Selected List of Educational Books for Secondary Schools

TON, Principal of the Khedivieh College, Cairo.
Published, September, 1897; reprinted, January, 1899.

"An excellent reader. Prefaced by a Life of Michaud and an exposé of his literary work, together with a good historical introduction, furnished with valuable historical and grammatical notes, the book presents a tout ensemble calculated to render it attractive and useful. The appendices by the general editors (Messrs. Otto Siepmann and Eugène Pellissier) are noteworthy. . . . These appendices greatly increase the usefulness of the book."-Educational Times, November, 1897.

"The story itself is entrancing, the incidents of it singularly dramatic, and the style, simple and clear as it is, throbs with emotion and stirs with enthusiasm; for it is a tale told by a poet who had felt the rush of the hot pulsations of the heart amid the throes of that crusade for freedom which was proclaimed by the French Revolutionists. It is extremely well suited for reading in class. The notes appended to this edition are grammatical, historical critical, literary, geographical, &c. They are numerous and instructive as well as explanatory. There have been added by the general editors four valuable appendices. Everything except perhaps an index to the matters taken up in the notes-seems to have been provided with foresight and appropriateness which could make this story of the crusades pleasant and profitable as a class-book."-Educational News, October 9th, 1897.

"The notes, both grammatical and explanatory, are not only well drawn up, but also bear on points of real importance. The 'words for vivá voce drill,' and the 'phrases and idioms' systematise what every teacher knows to be indispensable for the advantageous use of any text; and, finally, the sentences on syntax and idioms' and 'passages for translation into French,' are an intelligent adaptation of the most rational of the numberless new methods devised for utilising the vocabulary which should be acquired by the process of translation from French into English. All these things considered, the book is a thoroughly good one."-Glasgow Herald, October 9th, 1897.

"It is an interesting reading-book of moderate difficulty... The notes are careful, and give all necessary information regarding the subject-matter, a task too often shirked by the annotator of modern-language texts. The appendices are useful, and supply abundant matter for oral practice."-University Correspondent, January 8th, 1898.

"It forms a most interesting school reading-book, full of historical and instructive details. A valuable feature is the series of idiomatic phrases for retranslation into French which have been taken from the text. Altogether the editor and publishers are to be commended for placing within our reach such a well-appointed text-book."-Teachers' Aid, January 29th, 1898.

THIS series introduces a number of works by distinguished French authors, such as de Vogüé and Emile Pouvillon, who are prominent in their own country, but whose books have not yet received that recognition among our school classics which is their due; it will also include some of the best productions of Daudet, Copée, Theuriet, and others, of which no English school editions exist; and finally it will contain a few works which, although more familiar, may yet, it is hoped, be welcome in an edition framed on the plan here advocated.

The advanced texts are intended for pupils of the Fifth and Sixth forms, and are therefore longer (80-150 pages) and more difficult. The elementary texts are shorter (40-80 pages) and fairly easy, so as to suit Third and Fourth Forms; to these a complete alphabetical vocabulary will be added.

Each volume contains enough matter for one or two terms' reading. The editors, while taking care that the works selected should arouse the pupils' interest, should furnish them with a practical vocabulary and useful phraseology, and should help to cultivate literary taste, will also include in their selection such books as will enable the English reader to acquire a knowledge of France and her institutions, of French life and customs, or, as Thackeray puts it, "to study the inward thoughts and ways of his neighbours."

The Notes are not intended to give merely a translation of the difficult passages, nor are they meant to be a storehouse of grammatical curiosities or of philological learning. They aim rather at giving in a clear and concise form such explanations as will help the pupil to overcome all textual difficulties which are out of his reach, and at elucidating historical, geographical, and literary allusions; while reminding the reader at the same time of points of grammar and of constructions which he is apt to forget, illustrating these by parallels taken, if possible, from other parts of the text. As to renderings, the object, as a rule, is to throw out a hint for the solution of a difficulty rather than to give the solution itself,

without, however, excluding the translation of such passages as the pupil cannot be expected to render satisfactorily into good English. Comments are introduced on French life and thought whenever the text affords an opportunity for them. Lastly, information is supplied on word-formation and derivation, where such knowledge is likely to be of real help towards a complete grasp of the various meanings of words, or where it may serve as an aid to the memory.

