teaching. Only such theoretical material has been intro­duced as has a direct bearing on the daily classroom activities of the teacher. It is hoped that the description in nontechnical language of effective methods of teaching the student to hear, speak, read, and write a foreign tongue will prove helpful to the teacher.
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Various types of approaches are given, for there is no one best method for all lessons and all teaching situations. The method will be effective to the degree that it is adjusted to the various factors involved. These will include the personality, experience, and back­ground of the teacher; the type of material to be taught; the nature of the textbook used; the age, intelligence, and scholarship of the pupils; and the aims of the course of study. The skillful teacher is the one who knows how to adapt himself adequately to the circum­stances.
Under normal conditions the teacher is, in the final analysis, the most important factor. A good teacher can teach something about almost anything to any type of pupil. Although it has been said that good teachers are born, not made, and although natural endow­ment is undoubtedly basic in the case of the inspired teacher, any­one who is willing to learn may be taught how to teach an effective lesson. We cannot all be gifted artists, but we can all be skilled craftsmen. The less experienced can always profit by observing the work of the more experienced. "Let him who dares to teach never refuse to learn."
In making his acknowledgments the author wishes to express first and foremost his appreciation of the generosity of so many able members of the foreign language staff of New York, who have pro­vided the basis for most of the model lessons.
The author is particularly and deeply indebted to Renée J. Fulton, Director of In-Service Training, for her careful reading of the manuscript and for her many valuable suggestions, as well as to Dr. Emilio Guerra, of New York University and the Board of Educa­tion, for his meticulous proofreading.
Finally, the author wishes to express his gratitude to his wife, Elizabeth, also a teacher of foreign languages, for her untiring and conscientious service in the preparation of the manuscript.