cause and matter:(the purpose of the letter and what it is about)
construe:translate
parse:describe each word grammatically
Tully’s:Cicero’s
whetstone:stone used for sharpening cutting tools
chide:scold
donehis diligence: given his attention and energy
usedno truantship therein:didn’t fail to do all the work he should have done (because he was lazy)
N. : Nomen (Latin; meaning [the child’s] name)
Comprehension
a) Divide Ascham’s procedure into seven stages using the information from the text to help you. Stage 1 and Stage 7 have been done for you:
Stage 1: Tell the child what the letter is about.
Stage 7:Compare with the original
b) What do you think of the procedure as a way of learning to read and write a foreign language? Compare it with the methods described in the text “Winston Churchill’s Prep School” in your Headway Student’s Book (p. 14). How does it compare with your own experience?
c) R. Ascham was regarded as a kindly man, full of both learning and practical common sense. Where can you find these qualities illustrated?
d) How would you characterize Ascham’s view of what the teacher’s attitude to the child should be?
e) Read the following words by R. Ascham:
“Learning teaches more in one year than experience in twenty; and learning teaches safely, when experience makes more miserable than wise.”
What are your views of the relative merits of learning and experience?