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The  Teaching 

of 

Modern   Foreign  Languages 

and  the 

Training    of   Teachers 


By 


KARL   BREUL 

LittD.  (Cambridge),  Ph.D.  (Berlin) 
Cambridge  University  Reader  in  Germanic 


THIRD  EDITION 

Revised  and  Enlarged 


Cambridge 

at  the  University  Press 
1906 


(Me 


GEwlHAi. 


First  Edition,  1898. 
Second  Edition,  1899. 
.  Third-  Editian^  1:906. 


PREFACE. 

THE  paper  on  '  the  teaching  of  modern  foreign  languages  ' 
was  first  read,  in  the  Lent  Term  of  1895, to  tne  students 
of  the  'Cambridge  Training  College  for  Women  Teachers'  and 
was  twice  repeated,  with  but  a  few  alterations,  in  subsequent 
years.  It  was  also  read,  by  the  request  of  the  Syndicate,  to 
the  students  attending  the  Cambridge  University  Extension 
Courses  in  August  1896. 

The  lectures  were  originally  intended  to  form  an  Intro- 
duction to  some  criticism  lessons  of  modern  language  lessons 
given  by  the  students  of  the  Training  College,  and  the 
principles  set  forth  in  the  lectures  were  at  once  .practically 
applied  in  the  detailed  criticism  of  the  lessons  heard.  The 
lectures  were  intended  to  be  above  all  suggestive  and  stimu- 
lating, but  no  attempt  could  be  made  to  discuss  in  full  the 
views  either  of  the  old  school  of  language  teachers  and 
examiners  who  are  hostile  to  any  reform  or  of  some  modern 
extremists. 

A  few  slight  alterations  were  introduced  and  some  references 
to  recent  literature  on  the  subject  added  when  the  lectures 
were  revised  for  the  Press,  but,  apart  from  these  exceptions, 
they  are  substantially  printed  as  they  were  first  written  in  the 
Christmas  Vacation  of  1894. 

A  paper  '  on  the  Training  of  Teachers  of  Modern  Foreign 
Languages,'  read  in  April  1894  to  the  College  of  Preceptors 

192633 


vi  Preface 

(printed  in  the  Educational  Times,  May  1894,  and  reprinted 
by  Professor  Victor's  special  request  in  Die  Neueren  Sprachen 
ii.  424  sqq.,  585  sqq.),  supplements  in  several  respects  the  views 
set  forth  in  these  lectures  and  may  be  read  in  connection  with 
them. 

The  essay  describing  the  contents  of  a  well-equipped 
(  reference  library  of  a  school  teacher  of  German  '  is  a  revised 
and  enlarged  reprint  from  the  Modern  Language  Quarterly  n. 
It  was  thought  that  many  teachers  would  like  to  have  it  as  a 
useful  appendix  to  the  first  paper. 

The  author  is  anxious  to  tender  his  heartiest  thanks  to 
Dr  Henry  Jackson  of  Trinity  College,  Professor  G.  C.  Moore 
Smith,  M.A.,  of  the  Firth  College,  Sheffield,  and  the  Rev. 
W.  A.  Cox,  M.A.,  of  St  John's  College,  who  kindly  read  through 
the  lectures  and  contributed  some  valuable  suggestions. 

The  author  is  convinced  that  many  important  changes  are 
needed  in  our  present  system  of  Modern  Language  teaching 
and  examining;  he  believes  that  many  teachers  share  this 
conviction  and  are  ready  to  consider  new  problems  in  con- 
nection with  their  teaching  and  to  take  part  in  the  necessary 
re-modelling  of  the  system.  It  is  hoped  that  to  such  teachers 
the  present  pamphlet  will  be  acceptable.  The  outlook  seems 
promising.  Modern  Languages  are  at  last  beginning  to  re- 
ceive in  this  country  the  attention  to  which  the  subject  is 
entitled  not  only  by  its  practical  usefulness  but  still  more  by 
its  intrinsic  value  as  an  important  element  in  a  truly  liberal 
education. 

K.  B. 

ENGLEMERE, 
CAMBRIDGE, 

October,  1898. 


PREFACE   TO    THE    SECOND    EDITION. 

THE  fact  that  the  first  edition  of  the  present  little  book 
was  sold  out  in  the  course  of  a  few  months  is  a  most 
encouraging  sign  of  the  rapidly  growing  interest  of  teachers 
and  students  in  the  problems  connected  with  modern  language 
teaching.  There  was  neither  time  nor  need  to  introduce  any 
important  changes  into  the  new  edition,  but  the  whole  book 
has  been  very  carefully  revised  and  the  lists  of  books  and 
pamphlets  on  modern  language  teaching  have  been  considerably 
enlarged.  This  was  chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that  several  excel- 
lent contributions  to  important  questions  of  method  had  quite 
recently  been  published.  Among  those  who  kindly  contributed 
a  number  of  valuable  suggestions  for  the  revision  of  the  book 
the  author  wishes  to  mention,  with  due  gratitude,  the  names 
of  AV.  G.  Lipscomb  and  of  Walter  Rippmann. 

K.  B. 

ENGLEMERE, 
CAMBRIDGE, 

Easter,  1899. 


PREFACE   TO   THE   THIRD    EDITION. 

IN  this  third  edition  I  have  not  only  carefully  revised  and 
largely  added  to  the  lectures  printed  in  the  previous 
editions,  with  a  view  to  bringing  them  up  to  date  and  of 
making  them  as  useful  and  suggestive  as  lies  in  my  power — 
but  I  have  added  to  them  an  enlarged  reprint  of  my  lecture 
1  on  the  training  of  teachers  of  modern  languages'  which  was 
originally  given  twelve  years  ago  to  members  of  the  College 
of  Preceptors.  The  lectures  *  on  the  teaching  of  modern 
languages,  and  those  'on  the  training  of  modern  language 
teachers,'  supplement  each  other  and  may  well  be  read 
together.  The  last  chapter  is  an  improved  reprint  of  my 
sketch  of  an  ideal  '  reference  library  for  a  school  teacher  of 
German '  which  I  hope  will  be  found  as  widely  useful  by  young 
teachers  in  the  future  as  it  has  been  helpful  to  others  in  the 
past.  A  few  slight  cases  of  overlapping  in  the  various  chapters 
of  the  book  could  not,  from  the  nature  of  the  subject,  be 
altogether  avoided,  and  will,  I  hope,  not  be  felt  to  be  very 
troublesome.  A  full  index  at  the  end  of  the  book  will  enable 
the  reader  readily  to  obtain  information  on  any  question 
discussed  in  any  of  the  lectures. 

A  kind  reviewer  of  the  original  edition  expressed  the  hope 
that  in  a  revised  edition  I  might  unite  the  various  lectures  into 
one  comprehensive  treatise,  and  map  out  in  it  a  complete 
course  of  modern  language,  or  German,  study  from  its 


Preface  to  the   Third  Edition  ix 

beginnings  up  to  and  including  the  University  curriculum. 
For  more  than  one  reason  I  have  not  been  able  to  comply 
with  this  wish.  One  is  that,  even  if  I  had  wished  to  do  so,  the 
very  limited  time  which  has  been  at  my  disposal  during  recent 
years  has  prevented  me  from  embarking  on  so  laborious  an 
undertaking.  I  also  believe  that  part  of  the  stimulus  given  by 
my  lectures  has  been  due  to  the  somewhat  easy  and  uncere- 
monious form  in  which  the  subject  was  treated.  But  above  all 
I  feel  very  strongly  that  a  detailed  scheme  of  teaching  foreign 
languages  in  schools  ought  to  be  elaborated  only  by  a  practical 
school  teacher.  I  have  for  many  years  followed  the  teaching 
of  modern  languages,  more  especially  of  German,  in  this 
country  and  abroad  with  much  interest ;  I  have  had,  as  an 
examiner,  exceptional  opportunities  of  studying  the  results 
obtained  by  all  kinds  of  teachers  in  our  various  secondary 
schools  for  boys  and  girls  ;  I  have  thus  been  able  to  make 
many  interesting  observations  and  comparisons,  and  feel  quite 
confident  as  to  the  general  principles  according  to  which  the 
teaching  in  our  schools  ought  to  be  conducted — but  it  would 
be  presumptuous  on  my  part  to  advise  practical  school  teachers 
about  points  of  detail.  I  sincerely  hope  that  before  long  a 
comprehensive  book  on  the  subject  may  be  produced  by  one 
of  our  leading  teachers.  Till  then  I  wish  to  call  attention  to 
the  excellent  American  book  of  E.  W.  Bagster-Collins  (see  p.  56) 
in  which  the  teaching  of  German  has  been  very  ably  and  fully 
treated.  I  am  myself  at  the  present  moment  preparing  a  book 
on  the  higher  study  of  German  at  universities1,  which  I  hope 
may  prove  a  useful  continuation  to  a  book  on  the  school 
teaching  of  German  and  meet  a  real  want  in  our  educational 
literature. 

1  It  will  be  considerably  fuller  than  Heinz  Hungerland's  recent  pamphlet 
'  Das  wissenschaftliche  Studium  der  deutschen  Sprache  und  Literatur.  Ein 
Wegweiser  fur  Studierende.'  Lund  and  Heidelberg,  1906. 


x  Preface  to  the   Third  Edition 

Many  important  steps  in  advance  have  been  made  in  this 
country  during  the  last  seven  years  with  regard  to  the  teaching 
of  modern  languages  and  the  facilities  given  for  the  training  of 
teachers.       At   the   University  of  Oxford    the   much   needed 
Honour  School  of  modern  languages  has  at  last  been  established 
and  some  provision  at  least  been  made  for  a  higher  scientific 
teaching.     At  the  University  of  London  two  professors  and 
three  readers  have  been  appointed  with  a  view  to  creating  in 
London  a  school  of  German,  and  it  is  hoped  that  French  will 
soon  find  the  same  encouragement.     At  Cambridge,  where  the 
Medieval  and  Modern  Languages  Tripos  has   now  for   over 
twenty  years  been  an  instrument  of   training  many  excellent 
teachers   and   professors   for   our   schools   and   colleges,    two 
fellowships  have  of  late  been  given  to  modern  language  men. 
At    some   of  the   newer   universities   lectureships   have   been 
raised  to  the  dignity  of  professorships,  assistants  have  been 
appointed,  and  at  Bangor  a  lectureship  in  French  and  German 
has  been  fitly  split  up  and  changed  into  a   professorship    of 
French  and  (for  the  present)  a  lectureship  in  German.     At 
Edinburgh   it   is   hoped   to   change  before  long  the  existing 
lectureships    in    French    and    German    into     professorships. 
Several  headmasterships  have  of  late  been  given  to   modern 
language  men.     The  numbers  of  the  members  of  the  Modern 
Language  Association  have  been  steadily  increasing,  and  the 
Association  is  now  bringing  out  two  periodicals,  one  concerned 
with  the  higher  study,  and  one  with  the  teaching,  of  modern 
languages,  apart  from  the  interest  shown  in  the  subject,  not 
only  by  the  '  Journal  of  Education '  (which  has  always  been 
friendly  and  encouraging),  but  also  by  its  younger  contemporary 
the  *  School  World.'      The  number  of  travelling  scholarships 
for  teachers  and  students  has  been  increased.     The  scheme  of 
international  correspondence  of  pupils  and  of  teachers,  and  the 
quite   recent   important   scheme   of    an    official    exchange   of 


Preface  to  the  Third  Edition  xi 

teachers  between  England  on  the  one  hand  and  France  and 
Prussia  on  the  other,  are  sure  to  bear  good  fruit.  Oral  examina- 
tions and  improved  methods  of  teaching  are  now  found  in 
many  universities  and  schools.  Scholars'  and  teachers'  libraries, 
wall-maps,  phonographs,  and  other  apparatus  are  to  some 
extent  beginning  to  be  provided  at  several  of  the  best  schools. 
Many  important  questions  as  to  the  methods  of  teaching  and 
examining  have  been  discussed  at  the  General  Meetings  of  the 
Modern  Language  Association,  where  many  opportunities  for 
a  useful  interchange  of  views  and  experiences  were  given  to 
individual  members.  Successful  interchanges  of  visits  between 
English  and  French  teachers  of  modern  languages  have  taken 
place  in  recent  years. 

If  thus  it  is  clear  that  much  has  been  done  during  the  last 
seven  years,  I  still  know  very  well  that  much  more  remains  to 
be  achieved.  I  have  no  doubt  that  now,  when  so  many  able 
and  enthusiastic  teachers,  men  and  women,  are  at  work  under 
improved  conditions  and  with  many  opportunities  of  comparing 
notes  with  English  and  foreign  colleagues,  the  methods  of 
modern  language  teaching  will  soon  be  further  improved,  the 
results  obtained  be  still  more  satisfactory,  the  status  of  duly 
qualified  teachers  be  raised,  and  the  great  importance  of  the 
new  humanities  for  a  liberal  education  of  the  rising  generation 
be  more  fully  and  effectively  recognised. 

My  best  thanks  are  due  to  some  friends  and  former  pupils 
of  mine  for  helping  me,  by  sending  suggestions  and  otherwise, 
in  the  preparation  of  this  new  edition  and  in  bringing  it  in 
every  respect  up  to  date.  They  are  Professors  A.  W.  Schiid- 
dekopf,  Ph.D.,  H.  G.  Atkins,  M.A.,  Walter  Rippmann,  M.A., 
and  Miss  Josephine  Burne,  late  scholar  of  Newnham  College. 

K.  B. 

10  CRANMER  ROAD, 
CAMBRIDGE, 

August,  1906. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

I.  THE  TEACHING  OF   MODERN  FOREIGN   LAN- 

GUAGES IN  OUR  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS    .       .        i — 77 

a.  General  part i — 55 

b.  Special  part  :   The  Teaching  of  German       .       56 — 77 

II.  THE      TRAINING     OF     MODERN     LANGUAGE 

TEACHERS 78 — 101 

III.  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  APPENDIX       ....  102—114 

IV.  THE     REFERENCE    LIBRARY    OF    A    SCHOOL 

TEACHER  OF  GERMAN 115 — 144 

V.  APPENDIX 145—151 

INDEX 153—156 


THE   TEACHING 

OF   MODERN    FOREIGN    LANGUAGES 
IN    OUR   SECONDARY   SCHOOLS. 

THE  subject  which  I  propose  to  discuss  in  these  lectures 
can  certainly  not  be  likened  to  a  smooth  and  flower-strewn 
path.  If  it  is  not  exactly  beset  with  thorns,  it  may  yet 
appear  to  outsiders  to  be  stony,  dull,  and  probably  devoid  of 
those  beautiful  vistas  which  those  who  unweariedly  climb  the 
upward  path  have  a  reasonable  hope  of  beholding  in  the  end. 
Moreover  my  lectures  must  of  necessity  be  somewhat  technical, 
and  the  limited  time  at  my  disposal  strictly  forbids  me  to  enter 
some  of  the  by-paths  from  the  main  road  which  often  afford  no 
small  amount  of  amusement  beside  material  for  very  serious 
reflection.  One  of  these  digressions  would  be  a  short  sketch 
of  the  early  days  of  modern  language  teaching,  a  discussion 
of  the  old  quaint  '  babees  bookes '  or  '  bookes  of  Curtesy ' 
which  sometimes  combined  teaching  of  modern  languages 
with  teaching  of  good  manners1.  Another  digression  would  - 
be  a  discussion  of  the  results  frequently  obtained  by  the 
present  system  of  modern  language  teaching  in  some  of  our 
Secondary  Schools.  It  has  been  my  lot  for  many  years  to 

1  See  my  edition  of  the  fifteenth  century  poem  'The  Boke  of  Curtesy' 
in  Englische  Studien,  ix.  (1885),  pages  51  and  foil.  Cp.  also  W.  Victor 
1  Die  Methodik  des  Neusprachlichen  Unterrichts,'  Leipzig,  1902,  pp.  4  ff. 
(Vom  Mittelalter  zur  Neuzeit). 

B.  I 


2          The   Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

make  from  time  to  time  a  careful  study  of  that  very  remarkable 
and  ever  increasing  part  of  educational  literature  which  is 
known  to  the  scholastic  world  by  the  high-sounding  name  of 
1  examination  papers.'  From  the  questions  asked  in  these 
papers  and  the  answers  to  them  one  may  gather  some  ideas  as 
to  the  aims  and  results  of  modern  language  teaching — here 
I  refer  especially  to  the  teaching  of  German  and  French — in 
our  Secondary  Schools,  and  if  I  were  to  tabulate  my  experiences, 
the  results  would  in  some  cases  be  very  curious.  In  what  way, 
do  you  think,  must  a  girl  have  been  taught,  in  what  spirit  must 
she  have  read  that  great  masterpiece  of  Goethe,  his  lofty  play 
'  Iphigenie,'  when  in  answer  to  my  question  '  Why  do  we  take 
an  interest  in  the  character  of  Iphigenia  ?  '  she  candidly  writes 
1  Because  Iphigenia  is  the  heroine  of  the  play  which  we  had 
to  get  up  for  this  examination  '  ?  But  I  must  abstain  from 
telling  anecdotes  which  are  none  the  less  interesting  for  the 
fact  that  they  are  absolutely  true. 

Again,  I  can  only  allude  in  passing  to  the  history  of  the 
' reform  movement'  in  the  teaching  of  foreign  tongues,  the 
leading  ideas  of  which  were  set  forth  lucidly  and  forcibly  by 
Professor  Wilhelm  Vietor  (of  Marburg)  in  his  famous  pamphlet: 
<  Quousque  tandem !  Der  Sprachunterricht  muss  umkehren*-.9 
This  revolutionary  little  treatise  was  written  in  this  country  in 
1882,  and  though  not  absolutely  the  first  work  in  which  a 
reform  of  modern  language  teaching  was  advocated,  was  yet 
the  first  which,  by  virtue  of  its  shortness,  terseness,  and 
common  sense,  produced  a  great  stir  among  modern  language 
teachers.  Since  that  date  very  many  books  and  papers  have 
been  written  pro  and  contra,  in  Germany  and  in  other  countries, 
most  of  them  advocating  a  more  or  less  radical  reform  of  the 
old  system  of  teaching  in  the  spirit  of  the  so-called  '  direct,' 

^ 

1  (3rd  edition,  with  notes,  1905.)  Cp.  also  W.  Vietor  *  Wissenschaft 
und  Praxis  in  der  neueren  Philologie.'  Speech  delivered  Jan.  27,  1899. 
Reprinted  in  'Die  Neueren-'Sprachen,'  vn.  i  (April),  1899,  and  also  in 
pamphlet  form,  1902. 


in  oiir  Secondary  Schools 


*  analytic  '  or  '  imitative  '  method.  The  '  New  Method  '  or 
'  Neuere  Richtung '  has  been  fully  developed  in  Germany,  and 
its  main  principles  have  been  deservedly  adopted  by  a  small 
band  of  energetic  modern  language  teachers  in  this  country. 
I  cannot  undertake  to  discuss  here  even  the  best  books  and 
pamphlets  on  these  new  methods.  They  will  be  enumerated 
in  a  special  chapter,  and  students  and  teachers  should  make 
a  point  of  reading  the  principal  ones. 

These  lectures  are  especially  intended  to  be  suggestive, 
and,  in  my  own  small  way,  I  hope  to  fire  your  enthusiasm. 
Instead  of  discussing  many  different  modern  methods1  I  shall 
venture  to  lay  before  you  my  own  opinions  and  experiences 
together  with  my  reasons  for  holding  the  former.  I  propose  to 
throw  out  some  hints  on  all  the  more  important  points  of 
modern  language  teaching  in  schools,  and  shall  take  my 
instances  mainly,  but  not  exclusively,  from  German.  On  the 
whole  it  may  be  taken  that  what  holds  good  for  German  holds 
good  for  French,  but  one  important  fact  should  never  be  lost 
sight  of,  viz.  that  the  children  beginning  German  in  our  schools 
are  as  a  rule  considerably  older  than  those  beginning  French. 
If  French  is  the  first  or  at  least  the  second  foreign  language 
learned^  German  is  usually  either  the  third  or  the  fourth  and  is 
as  a  rule  only  taken  up  in  the  higher  forms  of  boys'  schools. 
For  this  reason  the  necessary  elementary  drill  cannot  be 
provided  by  means  of  the  same  kind  of  exercises  that  will 
do  for  very  young  children.  The  beginners  in  German 
invariably  require  a  better  mental  pabulum — a  fact  that  has 
often  been  overlooked.  It  is  also  very  unwise  to  start  German 
immediately  after  French — one  language  should  be  allowed  to 
have  a  fair  start  before  another  is  begun. 

I  suppose  I  may  take  it  for  granted  that  you  are  all  more 
or  less  well  acquainted  with  the  general  methods  of  teaching, 
and  have  some  notions  as  to  what  can  be  reasonably  expected 

1  See    Miss    Mary   Brebner's   pamphlet    '  The    Method    of    Teaching 
Modern  Languages  in  Germany'  (London,   1898),  Chapter  v. 


4         The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

from  school  children.  I  can  therefore  restrict  my  observations 
to  the  more  technical  part  of  the  modern  language  teaching 
in  Secondary  Schools  and  the  various  questions  intimately 
connected  with  it. 

Some  years  ago  there  was  a  great  deal  of  controversy  as  to 
the  educational  value  of  modern  languages1 — fortunately  that 
time  is  now  definitely  passed.  People  are  becoming  more  and 
more  anxious  that  modern  languages  should  be  taught,  and 
should  be  taught  efficiently  by  thoroughly  well  trained  teachers. 
I  firmly  believe  that  there  is  a  great  chance  for  good  modern 
language  teachers  in  the  immediate  future,  that  great  oppor- 
tunities will  before  long  be  given,  and  that  all  we  have  to  do 
in  our  schools  and  universities  is  to  prepare  ourselves  most 
carefully  so  as  to  be  ready  when  the  time  comes2.  It  should 
not  be  said  of  us  '  Aber  der  grosse  Moment  findet  ein  kleines 
Geschlecht.' 

The  question  arises :  How  should  the  necessary  improve- 
ment in  the  teaching  of  modern  foreign  languages  be  effected  ? 
I  think  it  can  be  brought  about  if  the  following  five  conditions 
be  fulfilled  : 

y/  (i)  More  time  should  be  allotted  to  the  study  of  modern 
languages  at  school.  This  is  of  paramount  importance.  Our 
leading  public  schools  should  set  the  example3. 

(2)  This  time  should  be  used  much  more  systematically, 
with  special  reference  to  the  educational  needs  of  the  pupils, 
and  not  merely  with  regard  to  the  requirements  of  certain 
examinations.  A  great  deal  of  harm  is  done  to  modern 

1  See,  among  others,  C.  Colbeck,  '  On  the  Teaching  of  Modern  Lan- 
guages in  Theory  and  Practice,'  Lecture  I.  Cambridge,   1887,  Fr.  Storr, 
'The  Teaching  of  Modern  Languages'  (1897),  p.  274,  and  H.  W.  Eve, 
'The  Teaching  of  Modern  Languages'  (1901,  reprint  1905),  pp.  230  sqq. 

2  See  my  pamphlet  on  'Greek  and  its  humanistic  alternatives  in  the 
Little-Go,'  Cambridge,    1905. 

3  In  fixing  the  times  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  for  school-children 
6  periods  of  40  minutes  are  more  helpful  than  4  periods  of  an  hour,  and 
4  periods  of  45  minutes  better  than  3  periods  of  an  hour. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools 


language  teaching  throughout  the  country  by  the  conflicting 
regulations  of  our  host  of  examinations — even  though  many  of 
them  have  done  a  great  deal  of  good  in  their  time  and  may 
still  have  much  to  recommend  them — and  by  the  fact  that 
nearly  all  of  them  are  still  conducted  exclusively  by  means  of 
printed  papers  and  without  any  compulsory  oral  test1.  This 
seems  to  me  a  fatal  mistake..  The  modern  tongues  should  not 
be  treated  like  the  classical  dead  languages ;  a  viva  voce  test 
should  as  far  as  possible  be  insisted  on,  in  spite  of  the  many 
practical  difficulties  of  which  I  am  well  aware.  Written 
^examinations  for  beginners  should  be  discouraged. 

