Vietnamese Basic $25 off CD version, Levels 1 and 2! | $50 both levels! This course provides introductory teaching materials for spoken Vietnamese, and is intended for general use by English speakers. Special attention has been given both in the text and in the tapes to make this course as useful as possible for self-instruction. It comes in two levels with the second continuing in the same format as the first. Level One comes with 22 CDs and a book; Level Two with 10 CDs and a book.
Foreign Service Method Vietnamese | Course Structure | Contents of: Vietnamese 1 | Vietnamese 2
This course provides introductory teaching materials for spoken Vietnamese, and is intended for general use by English speakers. Special attention has been given both in the text and in the tapes to make this course as useful as possible for self-instruction. It comes in two levels with the second continuing in the same format as the first. Level One comes with 22 CDs and a book; Level Two with 10 CDs and a book.
Level 1 of Vietnamese contains Lessons 1 to 10, and Level 2 contains Lessons 11 to 15 - all of which have the same basic pattern and involve the same procedures. Each lesson requires many hours of study, either in class if working with a teacher, or working with the audio recordings of the Vietnamese material if learning by oneself.
The method underlying these lessons is guided imitation, and the aim is automaticity. Ideally, one will have access to a teacher, who drills on the Vietnamese in the text, providing an authentic model for the student to imitate. Statements on how the language is manipulated are included in the explanatory notes in the text, which may be supplemented by further discussions on the part of the teacher. As a supplement to class hours with a teacher, or as a replacement for them, students work with the audio recordings which approximate the classroom situation.
Language learning is over-learning. Through memorization of whole utterances, and substitution within and manipulation of these utterances, a student achieves the fluency and automaticity that are necessary for control of a language. Language learning involves acquiring a new set of habits, and these habits must become automatic. Just as the experienced driver performs the mechanics of driving unconsciously - turning on the engine, shifting gears, applying the brakes, etc. - and concentrates on where they are going, so the fluent speaker of a language is concerned with what they are saying rather than the mechanics of how they are saying it.
The student should note the following general suggestions and warnings:
Basic Dialogues Each of the lessons begins with a Basic Dialogue which forms the core of the lesson. Students control a lesson to the extent to which they have learned the dialogue by heart. Thorough memorization of the dialogue means thorough mastery of the text. Memorization is achieved by direct imitation of the tutor when a in class or by repeated use of audio recordings.
Basic Dialogues are presented with their English equivalents. Numbered utterances in the dialogues are basic sentences. New words or phrases occurring in a basic sentence for the first time are listed separately, immediately before the sentence, as breakdowns; they are indented and not numbered.
Following the Basic Dialogue are Notes on the Basic Dialogue, containing assorted information on specific sentences. The numbering of these notes corresponds to that of the sentences.
Grammar Notes Discussions of new patterns introduced in the Basic Dialogue are found in the Grammar Notes. These are to be read outside of class after the Basic Dialogue has been introduced, but before proceeding to the drills. In the Grammar Notes, the procedure has been to introduce only material which will be of immediate, practical use to a beginning student. No attempt is made to present the full scientific analysis of Vietnamese on which the lessons are based; rather, explanations are provided which will be useful within the framework of the Vietnamese material being studied.
a. Substitution Drills The recording (or tutor) gives a pattern sentence which the student repeats. Immediately after the recording gives a word or phrase (called a cue) which the student substitutes appropriately in the original sentence. It then follows immediately with a new cue. In more complicated substitution drills, there may be several substitution items (a compound' cue) for each new sentence; or the successive cues may have to be substituted in different parts of the sentence; or the cue may require changes in the pattern sentence. Substitution drills are printed in two columns, with English equivalents on the left and drill sentences with cues underlined on the right. b. Transformation Drills Here, on the basis of a model provided at the beginning of the drill, the student is required to perform parallel manipulation on a series of utterances by the recording. For example, they may be required to change each of the utterances to the corresponding negative, or the past tense, etc. Transformation Drills are printed in two columns, with the target utterances on the left and the student's responses on the right, all with an English equivalent. c. Response Drills On the basis of the model or directions occurring at the beginning of the drill, the student provides an exactly parallel response to a series of questions or remarks by the recording. Like Transformation Drills, Response Drills are printed in two columns, with the utterances on the left and the student's responses on the right, all with an English equivalent. In cases requiring a response cue this is given between punctuation marks immediately following the tutor's utterance. d. Expansion Drills The student expands a pattern sentence with the cue provided by the recording. A model is provided at the beginning of the drill. For such drills, the pattern sentences and cues (marked off with punctuation) are in the left column, and the student's responses in the right column, all with an English equivalent. e. Combination Drills The student combines a pair of utterances provided by the recording into a single utterance, on the basis of the model or directions occurring at the beginning of the drill. This kind of drill is also printed in two columns, with the utterances on the left and the student's responses on the right, all with an English equivalent. Drills are not meant to be grammatical puzzles for tricking the student; they are intended to develop fluency. The pace of all drills should be rapid. A student has mastered a drill only when they can provide the required oral responses promptly, fluently, and without reference to their textbook.
