Focuses on several myths and fallacies prevalent in the field of French grammar. The importance of keeping up-to-date with language and grammatical usage is stressed, since the rules of language do change. Thus, the validity of the linguistic content of French grammar books must be questioned, so that any outmoded or invalid concepts can be…

Illustrates the pitfalls of French grammar and syntax by reproducing a student's composition, which mangles the language. Draws from similarly frustrating experiences and from a "New York Times" article entitled "The Fumble-rules of Grammar" to compile a list of "General Principles for the Improvement of Oral and Written French Expression." (MES)

Discusses problems encountered in teaching French relative pronouns and proposes norms for grammatical presentations at three levels of learning: elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Selection of the relative pronouns to be taught at each level is based on an analysis of frequency lists, on students' age and aptitude, and course goals. (MES)

An inductive and interactive classroom technique to help advanced French language students reformulate simplified schemata into more useful insights into French grammar is described. It is proposed that, by developing the ability to revise continually structural hypotheses, students can expand syntactic repertories and improve long-term language…