(3)  The  classes   to  which  modern  languages  are  taught 
should  be  of  a  manageable  size  and  should  if  possible  not 
exceed  twenty  to  twenty-five  pupils.     They  should  be  taught 
in  special  rooms,  the  decoration  of  which,  should,  as  far  as 
possible,  be  characteristic   of  the  foreign    country.     In  large 
schools  there  should  be  at  least  one  German  and  one  French 
class-room  containing  large  wall-maps  of  the  foreign  countries2, 
photographs,    pictures   and  picture   post-cards  of    all    kinds, 
portraits    or   busts    of    some   of  the   great   classical   authors, 
collections  of  coins,   flags,   a   phonograph,    etc.,    and   a   well 
supplied  library  of  suitable  foreign  books  and  magazines. 

(4)  From   the   very   beginning  none    but  duly   qualified 
teachers  should  be  entrusted  with   the    teaching   of  modern 
languages.     The  qualifications  which  I  believe  to  be  desirable 
are   discussed   in    a   lecture   first   given   in    1894    before   the 
College  of  Preceptors,  and  now  reprinted,  with  some  modi- 
fications and  additions,   on  pp.    78   sqq.    I  have  since  been 
told  that  the  qualifications  desired  in   that  paper  were   too 
high  for  human  capacity  to  attain,  that  they  represented  the 
ideal  rather  than  the  feasible.     My  answer  is  that  I  know  from 
experience  that  in  many  cases  the  ideal  has  been  reached,  that 

1  In  the  London  University  School  Examinations  an  oral  test  is  com- 
pulsory. 

2  Ed.  Gaebler's  school  wall-map  of  Germany  deserves  to  be  strongly 
recommended. 


6         The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

I  believe  that  in  another  twenty-five  years  it  will  be  realised 
much  more  completely,  that  the  training  of  a  modern  language 
teacher  does  not  end  with  his  having  taken  his  University 
degree1,  and  finally  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  put  one's  ideal  too 
low.  He  who  forms  an  educational  or  any  other  ideal  must 
set  it  high  ;  time  will  show  if  he  was  right  or  if  his  demands 
were  excessive.  I  confidently  leave  you  to  judge  for  yourselves. 
(5)  There  should  be  a  more  general  agreement  as  to  the 
chief  points  of  method  to  be  adopted  and  the  books  to  be 
read  in  school.  To  this  fifth  point  I  wish  to  devote  special 
attention.  It  is  the  one  which  is  still  engrossing  the  attention  of 
modern  language  teachers  in  this  country2  and  abroad. 

Methods. 

There  are  in  the  field  many  different  methods  of  teaching 
modern  languages — all  claim  to  be  the  one  true  method, — 
all  have  zealous  adherents — and  I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  all 
promise  wonderful  results — most  of  them  in  a  remarkably  short 
time  too3.  Still  it  seems  to  me,  and  my  experience  as  a  teacher 
and  examiner  confirms  my  impression — that  'the  true  method' 
has  not  as  yet  been  discovered. 

It  has  not  been  discovered  either  in  England  or  abroad. 

I  certainly  do  not  natter  myself  that  I  have  discovered  it. 
I  doubt  if  one  uniform  method  applicable  in  all  cases — a 
universal  panacea  which  nobody  can  modify  with  impunity— 
can  ever  be  devised.  We  are  clearly  just  now  in  a  time  of 
transition  and  experiment,  and  I  think  we  have  even  now 
arrived  at  an  agreement  on  several  essential  points.  Many 
practical  and  experienced  teachers  in  this  country  as  well  as 

1  See  page  97. 

2  See  the  valuable  discussions  in   the  Journal  of  Education,   in  the 
School  World)  and  especially  in  the  Modern  Quarterly  of  Language  and 
Literature  (since  1897),  and  in  Modern  Language   Teaching  (since  1905). 
Cp.  also  the  Bibliographical  Appendix,  pp.  102  sqq. 

3  See  Canon  Bell's  paper,  mentioned  on  page  105. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools 


abroad  are  at  present  actively  working  in  this  field ;  much  that 
is  good  has  of  late  been  said  and  written  on  the  subject, — and 
much,  as  it  seems  to  me,  that  is  quite  worthless,  unscientific 
and  impracticable;  a  universal  agreement  even  on  all  the 
principal  points  of  method  has  not,  however,  as  yet  been 
arrived  at.  Much  m'ore  interchange  of  ideas  and  experience 
is  required.  The  chief  work  is  still  being  done  in  Germany, 
Scandinavia,  and  America — England,  in  spite  of  a  few  note- 
worthy exceptions,  has  unfortunately  till  pretty  recently  lagged 
behind,  but  has  during  the  last  nine  or  ten  years  made  great 
progress. 

Before  going  into  details  I  should  like  to  caution  intending 
teachers  on  one  or  two  points  : 

(1)  Do  not  be  too  confident  with  regard  to  certain  new 
methods,  especially  do   not   believe   too   easily  in   certain  in- 
fallible ones  which  promise  to  teach  many  wonderful  things  in 
a  very  short  time.     These  short  cuts  to  proficiency  are  mostly 
very  unsatisfactory,  containing  one  good  idea,  but  carrying  it  too 
far  to  the  neglect  of  everything  else.    They  are  as  a  rule  more  or 
less  mechanical,  of  but  little  scientific,  literary  or  educational 
value;  they  afford  a  certain  routine,  but  do  nothing  to  form  and 
educate  the  minds  of  the  pupils.    They  merely  aim  at  drilling  the 
pupil  in  the  use  of  a  number  of  commonplace  phrases  and  small 
everyday  chit-chat.     But  the  acquisition  of  a  certain  practical, 
though  naturally  very  limited,  command  of  a  modern  tongue 
by  means  of  some  series  of  words  and  phrases,  the  knowledge 
possessed  by  head-waiters,  couriers  and  interpreters,  although 
it  is  no  doubt   sometimes   useful,   cannot  be  the   chief  aim 
of    modern    language    teaching    in    our   higher   schools.      A 
language    which    has    so    subtle   and    elaborate   a   syntax   as 
French,  or  a  language  which  is  so  deeply  saturated  with  poetry 
as  German,  cannot  and  ought  not  to  be  studied  by  older  boys 
and  girls  after  the  unconscious  fashion  of  an  infant ! 

(2)  Again,  method  itself,  even  the  best  method,  however 
important,    is    not    everything.      A    very   great    deal    of   the 


8          The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

success  depends  on  the  natural  gifts,  the  previous  training, 
the  energy  and  the  experience  of  the  individual  teacher1.  It  is 
well  known  that  the  best  modern  language  scholar  does  not 
always  obtain  the  best  results  as  a  teacher.  Consequently  the 
ideal  modern  language  teacher  will  not  only  be  a  well-trained 
scholar2,  but  in  addition  something  of  an  artist  and  of  a  man 
of  the  world.  He  must  have  the  power  of  speech,  an  easy 
mastery  of  the  foreign  idiom,  and  the  gift  of  drawing  out  his 
pupils  and  of  making  them  speak,  one  and  all,  the  shy  ones 
no  less  than  the  others,  at  every  lesson.  He  must  have, — 
more  I  think  than  any  other  master, — the  great  gift  of  readily 
imparting  his  knowledge,  of  really  interesting  his  pupils  in 
using  the  foreign  idiom  and  in  studying  foreign  life  and 
thought,  and  of  enabling  them  not  only  to  speak  but  to  think 
in  the  foreign  language.  I  fully  agree  with  Dr  Munch,  who  at 
the  general  meeting  of  German  modern  language  teachers 
held  at  Hamburg  in  1896,  insisted  that  "a  teacher  should  have 
a  certain  amount  of  natural  eloquence,  quickness  of  perception, 
and  appreciation  of  foreign  character,  as  well  as  an  interest  in 
all  that  concerns  modern  life." 

Whatever  the  method  adopted  may  be,  each  master  will 
vary  it  in  accordance  with  his  own  individuality  and  the 
requirements  of  different  sets  of  pupils.  He  will  continually 
modify  and  improve  his  ways  of  teaching  in  the  light  of  his 
extending  study  and  increasing  experience. 

Nevertheless,  although  the  possession  of  a  certain,  even  a 
very  good,  method  is  not  all  that  is  wanted  by  a  young  and 
zealous  teacher  in  order  to  command  success,  it  would  not  be 
right  to  underestimate  its  value.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  most 
important  for  us  to  make  up  our  minds  as  to  what  seem  to  be 
the  most  satisfactory  principles  to  be  generally  adopted  in 
modern  language  teaching. 

1  See  Modern  Language  Teaching,  n.  i  (February,  1906),  pp.  14 — 15. 
*J  See  pages  93  sqq. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools 


Happily  on  a  few  important  points  there  seems  to  exist 
even  at  the  present  day  an  almost  general  agreement  among 
experts.  Let  me  take  these  first.  They  are : 

(1)  It  is  necessary  that  modern  language  teachers  should 
have  a  much  longer  and  better  training1  than  they  have  had 
up  to  now  in  the  great  majority  of  cases.     Their  preparation 
should  be  at  once  more  scientific  and  more  practical.     The 
improvement  of  the  masters  must  needs  precede  the  improve- 
ment of  the  children  entrusted  to  their  care.     The  number  of 
hours  modern  language  masters  are  expected   to  teach  per 
week  should  be  reduced  to  about  18,  and  should  in  no  case 
exceed  20. 

(2)  Modern  languages  should  not  be  taught  in  the  same 
way  as  the  ancient  tongues.     But  even  with  regard  to  these 
there  have  been  of  late  remarkable  signs  of  improvement  in 
books,  texts,  public  utterances  of  leading  scholars,  etc.     See, 
among   others,   W.    H.    S.   Jones,    'The    Teaching   of  Latin.' 
London,  1905.     The  modern  languages  are  not  studied  mainly 
in  our  schools  for  the  sake  of  their  form,  not  even  exclusively 
for  the  beauty  and  value  of  their  literature,  but  in  teaching  modern 
languages  we  also  aim  at  teaching  in  the  broadest  outline  and  as 

far  as  it  is  possible  with  young  people  the  principal  features  of  the 
life,  character  and  thought  of  great  foreign  nations.  Modern 
languages  should  not  only  or  mainly  be  studied  and  taught  by 
means  of  translation-exercises,  by  getting  up  many  paragraphs 
of  grammar,  remembering  rare  exceptions  and  turning  over  the 
pages  of  dictionaries.  There  should  be  no  lessons  more 
interesting  and  delightful  to  children  than  a  modern  language 
lesson  given  by  the  right  teacher. 

1  On  the  method  of  training  of  Modern  Language  teachers  see  pp.  78 — 
101,  also  cp.  Bruno  Busse,  'Wie  studiert  man  Neuere  Sprachen?  Ein 
Ratgeber  fiir  alle,  die  sich  dem  Studium  des  Deutschen,  Englischen  und 
Franzosischen  widmen,'  Stuttgart,  1904  (with  many  bibliographical  re- 
ferences). I  am  myself  preparing  a  book  on  the  study  of  German  at 
English  Universities. 


io        The   Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

(3)  And  again,  modern  languages  should  be  much  more 
closely  connected  with  the  study  of  English  on  the  one  hand, 
and  with  History  and  Geography  on  the  other.  If  groups  of 
languages  are  studied  together,  those  naturally  related  to  each 
other  should  be  taken  by  preference.  French  should  be  con- 
nected with  Latin,  and  German  with  English.  From  a  purely 
theoretical  point  of  view  it  is  even  desirable  that  the  two 
foreign  tongues  should  not  be  taught  by  the  same  person,  as 
not  many  men  will  possess  the  power  of  transforming  themselves 
now  into  a  Frenchman  and  now  into  a  German  with  equal  ease 
and  success.  There  are,  on  the  other  hand,  many  advantages 
in  entrusting  the  teaching  of  English  or  of  Modern  European 
History  and  Geography,  all  of  which  are  often  sadly  neglected 
at  school,  to  a  modern  language  master  who  is  qualified  to 
teach  them. 

I  have  maintained  that  modern  languages  should  not  be 
taught  in  the  same  fashion  as  the  ancient  classical  languages. 
Much  greater  stress  must  be  laid  on  the  language  as  a  living 
and  spoken  organism.  Hence  it  follows  that 

(a)  Pronunciation    should    be    most    carefully    taught    by 
trained  teachers  and  from  the  very  first  lesson.     The  pronun- 
ciation of  the  children  should  be  correct  from  the  beginning 
and  should  become  easy  through  much  practice.     This  aim 
can  only  rarely  be  reached  by   mere  unconscious  imitation, 
a  certain  amount  of  phonetic  drill  is   in   the  case  of  some 
especially    difficult   sounds   absolutely   necessary  in  order  to 
shorten  and  to  smooth  the  way  of  the  pupil.     No  one  should 
undertake  to  teach  modern  languages,  especially  to  beginners, 
who  has  not  previously  had  some  training  in  phonetics. 

(b)  Ordinary  phrases  and  characteristic  idioms  should  be 
taught  from  the  very  beginning.     The  children  should  learn  to 
choose  them  correctly  and  to  use  them  readily.     And  lastly, 

(c)  Their   vocabulary   should   be    made  as   large  and  as 
useful  as  possible. 

Under  the  old  system  of  studying  modern  languages  cases 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  1 1 

like  the  following  often  occurred  :  a  great  scholar  would  read 
French  easily,  but  would  scarcely  understand  a  word  of  the 
spoken  idiom  if  a  French  colleague  happened  to  address  him 
in  French.  Another  scholar  would  write  German  fluently  and 
without  a  single  grammatical  mistake,  but  it  would  be  mere 
book-German,  a  dictionary  language,  a  '  papierner  Stir  as  it 
has  been  called  by  O.  Schroeder1,  a  language  in  which  there  \ 
would  be  scarcely  a  single  sentence  such  as  a  German  would  \ 
write.  A  letter  on  ordinary  topics  written  by  this  scholar 
would  smack  so  much  of  translation  and  be  so  utterly  academic 
and  unreal  that  it  would  require  re-writing  from  beginning 
to  end  in  order  to  become  living  German.  On  hearing  a 
noise  outside  he  would  perhaps  say  :  '  Welches  ist  doch  jenes 
Gerausch,  welches  ich  eben  jetzt  dort  ausserhalb  vernehme  ? ' 
while  a  German  would  say :  '  Was  ist  denn  da  draussen  fur  ein 
Gerausch  ? '  or  possibly  in  familiar  language  :  '  Was  ist  denn 
draussen  los  ? '  Only  the  other  day  I  heard  a  gentleman  who 
professed  to  know  modern  languages  well  say  in  a  public 
lecture  home  for  homme,  vou  for  z%  and  Enfenk  for  Anfang, 
swonsig  for  zwanzig,  Studien  for  Studien,  etc. 

It  is  not  easy  to  say  to  what  extent  oral  and  colloquial 
German  and  French  should  be  combined  in  school  teaching 
with  the  study  and  analysis  of  the  written  literary  language. 
Different  schools  have  different  aims  and  needs.  In  order 
to  arrive  at  a  satisfactory  conclusion  and  to  strike  a  fair 
balance  between  the  views  of  the  old  school  who  almost  ex- 
clusively studied  the  written  language  of  a  few  select  classics, 
mostly  poets,  and  the  modern  extremists  who  condemn 
whatever  is  not  colloquial  and,  in  their  dread  of  elegant 
diction,  often  recommend  and  teach  in  school  a  familiar 
language  bordering  on  slang,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  before 
going  any  further  to  investigate  still  more  carefully  and  to 

1  Otto  Schroeder,  'Vom  papiernen  Stil,'  Leipzig,  6i9o6. 


12       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

settle  definitely  for  ourselves  the  question  :  What  should  be  the 
\  aim  of  modern  language  teaching  in  our  Secondary  Schools  ? 

We  cannot  ask  merely :  What  is  desirable  on  general 
theoretical  grounds  ?  we  are  obliged  to  ask :  What  can  be 
done  in  a  limited  number  of  lessons  with  children  ?  Hence  it 
seems  to  me  t'hat  '  a  practical  mastery '  of  a  foreign  language  as 
promised  by  some  methods  cannot  possibly  be  hoped  for. 
How  many  adults  can  confidently  assert  that  they  are  absolute 
masters  of  their  own  language  ?  But  a  good  deal  may  be  done 
at  school,  and  whatever  is  learned  should  be  learned  well  so  as 
to  awaken  a  life-long  interest  in  the  modern  languages  and  the 
literatures  written  in  them,  and  also  to  become  a  good  basis 
for  later  practice. 

What  will  be  of  paramount  importance  to  most  learners  in 
after-life?  Here  I  deliberately  look  for  a  moment  at  things 
from  the  utilitarian  point  of  view  and  maintain  the  following 
propositions  : 

Not  one  of  them  will  have  to  translate  English  works  into 
foreign  languages  (we  are  of  course  not  concerned  with  the 
training  of  interpreters  and  professional  translators). 

Some  may  be  called  upon  to  speak  fluently  in  a  foreign 
tongue. 

Some  may  wish  to  translate  from  the  foreign  idiom  into 
English. 

Others  may  wish  to  correspond  in  the  foreign  tongue,  but 

All  want  to  read  foreign  books,  periodicals  and  newspapers, 
and  to  enjoy  the  treasures  of  foreign  literature.  All  will  one 
day  be  anxious  to  have  some  knowledge  and  form  a  just  appre- 
ciation of  the  general  character,  thoughts  and  manners  of  their 
neighbours  and  fellow-workers  in  the  great  field  of  European 
civilisation.  For  this  most  important  aim  the  school  teaching 
should  fully  equip  them.  Hence  it  follows  that  reading,  and 
not  translating,  should  be  placed  in  the  foreground.  (On  the  use 
of  translation  see  the  debate  of  the  Mod.  Lang.  Association, 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  13 

December  23,  1902,  in  Mod.  Lang.  Quarterly ',  1903.)  'Sprach- 
gefiihr  should  be  early  aroused  and  carefully  fostered  by  much 
reading  of  first-rate  modern  authors.  A  sufficient  amount  of 
grammar  should  be  learned  chiefly,  although  not  exclusively, 
from  the  reading  and  a  subsequent  systematic  analysis  of  the 
most  important  jsentenresV..  But  in  school  (the  University 
system  is  of  course  different)  grammar  should  not  be  taught  for 
its  own  sake,  but  rather  as  a  subsidiary  subject,  to  promote  the 
full  and  proper  understanding,  and  to  facilitate  the  reproduction 
or  imitation,  of  the  author's  words  and  phrases.  Trjjislation 
from  the  foreign  language  into  good  and  idiomatic  English  (not 
lKe~usual  shocking  translation-English)  should  be  practiseb!  only 
in  cases  of  real  difficulty,  after  the  first  foundation  has  been  laid 
in  class.  At  an  early  stage  some  very  easy  original  compo- 
sition in  the  foreign  language,  based  throughout  on  the 
vocabulary  and  stock  of  idioms  acquired  at  school,  might 
be  attempted  with  advantage.  But  very  little  ordinary  com- 
position,, i.e.  translation  from  English  into  the  foreign  language, 
should  be  done  at  first,  and  only  with  the  more  advanced 
pupils.  This  is,  I  believe,  the  greatest  mistake  made  in  our 
schools.  The  worship  of  early  composition  in  French  and 
German  is  as  unjustifiable  as  it  is  detrimental  to  the  best 
training  in  the  lowest  forms.  In  almost  all  schools  composition 
is  begun  much  too  early,  when  the  children  know  but  little 
grammar,  have  met  with  hardly  any  idiomatic  turns  and  phrases 
in  their  reading  and  class  teaching,  and  have  consequently  not 
yet  developed  any  '  Sprachgefiihl.'  Most  examinations  unfor- 
tunately still  prescribe  it  at  a  stage  when  the  children  cannot 
possibly  be  expected  to  produce  a  piece  of  decent  composition 

1  See  F.  Spencer's  'Aims  and  Practice  of  Teaching'  (Cambridge,  1897), 
pp.  loosqq.  and  J.  Findlay's  'Preparation  for  Instruction  in  English  on  a 
direct  method'  (Marburg,  1893).  See  also  some  of  the  pamphlets  and 
essays  enumerated  in  the  Bibliographical  Appendix,  especially  those  by 
W.  Rippmann  and  O.  Siepmann,  in  which  different  views  are  ably 
advocated. 


14        The   Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

of  ordinary  difficulty.     The  regulation  requiring  early  compo- 
sition and  the  pieces  set  may  look  very  nice  on  the  syllabus 
and  in  the  printed  papers  of  certain  examinations — but  read 
the  Examiners'  Reports  in  order  to  estimate  the  value  of  the 
work  sent  up  by  the  vast  majorit^of  the  junior  candidates. 
Rather  set  them  some  easy  original  composition  and  insist  on 
their  reaching  a  reasonable  standard  of  proficiency,  or  give 
the  pupils  taught  by  more  modern  methods  the  option  between 
ordinary  and  free  composition,  insisting  in  the  same  examina- 
tion on  a  slightly  higher  standard  of  attainment  in  the  case  of 
the  latter.     Original  compositions  or  reproductions  are  easier 
than  translations  from  the  mother-tongue  and  at  first  better 
calculated    to    make    the    children    enter    into   the    spirit   of 
the  foreign  language.     In  saying  this  I  do  not  mean  that  I 
should    like    to   give   up   the    valuable    practice   afforded   by 
ordinary  composition  in  the  middle  and  upper  classes.     For 
older  boys  and  girls  regular  practice  in  translation  from  English 
into  the  foreign  language  seems  to  me  to  be  absolutely  indis- 
pensable by  the  side  of  free  compositio'n.     The  writing  of  easy 
letters  on  familiar  subjects  which  would  interest  the  children 
should  be  encouraged  early  and  practised  constantly.     Little 
stories  read  or  told  by  the  teacher  should  be  reproduced  by 
the  pupils,  longer  stories  briefly  recapitulated,  short  accounts 
of  ordinary  things  and  occurrences  should  be  frequently  given. 
The  children  should  be  encouraged  to  write  and  to  speak 
about  all  they  have  actually  seen  and  experienced.     As  far  as 
possible  during  a  modern  language  lesson  no  English  appella- 
tion should  stand  between  the  objects  and  their  foreign  name. 
In  higher  forms  paraphrases  of  easy  poems  should  be  attempted, 
and  at  the  end  of  their  school  time  the  most  advanced  pupils 
might  write  about  the  principal  characters  in   a  story   or  a 
play  which  they  have  read,  or  on  similar  subjects.     Some  of 
the  best  pupils  might  also  be  induced  to  take  part — under 
due  supervision — in  the  lately  instituted  International  Corre- 
spondence  between   pupils   attending    German,    French   and 


in  our  Secondary  Schools 


English  schools.     This  movement  is  a  very  recent  one,  but 
much  good  is  reported  of  it1. 

Having  now  settled  the  various  preliminary  questions 
concerning  the  requirements  and  aims  of  modern  language 
teaching,  I  shall  proceed  to  the  more  detailed  discussion  of  the 
teaching  of  pronunciation,  spelling,  grammar,  and  similar  points 
of  language,  while  in  a  subsequent  lecture  I  shall  discuss 
reading,  composition  and  the  study  of  reading-books,  the 
proper  selection  and  explanation  of  authors,  and  the  teaching 
of  the  history  of  foreign  literature.  In  a  third  lecture  I  shall 
speak  of  some  special  points  referring  to  the  teaching  of 
German  only.  A  final  lecture  will  deal  with  the  training  of 
modern  language  teachers. 


Pronunciation. 

