ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a chain of activities that Authentik has developed to help learners cope with authentic texts. It considers why the strong lexical orientation of pedagogical procedures should be so successful in stimulating learners to ask questions about the target language system. Authentik was originally launched in response to the perceived need to provide learners of French with a steady flow of texts derived from French-language newspapers and magazines. The original intention was that the chain of activities would be undertaken entirely in the target language; but experience has shown that it is most productive if learners are encouraged to use their mother tongue whenever they need to express thoughts or ask questions that are beyond their target language competence. The chapter illustrates some implications for the development of pedagogical grammars. It outlines the practical approach that are developed to Language Awareness in general and grammar in particular.
