this arrangement has proved helpful , particularly when the teacher of the class takes both sections . it is still all too common to find that two or more teachers have to share the instruction of the same class . while the staffing position may occasionally make this inevitable , it is rarely a satisfactory measure and should be avoided wherever possible , especially with first-year classes . modern language specialists have as part of their training to spend a considerable period in the country whose language they are principally engaged in teaching . it is encouraging to note that a commendable number of teachers continue to go abroad regularly in order to further their own knowledge of the language and to maintain contacts with the country . more teachers than formerly now complete the requirements of residence abroad for a second or even a third language ; the recent reduction in the period of residence required of honours graduates for recognition in a second language is undoubtedly making this easier to accomplish . foreign assistants ( French , German , Swiss , Austrian , Spanish , and Italian ) are being employed in increasing numbers throughout the country . this session there are in all 126 such assistants . through their own personal knowledge and experience these young assistants can do much to bring to life the study of their home country and they can give the pupils valuable practice in understanding and speaking the foreign language . they are usually students , not trained teachers , and consequently their work is most effective when they receive adequate help and guidance from the regular teachers . a few exchanges have also been arranged between Scottish and foreign practising teachers and have , on the whole , been very successful . accommodation and equipment . accommodation , although still restricted in some schools , has mainly been adequate and with the building of new schools and the modernization of others there has recently been a marked improvement in teaching conditions throughout the country . the majority of teachers now have a room of their own , in which they can - and frequently do - develop an appropriate background as an aid to their instruction by the use of wall pictures , posters , maps , models , reference books , and the like . the number and variety of wall-maps provided is , however , disappointing . the importance for the development of good oral work of allocating to modern language teachers rooms which are relatively free from outside noise and disturbance has not always been sufficiently appreciated . both the quality and the supply of text-books have improved greatly of late . in particular , there has been a welcome increase in the provision of supplementary reading material . the co-operation of educational publishers in meeting the demand for more modern and more attractive books is much appreciated . library facilities in modern languages vary greatly from school to school . in some schools only a few dictionaries and reference books are available , while in others there is an ample supply of suitable books . particularly in some of the new schools , a stock of attractive books likely to appeal to the younger pupils has been built up in addition to the more usual works for the older pupils . the use of dictionaries with simple definitions in the foreign language seems to be growing and is to be recommended . a number of schools now spend part of their library allocation on subscriptions to worthwhile foreign magazines and have found that these prove both useful and popular . most secondary schools possess various teaching aids such as wireless sets , record-players , tape-recorders , and film or film-strip projectors . many modern language teachers make occasional use of these aids , but only a few use them systematically as an integral part of their work . courses in modern languages . syllabuses for certificate courses are at present being re-organised because of the forthcoming introduction of the new ordinary grade of the Scottish certificate of education . until now , in far too many schools , there has been little differentiation between the language courses planned for the ablest sections and those followed by the other sections . where a difference has been made , it has often been no more than that the lowest sections in any given year have been allowed to proceed at a rather slower speed but with no modification of the content of the course or of the methods used . it seems unlikely that schools will meantime make fundamental changes in the modern language syllabuses designed for their ablest pupils , but already more courses are being planned specifically to meet the needs of those pupils who , at least in the first instance , are unlikely to pursue the study of a language to the highest level . this diversification of syllabuses is welcome . it can be carried out all the more easily now that few schools set a common examination for all the classes in each year and there is in consequence no longer any necessity for all groups to attempt to cover exactly the same work in the same time . if more suitable courses are developed , it is to be hoped that many of those pupils who at present are discouraged by their inability to keep abreast of the work set may find it possible to continue their language study with profit . in some junior secondary schools and departments the syllabus has been essentially the same as if the pupils were to become candidates for the Scottish leaving certificate examination and it has proved much too difficult for the pupils concerned . in a number of others , however , there has been an encouraging effort to develop non-examination courses which would be more in keeping with the needs and interests of the pupils . much has been done to awaken interest in the foreign country . the approach to the language itself has been lively , good use being made of activity methods and of whatever ancillary aids were available . the main emphasis has been placed on learning to understand the spoken and written language and to speak it simply but naturally . the results in classes following such courses suggest that further experiment along these and similar lines would prove rewarding . it is possible