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In most of the schools visited by us, special importance is 

 attached to class exercises in pronunciation. The lady teachers 

 throw a certain ardor into the work of articulation, and, if need 

 be, they show the play of the vocal organs in the production 

 of a given sound or element, as for instance th hard, or guttural 

 r, etc. It is to be desired that this were done in France, and 

 that our teachers appreciated the utility of this vocal gym- 

 nastic, as bearing on reading or even on spelling. No pains 

 are spared to give the pupils a correct pronunciation, not only 

 in the primary but also in the most advanced classes. The 

 master reads in a loud intelligible voice a passage from the 

 Keader suited to the grade. The pupils repeat it in the same 

 tone and with the same inflections. This is one of the liveliest 

 and most curious exercises in an American school, and one 

 which we have often witnessed with the keenest interest. The 

 preceding account proves what importance is attached to read- 

 ing in the United States. The method employed, very gener- 

 ally a rational one, secures the speedy acquisition of reading, 

 and inspires pupils with the love of reading ; this is, doubtless, 

 one of the reasons why there is no other country where people 

 read better or read more. 



(The two following recommendations to French teachers, 

 drawn from the Commissioners' observations of American meth- 

 ods of teaching reading, merit the special attention of school 

 officers and teachers of Connecticut). 1, To render primary 

 instruction in reading not only more attractive^ hut more profitable^ 

 hy enlivening it by means of object lessons, and carrying it forward 

 in connection with writing and rudimentary drawing. 2. To give 

 more attention to pronunciation, delivery, emphasis, and expressive 

 reading. 



The Mother Tongue. — The courses of study and the directions 

 for teaching the English language reveal everywhere a truly 

 practical spirit, and are full of judicious considerations. It is 

 with entire justice that distinction is made between language 

 training and grammatical study. It is readily understood that 

 the English language, in which the laws of concord amount to 

 scarcely anything, may content itself with this practical study. 

 French, which deals more in rules and orthographic details, 

 requires more attention to grammar, 

 c 



