Designs should be of interest to •all foreign language educators, but particularly to teachers responsible for the methods course. Few volumes have been written which contain an equally excellent collection of topics. The success of foreign language teaching is dependent directly upon the e.ffective preservke preparation of its personnel. Designs provides a giant step in that direction. The volume is composed of nine chapters. In an abbreviated introduction the editors give a convincing rationale fo.r the methods course by explaining the vital functions it performs in the education of prospective foreign language teachers. In addition, they present a brief view of the topics by each chapter author. Chapter One, 11 listening, Reading, and the Methods Course," by Bonnie B. Busse, follows the same structural plan recommended by its author for organizing a method course: discussion, observation, and participation. Busse notes that reserach findings suggest that similar cognitive skills are involved in the processes of reading and listening. The author presents a variety of approaches to develop the receptive skills, as well as suggestions on how to prepare beginning language instructors to teach them. • "Speaking, Writing and the Methods Course" is the topic treated by Lee E. Hawkins in Chapter Two. Hawkins recommends that the methods course require prospective teachers to observe and evaluate the techniques and materials usd by practicing teachers to develop the generative skills. Chapter Three, "The Cultural Component of the Methods Course," by Genelle Morain, is the longest section of the book and contains numerous examples of activities and techniques that can be employed in the foreign language classroom and in the methods course. A strength of the chapter is the numerous high-quality "suggested references" to guide the prospective instructor in further study of the topic. The author indicates the importance to inculcate in the methods student the necessity
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