Earl W. Stevick

“ Where Lessons 1 and 2 in the new series had to do with identifying objects, Lesson 3 (p. 82) is concerned with identifying people. It is based on Lessons 3, 4 and 5 of the original course: 'Who are you? Who is he? Who is John?' The answers are in terms of general classifications (girl, man, etc.) , occupations (teacher, student) , or personal names. An obvious way to tailor the vocabulary to the training project is to include the names of all instructors, as well as the names of any other Telugu speakers known to the trainees. ”

“ Experience with Cummings devices in many languages has however raised the question of whether a two-line conversation is really viable as a 'sample of language use.' Certainly it can simulate communication within the confines of a classroom, but it is seldom adequate for genuine interaction in the outside world. ”

“ Thanks. The parts of this dialog that go beyond the Cummings device have been underlined. As in the dialog for Lesson 1, what is done through words in English may be done in some other way in Telugu, and in any event the non-verbal aspects of communication should receive attention along with each spoken sentence. ”