Teachers, Take Advantage!

Abstract

C. S. Kersten and V. E. Ott make a most pertinent comment at the conclusion of their interesting article "How Fal-Reaching is the Textbook in Teaching Foreign Languages" (Canadian Modern Language Review, Vol. XXVII, No. 3, March 1971, p. 21) with reference to supplementary material. "The textbook is still needed to introduce the students in an orderly progression to the structural concepts of the language. It should serve as a ready reference; but it must be expanded and reinforced by a rich variety of supplementary current materials through the inventions of the imaginative teacher." The importance of supplementary material is also the theme of Mrs. Walker's article "What is Our First Priority in Teaching?" (Slavic and East European Journal, Vol. XIV, No. 1, Spring 1970, p. 50). She states: "I concluded that something we need is a supplement for any text, which will reorganize, rework, expand, and rehearse many times the vocabulary and patterns related to specific situations." All three, Kersten, Ott and Walker believe in supplementary material for active communication, that is, material which will relate directly to one's own immediate environment, so that the student can express himself in terms of his multi-faceted surroundings. "More voluminous materials must be offered students for tackling situations beyond the entirely superficial first dialogues.