D83 V. 2 EDUC. PSYCH. LIBRARY PREFACE The object of this book is twofold. First, it aims to supply second-year pupils with material which will serve as a basis for the systematic study of grammar without departing from the principles of the direct method. During the first year pupils have acquired a knowledge of certain principles of grammar, but the knowledge has been somewhat scattered, obscured by the necessity of speaking, of expressing thoughts fluently. Now the time has come to coördinate that knowledge and enlarge it. The Exercices de rédaction will give students flexibility in the expression of ideas and selection of words. The Devoirs écrits will force them to apply the principles explained in the Précis grammatical, while the Complétez exercises will familiarize the pupils with the idiomatic expressions met in the literary extracts. The second aim of the book is to acquaint the pupils in a simple, concise manner with the growth and development of French national life in order that they may use this knowledge as a background for a better appreciation of the heroes, customs, ideals, spirit, and language of the French. The author believes in the general cultural value of history; her experience is that historical selections always meet with a warm response on the part of the pupils; but the Leçons d'histoire may well be omitted by the teachers who wish to devote their whole time to the study of literature and grammar, for the language lessons and the history lessons, while running parallel, are quite independent. 459914 |