Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Beginners' French
Beginners' French is the basic book of the Walter-Ballard French Series. All the methods used have been thoroughly tested With American pupils. The lessons have been written with present-day conditions constantly in mind, - the classroom and its limitations, the teacher and his desire for thoroughness, the pupils and their willingness to do well the work they love.
The book is original, as far as is possible in the nature of things.
It was inevitable that, in adapting it to the needs of American schools and colleges, it should differ materially from books that present the Direct Method in its completeness and from all books written for younger pupils, to whom abroad the Direct Method applies in its unmodified form.
The authors have borne in mind the particular requirements of our American educational system. They have taken into consideration the limited time usually allowed for modern language instruction. They have tried to make the work interesting to the pupils, to insure solid progress, and to lighten the work of the instructor.
In French the chief difficulty is the verb. From the beginning an exact and thorough knowledge of the verb is striven for, and the drill on it continues throughout the book. The past definite is introduced early, in Lesson 38, because, though conversational work and the Direct Method do not demand an early knowledge of this tense, the pupils must meet it as soon as they begin to read ordinary French prose not especially arranged for them. Circumstances alter cases, and if the teacher wishes, the past definite may be taught, just as it is presented, much earlier than the lesson in which it appears.
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