Any  child  that  is  instructed  in  a  foreign  language  has  a 
right  to  hear  and  to  learn  from  his  teacher  a  correct  and 
idiomatic  pronunciation  of  the  foreign  tongue.  Am  I  wrong  if 
I  maintain  that  in  many  schools,  even  in  good  ones,  this 
condition  is  at  present  far  from  being  fulfilled?  I  do  not 
require  a  teacher  to  dwell  too  long  on  phonetic  niceties  or 
to  give  a  great  deal  of  precious  time  to  the  teaching  of  phonetics 

1  Apply  to  Miss  Lawrence,  at  the  Review  of  Reviews,  Mowbray 
House,  Norfolk  Street,  Strand,  W.C.  and  read  her  article  in  Modern 
Language  Teaching,  n.  3  (April,  1906),  pp.  88  sqq.  See  Cloudesley 
Brereton,  'The  Teaching  of  Mod.  Languages,'  London,  1905,  p.  42.  In 
1904  a  'Societe  d'Echange  international  des  enfants  et  des  jeunes  gens' 
was  established,  the  founder  and  director  of  which  is  M.  Toni-Mathieu, 
36  Boulevard  de  Magenta,  Paris.  Compare  also  the  similar  undertaking 
by  Mr  Victor  Willemin,  Villa  Monplaisir,  Epinal  (Vosges),  France,  con- 
cerning which  all  desirable  information  is  given  in  the  pamphlet  (published 
by  Prof.  Willemin)  *  Nos  fils  a  1'etranger.  Echange  des  jeunes  gens  et  des 
enfants.'  i  Year's  Report.  Epinal,  1906.  See  also  Miss  M.  Brebnepf' The 
Method  of  Teaching  Modern  Languages  in  Germany,'  pp.  38 — 39. 


1 6       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

pure  and  simple.  There  is  neither  time  nor  need  for  that1. 
He  should  at  first  speak  and  read  to  his  pupils  a  good  deal 
himself,  in  order  to  train  their  ear  and  to  accustom  them  to  the 
characteristic  sounds  and  intonation  of  the  foreign  idiom.  His 
own  intonation  should  be  free  from  local  or  individual  pecu- 
liarities, his  enunciation  should  be  clear  and  careful,  but  natural 
and  free  from  affectation.  After  they  have  been  bathed,  as  it 
were,  in  the  foreign  element  and  have  become  somewhat  familiar 
with  the  foreign  way  of  articulating  sounds,  words  and  phrases, 
he  will  make  them  repeat  his  sentences  over  and  over  again, 
immediately  and  carefully  correcting  mistakes  of  any  impor- 
I  tance.  He  will  not  infrequently  make  the  whole  class  pronounce 
i  some  sentences  in  chorus,  in  order  to  force  shy  and  backward 
pupils  to  speak  out  and  to  form  their  sounds  after  the  model  of 
the  others.  He  will  thus  readily  detect  the  faulty  pronunciation 
of  an  individual  child.  The  chief  difficulties  will  be  noted 
down  and  tabulated.  Victor's  Lauttafeln  (for  German,  French, 
and  English)  should  be  used  throughout  in  connection  with 
this  work.  They  should  be  hung  up  in  the  class-room.  They 
will  be  continually  worked  at,  every  mistake  pointed  out  on 
them,  and  thus  the  difficulties  will  finally  be  overcome  by  the 
large  majority  of  children2.  Such  difficulties  are  for  instance 
the  French  front  vowels  with  lip  rounding,  and  the  nasal  sounds, 
cousin,  mon  oncle,  on  entre,  etc.  -3  the  1  mouille  \T\  famille ,  feuille, 
Corneille,  Versailles,  and  the  n  mouille  in  agneau,  the  guttural 
r  in  French  and  German,  the  pure  (undiphthongised)  long 

1  I  need  hardly  insist  on  the  importance  for  the  teacher  of  knowing 
something  of  English  phonetics  generally  and  in  relation  to  German  and 
French  phonetics.     For  a  first  orientation  nothing  can  be  more  helpful 
than  a  perusal  of  W.  Rippmann's  excellent  little  book  called  'The  Sounds 
of  Spoken  English,'  a  manual  of  ear  training  for  English  students.    London, 
Dent,  1906. 

2  On  the  whole  question  see  the  able  lecture  '  On  the  use  of  Phonetics 
in  Modern  Language  Teaching '  by  Dr  Paul  Passy,  an  abstract  of  which 
is   printed   in    The   Modern    Quarterly   of  Language   and  Literature,    I. 
(1898)  pp.  64sqq. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  17 

vowels  and  the  modified  vowels  in  German,  the  German  initial 
z,  the  ich  and  ach  sounds,  etc.  In  French,  the  front  rounded 
vowels,  as  in  pu,  peu,  peur,  are  seldom  properly  acquired,  no 
difference  is  made  between  vu  and  vous,  or  vu  is  pronounced  like 
view,  Victor  Hugo  as  Victor  Yoogo.  The  instruction  in  actual 
phonetics  should  of  course  be  as  short  and  as  simple  as  possible, 
but  its  fundamental  physiological  principles  should  be  imparted 
even  to  children,  and  Bremer's  Wandtafel  i.  might  well  be  hung 
up  in  the  modern  language  class-room  for  occasional  reference. 
The  children  should  be  told  and  shown  that  the  spoken  words 
consist  of  sounds  and  not  of  letters  (e.g.  veau,  deuil,  feuille ; 
schwarz,  sicken,  sprechen,  etc.).  There  is  no  very  great  differ- 
ence in  the  pronunciation  of  the  German  Vieh,  the  English  y& 
and  the  French  fi,  although  the  vowel  sound  is  sometimes  a 
diphthong  in  the  English  word  (  =feeee,  phonetically  fij  or  fit), 
especially  in  Southern  English.  Again  a  teacher  would  probably 
..  nze  an  opportunity  of  showing  the  children  that  our  ordinary 
alphabet  is  not  by  any  means  complete,  as  it  is  far  from  repre- 
senting each  sound  occurring  in  a  language  by  $  special  symbol, 
but  uses  the  same  letter  for  various  sounds,  e.g.  ^  in  ich,  ach,  or  b 
in  Weib,  Weibes,  ng  in  der  Ganges  (river)  and  des\  Ganges  (walk), 
e  in  wer,  werden  (three  kinds  of  e  !),  o  in  Schoss  and  schoss ;  or  a 
in  man,  father,  small,  or  oo  mgood,  floor,  flood ;  or  th  in  thin  and 
thine  ;  g  in  gin  and  gun  \  I  in  fusil,  peril  and  fils  ('  sons  '  and 
1  threads  ') ;  //  in  famille,  ville;  or  g  in  gant,  mangeant ;  or  on 
the  other  hand,  different  letters  may  represent  the  same  sound, 
as  in  Sie,  sieh  ;  Mai,  Mahl,  Maal\  wir,  ihr,  vier\  war,  wahr  \ 
Haar,  Schar-,  bot,  Boot,  droht',  dltern,  Eltern,  etc.  Again — • 
and  here  lies  a  great  source  of  danger  with  regard  to  idiomatic 
pronunciation — the  same  letter  may  represent  different  sounds 
in  different  languages,  and  in  pronouncing  foreign  words  the 
child  should  be  early  accustomed  to  give  to  the  letters  their 
foreign  and  not  their  usual  English  pronunciation,  e.g.  Mann 
and  man,  Ball  and  ball.  In  the  case  of  the  German  words 
the  mouth  is  in  this  case  much  more  opened  and  the  vowel 

B.  2 


1 8        The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

sound  perfectly  short.  The  German  Quell  ' source'  is  to  be 
pronounced  kvel  (bilabial  or  labio- dental,  but  without  pro- 
truding the  lips  at  all),  the  English  quell  is  kuell  with  a  strong 
protrusion  of  the  lips.  Or  again,  in  many  German  words  the 
characteristic  '  glottal  stop  '  or  '  glottal  catch  '  should  be  carefully 
noticed,  e.g.  Verein  (  —fdr^'ain\  erortern  (  —  ?2r?'<t>rfcrn),  abdn- 
dern  (^=-'ap^enddrn\  entarten  (=$mft '  a\rt2n)fenteilen  (=}2nfi'aibri), 
geachtet  ( =gft'axfot\  Wachtelei  ( =  'vaxtdftai),  but  verteilen 
Prugelei  (  =  pry.gJ lai] ,  and  compare  entern 
and  enterben  (  —  ^^nt'erbdn)]  erroten  (  =  ?2r'Q:ten)  and 
erbffnen  (  =  ^dr^'^fndn) ;  Wustenei  ( —  vy.std'nai)  and  Straussenei 
( = fftraus9n?ai) ;  Pvgelei  ( ='fo\g*l?ai)  and  Lorelei  ( =  'lo\rdlai\  etc. 
The  ' glottal  stop'  is  formed  by  bringing  the  vocal  chords  together, 
so  as  for  a  moment  to  close  the  glottis,  and  then  suddenly  opening 
them  with  an  explosion,  as  is  done,  more  violently,  in  coughing, 
or  in  clearing  the  throat.  It  is  not  a  sound  difficult  to  produce !, 
but;  as  it  is  not  ordinarily  written,  it  is  often  neglected  by 
English  teachers  of  German.  Students  who  wish  to  speak 
German  at  all  well  must  be  careful  not  to  neglect  the  glottal 
stop  and  to  make  a  clear  distinction  in  the  pronunciation  of 
words  such  as  vereisen  ( —for? aizzri)  and  verreisen  (fzr'aizzri). 
See  Miss  Laura  Soames,  '  Introduction  to  Phonetics,'  p.  146, 
W.  Vietor  in  'German  Pronunciation,'  pp.  56  sqq.,  W.  Ripp- 
mann,  '  Elements  of  Phonetics,'  pp.  6,  24,  and  my  word  lists 
in  Series  I  and  II  of  the  'Cambridge  Phonographic  Records,' 
German  Series,  Records  95  and  107. 

A  word  exists  as  a  rule  only  as  part  of  a  phrase,  hence  the 
'  proper  reading  of  whole  sentences  should  be  started  at  once. 
Here  the  characteristic  foreign  intonation  and  the  peculiar 
accent  of  the  phrase  should  be  carefully  taught  from  the 
beginning.  The  teacher  should  insist  on  his  pupils  reading 
and  reciting  the  French  sentences  in  the  even,  rhythmical 
and  distinct  manner  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  French 

1  It  is  sometimes  heard  in  emphatic  English  speech.    See  W.  Rippmann, 
'The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English,'  p.  12. 


in  otir  Secondary  Schools  19 

enunciation.  He  should  not  allow  them  to  jerk  out  the  words 
one  by  one,  but  should  strictly  insist  on  their  emitting  them  in 
breath  groups,  producing  one  continuous  flow  to  the  end  of 
the  sentence  or  part  of  a  longer  sentence,  however  slow  the 
pronunciation  of  the  whole  group  of  words  may  be  at  first. 
This  is  often  neglected  in  school  teaching,  the  masters  being 
satisfied  with  a  fairly  correct  pronunciation  of  individual  words. 
Reciting  should  be  regularly  and  carefully  practised  from  the 
beginning,  and  here,  as  well  as  in  teaching  the  pronunciation 
of  separate  words,  a  good  phonograph  or  gramophone  will  be 
found  of  great  value.  The  fhechanical  uniformity  of  the 
instrument  enables  pupils  to  learn  a  piece  of  poetry  or  a  song 
far  more  quickly  than  if  it  were  recited  or  sung  to  them  by  the 
master,  who,  however  good,  is  certain  to  vary  slightly  his 
articulation  or  expression  with  each  repetition,  and  so  confuse 
and  distract  the  children's  minds.  There  are  now  very  fair 
instruments  obtainable  at  a  reasonable  price,  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  hope  that  before  long  the  instruments  may  be  still 
rther  improved.  Dictation  also  is  of  great  value  in  training 
the  ear  to  catch  foreign  sounds  quickly  and  reproduce  them 
correctly,  and  is  far  too  much  neglected  in  many  schools, 
especially  large  public  schools  for  boys.  In  order  to  ensure 
success  it  is  essential  that  both  teachers  and  pupils  should  have 
a  good  pronunciation,  otherwise  confusion  between  such  words 
as  vous  and  z/«,  feu,  fut,  fou,  desert  and  dessert  \  Ahre  and 
Ehre,  Schiffe  and  Schiffer,  Goethe  and  Gotter,  Gase  and  Gasse, 
Saum  and  Zaum,  Holle  and  Hohle,  wagt  and  wacht  will  in- 
evitably occur. 

In  order  to  teach  pronunciation  effectively,  most  advocates 
of  the  '  Neuere  Richtung '  strongly  recommend  beginning  with 
a  phonetic  transcription  of  foreign  texts  and  not  letting  the 
children  see  the  ordinary  spelling  at  all  during  the  first  few 
weeks  (or  months).  They  maintain  that  children  will  catch  the 
foreign  accent  very  much  better  if  they  do  not  start  with  the 
confusing  spelling  of  the  present  day,  and  they  are  of  opinion 


fu 

'    <.U 


2O       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

that  the  transition  to  the  ordinary  spelling  later  on  is  not  nearly 
so  difficult  as  one  would  believe.  They  say  that  the  experi- 
ment has  frequently  been  tried  with  excellent  success,  while 
those  who  most  strenuously  oppose  it  have  never  given  it  a  fair 
trial.  This  vexed  question  (of  which  I  have  no  practical 
experience)  is  still  much  discussed  and  far  from  being  settled1. 
Practical  experiments  by  competent,  well-trained  teachers  are 
still  wanted,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  number  of  advocates 
for  beginning  with  phonetic  script  (at  least  for  French)  is  on  the 
increase.  Skilful  teachers  have  no  doubt  obtained  good  results 
from  it,  as  I  know  for  instance  in  the  case  of  the  boys  taught 
by  L.  von  Glehn  at  the  Cambridge  Perse  School  for  Boys. 
Still,  as  far  as  I  can  see  at  present  and  have  been  able 
to  gather  from  the  experience  of  others,  it  is  not  absolutely 
necessary  to  introduce  transcribed  texts — indispensable  as 
no  doubt  they  are  for  students  and  teachers — into  class 
teaching.  Dr  Passy's  system  as  used  in  his  periodical  '  Le 
maitre  phonetique/  and  introduced  into  many  English,  German 
and  French  primers  of  modern  languages,  bids  fair  to  become 
the  recognised  International  alphabet  for  phonetic  transcrip- 
tions. Single  words  of  exceptional  difficulty  might  well  be 
transcribed  in  class  teaching  in  the  symbols  of  this  alphabet. 
The  books  on  phonetics  from  which  a  teacher  will  derive 
useful  information  are  enumerated  in  my  '  Handy  Guide,' 
§  4,  b,  and  in  Dr  Passy's  pamphlet  '  Aims  and  Principles  of 
the  International  Phonetic  Association,'  Bourg-la-Reine,  1904. 
I  can  specially  recommend  Victor's  '  Kleine  Phonetik  des 
Deutschen,  Englischen  und  Franzosischen,'  Leipzig,  1897, 
together  with  the  useful  translation  and  adaptation  of  it  by 

1  See  7^he  Mod.  Quarterly  of  Langiiage  and  Literature,  n.  150 — 3  and 
157 — 8;  the  Interim  Report  of  the  Mod.  Lang.  Association  Sub-committee 
on  Phonetics  appeared  in  the  Modern  Language  Quarterly  of  April,  1899, 
pp.  318 — 321.  Mr  D.  L.  Savory,  in  his  Introduction  to  Cal vert's  and 
Hartog's  'First  Book  of  French  Oral  Teaching'  (London,  Rivingtons, 
1906),  has  given  strong  arguments  in  favour  of  phonetic  notation. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  21 

Walter  Rippmann  (London,  3i905),  and  also  W.  Rippmann's 
recent  little  book  on  the  '  Sounds  of  Spoken  English/  London, 
1906.  Otto  Jespersen's  'Lehrbuch  der  Phonetik,'  Leipzig  and 
Berlin  (adapted  from  his  Danish  'Fonetik,'  1897-99),  goes 
more  into  details  and  will  be  especially  useful  to  more  advanced 
students  of  phonetics1. 

After  the  ordinary  pronunciation  has  been  thoroughly  mas- 
tered by  the  children,  the  teacher  should  discuss  with  them, 
as  occasion  arises,  noteworthy  exceptions  occurring  chiefly  in 
the  rimes  of  the  classical  poets.  The  apparent  irregularities 
of  French  rimes  such  as  rot  :  parlerais :  Francois  should  be 
explained  by  an  account  of  the  earlier  pronunciation  of  -oi 
(like  oe).  The  rimes  of  Schiller  and  Goethe,  e.g.  gluhn  :  ziehn  ; 
Euch  :  bleich  ;  krone  :  Thrdne  \  an  :  Bahn  \  keck  :  weg ;  Getose  : 
Schosse ;  Schosse :  Rose  ;  erbotig :  gnddig ;  Choren  :  lehren,  etc. 
are  not  impure  in  the  South  German  dialectic  pronunciation  of 
these  great  poets.  In  the  highest  forms  an  occasional  word 
about  the  changes  of  pronunciation  and  the  standard  of  pro- 
nunciation would  not  be  out  of  place. 

Spelling. 

As  to  Spelling  a  word  or  two  must  suffice.  German  spelling 
will  be  discussed  in  a  later  lecture.  In  nearly  every  language 
there  is  a  discrepancy,  more  or  less  marked,  between  the  way 
in  which  the  words  are  written  and  that  in  which  they  are 
pronounced.  The  spelling  is  not  so  arbitrary  as  is  often 
supposed,  but  represents  an  earlier  stage  of  pronunciation :  it  is 
more  or  less  ( historic'  (cp.  knight,  veau,  Sta/il).  Much  has 

1  For  French  pronunciation,  Leopold  Sudre's  *  Petit  manuel  de  pro- 
nonciation  fran9aise  a  1'usage  des  etrangers,'  Paris,  Didier,  1903,  and 
Benjamin  Dumville's  '  Elements  of  French  Pronunciation  and  Diction,' 
London,  1904,  deserve  to  be  warmly  recommended.  See  also  E.  Braunholtz, 
'Books  of  Reference  for  Students  and  Teachers  of  French,'  London,  1901, 
where  useful  lists  are  given  on  pp.  32  sqq.  and  45  sqq.  For  German  pro- 
nunciation see  pp.  61 — 4,  84,  87 — 8,  125 — 6  of  this  book. 


22        The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

now  simply  to  be  committed  to  memory,  but  again  the  advan- 
tage of  a  good  pronunciation  on  the  part  of  the  children  will 
clearly  show  itself.  If  children  have  been  taught  from  the 
beginning  to  distinguish  in  French  properly  between  e,  e  and  e, 
they  will  without  fail  write  reponse,  but  repos,  and  representer, 
pere,  arid  desespere.  If  they  are  accustomed  to  pronounce  the 
German  modified  vowels — one  of  the  greatest  stumbling-blocks 
in  the  way  of  English  students  of  German — no  confusion 
between  Tochter  and  Tb'chter,  Burgen  and  Burgen,  geachtet  and 
gedchtet,  tauschen  and  tauschen ;  Kampfer,  Kdmpfer ;  Madchen, 
Mddchen ;  schatzen,  schdtzen  ;  zahlen,  zdhlen  ;  dorren,  dorr  en  ; 
stutzen,  stutzen,  etc.  would  be  possible.  They  would  distin- 
guish in  writing  between  Hiine  and  Huhner,  between  reisend, 
reissend  and  reizend,  between  Senne,  Sehne,  Szene,  and  Zdhne. 
It  is  acknowledged  on  all  hands  that  the  best  way  to  teach 
spelling  is  frequent  dictation.  Consequently  writing  from 
dictation  should  in  the  earlier  stages  be  part  of  the  regular  drill. 
In  many  schools  dictation  exercises  are  unduly  neglected  in 
junior  forms,  and  bad  habits  are  allowed  to  grow  up  which  it  is 
sometimes  very  hard  to  eradicate.  The  proper  way  of  dividing 
words  (which  is  not  the  same  in  English  and  in  German)  and 
also  punctuation  should  receive  due  attention ;  the  use  of 
semicolons,  colons,  inverted  commas,  marks  of  interrogation 
and  exclamation  is  often  neglected  by  children  writing  down 
a  dialogue  from  dictation. 

Grammar^. 

It  is  pretty  generally  admitted  that  hitherto  the  getting 
up  of  grammatical  niceties  and  curiosities  has  been  far  too 
prominent  in  most  of  our  schools,  and  that  Grammar  should 
not  be  taught  and  learned  at  school  principally  for  its  own 

1  I  will  here  only  touch  in  passing  on  a  question  that  has  recently  begun 
to  attract  much  attention,  viz.  should  the  mother-tongue  continue  to  be 
used  in  teaching  foreign  grammar,  and  should  grammars  written  in  English 
still  be  put  into  the  hands  of  children  learning  French  and  German? 
I  believe  that  the  time  has  not  yet  come  to  pronounce  definitely  on  this 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  23 

sake — not  even  in  our  modern  'grammar  schools.'  It  should 
be  taught  in  order  to  explain  difficult  passages  and  in  order  to 
help  the  pupils  to  group  together,  to  compare,  and  thus  better 
to  understand  certain  important  linguistic  phenomena.  The 
study  of  grammar  and  the  careful  analytical  examination  of 
sentences  is  no  doubt  a  most  valuable  mental  training — 
although  it  is  wrong  to  say,  as  is  often  rashly  done,  that  the 
study  of  grammar  is  a  study  of  logic ;  grammar  is  often  not 
logical — still  the  special  and  minute  study  of  grammar  as  such 
is  not  school  work,  but  should  be  left  to  the  scientific  treatment 
of  the  University.  Every  school  child  should  know  the  chief 
points  of  the  ordinary  grammar  of  the  foreign  tongue — it  might 
even  be  shown  how  to  make  its  own  grammar  (see  page  71) ; 
but  only  the  master  should  have  made  it  a  special  study.  He 
should  of  course  be  thoroughly  well  grounded  in  his  grammar ; 
moreover — and  this  is  important — he  should  be  able  to  give, 
wherever  it  may  be  desirable,  the  '  why  '  no  less  than  the  '  what.' 
He  should  know  the  historical  or  phonetic  reasons  of  the  chief 

point — so  much  depends  on  individual  circumstances  of  teachers  and  pupils 
that  the  laying  down  of  a  general  rule  seems  out  of  the  question. 

One  thing,  however,  cannot  be  doubted.  French  grammars  used  in 
France  by  French  children  and  German  grammars  written  for  German 
children  ought  not  to  be  introduced  into  our  schools.  In  every  case  the 
special  difficulties  of  English-speaking  children  ought  to  be  treated  at  some 
length,while  niceties,  interesting  to  foreigners  but  comparatively  unimportant 
to  English  children,  should  be  strictly  eliminated.  If  this  is  skilfully 
done,  and  French  and  German  grammars — or  rather  the  essentials  of 
French  and  German  grammar— are  written  in  French  and  German  for 
English-speaking  pupils,  they  may  probably  be  put  to  excellent  use  in  the 
higher  stages.  A  few  French  grammars  of  this  description  (by  Berthon — 
Poole — Hartog — and  Anderson)  are  now  available,  but — as  far  as  I  am 
aware — not  yet  a  German  school  grammar  written  in  German.  In  the 
lower  stages,  however,  where  every  word  of  the  foreign  language  pro 
difficult  for  the  young  beginners,  and  explanations  cannot  be  too  sinv 
and  easy,  I  very  much  doubt  the  advisability  of  starting  with  grammar: 
editions  with  introductions  and  notes  written  in  the  foreign  language, 
little  time  that  at  most  schools  is  available  for  modern  languages  may  be 
spent  more  profitably  on  texts  of  greater  interest. 


oves^_     • 

* 


24       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

grammatical  phenomena1 — but  it  would  be  a  grave  mistake  if 
he  were  to  introduce  much  of  this  special  knowledge  into 
his  class  teaching.  The  classics  should  be  read  and  enjoyed — 
I  am  not  sure  whether  they  always  are  at  present — and  they 
should  certainly  not  be  turned  in  class  into  a  hunting-ground 
for  grammatical  curiosities.  The  somewhat  elaborate  notes  to 
the  classics  in  the  Pitt  Press  and  similar  editions  are  merely 
intended  to  facilitate  home  preparation,  and  to  help  the  pupils 
thoroughly  to  understand  the  words  of  the  text;  they  are 
certainly  not  meant  to  be  learned  by  heart  in  order  to  be 
reproduced  in  an  examination  paper.  They  are  intended 
to  relieve  the  teacher  and  to  give  him  time  for  the  reading 
aloud  of  the  text  with  proper  pronunciation  and  intonation,  and 
for  a  short  and  stimulating  discussion  of  the  scenes  and  charac- 
ters of  great  plays,  for  which  it  is  so  often  urged  there  is  no  time 
left  in  class  teaching. 

