|
students aware of how to use the structures that they are learning. Knowing the
negative particle, yt, does not guarantee that students will understand that Ds yt
crf;tnt...is a request for information, not a negative prediction about the future
(as the words on their own would suggest). On the one hand, it may seem trivial
to go down the list of functions and say, "Oh, that's just the imperative," but there
is a great deal of pedagogical significance to making functionality a cornerstone
of language learning. It does not imply that the learning of forms be ignored or
learned in a haphazard fashion. It does mean that forms always be learned in a
functional context, and that students be well aware that how these forms are
used is at least as important as, for example, how they are spelled.
The list that follows indicates the range of basic functions for the
elementary stage. There is not a rigid division of functions within particular
skills; we expect the functions to be addressed across all four skills as
appropriate. Note also that functional abilities may be met by knowing a single
lexical item butonly if it is used in correct circumstances. In this domain, the
principal concern is to tie linguistic knowledge to particular real-life situations.
Recall that in terms of proficiency, even by the end of the second year of
high school, learners will just be beginning to perform at the intermediate level.
All of these same functional areas will continue to reappear in subsequent
stages, together with some new ones; at higher stages the aim will be to expand
the learner's repertoire. At the elementary stage, for example, the function ask
permission may be satisfied simply by knowing how to use the wordvj;yj.At the
intermediate stage, this same function might be satisfied with vocabulary
appropriate to specific situations: e.g.,Pltcm cdj,jlyj*if the context is finding a
seat in a restaurant; or, Vj;yj gjpdjybnm jn dfc*if there is a need to borrow a
telephone.
The following list is offered with a great deal of tentativeness. As Russian
textbooks are coming increasingly to focus on function, there should likewise
come to exist a consensus as to what the range of the elementary stage func-
tions should be.
|
Make acquaintance
Greetings/leave taking
Express gratitude
Ask/Answer simple questions
Ask permission
Apologize
Request a favor
Give commands
Receive directions
Make a purchase (store, street vendor, post office...)
Express likes/dislikes (k/,bnm> yhfdbnmcz)
Express needs/desires (ye;yj> [jntnm)
Know elementary norms of behavior as a guest
|
|
45
|
|
