Beyond Micro‐Teaching: Some First Steps in Individualizing Preservice Training for Foreign Language Teachers

Abstract

relative frequency on morphological facts rather than on syntactic relations. Thus, it is not reasonable to offer such lists as prima facie condemnations of the proposed resequencing of tense presentation offered in this section since such lists ignore completely the basis for such resequencing. It may, of course, be true that lists of structural frequency provide the best guide for the order of presentation of grammatical material. Certainly, frequency lists cannot be totally disregarded; however, slavish adherence to them under conditions which tend to conceal grammatical facts from the second language learner can not be countenanced. The second of the arguments against resequencing given above would appear to be more serious. While many, if not most, of the verbs of the second and third conjugations have synonyms among the verbs of the first conjugation (or can be paraphrased in a reasonable manner), there are some verbs in these two conjugations which affect the choice of verbs of the first conjugation to be taught. Thus, it makes little sense to teach the verb acheter if vendre will not be presented for, perhaps, six months more. However, the number of such cases is not large, and may, indeed, prove to be of little importance. In any case, it should be possible to offer these few verbs at an early stage as irregular forms and thereby avoid the problem.