From  this  there  follows  as  the  very  first  precept  addressed 
to  the  teacher  of  foreign  grammar :  Do  not  burden  the  memory 
of  your  pupils  with  too  many  rules,  still  less  with  numerous 
lists  of  words  following  their  own  rules,  those  words  which  we 
call  'exceptions,' and  which  are  generally  so  very  largely  utilized 
by  a  vast  number  of  examiners  whom  I  wish  I  could  call  excep- 
tions also.  All  we  want  to  teach  and  to  impress  firmly  on  the 
memory  of  the  children  is  a  number  of  ever-recurring  facts, 
certain  rules,  briefly  and  clearly  expressed,  as  far  as  possible 
deduced  from  the  texts  by  the  children  themselves,  and  in 
addition  to  these  only  a  very  few  of  the  most  noteworthy 
exceptions.  Most  'practical'  school  grammars  contain  far  too 
much ;  they  would  certainly  be  twice  as  good  if  they  were  half 
as  full2.  They  should  chiefly  be  used  as  books  of  reference. 

1  See  pp.  82—83,  an(l  also  Ernst  Laas,  *  Der  deutsche  Unterricht  auf 
hoheren   Lehranstalten '    (2nd  ed.    (by  J.    Imelmann),   Berlin,   1886),   pp. 
217 — 222. 

2  The  well-known  *  Skeleton  Grammars '  by  H.  G.  Atkins  (London, 
Blackie)  certainly  serve  a  very  good  purpose  in  the  earlier  stages. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  25 

Another  important  point  is  that  the  rules  should  invariably 
be  preceded  by  a  number  of  well-chosen  instances,  selected 
phrases .  from  which  the  pupils  with  the  assistance  of  the 
teacher  will  find  it  easy  and  interesting  to  deduce  the  rules  for 
themselves.  This  is  the  natural  process  of  thinking— by  com- 
parison of  similar*  facts  the  underlying  law  is  discovered1.  All 
the  rules  which  a  teacher  wants  to  impress  upon  his  pupils,  he 
should  as  far  as  possible  make  them  find  for  themselves.  The 
process  may  be  at  first  somewhat  slow,  but  the  interest  of  the 
children  will  never  be  allowed  to  flag,  and  ultimately  the  rules 
will  be  much  better  known,  being  remembered  in  their  appli- 
cation and  not  merely  in  themselves.  Nothing  should  be  given 
to  learn  that  has  not  been  carefully  explained  in  class. 

Our  model  teacher  will,  I  fear,  in  many  cases  have  to 
make  up  his  own  illustrative  sentences,  for  what  shall  we  say 
of  exercises  such  as  the  following:  Decline  in  full:  'The  blind 
mouse,'  or  of  the  exercise  on  the  numerals:  'Have  you  got 
two  apples?'  'No,  but  my  four  sisters  have  six  dolls'?...!  have 
often  pitied  teachers  and  pupils  who  had  to  work  through 
elaborate  grammars,  often  containing  subtle  distinctions  of  which 
the  Germans  themselves  are  entirely  ignorant  and  which  only 
live  an  artificial  life  in  the  German  of  certain  examination 
papers,  such,  for  instance,  as  that  capital  distinction  between 
der  Vorwand  and  die  Vorwand,  of  which  the  latter  is  hardly 
ever — if  at  all — used  in  ordinary  German  speech.  You  might 
read  in  connection  with  this  a  pamphlet  which,  although  it  is 
full  of  exaggerations  and  indeed  not  free  from  mistakes,  yet 
contains  a  great  deal  of  truth;  it  is  'The  caricature  of  German 
in  English  Schools,'  by  C.  A.  Musgrave,  London,  1894, 
and  also  G.  G.  Coulton  in  'Public  Schools  and  the  Public 
Needs,'  London,  1901,  in  which  a  shrewd  observer  has  given 
facts  about  modern  language  examinations  that  afford  ample 
food  for  reflection. 

1  This  point  is  not  by  any  means  '  new,'  but  was  emphasized  by 
Comenius  ('Janua  Linguarum  Reserata,'  1631)  and  others. 


26        The   Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

Must,  then,  grammar  be  dry  and  repulsive  to  children?  It 
certainly  was  so  under  the  old  system  when  all  schools  were 
1  grammar  schools '  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word.  But 
cannot  even  Dame  Grammatica  be  made  attractive  to  the 
minds  of  the  young?  I  think  she  can,  and  that  everything 
depends  on  the  way  in  which  a  teacher  introduces  her  to  the 
children. 

First  of  all  he  will  not  give  too  much  at  a  time,  and  that 
modicum  chiefly  in  connection  with  the  passages  read.  He 
will  also  give  the  children  some  idea  as  to  the  actual  meaning 
of  ' rules'  and  ' exceptions,'  and  keep  the  rules,  i.e.  the  large 
groups  of  facts,  constantly  before  them,  so  as  gradually  to 
develop  their  Sprachgefuhl,  the  unconscious  and  unerring 
feeling  for  what  is  idiomatic  and  right,  the  creation  of  which  is 
one  of  the  highest  aims  of  the  teacher.  He  will  discuss  the 
terms  'regular'  and  'irregular'  in  the  proper  way  and  choose  a 
few  easy  and  striking  instances  for  his  explanations.  Even  chil- 
dren at  school  should  sometimes  get  a  glimpse  of  the  'why'  and 
the  'how, 'although  often  they  have  of  course  only  to  remember 
the  very  commonest  'what.'  With  children  of  the  highest  forms 
even  a  few  somewhat  more  advanced  grammatical  phenomena 
may  be  discussed  as  occasion  offers  itself,  viz.  the  problems 
of  ordinary  form-association  (e.g.  the  line  in  Goethe's  'Legende 
vom  Hufeisen '  :  Das  ein  zerbrochen  Hufeisen  was — was,  now 
war,  through  form-association  with  the  plural  waren ;  but  cp. 
English  was  and  were,  where  the  old  difference  is  preserved) ; 
the  development  of  Latin  words  in  French,  German  and 
English ;  the  two  large  groups  of  words  which  are  distinguished 
as  ' mots  populaires'  and  'mots  savants'  (meuble,  mobile — Kerker, 
Karzer — sure,  secure),  the  former  of  which  is  the  older  group  in 
which  the  words  have  undergone  the  effect  of  the  usual  sound- 
laws  of  the  language.  Of  course  all  such  instruction  should 
be  kept  strictly  elementary — yet  it  would  be  sure  to  interest  the 
children  and  give  them  more  correct  notions  of  the  growth  and 
development  of  language.  The  linguistic  relation  of  English 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  27 

to  French  and  German  should  be  briefly  and  clearly  explained. 
The  relation  of  numerous  words  such  as  finir  and  finish,  or 
Leib  and  life,  might  very  well  be  shown.  (Classified  lists  of 
correspondences  between  German  and  English  words  are  given 
in  my  edition  of  '  Doctor  Wespe '  by  R.  Benedix.  Pitt  Press 
Series,  1888,  2i895.)  Rather  than  not  touch  at  all  on  these 
and  similar  points,  sacrifice  the  greater  number  of  exceptions, 
in  fact  a  good  deal  of  what  is  given  by  our  practical  grammars 
in  small  print,  and  should  not  be  got  up,  but  only  referred 
to  as  occasion  offers.  The  brief  explanation  of  some  important 
general  phenomena  is  of  far  greater  educational  value  than  the 
somewhat  mechanical  drill  in  rare  exceptions  or  seldom  used 
words  and  phrases — which  is  really  quite  beside  the  mark  in 
school  teaching  and  can  no  longer  be  half  excused  by  pointing 
to  the  requirements  of  certain  school  examinations.  Most  of 
these  have  of  late  undergone  very  considerable  alterations  in 
the  right  direction. 

Idioms. 

The  study  of  idiomatic  phrases  and  the  acquisition  of  a 
useful  vocabulary  cannot  be  begun  too  early.  But  only  the 
really  current  idioms  should  be  committed  to  memory,  all  slang 
should  be  carefully  avoided,  and  sentences,  not  isolated  words, 
should  be  learned.  The  principal  idioms  should  be  imparted 
gradually  and,  where  this  can  easily  be  done,  explained.  Ancient 
manners  and  bygone  customs  have  left  many  an  interesting 
trace  in  the  idiomatic  phrases  of  everyday  speech.  An  expla- 
nation of  German  idioms  such  as  einem  die  Stange  halten — 
einen  im  Stiche  lassen — mir  schwant  Boses — einem  ein  X fur  ein 
U  machen — einen  Korb  bekommen — in  die  Schanze  schlagen — auf 
die  lange  Bank  schieben — den  Kilrzeren  ziehen — kurz  angebunden 
sein,  and  many  others  would  not  fail  to  arouse  the  interest  of 
the  class,  to  set  their  imagination  going,  and  thus  to  help  them 
to  remember  the  idioms  which  in  most  schools  are  unduly 


28        The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

neglected.  The  necessary  books  of  reference  for  the  teacher 
of  German  are  given  on  p.  127  and  in  my  £  Guide  '  on  p.  39  ; 
there  are  some  smaller  books  intended  for  the  use  of  the 
pupils,  e.g.  those  by  Koop  (London,  2i89i),  Becker  (London, 
1891),  and  Weisse  (London,  1892),  Taker  and  Roget  (London, 
1900),  but  all  have  many  shortcomings,  and  a  really  first-rate 
book  for  class  purposes  has  still  to  be  written.  For  French 
there  is  the  useful  book  on  '  French  Idioms  and  Proverbs,' 
compiled  by  de  V.  Payen-Payne  (London,  4i 


Vocabulary. 

Apart  from  the  vocabulary,  which  the  pupils  will  gradually 
acquire  in  a  somewhat  haphazard  way  from  the  reading  of 
foreign  authors,  the  teacher  should  from  the  beginning  aim  at 
adding  systematically  to  the  stock  of  words  learned  by  his 
class.  He  will  do  this  by  regular  discussions  of  small  groups 
of  words  which  are  either  connected  by  their  sense  or  by  their 
form  and  which,  after  they  have  been  explained,  will  be  learnt 
by  the  class.  All  the  ordinary  incidents  of  everyday  school 
life,  the  technical  terms  of  question  and  answer,  getting  up, 
coming  to  the  blackboard,  opening  of  books,  etc.,  may  very 
well  be  discussed  by  the  teacher  almost  from  the  begin- 
ning in  the  foreign  language.  The  pamphlet  by  Holzer  and 
Schmidt  (see  p.  107)  will  help  English  teachers  with  regard  to 
French,  and  a  German  counterpart  could  easily  be  devised.  He 
will  at  first  form  short  sentences  showing  the  ordinary  use 
of  these  words,  or,  in  lower  forms,  have  recourse  to  pictures 
composed  for  the  purpose  (e.g.  Holzel's  well-known  *  Wand- 
bilder  fiir  den  Anschauungs-  und  Sprachunterricht/  14  pictures, 
Wien,  Holzel1),  or  the  many  useful  '  Tableaux  auxiliaires 

1  In  connection  with  these  may  be  used  the  booklets  called  '  Konver- 
sations-Unterricht  nach  Holzel's  Bildertafeln  '  (German,  French,  Italian, 
English)  published  by  Emil  Roth  at  Giessen.  The  German,  French,  etc. 
parts  can  be  had  separately.  Or  the  'Description  des  tableaux  d'enseigne- 
ment  d'Ed.  Hoelzel  a  1'usage  des  ecoles'  par  Lucien  Genin  et  Joseph 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  29 

Delmas'  (16  pictures  avec  livret  explicatif  par  E.  Rochelle,  chez 
Delmas,  Bordeaux  or  London,  Hachette  and  Co.),  or  again  to 
G.  Egli's  little  picture-books  with  vocabulary  called  *  Satze  fur 
den  Unterricht  in  den  vier  Hauptsprachen '  (Bildersaal  fur  den 
Sprachenunterricht),  Zurich,  or  to  W.  Rippmann's  '  French 
Picture  Vocabulary '  and  '  German  Picture  Vocabulary,'  First 
Series,  London,  Dent,  1906.  '•  He  will  take  such  series  of  words 
as:  father,  mother,  child,  son,  daughter... i.e.  all  those  expressing 
ordinary  family  relationships.  Another  day  he  will  take :  house, 
court,  garden,  street,  road;... or  sun,  moon,  star,  cloud,  thunder, 
lightning... the  sun  sets,  a  cloud  covers  the  moon,  the  thunder 
roars,  the  lightning  flashes,  the  rain  falls  or  pours  down. . . ;  or  tree, 
bush,  oak,  beech,  fir,  willow... together  with  the  verbs  :  to  plant, 
to  grow,  to  burst  into  leaf,  etc.  The  teacher  will  do  well  to 
work  the  necessary  words  and  phrases  into  short  and  interesting 
dialogues,  or  into  stones  which  he  will  tell  the  children  several 
times  in  the  foreign  language  and  which  he  will  make  them 
repeat,  write  down  from  dictation,  and  learn  by  heart.  Irregular 
verbs  should  at  first  be  avoided  as  far  as  is  possible.  Subjects 
such  as  'a  walk  in  the  country,'  'a  birthday  party  at  home,'  'a 
schooltreat,'  'a  thunderstorm  at  sea,'  'a  cycling  accident  in  the 
street,'  *  a  visit  of  our  uncle  from  Berlin  or  Paris,'  would  afford 
plenty  of  useful  material  for  increasing  the  vocabulary  of  the 
pupils.  The  numerals,  the  pronouns,  the  forms  of  address  make 
natural  groups  which  should  be  studied  together  and  worked 
into  a  number  of  well-devised  sentences.  Together  with  the 
numerals  the  chief  foreign  measures,  weights  and  moneys  should 
be  given  with  their  English  equivalents.  Some  foreign  coins 
should  be  shown  to  the  class  when  their  name  and  value  are 
given.  The  Educational  Supply  Association  now  sell  a  set  of 

Schamanek,  Vienna,  1905  (is.  $d.}.  The  First  French  Book  and  the  First 
German  Book  in  Dent's  Series  will  also  be  found  most  useful  in  this  respect. 
In  their  latest  editions  there  are  many  improvements,  not  the  least  among 
them  being  (in  the  French  book)  the  new  pictures  of  the  seasons  with 
French — instead  of  the  original  HolzePs  Austrian — local  colour. 


30        The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

German  coins  (facsimile)  for  4^.  which  should  form  part  of  a 
collection  of  modern  language  'ReahV  at  every  school. 
Coloured  Picture  Post-cards  (id.  each)  giving  splendid 
reproductions  of  foreign  coins  are  also  obtainable. 

Another  way  of  systematically  increasing  the  vocabulary, 
which  is  often  very  useful  with  more  advanced '  pupils,  is  the 
study  of  ordinary  words  which  are  connected  by  form  :  sitzen, 
setzen,  Sitzung,  Satzung,  Sitz,  Satz  (Aufsatz,  Einsatz,  Vorsatz, 
Absatz),  Setzer,  aufsitzen,  absitzen,  nachsitzen,  einsetzen,  absetzen, 
vorsetzen,  versetzen,  besetzen,  iibersetzen,  Besitzung,  Besatzung, 
Besetzung)  Versetzung,  Ubersetzung, ...  or  steigen,  Steig  (Bahnsteig^ 
Steigbilgel\  Stieg  (Aufstieg,  Abstieg),  Steg,  Stegrdf,  ab-,  auf-, 
aus-,  em-,  um-steigen...e\.c.  The  difficulty  here  is  where  to  stop, 
but  the  conscientious  teacher  who  has  prepared  his  lesson 
beforehand,  and  has  made  for  himself  a  carefully  considered 
list  of  the  words  which  he  intends  to  give  his  pupils,  will  not 
be  exposed  to  the  danger  of  giving  too  much,  viz.  words  which 
are  of  but  little  practical  importance  for  school  purposes. 
Word-formation  is  at  present  far  too  much  neglected  in  school- 
teaching. 

A  third  way  of  systematically  widening  the  vocabulary,  and 
one  which  should  only  be  used  occasionally  in  the  highest 
forms  by  a  skilful  and  well-informed  teacher,  is  the  method 
(so  far  as  it  can  be  used)  of  etymological  comparison.  The 
lists  of  ordinary  sound-correspondences  in  my  Pitt  Press 
edition  of  Benedix'  comedy  '  Dqctor  Wespe '  with  numerous 
instances  will  be  found  useful  for  this  purpose. 

With  regard  to  systematically  imparting  to  the  class  a  good 
working  vocabulary  I  should  not  advise  teachers  to  confine 
themselves  to  one  of  these  methods  only — some  change  is 
always  refreshing — but  to  take  the  first-mentioned  method  as 
a  foundation,  and  to  make  the  children  learn,  gradually  and 
systematically,  all  the  most  important  words  of  the  foreign 
language — and  none  but  those. 

Some   hints   how  this   may  be   done   are  contained  in  a 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  31 

German  pamphlet  on  the  first  teaching  of  French.  It  is 
by  Dr  Hermann  Soltmann,  and  is  called  '  Das  propadeutische 
Halbjahr  des  franzosischen  Unterrichts  an  der  hoheren  Mad- 
chenschule,'  Bremen,  1893.  What  is  said  there  with  regard  to 
French  at  German  schools  holds  equally  good  with  regard  to 
our  English  schools.  Short  but  useful  guides  for  English 
teachers  of  French  and  German  have  recently  been  written 
by  W.  Rippmann  ('  Hints  on  teaching  French,'  London,  1898, 
^1904;  'Hints  on  teaching  German,'  London,  1899),  wno 
has  also  contributed  some  valuable  articles  on  the  early 
teaching  of  French  to  the  first  numbers  of  '  The  School 
World'  (1899).  On  the  first  teaching  of  German  see  the  ex- 
cellent advice  given  by  E.  L.  Milner-Barry  in  'The  School 
World'  (Oct.— Dec.  1899). 

Conversation J. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  a  master  should  talk  to 
his  class  in  the  foreign  language  as  early  as  possible.  He  will 
begin  by  discussing  pictures  and  objects  which  are  placed  before 
the  pupils  (e.g.  Delmas',  Rippmann's,  Egli's,  or  HolzePs  pictures; 
see  above).  For  this  he  will  find  useful  the  '  Konversations- 
unterricht  nach  Holzels  Bildertafeln,'  Giessen-Roth,  10  parts, 
each  40  pf.  (i.e.  5^.),  and  '  Description  des  tableaux  d'enseigne- 
ment  d'Ed.  Hoelzel  a  1'usage  des  ecoles  par  Lucien  Genin  et 
Joseph  Schamanek,'  Vienna,  is.  3^.  I  have  already  mentioned 
E.  Rochelle's  *  Livret  explicatif  des  Tableaux  Auxiliaires 
Delmas,'  Bordeaux,  1903.  (Obtainable  in  London,  at  Messrs 
Hachette  and  Co.,  for  8J*/.)  At  first,  in  order  to  be  under- 
stood, he  will  occasionally  have  to  give  some  short  explana- 
tions in  English,  and  he  will  not  talk  French  or  German  the 
whole  time.  Gradually  the  necessary  explanations  in  the  English 
language  will  become  less^  frequent  and  the  talk  in  the  foreign 
language  will  be  continued  longer.  The  master  must  from  the 

1  See  the  discussions  in  Modern  Language  Teaching  I.  (1905),  Nos.  6 
and  foil.,  and  the  summing  up  in  M.  L.  T.  n.  (1906),  pp.  n — 15. 


32        The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

beginning  make  all  the  children  take  an  active  part  in  the 
lesson  and  consequently  the  modern  language  classes  ought 
never  to  be  very  large.  The  pupils  must  be  interested—  stimu- 
lated to  make  out  what  the  master  says  and  to  express  in  the 
foreign  tongue  what  they  see  him  doing.  In  spite  of  all  his 
attempts  to  draw  them  out  many  of  the  boys  will  at  first  prove 
most  determined  '  passive  resisters.'  But  the  teacher  must  be 
equally  determined  not  to  give  in.  He  will  first  train  their  ear 
and  their  faculty  of  catching  the  peculiarity  of  the  foreign 
sounds  and  intonation,  then  their  faculty  of  speech.  He  must 
make  them  answer  in  complete  sentences —all  of  them,  not 
only  the  few  forward  pupils — he  must  in  every  way  endeavour 
to  overcome  their  shyness  and  disinclination  to  use  the  foreign 
idiom.  Most  English  school-boys  are  unwilling  to  try  to 
speak  any  other  language  than  their  own,  they  think  it 
affectation  to  produce  a  proper  French  nasal  sound,  and  it  will 
require  all  the  skill  and  tact  of  a  master  in  whom  they  believe 
to  draw  them  out.  He  will  naturally  make  them  speak  at  first 
exclusively  of  things  which  they  see  or  have  observed  and 
experienced,  about  topics  well  known  to  them,  the  vocabulary 
of  which  they  have  mastered.  In  order  to  do  this  the 
teacher  must  of  course  be  full  of  resource  besides  being 
able  to  converse  in  the  foreign  idiom  with  ease  and  fluency. 
A  French  candidate  for  the  degree  of  Agrege  is  required  by 
the  regulations  of  the  examination  to  discourse  for  an  hour  in 
the  foreign  language  and  is  then  questioned  on  his  lecture. 
A  German  modern  language  master  is  required  in  his  '  Staats- 
examen  '  to  show  fluency  and  correctness  in  the  practical  use 
of  the  foreign  language  which  he  wants  to  teach.  Our  English 
examination  tests  are  in  this  respect  as  yet  far  from  sufficient. 
A  change  for  the  better  seems  however  to  be  setting  in1. 

1  At  Cambridge  a  viva  voce  Examination  on  a  much  larger  basis  and 
of  a  much  more  searching  nature  than  the  old  oral  test  in  connection  with 
the  Tripos  has  now  been  established  for  a  number  of  years,  and  oral 
examinations  are  also  in  existence  at  all  the  other  leading  Universities. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  33 

In  speaking  the  foreign  language  the  teacher  should  with 
junior  classes  at  first  make  use  of  some  picture  such  as  (the 
improved)  Holzel's  or  Delmas'.  With  older  pupils  who  have 
done  at  least  one  other  foreign  language  a  teacher  of  German 
may  also  take  the  map  of  Europe,  and  teach  according  to  the 
direct  method,  beginning  perhaps  by  pointing  to  England  and 
saying1 : 

Dies  ist  England.       Was  ist  dies?       Dies  ist  England. 
Dies  ist  Deutschland.      Was  ist  dies  ?      Dies  ist  Deutsch- 

land. 
England  (Deutschland)  ist  em  Land.     Das  Land  ist  groB, 

das  groBe  Land.     Deutschland  ist  ein  grofies  Land. 
Dies  ist  die  Nordsee.     Die  Nordsee  ist  ein  Meer. 
Dies  ist  der  Rhein.     Der  Rhein  ist  ein  Flufi. 
Der  FluB  flieBt  in  das  Meer  (in  die  Nordsee). 
Dies  ist  die  Elbe.     Die  Elbe  ist  auch  ein  FluB. 
Die  Elbe  flieBt  auch  in  die  Nordsee. 
Der  Rhein  und  die  Elbe  sind  Fliisse. 
Die  Elbe  ist  ein  groBer  deutscher  FluB. 

A  number  of  questions  and  answers — carefully  pronounced 
— would  serve  to  make  the  children  familiar  with  the  foregoing 

For  the  latest  German  regulations  see  the  Ordnung  ftir  die  Priifung,  die 
praktische  Ausbildung  und  die  Anstellung  der  Kandidaten  des  hoheren 
Lehramts  in  Preufan.  Halle  a.  S.,  1906,  pages  7 — 8;  15 — 17;  85  sqq. 
See  also  pages  145  sqq. 

