nity for each individual to concentrate his attention. Silent reading, alone, furnishes this situation.

But it is difficult to employ silent-reading methods in the adult immigrant classes for a number of reasons.

1. The teachers themselves have in many cases the wrong conception of the purpose of the reading lesson. Without intentionally doing so, they use the reading lesson to develop speaking ability, whereas this latter should be done, not so much through reading as through conversation and oral drill work.

2. Students dislike silent reading because they feel they get no practice in speech. If the oral work of each evening is made effective through being more extensive and more systematic, the desire for oral expression on the part of the student will be satisfied. Hence, when the period for silent reading arrives, he will be content to read for thought, in order to be prepared for the subsequent oral expression of what he has read.

How to Carry Out Silent Reading. A few practical suggestions as to how to conduct the silent-reading lesson are listed below:

1. Give out the assignment for silent reading. Let it be of comprehensive length, neither too long nor too short for the time allotted for silent reading.

2. While the students are busy, the teacher should outline salient questions which may later serve as the basis for a discussion of what has been read.

3. Require the students to close their books.
4. With the aid of proper objective material, the

teacher should guide the discussion based on the reading content, to a suitable conclusion.

5. For a finishing touch, wind up with rapid-fire oral reading.

Results Expected from Silent Reading.-In order to determine the student's reading ability some sort of test should follow all silent-reading exercises. It is as possible to read silently in a mechanical way as it is to read orally in this fashion. After there has been sufficient opportunity to read a given selection silently the questionnaire method, introduced orally or through questions written on the board, to which written answers may be supplied, will determine the degree of the student's comprehension of the silent-reading assignment.

Through silent reading we should attempt to increase the student's rate of reading by the introduction of exercises in phrase and sentence reading to increase the visual span. This type of exercise correlates well with teaching the student to read rhythmically, an element as important in silent reading as in the oral reproduction of the printed page. Occasionally it is wise to test the skill in phrase and sentence reading, rhythmic quality, and the rate of reading, through oral reproduction of the silent-reading content. If the student reads rhythmically, with proper phrasing, ease, and sufficient rapidity to reproduce the thought accurately to his listeners, we may be fairly well assured that his silent reading is of fair quality and that it is yielding the results we desire.

CHAPTER VI

THE FABLE AND SHORT STORY

The Value of the Fable.-The fable is one of the earliest forms of fiction. It originated as an indirect and pleasant way of subtly suggesting proper behavior. Since that is the case, the fable carries with it much of human interest and philosophy of life. Herein lies the value of the fable.

In the selection of fables for the adult immigrant student, great care should be taken to choose only those which appeal to adult minds and which have to do with adult conduct.

The use of the fable in teaching a new language furnishes material for developing various phases of language. A fable is usually written in conversational style, and thus affords practice in conversation. In such material, normal idiomatic language pertinent to daily life is predominant. Idiom is best acquired when studied in context. Moreover, there is the opportunity for acquiring a practical, every-day vocabulary. Finally, grammatical form and rules can be taught best from language which is a model of expression in regard to sequence of tenses, sentence construction, and inflections of speech.

Nothing taught in the classroom can be of ultimate value unless it arouses a high degree of interest. Experience has proved that, if the proper kinds of fables are chosen, a high degree of class interest can be aroused. The reasons are obvious: first, a good story always holds

attention; second, a moral appeals to the philosophical side of the adult mind; third, a story previously heard or read in the native tongue has a double appeal: the surprise and joy of finding the old in the new in addition to the opportunity for expression of the old by means of the new language.

The Fable as an Exercise in Language.—The fable as an exercise in language affords many avenues for developing and enlarging the power of expression. More use can be made of it than simply to let the students read it or answer a few cursory questions put casually by the teacher. The outline below indicates the various exercises that can be worked out in the classroom:

1. Oral reproduction of the story which gives practice in conversation and speech.

2. Study of vocabulary through spelling and sentence-building exercises.

3. Study of idiomatic expression and of conversation in new settings.

4. Study of punctuation.

5. Material for dictation.

6. Study of inflections of the parts of speech with stress on verb forms.

7. Discussion of moral and philosophical ideals with application.

8. Preparation of material for original composition. Since the fable is usually brief in character, it is possible for the teacher to copy it on the board. It is thus accessible for class study. The teacher is urged in her preparation for presentation of the fable to develop her methods of approach so as to bring out the language values as enumerated in the preceding paragraph.

A selection of fifteen fables well adapted to the adult student in thought content and language forms will be found in the Appendix.

The Value of the Short Story.-While the fable is a useful instrument in developing and enlarging the power of expression, it runs its course in due time and the student soon wearies. The short story is the form which might then follow. The only difficulty here is that there are few stories short enough for classroom use. Even the shortest must be treated in a serial fashion. In the Appendix may be found a few typical short stories. Reprints for all members of a class cannot be easily found. It is therefore suggested that the teacher divide the story into short units of sufficient length for an evening's lesson. Copy the story on the blackboard and request the students to read and study from there instead of from a reader.

Another form of the short story which the students enjoy is the kind constructed by the co-operative effort of the class and based primarily on the experiences of the class members. If they are given inspiration and concrete suggestion, it is often surprising what co-operative, community imagination can develop in the way of a short story.