Earl W. Stevick

“ Whenever we limit our attention only to the cultural area or only to the linguistic area, or to only one of them at a time, we do so at our peril. There is no language without meaning, and there is no culture without words. Nevertheless, this synopsis will violate that principle by concentrating entirely on the mechanics of speaking Thai. It is addressed primarily to native speakers of English who expect to live in Thailand, and gives a bird's-eye-view of the tasks they will encounter in their study of the language. ”

“ More than courses in French, Spanish, German or English, a course in a seldom-taught language is likely to be the brain child of one author, conceived in desperation, brought forth in obscurity, and destined to be despised and rejected of all other men. ”

“ This outward-looking kind of reality may in the long run be necessary for motivation, but it is not by itself sufficient.
The vertical axis extends through reality that is internal to the learner: his feelings, his anxieties, and his picture of himself. Does he enjoy what he is doing, or not? Does he see himself as succeeding, or as failing? Is he, in his own eyes, one of the moving forces in the learning process, or is he only a pawn?
Emphasis on this vertical axis is one of the interesting features of what Dr. Gattegno calls his Silent Way of teaching languages. ”

“ The only such construct that is justifiable is 'microwave cycle.' If that phrase is replaced by 'Cummings device,' then the originator will receive credit for his idea, and at the same time unwarranted collocations will be blocked by the very mechanics of the English language: people will not easily slip into talking about 'Cummings device theory,' or 'the Cummings device method.' On the contrary, the term 'device' is intended to suggest a small part of a total method, which may or may not be consonant with one or another theory. ”

“ The fifth assumption that underlies the modular approach is 'pluralism': 'If a thing is worth doing at all, it is worth doing in at least two ways.' In fact, it seems to be the case that if a word or a sound or a grammatical relationship is to be retained at all, it must be met with and studied from at least two points of of view. The coherent picture of structure afforded by a reference grammar, and the immediate linkage of individual qrammar points with individual instances in meaningful discourse, both should be available. ”

“ SARKHANESE COURSE
1. Prepare a sketch of the language. Make it short enough so that an interested layman can read it at one sitting, and clear enough so that he won't get up and leave it. Make it long enough so that a student can relate to it most of the grammatical features that he finds in ordinary written or spoken texts, but don't try to make it exhaustive. Write from the point of view of the student, not of the linguistic scientist. (That is why the sketch is part of 'coarse presentation' rather than 'fine specification'!) ”

“ The first step toward adaptation is to form a clear picture of the students, their needs and interests. This picture may take the form of a simple socio-topical matrix. Let us assume that we are adapting for an evening class of adults who live in one major part of a metropolitan area, and who speak a number of different languages but little or no English. In general, the matrix can be more specific and more accurate in smaller groups, but even the largest and most diverse class has in common its classroom or training site, and current events both local and worldwide. ”

“ The design of drills is one thing; actually writing them for a permanent set of materials is quite another. What for one user are exactly enough drills on a given point are for a second user too many, and for a third user too few. The materials developer is certain only that he cannot please everybody. To some extent this problem can be eased by transferring to the user the responsibility for deciding how many drills there will be (Assumption IV) . To do this, one must first make a very useful but seldom noted distinction between 'routine manipulations' and other manipulative drills. ”