1  Cp.  the  excellent  chapter  on  the  teaching  of  German  on  a  direct 
system  by  Fred.  Spencer  in  his  'Aims  and  Practice  of  Teaching'  (Cam- 
bridge, 1897),  pp.  100 — 1 20.  My  specimen  above  given  was  constructed 
before  the  appearance  of  Mr  Spencer's  valuable  experiment.  On  a  similar 
experiment  (by  Mr  Findlay,  Mr  Twentyman  and  Mr  Kirkman)  see  the 
Bibliographical  Appendix  p.  61  under  8  and  15.  In  both  cases  the  pupils 
were  adults.  But  I  cannot  see  any  strong  reason  against  starting  with 
foreign  life  and  ways  in  the  case  of  young  pupils.  The  mental  difficulties 
will  not  be  insuperable,  the  interest  will  be  much  quickened  by  the  charm 
of  novelty  and  pleasure  in  comparing. 

B.  3 


34       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

sentences  and  the  sounds  contained  in  them.  Then  a  sum- 
mary of  the  grammatical  material  contained  in  these  sentences 
would  be  made  by  the  teacher,  speaking  English,  thus  : 

Der,  die,  das — ein — dies — groB  ;  groBer,  groBe,  groBes — 
ist,  sind — flieBt — FluB,  Fliisse — der  FluB,  das  Land,  das 
Meer,  der  Rhein,  die  Elbe,  die  Nordsee — England,  Deutsch- 
land,  deutscher — ein  deutscher  FluB,  ein  groBes  Land. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that  in  the  case  of  young 
beginners  this  would  be  far  too  much  grammatical  material  for 
a  single  lesson.  For  a  class  of  older  boys  and  girls  it  will  just 
be  possible  to  master  it. 

Or  a  teacher  might  start  with  Rippmann's  or  Egli's  picture- 
books  and  discuss  the  scenes  of  everyday  life  with  his  pupils, 
especially  with  young  children  in  the  lower  forms.  With  older 
children  historical  and  geographical  pictures,  with  which  every 
school  should  be  well  supplied,  should  be  discussed  also1. 

In  order  to  secure,  without  risk  of  losing  it  again,  an  easy 
command  of  the  foreign  idiom,  teachers  of  modern  languages 
should  after  the  completion  of  their  University  training  have 
resided  abroad  and  should  from  time  to  time  go  abroad  again. 
But  a  prolonged  stay  in  a  foreign  country  will  be  valuable  in 
other  ways  also.  It  will  enable  teachers  to  see  with  their  own 
eyes  and  to  speak  from  personal  experience.  They  will  be 
more  just  and  sympathetic  in  their  judgment  of  foreign 
excellence  and  foreign  peculiarities.  Residence  abroad  is  so 
far  nowhere  compulsory,  no  European  State  requires  it  expressly 

1  During  the  last  few  years  as  is  well  known  the  Universities  of  Cam- 
bridge and  Oxford  have  added  to  their  Local  and  Joint  Board  Examinations 
voluntary  oral  tests  in  modern  languages.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
number  of  schools  going  in  for  them  will  rapidly  increase.  So  far  there 
are  not  many  candidates,  especially  among  the  boys,  and  the  results  are 
often  not  yet  satisfactory,  but  at  all  events  a  beginning  has  been  made  that 
is  bound  to  develop.  I  have  been  assured  that  some  excellent  results  are 
obtained  at  the  London  University  School  Examinations,  where  an  oral 
test  is  compulsory. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  35 

of  its  modern  language  teachers  ;  but  in  France,  where  of  late 
the  State  has  done  much  for  modern  languages,  to  have 
resided  abroad  is  virtually  a  condition  of  appointment  to  good 
posts.  Travelling  exhibitions  are  given  in  Germany,  Austria, 
Switzerland,  and  France  by  the  State  and  by  municipalities ; 
and  in  Sweden,  I  am  informed,  on  such  a  scale  that  every 
modern  language  teacher  has  at  his  disposal  on  an  average  one 
year  in  five.  America  gives  a  prolonged  leave  of  absence  every 
seventh  year,  and  also  bursaries.  At  the  Neuphilologentag  at 
Hamburg  (1896)  it  was  resolved  to  memorialise  the  German 
governments  to  the  effect  that  '  for  the  maintenance  of 
conversational  facility  and  the  knowledge  of  foreign  life  and 
customs,  leave  of  absence  should  be  granted  to  teachers  of 
Modern  Languages — whether  in  Universities  or  High  Schools — 
at  certain  fixed  intervals  of  time  (at  least  every  five  years),' 
and  this  was  emphasized  again  at  Cologne  in  1904.  In  England 
the  State  does  not  directly  interfere,  though  it  has  helped,  in 
these  matters,  but  it  is  very  desirable  that  teachers  of  modern 
languages  should  help  themselves  to  keep  up  their  practical 
efficiency,  and  that  Headmasters  should  assist  them  by 
granting  an  occasional  leave  of  absence.  This  is  a  point  of 
very  great  importance  and  one  that  the  Modern  Language 
Association  should  be  interested  in  taking  up.  At  Birmingham 
Professor  Fiedler  has  succeeded  more  than  once  in  raising 
a  sum  of  ^"50  to  be  given  as  a  travelling  scholarship  to  students 
of  the  University.  There  are  also  now  at  the  Birmingham 
University  the  valuable  Harding  Scholarships  for  graduate 
honours  students  of  German.  With  regard  to  subsidising 
duly  qualified  actual  or  intending  modern  language  teachers, 
mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  excellent  facilities 
afforded  by  the  Gilchrist  Scholarships  (given  to  Manchester, 
Liverpool  and  Leeds  Universities)  for  honours  graduates  in 
modern  languages ;  also  of  the  West  Riding  scheme  of 
continuing  their  Modern  Language  Scholarships  for  a  4th  or 
5th  year  for  residence  abroad.  The  London  County  Council 

3-* 


36       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

has  also  repeatedly  given  travelling  bursaries  to  modern 
language  teachers.  Thus  a  beginning  has  been  made,  but  it 
is  to  be  hoped  that  before  long  County  Councils  all  over 
England  and  also  private  donors  will  do  much  more. 

Very  much  good  may  be  done  by  the  new  system  of  exchange 
of  teachers,  by  which  English  teachers  are  appointed  as 
1  assistants'  in  French  and  Prussian  state  schools  (in  Prussia,  so 
far,  this  has  not  yet  been  extended  to  women).  Information 
on  the  conditions  of  this  extremely  important  new  scheme  of 
1  assistants'  in  French  and  Prussian  schools  can  be  obtained 
by  writing  to  the  Director  of  Special  Enquiries,  Board  of 
Education  Library,  St  Stephen's  House,  Cannon  Row, 
London,  S.W.1  It  is  essential  that  only  modern  language 
honours  graduates,  that  is,  only  such  men  and  women  as  have 
made  the  study  of  modern  languages  their  life's  work,  shall 
ultimately  be  sent  abroad  by  the  Board  of  Education,  and  it  is 
moreover  highly  desirable  that  these  '  assistants '  should  as  far 
as  possible  be  attached  to  schools  in  foreign  University  towns. 
They  would  thus  enjoy,  in  addition  to  the  opportunities  offered 
by  residence  in  any  foreign  town,  the  many  peculiar  advantages 
naturally  arising  out  of  the  facilities  for  study  and  research  that 
can  only  be  found  in  academic  surroundings. 

At  present  there  exist  in  a  large  number  of  French,  Swiss,  and 
German  University  towns  so  called  '  Holiday  courses '  in  which 
lectures  in  the  language  of  the  country  are  given,  opportunities 
for  the  constant  use  of  the  foreign  language  offered,  practice  in 
phonetic  drill  arranged,  and  illustrations  in  the  methods  of 
modern  language  teaching  given.  Such  summer  meetings  are 
being  held  in  July  and  August  at  many  German  Universities, 
for  instance  at  Greifswald  (on  the  Baltic  Sea),  Marburg  (on 
the  Lahn),  and  Jena  (near  Weimar  and  the  Wartburg).  The 
French  meetings  are  arranged  at  Paris  by  the  Alliance  Franchise 
(apply  to  the  Secretary,  45,  Rue  de  Grenelle)  and  (at  Caen 
and  Tours)  by  the  Modern  Language  Holiday  Courses  Com- 
1  See  also  pp.  85  sqq.  of  the  Ordnung  fur  die  Priifung  etc.  and  pp.  150 — i. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  37 

mittee  of  the  Teachers'  Guild  (apply  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Teachers'  Guild,  74,  Gower  Street,  London,  W.C.).  On  the 
French  and  Swiss  meetings  see  P.  Shaw  Jeffrey,  '  The  Study  of 
Colloquial  and  Literary  French/  London,  1899,  pp.  35  sqq. 
The  Edinburgh  Holiday  Courses  in  which  much  attention  is 
paid  to  modern  languages  deserve  also  to  be  mentioned.  Many 
of  my  own  students  have  derived  the  greatest  benefit  from 
attending  such  courses  abroad.  Moreover  the  Ferienkurse  are 
cheap,  part  of  them  specially  devised  for  the  needs  of  foreigners 1 
and,  from  all  I  have  heard  of  them  from  a  number  of  students 
of  both  sexes,  most  enjoyable2.  I  have  no  doubt  that  our 
students  and  teachers  of  modern  languages  will  very  largely 
benefit  by  repeated  visits  abroad  in  the  congenial  society  of 
fellow-teachers  and  in  daily  practice  of  the  foreign  idiom. 
They  should  live,  if  possible,  in  a  German  or  French  family 
where  they  could  be  the  only  foreigners  (not  merely  the  only 
English  boarders)  and  on  no  account  go  to  one  of  the  large 
boarding-houses,  which  are  obviously  the  most  unsuitable 
places  to  live  in  if  one  wants  to  learn  a  foreign  language. 

There  is  a  growing  conviction  that  the  teaching  of  modern 
languages  in  our  secondary  schools  should  henceforth  as 
a  rule  not  be  entrusted  to  foreigners  but  to  duly  qualified 
English  men  and  women.  I  believe  that  this  is  a  very  sound 


1  The  Holiday  Courses  held  (since  1904)  by  the  University  of  London 
are  only  intended  for  foreign  students  and  teachers.     At  the   University 
Extension  Meetings  held  (during  the  month  of  August)  alternately  at  the 
Universities  of  Cambridge   (1906,    1908,    1910,   etc.)   and   Oxford   (1907, 
1909...)    special   attention    is   now   also    paid    to    the    needs    of   foreign 
students. 

2  See  the  Journal  of  Education,  1899,  p.  151.   A  useful  table  of  Holiday 
Courses  on  the  Continent  for  instruction  in  Modern  Languages  is  now 
annually  compiled   by  the  Board  of  Education.     It  is  usually  ready  for 
publication  about  the  beginning  of  April  in  each  year,  and  copies  can  be 
obtained  on  application  to  the  Board  of  Education  Library,  St  Stephen's 
House,  Cannon  Row,  Whitehall,  London,  S.W. 


38        The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

and  well  justified  view — I  cannot  discuss  it  here  at  length1 — and 
the  only  advice  I  have  to  give  to  intending  teachers  no  less 
than  to  those  who  have  entered  the  profession,  is  :  Go  abroad 
as  much  as  you  can,  improve  and  deepen  your  knowledge  of  the 
language  and  of  the  people  as  much  as  is  in  your  power2. 
Here  at  Cambridge  we  have  now  (1906)  for  nearly  twenty-two 
years  past  been  training  teachers  of  modern  languages, 
and  there  have  been  among  them  very  few  indeed  who  did 
not  manage  to  go  abroad  at  least  once,  during  the  three  or 
four  years  they  were  reading  for  their  Modern  Languages 
Tripos3.  Most  of  them  went  abroad  two  or  three  times 
during  their  residence.  In  order  to  derive  real  benefit  from 
their  stay  abroad,  students  should  not  go  too  early  and  should 
very  carefully  prepare  themselves  for  it.  The  way  in  which  they 
should  proceed  to  study  abroad  is  indicated  on  pages  100 — 101. 

Reading. 

As    the   object   of   modern   language   teaching   is    in    my 
opinion  to  teach  not  only  the  foreign  language,  but  at  the  same 

1  See  my  paper  on  'The  Teaching  of  Modern  Languages'  contributed 
to  Mr  Spenser  Wilkinson's  'The  Nation's  Need,'  London,  1903,  pp.  219 — 
220. 

2  Books  such  as  R.  Kron's  'French  Daily  Life,'  London,  Dent,  4i9O5, 
Kron's  'German  Daily  Life,'  London,  4i9<>5,  and  Hamann's  'Echo  der 
deutschen  Umgangssprache,'  will  be  found  most  useful.     Students  should 
be  provided  with  Jaschke's  little  pocket  dictionaries  of  French  and  German, 
with  the  Baedekers  of  Paris  (or  Northern  France,  in  French)  or  Berlin  (or 
Norddeutschland,  etc.  in  German) ;  if  they  read  German,  students  of  French 
might  consult  Langenscheidt's   '  Sachworterbuch,'    'Land   und  Leute  in 
Frankreich,'  Berlin,  3i9O5  (where  other  references  are  given);  Mahrenholtz, 
'Frankreich'  (Leipzig,  1897) ;  and  Klopper's  '  Franzosisches  Real-Lexikon.' 

3  An  account  of  the  history  and   present  position  of  the  Cambridge 
Medieval  and  Modern  Languages  Tripos  is  given  by  me  in  the  April 
number  (1899)    of  the   Modern    Quarterly,    pp.    322 — 26.     See   also   my 
account  contributed  to  P.  Shaw  Jeffrey's  '  Study  of  Colloquial  and  Literary 
French,'  London,  1899,  PP-  £73— 183.    Some  changes  will  probably  before 
long  be  introduced  into  the  existing  Tripos  scheme. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  39 

time  by  means  of  it  the  principal  features  of  the  life  and 
character  of  a  foreign  nation,  it  follows  that  the  material  for 
reading  should  be  chosen  so  as  to  promote  this  aim. 

A  most  careful  selection  of  suitable  material  should  be  made, 
and  a  systematic  gradation  of  reading  should  be  devised. 

After  a  good  many  object  lessons  in  which  the  common 
objects  of  the  foreign  country  are  called  by  their  foreign  names 
and  discussed  in  a  variety  of  sentences,  there  might  follow  the 
use  of  a  Primer  containing  all  the  commonest  words  and  well- 
chosen  characteristic  illustrations.  From  the  very  beginning  the 
reading  should  be  connected  with  the  history  and  geography 
of  the  foreign  country.  A  good  clear  school-map  of  Germany 
(or  France)  with  German  (or  French)  names  should  be  hung 
up  among  other  things  characteristic  of  the  foreign  country,  its. 
literature,  institutions  and  principal  buildings,  in  the  German 
(or  French)  class  room.  German  names  of  German  placesr 
rivers  (with  the  defin.  article)  and  mountains  should  be  taught 
throughout,  e.g.  Aachen,  Koln,  Braunschweig,  Mainz,  Regens- 
burg,  Miinchen,  Wien,  Donau,  Weichsel,  Vogesen,  Pfalz, 
Thiiringen,  Sachsen,  Schlesien,  etc. 

In  the  middle  classes  a  well  compiled  Reader  should  form 
the  centre  of  all  modern  language  teaching.  It  would  be  a 
graduated  continuation  of  the  Primer  used  in  the  lower  forms. 
The  ideal  German  Reader  for  English  Schools  has  not 
yet  been  written.  E.  Hausknecht's  'The  English  Student/ 
J.  Klapperich's  '  Englisches  Lese-  und  Realienbuch,'  perhaps 
also  W.  Victor's  and  F.  Dorr's  '  Englisches  Lesebuch/  or 
O.  Jespersen's  and  Chr.  Sarauw's  *  Engelsk  Begynderbog '  and 
O.  Jespersen's  '  England  and  America  Reader '  are  the  books 
which  I  should  set  up  as  models  to  be  followed,  but  some  of 
the  pieces  should  even  at  this  stage  be  chosen,  without  regard  for 
practical  utility,  merely  for  the  sake  of  their  literary  excellence. 

In  the  upper  forms  the  Reader  should  be  replaced  by  the 
study  of  some  of  the  best  classical  works,  and  to  aid  teachers 
in  their  choice  of  these,  a  select  list  or  'canon'  of  such  classical 
works  as  are  suitable  for  the  pupils  to  read  either  in  school  or 


4O       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

at  home  should  be  compiled  by  a  committee  of  practical 
teachers,  and  a  small  library  containing  a  selection  of  suitable 
books  in  modern  languages  should  be  formed  for  the  upper 
and  middle  forms  of  secondary  schools  for  boys  and  girls. 

Nature  of  the  proposed  ' Reader? 

Our  model  '  Reader '  for  middle  classes l — which  is  as  yet 
unwritten — should  contain  only  pieces  illustrating  the  life  and 
thought  of  the  foreign  nation  in  olden  and,  still  more,  in  our 
own  times.  The  selection  should  be  made  by  an  experienced 
teacher  with  skill  and  tact,  and  above  all  in  a  spirit  of  sympathy 
with  foreign  excellence  and  of  interest  in  foreign  peculiarities. 
Its  aim  must  obviously  be  to  make  the  children  understand 
foreign  ways  of  thinking,  but  not  to  encourage  in  them  a  spirit 
of  immature  and  self-assertive  criticism,  *  The  texts  should 
as  far  as  possible  be  accompanied  by  well  executed  character- 
istic illustrations,  showing  for  instance  the  Roland  of  Bremen 
or  Notre  Dame  de  Paris.  A  glossary  at  the  end,  with  easy 
phonetic  transcriptions  of  especially  difficult  words,  and  short 
references  to  obvious  etymological  comparisons  with  English, 
would  much  enhance  the  usefulness  of  such  a  Reader. 

Anything  not  in  harmony  with  these  principles  should  be 
strictly  excluded  from  the  modern  language  reading  books. 
From  a  model  Reader  of  French  or  German  I  should  for 
instance  unhesitatingly  exclude  a  description,  however  brilliant, 
of  the  'battle  of  Marathon,'  or  <a  trip  to  the  Isle  of  Wight,'  or 
' a  sunset  in  the  desert/  or  'the  character  of  the  Chinese,'  or 
'Warren  Hastings.'  I  should  also  discard  general  anecdotes, 
such  as  '  remarkable  cleverness  of  a  fox-terrier,'  or  fables,  such 
as  '  the  boy  and  the  serpent/  etc.  On  the  other  hand  I  should 
gladly  admit  'a  trip  from  London  to  Paris/  'a  visit  to  the  South 
of  France/  or  'to  the  Rhine/  or  'to  the  Black  Forest/  a  'visit 

*  For  English  students  and  teachers  Wilh.  Paszkowski's  excellent 
'Lesebuch  zur  Einfiihrung  in  die  Kenntnis  Deutschlands  und  seines 
geistigen  Lebens,'  Berlin,  1904,  2i9O5,  deserves  warm  recommendation. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  41 

to  the  Louvre/  or  Ho  the  Castle  at  Heidelberg,7  or 'to  Cologne 
Cathedral,'  'a  reception  into  the  Academic  Franchise/  'a 
Provengal  vintage,7  '  a  speech  by  Bismarck  in  the  Reichstag,' 
'a  German  school-treat,'  'a  Turnfahrt,'  'a  Sangerfest/  etc. 
Again  place  might  be  found  for  subjects  such  as  *  Henri  IV. 
and  the  foreign  ambassadors,'  'the  Emperor  Max  and  his  fool 
Kunz  von  Rosen,'  '  Frederick  II.  and  the  miller  of  Sanssouci,' 
'Bismarck  and  the  Austrian  Ambassador,'  or  'Goethe's  corre- 
spondence with  Carlyle,'  or  some  letters  of  Lessing  or  Schiller 
or  of  Moltke  or  Bismarck^ 

In  the  case  of  German,  pieces  such  as  these  would  be  just 
as  useful  to  the  pupils  learning  the  language  as  those  contained 
in  the  present  books,  and  they  would— each  of  them — in 
addition  illustrate  some  point  of  German  history,  geography, 
life  and  thought,  and  would  furnish  excellent  material  for  com- 
parison and  discussion. 

In  addition  to  the  selected  pieces  in  prose  and  verse  I 
should  put  into  the  Reader : 

(1)  Good  clear  maps,   not  too  small,   of  Germany  and 
France ;    rivers   and   places    to    be   given    with   their   foreign 
names,  the  rivers  with  the  definite  article,  le  Rhone,  la  Seine ; 
der  Neckar,  die  Weser,  etc.    Special  maps  of  Berlin  and  Vienna 
(or  Paris)  and  surroundings  should  be  included. 

(2)  Tables  of  foreign  measures,  weights,  and  moneys  (the 
latter    if    possible   with    coloured    illustrations — few    English 
children  realize  the  size  and  value  of  a  German  Pfennig,  an 
Austrian  Heller,  or  have  seen  German  nickel  money)  together 
with  their  English  equivalents. 

(3)  Pictures  of  the  flags  and  ensigns  of  foreign  nations,  also 
the  German  spread-eagle  (as  seen  on  all  official  documents), 
the  emblem  of  the  French  Republic,  and  similar  illustrations 
of  importance  and  interest  which  can  easily  be  procured. 

(4)  Enumerations  of  the  principal  ranks  and  titles,  together 
with  the  proper  forms  of  address,  and  also  the  shape  and  style 
of  visiting  cards. 


42        The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

(5)  N  Letters  of  various  kinds,  ordinary  letters  (social  and 
commercial)  as  well  as  some  of  a  higher  and  of  the  highest  type. 
Some  of  the  German  letters  should  be  in  German  handwriting. 
Forms  of  envelopes  with   all   kinds   of  addresses  and  direc- 
tions,   e.g.    Eingeschrieben^    Postlagernd,   Bitte   nachzuschicken, 
Abs(ender),    etc.,    and    of    postal    wrappers    (Drucfaachc,    Ge- 
schaftspapiere,  Muster  ohm  Wert,  etc.),  should  also  be  given. 

(6)  A  few  typical  forms  of  advertisements  together  with 
the    usual    notices    of    births,    engagements    (in    Germany), 
marriages,  and  deaths. 

(7)  A  list  of  the  most  common  abbreviations  used  in  the 
foreign  languages,  such  as  trie  German  G.m.b.H.]  a.D.-,  bezw.*, 
Hss.;  m.E.-j  s.Z.;  s.v.w.-,  u.a.\  ult.,  etc. ' 

A  Reader  containing  all  these  items  could  most  profitably 
be  made  the  basis  of  instruction  in  the  foreign  tongues. 

Study  of  the  Classics. 

For  the  use  of  the  highest  forms  of  schools  a  charac- 
teristic selection  of  truly  representative  works  should  be  made, 
beginning  with  some  rather  easy  works.  A  sort  of  '  canon '  of 
all  that  is  really  first-rate  and  at  the  same  time  suitable  for 
school-reading  should  be  drawn  up.  This  again  would  be  a 
really  useful  subject  for  discussion  among  the  members  of  the 
Modern  Language  Association,  and  the  columns  of  Modern 
Language  Teaching  would  be  at  the  disposal  of  persons  of 
experience  anxious  to  discuss  this  most  important  problem. 
As  but  little  time  can  be  allotted  to  modern  languages  in  the 
curricula  of  our  secondary  schools,  it  is  of  paramount  importance 
that  no  book  but  the  very  best,  the  most  suitable  and  the  most 
characteristic,  should  be  set  for  school-reading  or  suggested  for 
the  private  reading  of  the  scholars.  This  is  at  present  very 
frequently  not  the  case;  a  number  of  the  books  prescribed  and 

1  Lists  explaining  all  the  ordinary  German  and  English  abbreviations 
are  given  in  my  revised  edition  of  Cassell's  German  Dictionary  (1906). 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  43 

edited  with  English  notes  do  not  deserve  to  be  studied  in 
schools  to  the  neglect  of  other  works,  which  are  no  more 
difficult  and  far  more  attractive  and  important. 