that some of the pupils in these classes may continue at school and sit the ordinary grade of the Scottish certificate of education . the type of course they have been following should form a sound basis for ordinary grade studies provided the pupils have the necessary linguistic ability to proceed to the examination . the work of the schools . if one considers as a whole the work done in modern languages in Scottish schools during the last few years , there is no doubt that the most significant advance has been in the field of understanding by ear and speaking the foreign language . this does not mean that there is no room for further improvement , but certainly much has already been accomplished . the progress in this aspect of language learning is most noticeable in the ready understanding and willing response of pupils in the early years of both junior and senior secondary schools and again in the fluency and confidence with which some of the pupils from the highest classes express themselves when they go abroad and in their general ability to profit from these visits . on the other hand , the most disappointing part of the course in a considerable number of schools is the period preceding the Scottish leaving certificate examination . this is probably due to two factors . in the first place , many pupils have initially been pushed on too rapidly , with the result that much of the basic work has not been adequately consolidated and the weaknesses become more evident as the course proceeds . in the second place , many teachers are not convinced that the methods they have been using in the early years can lead to good examination results , and they therefore discard them in favour of more traditional methods . in consequence of this abrupt change , much of the valuable work done in the first two years is lost and the results obtained are generally far from commensurate with the effort expended by both teachers and pupils . this is fortunately not true of all schools . where there has been adequate consolidation and development of the work has been uninterrupted throughout the course , the pupils have shown that the examination is well within their reach and have in addition usually developed a genuine interest in both the language and the country . in order to give a more detailed appraisal of the work done in modern language courses , it is convenient to consider separately the different facets of language study . nevertheless it must be emphasized that , if language teaching is to be successful , there can be no question of dividing up the work into rigid compartments . it is essential that all activities should be closely integrated so that the language always remains a living entity . as has already been indicated , there have been significant advances in the oral and aural aspects of language teaching in the early years of the course . the initial training in pronunciation is usually carefully given and practised . syllabification and the typical intonation of the foreign language , however , are rarely taught with equal thoroughness , so that what is said often sounds less convincing than it otherwise would . instruction in many schools is , in the early stages , based on the regular use of the spoken language in class and on oral practice of common vocabulary and speech patterns . by the end of the second year , pupils in these schools show a pleasing ability to understand the spoken language and some confidence in speaking it within the limits of their naturally restricted vocabulary . these results are all the more praiseworthy because it is in these early years that the teachers frequently have to contend with very large numbers of pupils in each class . in the later years the pupils continue to develop their understanding of the spoken language and seem to find this one of the most enjoyable parts of their language work . sometimes too much time is spent on aural comprehension as a separate activity , but more and more teachers are discarding this practice since they have realized that , if they regularly use the spoken language in class and occasionally read aloud a short passage from the reading book or some other text , they do not require to devote much time to formal tests of aural comprehension . practice in listening to new voices is given in a considerable number of schools by the use of broadcast lessons and with the help of the foreign assistant . these lessons are most effective if they are not isolated from the rest of the work but are followed up in later lessons , and used , for example , as a basis for conversation , vocabulary work , or free composition . the initial oral training is too rarely continued and developed in the later stages and many pupils do not progress beyond the standard of speech they had reached by the end of the second year . many teachers feel that they can not afford the time necessary for the development of oral work , but in most cases it is not additional time which is required so much as more systematic and purposeful training in the correct use of more difficult speech forms . for example , the time which is so often spent on cursory and frequently inaccurate oral reading of long passages could be better applied to developing the pupils &apos; command of the spoken language and to bringing into regular use some of the new structures and vocabulary that occur in the various texts studied . such oral practice serves to promote oral fluency and accuracy and at the same time it paves the way for a corresponding development of written work . not only is bright , vigorous oral teaching beneficial in widening the knowledge of the language , but it also has a most stimulating effect on the pupils &apos; morale and willingness to learn . one other aspect of oral work - the memorization and speaking of prose and verse - tends to be considered by many teachers as quite extraneous to the normal class work . some teachers , however , are making good use in the earlier years of the learning by heart of short , carefully chosen passages from the course-book or the reader or of short dramatic scenes as a means of consolidating new points of grammar , of increasing vocabulary , and of encouraging correctness and fluency of speech . 