The Introduction will in each case give a short account of the author and his works, with special reference to the text of the particular volume.

Appendices will be added to each volume by the General Editors, containing (1) lists of words and phrases for viva voce drill, which should be learned pari passu with the reading; (2) exercises on syntax and idioms for viva voce practice, which will involve the vocabulary of a certain portion of the text; (3) continuous passages for translation into French, which will bring composition and construing lessons into close relation; and in the case of the advanced texts (4) some chapters on word-formation or etymology of a practical nature.

The addition of these appendices calls perhaps for explanation.

Appendix I.-The practical experience of teachers, the continually recurring verdict of examiners, any man's personal recollection of his own earlier labours in acquiring a new language-all go to prove that want of vocabularly and phraseology is one of the main difficulties with which the learner has always to contend. "Take a dictionary and learn it by heart" is idle advice; teachers and learners alike agree that the sense of a word or phrase is best grasped and most easily remembered in connexion with some context. Again, the system by which each pupil records in a note-book for subsequent revision unfamiliar words and phrases is educationally sound, and has some advantages: the pupil makes the mental effort of selection, and the words so selected are adapted to his special needs. But this system has also many drawbacks: words are often misquoted or misspelt; the revision, if left to the pupil, is often neglected, and if conducted by the master is, in a class of any size, impracticable. The present appendices are designed, not to do away with the pupil's note-book, but to make the revision of a large number of words and phrases practicable in the class-room. It is true that some of the words chosen may be already known to a portion of the class, but the repetition of a few familiar phrases does no harm; while the gain in certainty and facility of revision, and still more in point of time, is enormous. enunciation of the English is necessary; and it is astonishing how rapidly a form or set, with the page in front of them, will run down a column, and reproduce, in correct French, words and phrases which they have been through once or twice before.

It may be mentioned that the plan is not a theoretical one. Trial has

proved its value beyond anticipation. It has also shown that the pupils themselves soon begin to like this drill, as they feel a growing and tangible addition to their knowledge from week to week.*

Appendices II. and III.-There is no need to say anything of these, as it is now generally recognized that the reading-book should form the nucleus of all instruction in languages.

Appendix IV. is necessarily not exhaustive. But "half a loaf is better than no bread." Word-formation and etymology are not usually dealt with in grammars; moreover, a complete treatment of the subject would be out of place in schools. But some knowledge of word-building and derivation is of interest and use even to schoolboys, and is constantly demanded in our military and other examinatians. A short chapter has therefore been added to each of the advanced texts.

In conclusion: as is obvious from the above, it is the object of the present series that the pupil should draw from each successive book some permanent possession in the way of linguistic knowledge and general culture; that the study of each text, while partly an end in itself, should still more be treated as a means to something wider and more lasting.

If this object is to be attained, it is necessary that the pupil should not merely learn to translate the text, but that he should enter into the subject-matter and, to some extent, into the life and interests of the people whose literature he is reading; at the same time he should learn to speak in the foreign language. This result can only be obtained by treating language as a living thing, i.e. by such constant repetition as has been suggested of the words and phrases that occur; by regular application of what has been learnt, in vivâ voce practice of reproductory exercises and prose passages based on the text; moreover, by careful attention to pronunciation, and by frequent questions, asked and answered in French, upon the subject-matter of the book. It is hoped that no teacher will fail to make such conversational practice an integral part of his work.

Keys to the Appendices, for the use of Teachers only. 2s. 6d. net each.

Word and Phrase Books, with French translation, for Home Work. 6d. each.

*The lists placed at the end of the text contain the English only. Separate lists with the French added, will also be published for the benefit of masters who might wish their pupils to learn them in home-preparation.

NOTE.-Those marked * are ready; those marked † are in the press and the others are in preparation.