The  '  canon '  of  works  to  be  read  should  be  sufficiently 
comprehensive  to  admit  of  frequent  changes :  at  one  time 
one  of  Lessing's  plays,  at  another  one  by  Goethe  or  Schiller 
or  Grillparzer  or  some  other  great  dramatist  might  be  set, 
the  same  standard  of  difficulty  being;  kept.  But  nothing 
that  is  not  of  real  literary  excellence  sh6uld  be  read,  and  for 
this  reason  for  instance  Kotzebue's  old-fashioned  and  one-sided 
farce,  '  Die  deutschen  Kleinstadter/  which  is  at  present  much 
read  in  France  and  of  which  there  is,  unfortunately,  also  an 
English  edition,  should  be  sternly  rejected.  School-children 
would  get  nothing  but  wrong  notions  about  German  life  from 
the  reading  of  this  farce,  while  a  more  modern  and  infinitely 
superior  play,  Gustav  Frey tag's  comedy,  '  Die  Journalisten,'  is 
not  read  half  as  much  as  it  deserves  to  be. 

In  the  lists  of  suitable  texts,  to  be  drawn  up  by  the  joint 
efforts  of  a  number  of  experienced  teachers,  there  should  be 
columns  for  easy,  intermediate,  and  difficult  texts,  subdivided 
into  prose  and  poetry,  with  indications  whether  the  texts  are 
specially  suitable  for  boys  or  for  girls  or  well  adapted  for  both 
sexes.  Symbols  might  be  added  to  show  if  the  books  are 
recommended  for  class-reading  or  will  do  for  private  study, 
and  in  every  case  the  names  of  the  editor  and  the  publisher, 
and  also  the  price,  should  be  given.  Such  lists,  which  would 
have  to  be  revised  from  time  to  time,  would  prove  of  great 
value  to  teachers  and  examining  bodies. 

A  '  canon '  of  poems  to  be  learned  by  heart — after  due 
explanation  and  recitation  by  the  master — should  also  be  used. 
There  should  be  a  gradation  from  the  easier  to  the  harder, 
and  the  older  poems  should  be  repeated  from  time  to  time  in 
later  terms1. 

1  During  the  first  year  of  German  some  of  the  interesting  and  easy 
poems  contained  in  the  German  Series  i  (Cambridge  Phonographic  Re- 


44       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

Some  prose  pieces  (fables,  passages  from  speeches)  might 
also  occasionally  be  committed  to  memory  and  recited  with 
suitable  intonation  by  the  class.  If  properly  treated  this  is 
really  a  most  useful  exercise,  but  the  master  must  take  care 
that  the  piece  is  well  explained,  understood,  learned,  and 
recited  without  a  hitch  and  with  the  proper  expression.  The 
pieces  thus  learned  should  be  models  of  style  and  need  not  be 
at  all  long.  Here  is  a  large  field  for  really  useful  investigation 
and  much  wanted  reform.  These  exercises  will  be  found  to 
'  pay '  all  the  better  when  our  Modern  Language  examinations 
are  still  further  reformed  and  due  importance  is  attached  to 
proficiency  in  the  spoken  language. 

I  sincerely  trust  that  before  long  all  the  progressive  schools 
in  this  country  will  assign  more  time  to  the  study  of  modern 
languages,  which  is  the  first  and  foremost  condition  of  success 
in  teaching.  In  the  meantime 

(1)  Find  out  how  many  hours  for  how  many  terms  and 
years  you  have  at  your  disposal  in  your  school ;  then 

(2)  Make  a  general  plan  of  work  on  a  clearly  conceived 
system  for  yourself  and  your  colleagues  at  the  same  school. 

(3)  Bring  about  a  fruitful  interchange  of  ideas  with  your 
fellow-teachers,  as  to  what  should  be  read  and  in  what  way  you 
are  going  to  read  it  in  the  different  forms  of  the  school. 

The  study  of  foreign  classics  in  the  highest  forms  should 
be  less  dependent  than  it  is  now  upon  'set  books'  appointed  for 
examinations.  The  drawbacks  of  getting  up  'set  books'  are  well 
known.  They  may  be  too  hard  or  they  may  be  too  easy  for 
a  great  number  of  pupils.  They  are  often  merely  learned  by 
rote — completely  spoiling  the  child's  pleasure  in  the  book— 
and  at  all  events  a  disproportionate  amount  of  time  is  given  in 
most  schools  to  the  getting  up  of  one  or  two  books,  while  four 

cords,  Cambridge,  Heffer,  id.)  might  be  learned  by  junior  pupils. 
The  little  book  by  W.  P.  Chalmers,  'Deutsche  Gedichte  zum  Auswendig- 
lernen'  (with  notes  in  either  German  or  English),  2nd  revised  edition, 
London,  Harrap,  1906,  is.  6d.,  will  also  be  found  very  useful. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  45 

or  five  of  the  same  size  might  have  been  read  and  enjoyed 
within  the  same  space  of  time.  Sometimes,  of  course,  pre- 
scribed books  may  fit  in  well  and  be  just  the  thing  to  study. 
But  it  cannot  be  denied  that  they  often  disturb  the  harmonious 
development  of  the  subject,  coming  in  at  the  wrong  time  for 
individual  forms  and  taking  the  place  of  books  which  should 
be  read  by  preference.  The  options  that  are  now  offered  by 
some  examining  bodies  are  to  be  welcomed  as  a  step  in  the 
right  direction.  The  following  is  a  true  though  rather  an 
extreme  case  of  the  neglect  of  the  classics.  Some  time  ago 
I  had  to  examine  a  candidate  orally  who  told  me  that  he  had 
done  German  for  more  than  three  years.  When  I  asked  him 
what  authors  he  had  read  in  this  time  he  answered,  '  I  have 
only  read  the  set  book,  but  I  have  worked  through  many — 
examination  papers '  ! 

More  than  once  I  have  been  asked  by  teachers :  Do  you 
think  that  the  French  iyth  and  German  i8th  century  classics 
should  still  be  read  in  English  schools  ?  This  question 
is  most  frequently  asked  by  teachers  who  know  only  of 
utilitarian  and  commercial,  but  not  of  educational  ends  in  the 
study  of  modern  foreign  literature.  We  should  here  beware 
of  our  friends.  There  is  no  doubt  a  decided  increase  in  the 
interest  taken  in  modern  languages  all  over  the  country, 
especially  in  French,  but  this  interest  I  am  sorry  to  see  is  in 
many  cases  not  educational  but  purely  commercial.  These 
advocates  of  '  Moderns  versus  Ancients '  forget  that  education 
and  culture  are  the  ends  of  all  higher  school  study,  and  that 
the  very  best  is  just  good  enough  for  the  education  of  our 
children.  That  kind  of  education  which  the  better  schools 
should  give  cannot  be  got  from  the  trashy  stuff  which  some 
utilitarian  pedagogues  propose  to  substitute  for  the  great  works 
of  the  noblest  minds.  It  is  true  that  the  study  of  Moliere's 
Misanthrope  does  not  always  help  us  to  read  the  advertisements 
of  'Le  Petit  Journal,'  still  less  are  Schiller's  '  Wallenstein '  or 
Grillparzer's  'Sappho'  the  most  suitable  preparation  for  the 


46        The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

study  of  the  '  Berliner  Borsenkurier ' — but  I  trust  that  you  will 
all  agree  with  me  that,  practical  as  the  teaching  of  modern 
languages  must  be,  teachers  have  no  right  to  withhold  from 
their  more  advanced  pupils  the  knowledge  of  some  of  the 
greatest  works  of  modern  literary  art,  works  full  of  beauty  and 
of  noble  ideas  expressed  in  exquisite  language.  It  is  the  privilege 
of  a  teacher  to  show  to  his  pupils  how  these  great  works  of  art 
should  be  appreciated  and  enjoyed.  His  zeal  and  enthusiasm 
should  fire  those  of  his  pupils.  Above  all,  in  schools  in  which 
the  ancient  classical  writers  are  but  little  read  or  not  read  at  all, 
all  the  more  stress  should  be  laid  on  the  careful  study  of  a 
number  of  foreign  masterpieces  of  the  iyth  and  i8th  centuries. 
These  convictions  do  not  in  the  least  prevent  me  from  ad- 
mitting that  some  suitable  thoroughly  modern  texts  should  be 
read  from  time  to  time  by  the  side  of  the  great  classics, 
especially  in  the  case  of  an  unusually  short  or  crowded  term. 
There  will  be  ample  time  for  reading  a  considerable  amount  of 
real  literature  on  the  modern  sides  of  good  boys'  schools  and 
in  all  the  high  schools  for  girls,  as  teachers  in  the  future  will 
devote  less  time  to  the  teaching  of  grammar  pure  and  simple, 
and  very  little  to  the  mechanical  manufacturing  of  colourless 
translations  from  English  into  the  foreign  language.  Moreover 
private  reading  on  the  part  of  the  pupils  should  be  constantly 
encouraged  and  discreetly  directed  by  the  master,  not  only 
in  the  vacations  when  pupils  of  the  higher  forms  might  quite 
well  be  encouraged  to  read  an  interesting  French  or  German 
book  from  the  school  or  form  library,  but  also  during  the 
school  terms.  As  I  have  pointed  out  on  page  5,  every  form 
or  at  least  each  of  the  two  main  divisions  (junior — senior) 
should  have  its  special  Modern  Language  Library — containing 
a  good  selection  of  fairly  easy  and  well  illustrated  French  and 
German  books,  some  representative  illustrated  foreign  magazines, 
some  books  on  history  and  travel,  good  large  maps  of  the 
foreign  countries  with  the  foreign  names  of  rivers  and  towns, 
etc.  Boys  and  girls  should  be  encouraged  frequently  to  spend 


in  otir  Secondary  Schools  47 

some  of  their  leisure  time  with  these  books  and,  if  their 
spare  time  is  very  limited  during  term,  at  least  to  look  at  the 
pictures  and  read  what  is  said  in  connection  with  them. 

The  method  of  reading  with  a  class. 

The  most  careful  preparation  on  the  part  of  the  teacher 
— and  not  only  of  the  young  teacher — is  absolutely  necessary 
for  success.  He  has  not  merely  to  consider  what  is  to  be 
said,  but  what  is  not  to  be  said,  and  in  the  case  of  what  he 
says  how  it  should  be  said  and  impressed  upon  the  minds  of 
the  young. 

A  good  teacher  will  of  course  never  be  content  with 
walking  into  his  class  room  and  saying  on  the  subject  he  is 
to  teach  just  what  happens  to  occur  to  him — he  will  carefully 
sift  his  material,  reduce  and  simplify,  dwell  on  the  important 
points,  in  short,  work  according  to  a  well-conceived  plan  and 
without  omission  of  any  point  of  importance  for  the  children. 
The  fact  that  everything  has  been  thought  out  beforehand 
need  not  make  his  delivery  dry  and  dull,  either  to  himself  or 
to  his  class.  In  order  to  make  his  lesson  interesting  and 
fruitful  I  would  advise  a  young  teacher  as  follows :  find  out 
with  the  class,  as  far  as  possible  by  question  and  answer,  the 
facts  which  you  have  decided  to  teach.  Extract  together  with" 
them  everything  that  is  of  importance  -in  the  text  you  are 
studying,  encouraging  every  child  to  help  in  the  work.  Be 
careful  not  to  talk  above  the  understanding  of  the  children, 
especially  of  the  average  children,  in  the  discussion  of  a  great 
play  or  of  a  difficult  poem — do  not  talk  about  what  will  interest 
you  most,  but  about  what  the  children  want  and  have  a  right 
to  learn.  Great  care  and  tact,  also  great  self-abnegation,  is 
necessary  in  the  teaching  of  poetry  and  literature.  The  very 
best  and  deepest  thoughts  of  the  greatest  minds  are  naturally 
beyond  the  reach  of  children — yet  fortunately  there  remains 
a  very  great  deal  that  can  be  taught  and  will,  if  imparted 


48       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

carefully  and  in  an  interesting  manner,  be  sure  to  bear  fruit  in 
later  life.  The  children  should  be  early  accustomed  to  look 
upon  a  poem  or  a  play  not  as  an  exercise  or  as  something  to 
be  crammed  for  an  examination,  but  as  a  work  of  art  to  be 
appreciated  and  enjoyed.  A  good  teacher  will  not  use  many 
words  about  it,  but  he  will  let  this  feeling  arise  naturally  from 
the  way  in  which  he  approaches  and  treats  the  poem.  Before 
he  begins  to  read  a  poem  or  a  prose  passage  with  the  class 
he  will  be  careful  to  create  the  proper  atmosphere  for  it.  A 
few  introductory  words  will  prepare  the  minds  of  the  young, 
and  then  the  poem  will  not  fail  to  produce  the  desired  effect 
upon  them.  But  if  you  begin  the  reading  of  a  poem  by  saying 
in  a  cold  business-like  tone :  ( Smith,  will  you  read  the  first 
stanza  of  poem  No.  42  on  page  96  of  the  Reader' — of  course 
the  Muse  of  Poetry  will  have  left  the  room  long  before  Smith 
has  opened  his  mouth.  All  will  be  different  if  the  teacher  says 
a  few  simple  words  of  introduction  to  prepare  the  minds  of  the 
children  beforehand,  and  then  proceeds  to  read  the  poem 
aloud  with  proper  pronunciation,  intonation  and  expression. 
Poems  such  as  Goethe's  'Erlkonig'  or  Schiller's  'Graf  von 
Habsburg '  require  very  careful  reading  in  order  to  produce  the 
fullest  effect.  Few  masters  will  be  able  to  read  these  poems 
really  well  without  careful  preparation — perhaps  with  the 
assistance  of  a  good  phonographic  record.  After  the  master 
has  read  the  poem  he  will  have  it  repeated  by  the  pupils,  the 
better  ones  being  first  called  upon,  and  will  insist  on  a  good, 
careful  and  spirited  reproduction.  Sometimes  a  short  poem 
may  be  advantageously  read  by  the  whole  class  together.  The 
teacher  should  explain  any  real  difficulties  and  ask  questions 
concerning  passages  which  require  explanation — but  he  should 
not  create  difficulties.  In  the  case  of  poems  it  is  sometimes 
advantageous  to  give  and  to  require  a  paraphrase  of  difficult 
lines  in  ordinary  prose,  or  to  give  before  the  actual  reading  of 
a  more  difficult  poem  a  brief  summary  of  its  contents.  Two 
poems  which  I  have  found  to  be  hard  to  render  well  and  which 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  49 

are  not  easily  understood  even  by  pupils  of  good  ability  are 
Schiller's  '  Kampf  mit  dem  Drachen '  and  still  more  Goethe's 
so-called  ' Ballade'  ('vom  vertriebenen  und  zurtickkehrenden 
Grafen').  Never  give  a  poem  to  the  class  to  be  learned  by 
heart  without  having  first  read  and  fully  explained  the  whole 
of  it.  It  is  wrong  to  expect  that  this  important  work  of 
initiating  the  children  into  a  piece  of  foreign  poetry  should 
be  done  by  the  parents  at  home  or  the  master  supervising  the 
*  preparation  class.'  The  same  remark  applies  to  poems  which 
are  sung.  Too  often  the  children  are  allowed  to  sing  French 
or  German  songs  which  they  do  not  properly  understand. 
Teachers  should  also  avoid  setting  very  long  poems  in  the 
lower  and  middle  classes  to  be  absorbed  in  homceopathical 
doses  during  the  whole  of  a  long  term  by  the  unfortunate 
children. 

With  the  highest  forms  you  will  be  able  to  read  pretty 
rapidly,  making  the  pupils  invariably  read  out  the  German  or 
French  texts  and  only  requiring  an  English  rendering  or  a 
German  or  French  paraphrase  in  the  case  of  rather  difficult 
passages.  If  you  attempt  at  that  stage  some  of  the  great 
foreign  dramas  you  will  find  that  your  pupils  really  enjoy  them, 
when  not  obliged  to  take  line  by  line  and  scene  by  scene  like 
drops  from  a  dropper — the  safest  way  of  making  them  detest 
Racine  and  Schiller  for  many  years  to  come.  Many  mistakes 
are  made  by  teachers  in  giving  superfluous  information  or 
requiring  the  pupils  to  learn  by  rote  all  the  notes  contained  in 
their  editions  of  the  classic.  A  great  play  is  too  good  to  be 
treated  as  a  storehouse  full  of  grammatical  curiosities.  These 
should  certainly  be  explained  in  the  notes  where  they  occur, 
but  their  importance  should  not  be  exaggerated  and  no 
disproportionate  amount  of  time  should  be  allowed  for  them. 
In  saying  this  I  do  not  wish  to  recommend  that  the  teacher 
should  pass  over  unnoticed  any  real  difficulty  of  language  or 
thought  or  allow  any  opportunity  for  awakening  literary  taste 
to  slip  by. 

B.  4 


5O       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

In  dealing  with  a  great  play,  if  it  be  written  in  verse, 
the  teacher  should  consider  it  his  duty  briefly  to  discuss  the 
metrical  form,  of  which  nearly  all  school-children  and  even  many 
advanced  students  of  modern  languages  are  entirely  ignorant. 
They  should  know  the  elements  of  poetic  form — it  is  by  no 
means  a  matter  of  no  importance  in  what  way  the  poet  has 
chosen  to  express  his  thoughts.  Certain  forms  suit  the  poetic 
genius  of  certain  languages — the  iambic  trimeter  is  the  national 
tragic  metre  for  the  Greeks  as  is  the  alexandrine  for  the 
French  and  blank  verse  for  the  English.  Lessing  and  Schiller 
deliberately  adopted  in  their  later  plays  the  English  blank 
verse,  Goethe's  metre  in  '  Iphigenie '  is  more  closely  connected 
with  the  Italian  endecasillabo,  all  three  modified  the  adopted 
metre  to  suit  their  own  taste  and  genius.  Even  school-boys  • 
and  school-girls  may  fairly  be  expected  to  have  some  general 
notions  on  such  points — which,  if  properly  brought  before 
them,  would  be  sure  to  interest  them  :  for  instance,  a  word 
about  poetical  licence  would  not  be  out  of  place  with  a  sixth 
form ;  the  scholars  should  be  warned  against  saying  in  the 
case  of  apparent  or  real  metrical  irregularities  merely  '  this  is 
a  poetical  licence '  without  having  any  clear  notion  of  the 
precise  meaning  of  this  term.  The  use  of  vague  terms  should 
be  discouraged  from  the  beginning,  and  the  characteristics  of 
the  few  common  dramatic  metres  should  be  familiar  to  every 
scholar  who  is  allowed  to  read  a  great  French  or  German 
classical  drama.  What  is  the  state  of  things  at  present? 
Some  years  ago  I  had  to  examine  a  great  number  of  schools  in 
Schiller's  'Wilhelm  Tell,5  a  play  consisting  of  3,290  lines. 
I  ventured  to  ask  the  question  :  '  In  what  metre  is  this  play 
written?  Give  a  brief  description  of  it.'  Here  are  some  of 
the  answers  which  I  read  with  a  shudder  I  can  still  recall : 
'This  play  is  written  in  the  old  Italian  ballad  metre,  that  is, 
the  metre  of  Virgil's  ^Eneid,'  or  '  The  metre  of  this  play 
is  called  Alexandrine,'  '  Schiller's  Tell  is  written  in  didactic 
hexameters.'  Such  were  the  extraordinary  statements  to  which 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  51 

they  committed  themselves  after  having  read  over  3,200  lines 
of  blank  verse  !  It  was  disheartening,  and  the  worst  was  that 
children  writing  such  absolute  nonsense  did  actually  pass  the 
examination  with  credit  if  their  grammar  and  translation  were 
correct.  Another  time  I  was  assured  that  Grillparzer's  '  Sappho ' 
was  a  'trilogy,'  because — there  were  three  prominent  characters 
in  the  drama  (Sappho,  Phaon,  Melitta).  Who  was  to  blame? 
Not  the  children,  but  the  teachers,  who  had  plainly  neglected 
to  pay  any  attention  whatsoever  to  form.  A  similar  case  is 
not  unfrequent  at  a  higher  stage,  where  it  often  turns  out 
to  be  the  case  that  students  coming  up  to  the  University 
cannot  decently  read  a  German  hexameter — although  they 
may  have  passed  with  distinction  in  their  'set  book,'  'Hermann 
und  Dorothea ' — and  are  usually  quite  unable  to  give  a 
definition  of  a  '  pure  rime '  in  German,  or  of  the  principal 
difference  between  the  dramatic  verse  of  Schiller  and  Racine. 

Another  point  at  which  the  teacher  ought  to  work  with  his 
class  is  the  making  clear  to  every  child  the  general  intention  of 
the  poet — the  plot — the  connection  of  the  scenes — the  main 
stages  in  the  development  of  the  action — the  exposition,  climax, 
peripeteia,  and  the  catastrophe — in  short  what  we  may  fitly  call 
the  '  inner  form '  of  the  drama,  the  moulding  of  the  great  mass 
of  material  in  the  mind  of  the  poet  so  as  to  assume  a  higher 
artistic  form.  Think  of  the  masterly  structure  of  Schiller's 
'  Wallenstein.'  Here  the  master  can  do  very  much  to  develop 
the  taste,  the  judgment,  and  the  general  culture  of  his  pupils. 
These  lessons  should  be  the  finest  fruit  of  all  his  teaching, 
they  should  never  be  forgotten.  How  much  can  be  done  in 
this  respect  by  the  right  man  for  a  whole  form,  I  know  from 
experience,  gratefully  recollecting  a  series  of  stimulating  lessons 
on  the  German  classics  given  during  my  last  year  at  school  by 
our  head-master  Dr  Wiedasch  of  Hanover.  But  where  is  the 
corresponding  teaching  of  English  literature  in  our  secondary 
schools?  No  good  work  can  possibly  be  achieved  by  a 

4—2 


52       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

modern  language  teacher  unless  his  pupils  have  first  received 
a  thoroughly  good  grounding  in  their  mother  tongue.  Great 
reforms  in  the  teaching  of  English  seem  to  me  to  be  most 
urgently  required  in  the  immediate  future  in  not  a  few 
schools1. 

If  you  read  great  plays  with  your  best  pupils — they  should 
only  be  read  with  good  pupils — sum  up  after  each  scene,  after 
each  act.  Discuss  the  development  of  the  action,  see  how  far 
it  has  advanced  (and  by  what  means),  what  is  still  expected 
(hoped  or  feared).  Discuss  the  characters  and  their  motives, 
group  them,  see  in  what  way  they  develop  (if  they  develop  at 
all),  and  let  some  advanced  pupils  attempt  to  write  very  briefly 
in  the  foreign  language  about  such  of  the  characters  as  specially 
interest  them.  'Goetz  von  Berlichingen,'  l  Maria  Stuart 'and 
1  Wilhelm  Tell '  are  easy  plays  in  this  respect,  '  Minna  von 
Barnhelm,'  '  Iphigenie,'  '  Tasso,'  '  Die  Jungfrau  von  Orleans/ 
and  '  Wallenstein,'  present  greater  difficulties2. 

A  teacher  is  considerably  helped  in  his  task  of  explaining 
a  play  and  the  chief  characters  occurring  in  it,  if  he  has 
seen  it  acted  abroad  by  good  actors.  This  is  one  among 
many  reasons  why  teachers  of  foreign  languages  in  going 
abroad  should  go  to  large  towns,  to  great  intellectual  centres 
where  there  are  good  theatres.  Paris,  Berlin,  Vienna  and  many 
large  German  towns  will  in  this  respect  supply  all  that  can 
be  desired.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  there  are  still  some  students 
and  teachers  who  are  disinclined  to  go  to  the  theatres — they 
certainly  miss  a  great  opportunity  for  better  understanding  the 
noble  plays  which  they  are  called  upon  to  explain  to  their 

1  See  *  The  New  Regulations  of  the  Board  of  Education,  on  the  Study 
of  English  in    Secondary  Schools,'   printed    in   the   Educational    Times ', 
Oct.  i,  1904,  pp.  438—439. 

