APPENDIX R TO CHAPTER 6
CUMMTNGS DEVICES IN A TASK-CENTERED COURSE
(PONAPEAN)
The textbook from which this lesson has been taken was written in Ponape, for trainees who were living with Ponapean families. The authors were therefore able to write lessons which led very directly to real use of the language, with equal emphasis on linguistic practice and entry into the culture of the island.
Unlike most courses that have given prominence to Cummings devices, this one does not make each 'cycle' the center of its own lesson. Instead, there are several 'cycles' in each 'unit,' together with notes and dialogs. All these components are aimed at enabling the student to use Ponapean for clearly-stated purposes at the end of the unit. Nor is the textbook as a whole just a series of units. Aa the table of contents shows, there is a 'prelude,' which consists of preliminary lesson material with detailed instructions, followed by four 'books,' each of which contains four 'units' interrupted by 'interludes.'
This format is one of the most thoughtful, imaginative, and appropriate in the recent spate of 'microwave' courses. In addition to the table of contents and unit I of Book I, we have reproduced here the pages labelled Using these Materials from the remaining units of Book I.
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