The modular. principle is of course not new. It is implied by the existence of alternate, parallel versions of some courses, and by series of optional readers that have been prepared for some of the more widely taught languages. Beyond that, however, it has seldom been followed either consciously or very far. To my knowledge, the earliest deliberate attempt to produce an array of modules was in Swift (1963), for Kituba. This was a set of one central and five optional fascicles which for reasons of economy were bound in a single volume.
According to Swift's introduction:
This course consists of a 'primer' in the language and five subject-oriented groups of lessons. The primer is intended to introduce the major grammatical structures of the language, to develop in the student an adequate pronunciation, and to present a certain amount of useful vocabulary for a variety of situations. The primer is prerequisite to the rest of the course, and the student is expected to go through it in order, as each unit presupposes the vocabulary and the grammar of the earlier ones.
The subject-oriented lesson groups all presuppose the vocabulary and grammar of the entire primer, and each group is intended to be studied from the beginning--the vocabulary within a given group being cumulative. However, no subjectoriented lesson group depends in any way on any other group so that the student is free to pursue his study of these lesson groups in any order after he has finished the primer.
This arrangement is intended to provide maximum flexibility. The class with only a few hours of time to devote to classroom drill with an instructor may find it possible to cover the primer only. Students with more time will wish to select such of the subject fields covered in the later lessons as are of most interest to them. Students in intensive courses with at least 300 hours of class and laboratory will be able to cover the entire content of the course. An additional element of flexibility is provided in that the primer may be used as an introduction to be followed by more specialized subject-oriented lessons which are not included in this course but which may be constructed by an instructor or a linguist to meet the specialized needs of particular students.
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