2  Compare  my  article  *  How  to  study  a  masterpiece  of  literature '  in 
the  National  Home  Reading  Union  Magazine,   Special  Course,  October, 
1895- 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  53 

pupils.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  ignore  the  obvious  fact  that 
plays  are  written  to  be  seen  on  the  stage  and  not  to  be  read  in 
an  easy-chair.  I  cannot  help  feeling  that  he  who  allows  'moral' 
scruples  to  prevent  him  from  attending  first-rate  performances 
of  the  great  modern  masterpieces  of  dramatic  art  by  the  best 
actors  and  actresses  of  our  own  times  may  be  a  most  estimable 
person,  but  is  wholly  unsuitable  for  the  office  of  teacher 
of  modern  languages.  He  would  probably  never  care  to  do 
justice  to  Schiller's  fine  essay  '  Die  Schaubiihne  als  moralische 
Xnstalt  betrachtet'  and  to  numerous  similar  utterances  by  him, 
Lessing,  and  Goethe.  A  teacher  of  modern  languages  and 
literatures  should  do  his  best  to  cultivate  and  develop  a 
taste  for  literary  art  for  his  own  benefit  no  less  than  for  that  of 
his  pupils.  Teachers  who  wish  to  succeed  should  be  infinitely 
more  than  mere  maitres  de  langue.  As  to  books  for  the 
proper  explanation  of  plays,  those  by  G.  Freytag,  Bulthaupt, 
Bellermann,  Franz,  and  others  enumerated  on  p.  132,  and  in 
my  Handy  Guide,  pp.  75  and  103,  will  be  found  useful. 

One  more  remark  before  I  leave  this  subject.  If  a  play 
should  happen  to  be  historical,  do  not  dwell  on  all  the  points 
in  which  a  poet  has  purposely  or  unconsciously  deviated  from 
history,  still  less  allow  them  to  be  crammed  for  examination 
purposes,  but  show  by  one  or  two  really  striking  instances  in 
what  manner  and  for  what  reason  a  great  writer  of  tragedy  has 
treated  and  transformed  the  facts  of  history.  Goethe's  'Egmont' 
and  Schiller's  '  Maria  Stuart '  or  '  Jungfrau  von  Orleans  '  afford 
good  examples,  Again,  if  the  play  should  happen  to  be 
Goethe's  *  Iphigenie '  (how  many  children  pronounce  the  name 
of  the  heroine  correctly  ?),  do  not  waste  much  valuable  time  in 
pointing  out  conscientiously — if  conscience  has  any  part  in 
such  a  proceeding — all  the  numerous  cases  in  which  Goethe 
differs  from  Euripides,  but  be  careful  to  discuss  fully  the  great 
difference  of  the  spirit  pervading  the  whole,  the  transformation 
of  all  the  principal  characters  in  Goethe's  drama,  and  the  all- 
important  alteration  of  the  ending. 


54       The  Teaching  of  Modern  Foreign  Languages 

The    last     question     connected     with     modern    language 
teaching  with  which  I  propose  to  deal   here  is 

Should  the  History  of  Foreign  Literature  as  such  be 
taught  in  School  si 

I  think  not.  It  cannot  and  it  should  not.  It  will  he  found 
difficult  enough  to  give  pupils  in  the  highest  forms  some 
general  notions  concerning  the  development  of  their  own 
national  literature,  a  subject  hitherto  far  too  much  neglected. 
But  a  short  biographical  account  of  some  of  the  most 
prominent  modern  authors — carefully  prepared  by  the  teacher 
and  told  in  an  attractive  manner — may  very  well  be  given. 
The  children  should  not  only  not  be  allowed  to  remain  in  com- 
plete ignorance  of  the  authors  whose  works  they  are  reading — a 
state  of  things  that  is  unfortunately  too  common — but  they 
should  be  told  something  about  the  greatest  foreign  writers,  they 
should  know  the  main  facts  of  their  lives,  aims,  and  achieve- 
ments— they  should  be  shown  pictures  of  them  and  be  made 
to  take  a  real  interest  in  them.  Wherever  it  is  possible  to  do 
so,  the  chief  characteristics  of  great  foreign  authors  should  be 
illustrated  by  short  and  well-considered  comparisons  with  the 
greatest  English  classics1.  But  the  foreign  writers  to  be  thus 
treated  must  only  be  the  stars  of  the  first  magnitude.  We 
must  not  attempt  to  do  too  many  things  in  class  teaching,  but 
whatever  we  undertake  to  teach,  let  us  teach  well. 


This- is  what  I  wished  to  say  about  the  teaching  of  modern 
languages  generally.  I  have  an  ideal  before  me  of  the  manner 
in  which  a  modern  language  teacher  should  set  to  work  and 
of  the  success  which  he  may  reasonably  hope  for  with  children 

1  Cp.  A.  R.  Hohlfelcl,  « Der  Litteraturbetrieb  in  der  Schule,  mit 
besonderer  Rucksicht  auf  die  gegenseitigen  Beziehungen  der  englischen 
und  der  deutschen  Litteratur,'  Lecture,  reprinted  in  the  American  Pdda- 
gogische  Monatshefte,  Broadway,  Milwaukee,  Januar — Februar,  1902. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  55 

of  ordinary  ability  and  not  extraordinary  industry  who  get 
only  a  few  hours  of  German  and  French  a  week,  while  all  the 
other  subjects  are  taught  by  means  of  the  English  language. 
Under  ordinary  conditions  the  pupils  can  never  learn  to 
swim  freely  in  the  foreign  element,  but  they  may  and  should 
take  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  their  work,  lay  a  good  and 
solid  foundation  at  school,  and — as  the  languages  are  modern 
and  living — continue  in  later  life  to  extend  their  knowledge  of 
the  foreign  tongues  and  the  great  nations  who  speak  them. 
^The  stimulus  and  taste  for  this  study  must  needs  be  given  in 
the  first  instance  by  their  teachers — what  a  great  and  noble 
task  is  theirs  if  only  they  will  approach  it  in  the  proper 
spirit !  Even  those  whose  interests  are  chiefly  directed  to  the 
promotion  of  technical  or  commercial  education  and  who 
realise  the  great  importance  of  modern  languages  for  these 
branches  of  human  activity,  should  remember  that  all  special 
training  in  technical  and  commercial  subjects,  if  it  is  to  be 
sound,  must  needs  rest  on  a  satisfactory  basis  of  thorough 
general  information.  The  teaching  of  modern  languages,  if 
properly  promoted  and  improved,  will  no  doubt  produce  much 
better  results  than  now  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  merely 
need  them  for  technical  or  commercial  pursuits — but  the 
study  and  teaching  of  modern  languages  has  a  much  higher 
aim  and  a  much  more  important  duty  to  fulfil  in  the 
curriculum  of  the  secondary  education  of  the  twentieth  century. 
At  the  beginning  of  our  century  I  foresee  a  great  future 
for  modern  language  study  in  our  schools — let  us  then  all 
do  our  best  to  make  the  most  of  our  great  opportunities 
and  never  forget  that,  in  spite  of  all  the  pressure  from  without, 
we  must  not  degrade  the  study  of  modern  languages  to  a 
successful  analysis  of  the  various  types  of  business  letters  and 
newspaper  articles,  or  an  acquisition  of  a  certain  amount  of 
everyday  prattle  on  some  trivial  topics,  but  that  it  is  our  duty 
to  teach  modern  languages  in  secondary  schools  as  one  of  the 
most  valuable  elements  in  a  truly  liberal  education. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GERMAN  IN  OUR 
SECONDARY  SCHOOLS1. 

MY  aim  is  to  throw  out  some  hints  as  to  the  special  objects 
and  the  special  difficulties  of  the  teaching  of  German  and  to 
give  my  opinion  as  to  some  much  discussed  points  of  spelling, 
pronunciation  and  reading,  for  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
that  intending  teachers  should  start  with  definite  views  on  such 
vexed  points.  At  present  unfortunately  the  position  of  German 
in  most  of  our  secondary  schools — especially  boys'  schools — is 
far  from  satisfactory.  This  subject  has  of  late  been  losing  in- 
stead of  gaining  ground.  In  most  boys'  schools  it  has  never 
yet  had  a  fair  chance,  it  has  never  been  taken  seriously — Clifton 
College,  Manchester  Grammar  School  and  a  few  other  schools 
forming  noteworthy  exceptions.  This  decline  is  due  to  cir- 
cumstances over  which  the  teachers  have  not  had  any  control, 
but  it  is  a  serious  national  danger  which  in  the  best  interests 
of  higher  education  should  be  averted.  At  all  events  the  less 
flourishing  the  general  condition  of  the  study,  the  better 
equipped  should  the  teachers  of  German  be  for  their  difficult 
and  responsible  task. 

Before  entering  into  details  I  am  anxious  once  more  to  say 
most  emphatically  that  to  teach  German  in  the  highest  sense, 
even  in  middle-class  schools  and  to  children  of  ordinary  ability, 

1  Readers  of  this  chapter  may  like  to  work  through  the  valuable 
book  by  E.  W.  Bagster-Collins  on  '  The  Teaching  of  German  in  Secondary 
Schools,'  New  York,  1004. 


The  Teaching  of  German  in  our  Secondary  Schools    57 

does  not  merely  mean  to  teach  Grammar  and  Composition,  or 
Conversation  on  a  few  everyday  topics,  but  above  all  to  teach 
the  spirit  of  the  language,  the  ready  understanding  and  use  of 
it,  and  by  means  of  language  and  literature  to  spread  a  just 
understanding  of  the  spirit  of  the  German  nation,  and  to 
produce  a  sympathetic  appreciation  of  the  life  and  thought  of 
a  people  so  nearly  related  to  the  English.  The  close  con- 
nection of  the  two  greatest  Germanic  peoples  in  language, 
literature  and  feeling  should  from  time  to  time  be  pointed 
out.  The  interest  in  the  study  of  a  tongue  so  nearly  akin  to 
the  English  will  thus  be  kept  up  and  intensified1. 

On  the  other  hand  it  will  be  the  task  of  a  good  teacher  to 
find  out  the  chief  and  most  characteristic  differences  between 
English  and  German.  He  will  do  well  to  note  down  all  the  main 
difficulties  experienced  by  English  children  in  learning  German, 
to  tabulate  them  for  his  own  use,  to  keep  them  continually  in 
view  and  to  make  the  children  pay  special  attention  to  them. 
By  doing  this  he  will  bring  it  about  that  the  chief  and  most 
annoying  mistakes  will  disappear  one  by  one,  and  that  the 
children  will  leave  school  with  as  fair  a  knowledge  of  German 
as  can  be  reasonably  expected — a  knowledge  much  superior  to 
that  now  possessed  by  most  pupils  at  school  and  by  not  a  few 
students  coming  up  to  the  Universities. 

German  Letters. 

In  a  previous  lecture  I  have  discussed  the  relation  of 
letters  and  sounds  in  a  general  way,  reminding  students  of  the 
facts  that  spoken  words  consist  of  sounds  and  not  of  letters, 
and  also  that  the  pronunciation  changes  more  rapidly  than  the 
spelling,  which  on  this  account  never  accurately  represents 

1  English  teachers  of  German  may  like  to  join  the  Zweigverein  London 
des  Allgemeinen  Deutschen  Sprachvereins  (apply  to  the  Secretary,  Dr  Hirsch, 
Bonna,  Gleneldon  Road,  Streatham,  London,  S.W.),  or  to  the  English 
Goethe  Society  (apply  to  Dr  Oswald,  29,  Adelaide  Road,  London,  N.W.). 


58  The  Teaching  of  German 

the  actual  pronunciation.  To-day  I  have  to  deal  with  the 
German  letters,  the  peculiar  alphabet  in  use  in  Germany, 
Austria  and  Switzerland.  The  question  arises  :  Should  the  use 
of  German  small  and  capital  letters,  two  new  alphabets  for 
English  children,  still  be  taught  in  our  English  schools  ?  This 
is  a  question  which  is  frequently  asked.  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
answering  that  they  should  certainly  be  taught  from  the  begin- 
ning1, the  new  letter  in  connection  with  the  foreign  sound2.  The 
initial  trouble  is  not  very  great,  and  the  reason  for  incurring 
it  is,  that  whatever  the  absolute  or  the  scientific  value  of  the 
German  alphabet  may  be,  yet  as  long  as  the  great  majority  of 
Germans  use  the  German  letters  exclusively,  it  would  be  very 
wrong  in  English  teachers  to  withhold  from  their  pupils 
familiarity  with  these  characters  and  not  to  train  them  in  their 
use  while  they  are  young  and  can  easily  acquire  them.  It  may 
hamper  some  of  them  very  considerably  in  later  life — I  know  it 
from  experience — if  they  cannot  read  or  write  German  characters 
with  ease  and  fluency.  Books  from  which  the  reading  of  the 
German  handwriting  can  be  learned  are  not  wanting,  see  p.  i2$3. 
Clerks,  officers,  secretaries,  persons  travelling  abroad,  let  alone 
scholars,  will  one  day  be  glad  to  be  able  to  read  German  writing 
and  German  print.  Even  those  who  in  later  life  do  not  actually 
need  to  read  or  to  write  the  German  handwriting  may  like  to 
be  able  to  write  the  language  as  the  Germans  do — they  will  look 

1  Professor  Rippmann  advocates  the  adoption  of  German  printing  and 
writing  after  the  initial  difficulties  of  German  have  been  overcome  by  the 
pupils.    Consequently  his  First  German  Book  is  printed  in  Latin  characters 
and  the  Second  German  Book  in  German  characters.     Another  practical 
teacher  of  much  experience,  Mr  Otto  Siepmann,  of  Clifton  College,  at  the 
beginning  of  his  Pttblic  School  German  Primer  prints  the  same  passages 
on  the  same  page  first  in  Latin  and  then  in  German  characters. 

2  This  is  called  in  German  Schreiblesen. 

3  For  exercise  books  for  writing  German  apply  to  Mr  Nutt,   57 — 59 
Long   Acre,    W.C.     There   is   also  a   'copy  book,' — "Modern   German 
Writing,"  by  John  Dalziel  Maclean,  London,  Simpkin,  Marshall  and  Co. ; 
and  Glasgow,  I.  N.  Mackinlay,  1900,  6d. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  59 


upon  it  as  an  accomplishment.  It  is  true  that  in  *  Local '  and 
other  Examinations  candidates  are '  not  required '  nor  even  en- 
couraged to  use  the  German  handwriting,  but  this  does  not  mean 
that  those  who  write  German  really  well  are  forbidden  to  write 
it.  But  the  examiners  have  found  by  experience  that  in  most 
cases  up  to  now  the  handwriting  of  the  candidates  has  been  too 
bad  for  them  to  encourage  its  use  in  examinations.  Writing 
against  time  does  not  tend  to  improve  any  handwriting,  and 
many  pupils  seem  only  to  be  able  to  draw  German  words  letter 
by  letter  in  a  medieval  monkish  handwriting,  and  cannot  pos- 
sibly hope  to  finish  their  task  in  time  if  they  use  German 
characters.  Some  teachers  who  agree  that  the  German  hand- 
writing should  be  taught  prefer  to  start  it  after  the  initial 
difficulties  of  the  language  have  been  overcome  by  the  pupils. 
Professor  Rippmann,  for  instance,  prefers  the  German  sound 
chart  at  the  beginning.  This  is  a  question  which  teachers  of 
the  elements  of  German  will  eventually  settle  from  practical 
experience. 

The  same  remarks  apply  with  still  greater  force  to  the  use  of 
German  characters  in  German  books  printed  in  this  country, 
especially  in  English  school  editions  of  German  classics.  I 
think  we  are  bound  to  keep  them,  and  that  teachers  are  bound 
to  teach  them.  As  long  as  most  German  books  and  all  the 
newspapers  are  printed  in  German  type  we  cannot  afford  to 
neglect  it.  Knowing  the  history  of  the  so-called  Gothic  or 
black-letter  type1  in  Germany  and  elsewhere,  I  am  far 
from  seeing  in  its  use  something  specially  German  which  it 
would  be  a  patriotic  duty  for  the  Germans  to  retain.  I  even 
wish  the  German  type  were  replaced  by  the  common  round 
type  which  for  various  reasons  deserves  to  be  recommended — 
still  we  teachers  of  German  in  England  have  no  right  to 
initiate  so  great  a  change  and  to  deny  to  our  pupils  that 

1  See  G.  Hempl,  German  Orthography  and  Phonology,  Boston  and 
London,  1897. 


60  The  Teaching  of  German 

proper  training  in  the  use  of  the  German  letters  which  cannot 
anywhere  be  given  with  more  facility  and  success  than  at 
school.  Why  do  we  not  first  abolish  the  use  of  Greek  and 
Hebrew  letters  in  the  grammar  schools?  They  are  certainly 
at  least  as  hard — or  not  more  easy — and  not  more  practically 
useful  to  most  students  of  these  languages.  The  type  to  be 
selected  for  elementary  German  books  should  be  bold  and 
clear  and  mark  the  differences  between  certain  similar  letters. 
There  are  but  few  German  letters  which  present  any  difficulty. 

In  reading  German  letters  teach  the  distinctions  between 
CU  and  en,  ie  and  et,  b  and  b,  f  and  f,  r  and  £,  33  and  23, 
$Jt  and  9B,  X  and  3,  9t,  23  and  ff,  the  confusion  of  which  gives 
rise  sometimes  to  amusing  mistakes  in  reading,  e.g.  fcfytenbetn 
for  fcfyleubevn,  Seliebtljeit  for  33e(eibtt)ett,  Sieb  for  £eib, 
fttnberpeft  for  DtinDerpeft,  ber  fteilige  ftater,  ber  ^anbibat, 
faugen  for  fatujen,  faufen  for  faufcn,  £itftd)en  for  Suftcfyen, 
SScttel  for  SSettel,  5Jlrt  for  2l£t,  etc.  All  the  other  letters  are  easy1. 
In  writing  German  insist  on  your  pupils  noting  the  modification 
of  vowels  and  of  au  (au,  and  not  afi),  the  u  hooks,  and  the 
difference  between  6,  f,  ff,  f ,  and  in  writing  Latin  characters 
call  the  attention  of  your  pupils  to  the  fact  that  English  and 
German  Latin  characters  are  not  always  the  same,  especially 
in  the  case  of  capital  T  and  J. 

The  new  Imperial  Spelling  of  1902  should  certainly  be 
adopted.  It  can  very  easily  be  taught,  and  it  prevails  now  in 
all  schools  and  is  used  by  most  publishers  and  nearly  all  the 
newspapers.  It  will  soon  be  found  in  the  dictionaries2.  It  is 
decidedly  the  spelling  of  the  future,  being  a  moderate  reform 
on  the  right  lines  but  no  revolution  of  the  traditional  spelling. 
It  is  not  ideal,  but  it  is  without  doubt  better  than  anything  to 

1  Cp.  the  useful  word-lists  in  O.  Siepmann's  excellent  '  Public  School 
German  Primer,'  pp.  xxvii — xxx,  which  afford  ample  reading  practice. 

2  It  will  be  found   in   the  English-German  portion  of  Cassell's  New 
German  Dictionary  (London,    1906). 


in  oiir  Secondary  Schools  6  1 

be  met  with  in  the  seventies  or  eighties  of  the  last  century,  and 
certainly  much  better  than  the  previous  anarchy  in  spelling. 
There  is,  moreover,  no  reason  why  at  some  future  time  the 
present  official  orthography  should  not  be  revised  again.  The 
best  books  of  reference  for  teachers  are  named  on  pp.  124-5, 
and  in  my  Handy  Guide  to  the  Study  of  German^  pp.  34,  5  1  ;  to 
which  should  now  be  added,  Johann  Meyer  :  "  Die  Abwei- 
chungen  der  neuen  von  der  alten  Rechtschreibung,  nebst 
Ubungsaufgaben,  Diktaten,  und  einem  Worterverzeichnis.  Fiir 
den  Schul-  und  Selbstunterricht  bearbeitet."  Hannover  und 
Berlin,  1902,  20  pp. 


German  Pronunciation. 

The  most  elementary  teaching  —  the  laying  of  a  good 
foundation  —  should  invariably  be  entrusted  to  a  carefully  trained 
and  thoroughly  qualified  master.  He  should  be  well  acquainted 
with  the  elements  of  phonetics  and  should  have  a  good 
pronunciation  ;  he  should  have  been  abroad  and  should  go 
again  from  time  to  time.  He  should  know  the  principal 
differences  of  pronunciation  in  different  parts  of  the  country 
and  should  be  acquainted  with  the  chief  shortcomings  of  the 
colloquial  Hanoverian,  Saxon,  Swabian  and  Berlin  pronunci- 
ation1. He  should  have  carefully  considered  what  pro- 
nunciation he  is  to  teach  and  what  the  standard  of  refined 
German  speech  requires2. 

The  present  standard  pronunciation  of  Modern  German  is 
the  pronunciation  of  the  best  actors  on  the  stage3.  Here  a 
common  pronunciation  is  absolutely  necessary.  A  play  like 
*  Iphigenie  '  would  be  completely  spoilt  if  Orestes  were  to  speak 
Swabian,  Pylades  Westphalian,  Iphigenia  Saxon,  and  King 
Thoas  East  Prussian.  While  the  forms  of  the  literary  language 

1  See  pages  88-89. 

2  See  'German  as  she  is  spoke'  (Journal  of  Educ.,  1897,  pp.  533  sqq.), 
and  pages  63  sqq. 

3  See  pages  15  sqq.;   125-126. 


62  The  Teaching  of  German 

are  a  compromise  between  South  and  Middle  German,  their 
pronunciation  should  be  in  the  main  North  German.  The 
pronunciation  of  refined  Berlin  ladies  who  will  never  be  heard 
to  say  Jenu$,  jlicklich^  or  Bealina  ( =  Berliner),  Brandenbuaja 
{  =  Brandenburger),  is  particularly  recommended.  The  Hano- 
verian pronunciation — excellent  as  it  is  in  many  respects — is 
not  free  from  a  number  of  provincialisms  which  should  not 
be  imitated.  A  teacher  should  beware  of  acquiring  the  Saxon 
pronunciation,  the  defects  of  which  are  especially  marked. 

A  teacher  should  invariably  read  out  the  German  text  to 
be  explained  to  his  pupils  once  or  twice  before  they  read  it 
to  him.  He  should  prepare  this  reading  most  carefully.  In 
reading  or  reciting  he  should  not  only  pronounce  the  individual 
words  correctly,  but  give  to  the  sentences  their  proper  accen- 
tuation and  modulation.  Professor  W.  Victor's  little  book  on 
'German  Pronunciation'  (pp.  112 — 133,  Leipzig,  3i903)  will 
help  him  to  catch  the  proper  accent  of  the  sentence. 

The  use  of  the  phonograph — strongly  advocated  by  me  in 
lectures  for  many  years — will  be  found  a  great  help  in  this. 
There  are  now  three  sets  of  German  records,  spoken  by  me,  in 
Mrs  Frazer's  series  [Cambridge  Phonographic  Records,  records 
95 — 130].  It  is  most  useful  for  the  teaching  of  the  right 
intonation  and  also  for  precision.  Experiments  with  the 
gramophone  have  also  been  made  for  English  by  the  Langen- 
scheidt  firm  of  Berlin,  and  for  some  time  by  Professor 
Rippmann  for  foreign  languages. 

None  of  these  is  as  yet  absolutely  perfect,  but  some  of  the 
records  have  been  found  very  useful  in  class  teaching,  and 
others,  while  not  yet  sufficiently  good  for  use  with  large  forms, 
will  yet  be  found  useful  for  the  private  study  of  teachers  and 
students.  Probably  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  records  and 
machines  will  be  materially  improved1. 

1  See  my  lecture  on  the  use  of  the  phonograph  for  the  teaching  of 
modern  languages  reported  in  the  'Cambridge  Chronicle'  of  Aug.  17,  1906, 
which  will  be  printed  in  full  in  Die  Neueren  Sprachen. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  63 

Occasional  readings  and  recitations  by  well  qualified 
foreigners  are  now  much  encouraged  in  many  German  schools, 
and  should  if  possible  be  secured  for  English  boys  and  girls. 

In  some  cases  of  special  difficulty  resort  may  well  be  had  to 
a  simple  method  of  phonetic  transcription  of  German  words 
and  sentences,  such  as  is  used  by  Prof.  Victor1  in  the  latest 
edition  of  his  *  Deutsche  Lauttafel '  (which  should  be  hung  up 
in  the  class  room  during  German  lessons)  or  in  Dr  Passy's 
periodical  publication  £  Le  maitre  phonetique.' 

The  following  is  a  rough  tabulated  summary  of  the  chief 
difficulties  experienced  by  children  in  pronouncing  German. 

The  chief  difficulties  of  German  pronunciation'*,  experienced 
by  English  speaking  pupils. 