a. Substitution Drills The recording (or tutor) gives a pattern sentence which the student repeats. Immediately after the recording gives a word or phrase (called a cue) which the student substitutes appropriately in the original sentence. It then follows immediately with a new cue. In more complicated substitution drills, there may be several substitution items (a compound' cue) for each new sentence; or the successive cues may have to be substituted in different parts of the sentence; or the cue may require changes in the pattern sentence. Substitution drills are printed in two columns, with English equivalents on the left and drill sentences with cues underlined on the right.
b. Transformation Drills Here, on the basis of a model provided at the beginning of the drill, the student is required to perform parallel manipulation on a series of utterances by the recording. For example, they may be required to change each of the utterances to the corresponding negative, or the past tense, etc. Transformation Drills are printed in two columns, with the target utterances on the left and the student's responses on the right, all with an English equivalent.
c. Response Drills On the basis of the model or directions occurring at the beginning of the drill, the student provides an exactly parallel response to a series of questions or remarks by the recording. Like Transformation Drills, Response Drills are printed in two columns, with the utterances on the left and the student's responses on the right, all with an English equivalent. In cases requiring a response cue this is given between punctuation marks immediately following the tutor's utterance.
d. Expansion Drills The student expands a pattern sentence with the cue provided by the recording. A model is provided at the beginning of the drill. For such drills, the pattern sentences and cues (marked off with punctuation) are in the left column, and the student's responses in the right column, all with an English equivalent.
e. Combination Drills The student combines a pair of utterances provided by the recording into a single utterance, on the basis of the model or directions occurring at the beginning of the drill. This kind of drill is also printed in two columns, with the utterances on the left and the student's responses on the right, all with an English equivalent. Drills are not meant to be grammatical puzzles for tricking the student; they are intended to develop fluency. The pace of all drills should be rapid. A student has mastered a drill only when they can provide the required oral responses promptly, fluently, and without reference to their textbook.
Supplement The supplement following the drills contains additional dialogues. When read aloud in class by the tutor or when listened to on the recordings, this material is a good test of comprehension - but it must be heard at normal speed, and the students' books must be closed. It also provides a stimulus to conversation: students can ask and answer questions pertaining to the material and make up additional, similar conversations; they can use the English equivalents of the dialogues to reconstruct the original Vietnamese conversations, referring only to the English; and they can use the material as a basis for practicing interpreting.
Exercises The final section of each lesson contains suggestions for additional practice appropriate to each lesson. These exercises should be performed orally. Only the student who is able to do them fluently and accurately is ready to proceed to the next lesson.
Basic Dialogue The dialogue is taught in segments first, and then as a whole. The steps involved are (1) listening, (2) memorizing by repetition of breakdowns and whole sentences, (3) developing fluency by additional repetition of whole sentences, (4) participating by assuming one role in the dialogue, and (5) confirming comprehension by re-listening.
During the fourth step, when a student participates in a segment of the dialogue, the utterances are confirmed (or corrected) on the recording immediately following the space provided for participation. During the participation step for the entire dialogue, however, there is no confirmation on the recording.
Drills Drills are recorded first for listening, then for familiarization through repetition, and finally for participation. During the participation step, when the student performs the required manipulation, the utterances are confirmed (or corrected) on the recording immediately following the space provided for participation.
Supplements Supplements are presented for comprehension practice. Students listens until they are able to comprehend them perfectly without referring to their text. Every pause provided on the recordings for repetition or participation is timed to require the student to speak at a normal rate of speed. The student who cannot repeat within the allotted time is talking too slowly and needs more practice.
Students are always responsible for knowing the meaning of what they are saying and hearing. They are therefore expected to check the English equivalents in their text as long as necessary. However, they have not mastered a lesson until they can participate and comprehend without any reference to their text.