1.  2,  as  in  Mann,  Hals,  hart,  Anfang. 

Pupils  should  be  accustomed  to  open  their  mouths  wide  in 
pronouncing  this  sound,  which  is  the  a  in  North  Engl.  father, 
but  quite  short  and  slightly  more  open.  The  sound  is  heard 
in  English  unstressed  are. 

2.  1,  e,  o,  u,  especially  before  r,  as  in  ihr,  Lehm,  rot, 
Rohr,  fuhr. 

Here  the  difficulty  lies  in  the  necessity  of  producing  a  long 
uniform  vowel,  without  sounding  a  second  element  after  it, 
e.g.  vier  is  not  to  be  pronounced  like /<?#?-,  Lehm  not  like  lame, 
Rohr  not  like  roar,  rot  not  like  wrote,  pur  not  like  poor. 
The  lips  should  be  well  rounded  in  pronouncing  o  and  u. 

3.  6,  6,  ii,  ii,  a  as  in  Holle,  Hohle  ;  fulle,  fuhle  ;  ware. 

1  Unfortunately  up  to  now  no  large  sound  chart  is  obtainable  for  school 
use  in  which  the  sounds  of  German  are  given  in  the  transcription  of  the 
Association  Phonetique  Internationale. 

2  The  symbols  used  are  largely  those  of  the  Association  Phonetique 
Internationale.     Compare  the  useful  observations  in  W.  Rippmann's  Hints 
on    Teaching  German,  pp.    18 — 22.     The    following  remarks  do  not  lay 
the   slightest   claim   to   completeness.     See  now   W.    Victor,    'Deutsches 
Lesebuch  in  Lautschrift,'  Part  I.  2nd  revised  edition,  Leipzig,  Teubner, 
1904.     Part  II.  ist  edition,  Leipzig,  1902. 


64  The  Teaching  of  German 


The  modified  vowels  o,  u  (short  and  open — long  and 
closed)  do  not  exist  in  English  and  require  special  practice. 
Teachers  should  not  allow  pupils  to  say  fu\r  instead  of///r, 
or  funf  instead  of  funf,  etc.,  but  they  should  at  the  outset  give 
the  class  a  brief  and  clear  phonetic  explanation  of  the  position 
of  the  speech  organs  in  sounding  u  and  o,  and  should  practise 
these  sounds  whenever  an  opportunity  occurs.  The  best  way 
of  doing  this  is  to  allow  the  pupils  first  to  pronounce  the 
simple  sounds  /  and  e,  and  then  show  them  that  by  keeping 
the  tongue  in  the  same  position  and  gradually  rounding  the 
lips,  the  more  difficult  u  and  o  sounds  are  obtained,  thus, 
Hindin — Hiindin,  Nixlein — Fuchslein,  sehnen — (ver)sohnen, 
Helle — Holle.  They  should  also  point  out  the  difference  in 
the  sound  of  the  vowels  in  ware  and  wary,  Kdfer  and  chafer, 
Ahre  and  airy,  Ahre  and  Ehre,  Sale  and  Seele,  and  so  forth. 

4.  au  as  in  rauschen,  heraus,  auch,  Raum. 

The  mouth  should  be  opened  sufficiently  for  the  a  element 
of  the  diphthong,  which  is  also  longer  than  in  English,  while 
the  tongue  is,  as  a  rule,  not  raised  in  front.  The  second 
element  resembles  more  an  open  o  than  a  u,  which  is  not 
expressed  in  the  phonetic  transcription  adopted  by  the  Associa- 
tion Phonetique  Internationale,  which  renders  au  by  au  (not 
a\o)  and  ai  or  ei  by  at  (not  a:c). 

5.  a  in  unaccented  syllables  is  to  be  distinctly  pronounced, 
e.g.  KommSi  (not  like  Komm^\  Anna,  Fulda,  Walhalla.. 

e  in  unaccented  syllables  is  nearly  always  reduced  to  a 
dull  2,  e.g.  behende  should  be  pronounced  bz'hendd-,  nehmen  is 
'ne\mdn\  Hameln  is  'ha\  mdln;  Kinder n  is  'kinddrn^  gegeben 
is  gz'ge :  bdn  •  Ehre  is  ?'e  :  rz  •  Ehe  is  ?'e:9. 

In  final  -er  the  r  should  be  clearly  sounded;  many 
mistakes  in  dictation  occur  from  the  failure  on  the  part  of 
the  scholars  to  distinguish  between  such  words  as  Burge — 
Burger,  Schiffe — Schiffer,  Stddte — Stadter,  ehe — eher\  Herder 
is  not  Horde,  etc. 

In  familiar  pronunciation,  which  is  not  to  be  imitated  in 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  65 

reading  poetry  or  high  style  prose,  the  e  in  unaccented 
syllables  usually  disappears,  e.g.  leben  becomes  le\bm,  sieden 
becomes  zi\dn,  tragen  becomes  tra  :gij. 

6.  The  glottal  stop  before  the  initial  vowel,  even  if  the 
word  is  the  second  part  of  a  compound,  should  be  carefully 
noticed  and  practised,  see  p.  18.     Thus  Goldammer  should  be 
pronounced  'golftam9r\  umarmen  is  um'Varmdn,  vereinigen 
is  for'^ainigtH)    etc.      Distinguish   between   Baumast   and 
Baumeister,  Dreimaster ;  Post  ami  and  Postament,  etc. 

7.  h  is  now  absolutely  silent  between  vowels,  as  in  sahen^ 
except  in  compounds   (Hoheit],   where    English  children  are 
inclined  to  drop  it.     It  is  sometimes  sounded  in  this  country 
in  artificial  school  pronunciation.      Wehen  is  to  be  pronounced 
've-.zn,  ziehen  is  'tsi\  dn,  Ehe  is  "?e:z,  nahe  is  'na\9,  etc. 

8.  Final  b,  d,  even  when  at  the  end  of  the  first  part  of  a 
compound,  are  to  be  pronounced  as  voiceless  sounds  (/,  /). 
Hence    Weib  is  vaip^  Held  is  he  It,  Gold  is  go  It. 

b  and  d  after  a  consonant  do  not  lengthen  the  preceding 
vowel  in  German :  e.g.  Hand\&  hant,  Mund  is  muni,  derb  is 
derp.  Exceptions  to  this  rule  are  Mo  :  nt,  Pfe :  rt,  we  :  rt,  etc. 

9.  w  has  the  sound  of  z>,  not  that  of  English  w  (although 
the  German  w  has  less  friction  than  the  English  v\  e.g.  wichsen 
("to    black    boots")   is    'viksdn.      English   children   should 
be  careful  to  distinguish  between  such  words  as  Wetter  and 
Vetter.    After  sch  w  is  either  bilabial  (but  without  any  rounding 
of  the  lips)  or  labio-dental  (v).     Most  authorities  now  recom- 
mend the  latter  (v)  pronunciation1.     Thus  schwarz  \sfvarts. 

10.  U   after  q  has   likewise   the   bilabial  or  labio-dental 
sound  (gu  =  kv),  e.g.  Quell  is  kvel,   Qua/  is  kva-.l,  qudlen  is 
'kvt:hn,  quer  is  kve\r  [not  kuel,  kua\l^  kut\bn,  kue\r\. 

11.  The  guttural  n  before  g  and  k  when  followed  by  a 
vowel  must  also  be  noted,    g  following  n  is  never  sounded  in 
German,  but  invariably  turns  the  n  into  a  guttural  (#),  there  is 

1  See    Siebs,   Biihnenaussprache,    2i9oi,    p.    59,  and  Victor,   German 
Pronunciation,  3i9O3,  pp.  40 — 41. 

B.  5 


66  The   Teaching  of  German 

in  German  no  instance  of  a  pronunciation  like  the  English 
finger  (for  finger\  nor  of  the  uneducated  English  darlin  or 
darlink  (for  darling). 

The  guttural  n  is  usually  transcribed  /<?.  The  German 
Finger  is  pronounced  'fiwdr,  singen  is  'ziwzn,  while  sinken  is 
'zinkzn.  The  pronunciation  of  words  such  as  Engel — Enkel, 
Range — Ranke,  Sang — Sank,  Drang — Trank,  bang — Bank, 
sengen — senken,  langen — lenken,  etc.  should  be  practised.  If 
the  n  preceding  the  g  is  the  final  letter  of  a  prefix  or  of  the 
first  part  of  a  compound,  the  g  must  of  course  be  sounded, 
e.g.  angehn  is  '?ange\n,  while  bangen  must  be  pronounced 
'banzn.  Cp.  also  drangen  and  dr angehn,  Angel and  angeternt. 

12.  The  peculiar  German  ch  has  a  two-fold  pronuncia- 
tion after  front  and  back  vowels,  e.g.  lacheln  is  ' Itpln,  but 
lachen  is  'la^n,   cp.   also  ich    and    dock,   cp.  Scotch  ' loch* \ 
Friichte,   Frucht ;    Tochter,    Tochter ;   rachen,  Rache. 

The  English  child  will  need  to  be  carefully  taught  not  to 
say  ish,  ik,  ak,  etc.  The  difficult  pronunciation  of  the  front  ch 
may  be  taught  by  making  the  pupils  first  say  the  English  word 
yearn,  then  say  it  as  if  the  y  were  voiceless.  This  gives  the 
front  ch  sound  initially  and  by  saying  i-yearn  (still  with  the 
voiceless  y\  the  final  and  medial  front  ch  is  obtained.  In  hue 
the  sound  is  often  heard  following  the  h. 

As  ch  may  be  sounded  differently  in  forms  of  the  same 
word  (e.g.  Buch — Bilcher),  great  care  is  necessary  in  practising 
the  pronunciation.  The  sounds  cht  and  gt  must  also  be 
carefully  distinguished,  or  confusion  between  such  words  as 
(ihr)  wagt — wacht^  sagt — sacht,  liegt — Licht  will  arise. 

13.  z  in  German  words  (and  c  in  certain  foreign   loan 
words)  is  a  consonant  diphthong  denoting  ts.     Pupils  should 
be  early  accustomed  to  pronounce  it  well  (neither  like  s  nor 
dz).     Thus  a  clear  distinction  must  be  made  between  Seiten 
and  Zeiten,  sauber  and  Zauber,  saugen  and  zeugen,  Saum  and 
Zaum,  sehen  and  Zehen,  unselige  and  unzahlige,  Schweift  and 
Schweiz  (fvaits],  Sehne,  Zdhne  and  Szene  (  =  'stse\n<>\  Siege 
and  Ziege,  Selbstsucht  and  Selbstzucht,  reisend,  reissend  and  rci- 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  67 

zend,  etc.  ;   zwanzig  must  be  pronounced  'tsvdntstf,   Zeder 
' tse :  d^r. 

14.  Initial  sp  and  st  even  at  the  beginning  of  the  second 
part  of  a  compound  should  be  pronounced  fp,  ft,  as  on  the 
stage  and  in  the  greater  part  of  Germany.  The  labialisation  of 
s  before  /  and  /  should  take  place  just  as  it  has  taken  place 
before  /,  m,  n,  w  all  over  the  country.  The  North- West 
German  (e.g.  Hanoverian)  pronunciation  is,  in  this  case, 
archaic  and  obviously  influenced  by  Low  German.  The 
retention  of  the  obsolete  spelling  in  words  such  as  sprechen 
and  streiten  must  probably  be  accounted  for  by  the  desire  not 
to  write  schprechen  and  schtreiten.  Hence  sprechen  should  be 
'fprefzn,  gestehen  should  be  gd'fte  \dn\  but  the  South  German 
pronunciation  of  medial  and  final  st  as  ft  should  not  be 
imitated,  e.g.  Meister  should  not  be  pronounced  'mai/t9r, 
bist  not  bi\ft,  Oberst  not  '?o  \berft. 

Dialectic  pronunciation  may  indeed  be  found  in  the  works 
of  the  great  German  writers ;  Schiller,  for  instance,  never  freed 
himself  from  his  strong  Swabian  accent,  and  we  find  in  his 
poems  frequently  a  confusion  between  the  voiced  and  voiceless 
sibilants,  in  the  rimes  Rose  (  =  ro\zz}  and  Scheme  (=fo\sdy. 
This  confusion  of  the  voiced  and  voiceless  hissing  sounds  is  a 
South  and  Middle  German  characteristic. 

A  number  of  smaller  points  might  still  be  touched  upon, 
such  as  the  difference  between  the  thinner  and  clear  German 
and  the  fuller  and  dark  English  //,  cp.  voll  and  full,  Kessel  and 
kettle,  but  the  space  at  my  disposal  does  not  admit  a  discussion 
of  them,  and  these  hints  must  not  become  a  treatise.  The 
books  and  pamphlets  by  Vietor,  Siebs,  Rippmann,  Miss  Soames, 
Braune  and  Johannson2  will  give  teachers  all  the  necessary 
information  as  to  particular  points.  A  teacher  of  German  will 
do  well  to  consult  them  in  cases  of  difficulty  or  doubt. 

1  See  the  interesting  account  of  it  given  by  E.  Genast,  Aus  Weimars 
klassischer  und  nachklassischer  Zeit.  Erinnerungen  eines  alien  Schattspielers 
(evL  by  Robert  Kohlrausch3,  I.  p.  69).     Schiller  pronounced /<? :  z9. 

2  See  the  lists  given  on  pages  113 — 114. 


68  The  Teaching  of  German 

Open   Questions. 

The  pronunciation  of  initial  and  medial  r  (lingual  or  guttural) 
and  of  medial  and  final  g  are  moot  points  with  the  Germans 
themselves.  I  should  allow  a  good  deal  of  latitude  in  the 
teaching  of  them,  that  is  to  say,  I  should  not  force  the  children 
to  learn  the  guttural  r  if  it  gives  them  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 
Lingual  r  is  heard  everywhere  in  Germany  on  the  stage  and  in 
the  concert  room.  I  should  advocate  the  teaching  of  medial 
g  between  vowels  as  a  voiced  mute  and  not  as  a  spirant. 
Hence  I  should  transcribe  Wege  as  've  :  g?  (not  've  '-J3\  Medial 
g  before  /  also  should  be  a  voiced  mute,  er  siegt  not  er  siecht 
(c conquers,'  not  ' languishes  from  disease')  ('zi'.gt,  not  fzi:ft). 
About  final  g  I  do  not  feel  so  sure  and  should  (at  present) 
admit  the  pronunciation  ve\k  or  ve\f  for  £Feg.  The  latter 
(ve:f)  is  the  more  familiar  one  and  is  more  generally  heard ;  it 
seems  to  be  the  pronunciation  of  the  future.  Hence  perhaps 
the  best  plan  for  the  present  is  to  pronounce  final  g  hard  in 
high  style  and  in  poetry,  as  it  is  pronounced  on  the  stage  (see 
Siebs,  Buhnenaussprache,  2i9oi,  p.  76),  but  as  a  spirant  in 
reading  ordinary  prose  and  in  conversation.  In  case  this  is 
thought  inadvisable,  I  think  the  spirantic  pronunciation  of 
final  g  should  be  adopted  in  both  cases.  At  all  events  the  g 
in  words  such  as  moglich,  tauglich  is  in  ordinary  German 
almost  always  pronounced  as  a  spirant,  and  in  school  teaching 
it  seems  more  natural  to  adopt  this  pronunciation.  In  the 
suffix  -ig  the  final  g  is  spirantic,  e.g.  ewig  is  '?e\vi$\  ewige 
is  '?e  \vig9,  while  eitfge  should  be  pronounced  '?e:vJ9.  If 
followed  by  -lick  the  g  is  always  hard,  e.g.  ewiglich  is  '?e :  viklif. 

Grammar. 

The    few  words   I   propose   to   say  under   this   head   are 
entirely   dictated   by   the   practical   considerations    of  school 

1  See  Siebs,  Buhnenaussprache ,  2i9oi,  p.  76,  iv. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  69 

teaching.  The  general  principles  have  been  discussed  on 
pages  22  sqq.,  e.g.  that  only  the  chief  facts  of  grammar  should 
be  taught,  and  everything  exceptional  at  first  be  eliminated, 
also  that  grammar  should  not  be  taught  at  school  for  its  own 
sake  and  that  everything  should  be  as  far  as  possible  deduced 
from  carefully  chosen  examples  of  good  modern  German 
which  would  mainly  be  prose. 

What  is  the  standard?  I  think  the  usage  of  first-rate 
modern  writers  such  as  Heyse,  Spielhagen,  Wildenbruch, 
Storm,  Ompteda,  Polenz,  Stratz,  Geibel,  Bodenstedt,  Fulda 
and  others.  But  teachers  should  be  careful  in  the  use  of 
examples  from  Freytag,  Scheffel,  Keller,  Raabe,  Rosegger, 
Sudermann,  Hauptmann  and  others  whose  writings  are  not 
free  from  archaisms,  mannerisms,  dialectic  usages  and  even  a 
good  deal  of  slang.  These  writings  may  be  great  works  of 
art,  but  they  cannot  be  used  with  beginners  because  they 
cannot  be  held  up  without  reservation  as  models  of  refined 
modern  prose. 

The  existing  Grammars  of  German  compiled  for  the  use  of 
English  schools  have  nearly  all  serious  defects  in  addition  to 
those  general  shortcomings  noted  on  page  24. 

(r)  They  do  not  sufficiently  distinguish  between  familiar, 
ordinary  and  historical,  and  elevated  modern  prose. 

(2)  They  do  not  as  a  rule  distinguish  carefully  enough 
between  prose  and  poetry. 

(3)  They  do  not  generally  distinguish  between  the  modern 
language  and  the  language  of  the  great  i8th  century  classics. 
In   many  cases  we  cannot  say  and  write  now  what  Lessing, 
Goethe  and  Schiller  could  say  and  write. 

Thus  a  prevalent  fault  is  the  failure  to  distinguish  between 
the  cases  used  in  connection  with  certain  verbs,  e.g.  entbehren^ 
rufen,  °enie$en,  etc.  It  is  absolutely  misleading  to  say, 
as  most  grammars  and  dictionaries  do,  l  entbehren  takes 
either  the  gen.  or  the  ace.'  It  is  true  that  Hermann  (in 
*  Hermann  und  Dorothea,'  written  in  1797)  says :  Ich  entbehre 


7<D  The   Teaching  of  German 

der  Gattin^  but  it  is  archaic  and  cannot  be  said  now.  In  good 
modern  prose  the  accusative  is  used  exclusively.  Again  in  the 
case  of  rufen  the  accusative  is  now  the  only  possible  case,  e.g. 
er  ruft  mich.  The  dative  which  occurs  sometimes  in  elevated 
style,  and  still  in  South  German  and  Swiss  language,  is  very 
expressive,  e.g.  when  the  Spirit  of  the  Earth  calls  out  to  Faust 
Wer  ruft  mir?  '  Wh<^ calls  for  me?'  'But  such  rare  or 
dialectic  or  poetic  constructions  should  be  briefly  explained 
when  they  occur  in  the  text  read  by  the  pupils  and  not  before. 

Hence  the  instances  from  the  German  classics  in  most  of 
our  Grammars  require  a  very  thorough  overhauling.  A  teacher 
should  know  German  very  well  himself,  so  as  not  to  be  hope- 
lessly dependent  on  the  grammar  he  happens  to  use. 

A  good  teacher  should  not  only  teach  the  dry  facts  of 
grammar,  but  sometimes  in  appropriate  cases  give  an  explana- 
tion. .  I  have  "cautioned  teachers  not  to  go  too  far  (see  page 
26),  but  now  and  then  they  may  well  give  some  colour 
to  their  teaching  by  supplying  an  easy  explanation,  e.g.  on 
the  origin  of  many  German  prepositions,  kraft — laut — wegen — 
wdhrend — mittels  (/)  (why  are  they  followed  by  the  genitive  ?)  or 
of  adverbs  \flugs — rings — spornstreichs — aller dings,  etc.  A  word 
on  the  nouns  in  -ei  and  the  ending  -ieren  in  verbs  would  interest 
many  of  the  older  boys;  also  on  doublets  such  as  Kerker  and 
Karzer,  Ferien  and  Feier,  Partie  and  Partei,  Bursch  and  Borsey 
dichten  and  diktieren.  Even  the  inorganic  t  in  eigentlich, 
geflissentlich  after  the  analogy  of  hoffentlich,  flehentlich  (for 
flehend-lich  *  like  one  imploring '),  the  inorganic  s  in  Reiters- 
mann,  Hoffnungsstrahk>  and  similar  cases,  might  be  explained  to 
more  advanced  pupils.  They  will  thus  get  a  glimpse  of  the 
life  of  the  language.  There  is  no  lack  of  handy  books  of  refer- 
ence for  the  teacher  of  German  who  is  anxious  to  obtain  fuller 
information1. 

1  See    '  The   Reference   Library   of   a   School   Teacher   of  German,' 
pages  123—4. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  71 

But   be   very  careful   that    your    pupils    do    not   use   any 
scientific    terms    without  properly    understanding    their   exact 
meaning  and  their  full  bearing.     Do  not  allow  them  to  explain 
away  difficulties  by  one  of  the  four  ever-recurring  phrases  : 
1  for  the  sake  of  euphony,' 
'  by  false  analogy '  (with  what  ?  why  false  ?), 
*  by  poetic  licence,'  or,  '  for  the  sake  of  the  metre,' 
as  if  Goethe  or  Schiller  could  not  have  managed  their  versifi- 
cation  properly  !     They  should    not   be  allowed  to   prefix  a 
statement  about  which  they  feel  extremely  doubtful,  by  a  bold 
1  of    course '  or  to   use  the  favourite  phrase  *  more  or   less/ 
e.g.  '  these  lines  rime  more  or  less.' 

I  have  said  that  a  good  teacher  will  take  pains  to  find 
out  the  chief  difficulties  of  his  pupils  and  will  work  hard  at 
these  while  he  will  pass  quickly  over  things  which  are  naturally 
easy  to  English  children. 

Some  of  the  principal  difficulties  of  German  Grammar 
seem  to  me : 

(i)  The  right  use  of  the  prepositions^  and  of  the  case 
required  in  connection  with  them.  Many  grammars  are  not 
sufficient  in  this  respect,  e.g.  the  short  rule  as  to  '  rest '  and 
'  motion '  is  misleading  in  the  case  of  prepositions  with  two 
cases.  The  right  use  of  the  prepositions  is  a  great  difficulty, 
and  can  only  be  mastered  by  dint  of  constant  practice  and 
observation2. 

1  Cp.    the   original   illustrated   pamphlet     *  German  prepositions  at   a 
glance,'  by  C.  Kaiser  and  A.  Thouaille  of  the  Gouin  School  of  Languages, 
35  Bold  Street,  Liverpool. 

2  It  would  perhaps  be  a  good  plan  if  the  children  had  grammar  note- 
books with  suitable   headings   to   each   page.     The  examples   would    be 
entered  as  they  occur,  e.g.  iiber :  Er  steht  Uber  den  Parteien — Der  Ballon 
schwebt  uber  der  Stadt — Der  Wind  treibt  den  Ballon  iiber  die  Stadt — Er 
schreibt  iiber  das  Theater;  auf:  Er  sitzt  auf  der  Bank — Er  steigt  auf  die 
Bank — Die  Ente  schwimmt  auf  dem  Teich — Er  schilt  auf  die  Zeitungen. — 
When  there  are  enough   examples   the   children,  with   the   help   of  the 


72  The  Teaching  of  German 

(2)  The  inflexion  of  the  adjectives.     The  threefold  use  of 
the  adjective  (strong  and  weak  inflexion  and  uninflected  form) 
is  characteristic  of  the  German  language.    This  difficulty  should, 
however,  soon  be  overcome — a  number  of  typical  instances 
will  suffice  to  teach  it.     These  examples  should  be  gathered 
from   the   Reader    and    learned    by   heart.      Cases   such   as 
auf  gut    Glilck,    bar   Geld,    Roslein   rot,    in  Jung  und  alt  en 
Tagen,  nach  solchen  Opfern,  heilig  gro$en,  mit  neuem  kolnischen 
Wasser  and  others  should  be  briefly  discussed  when  they  first 
occur. 

(3)  The  modifications  of  root-vowels  in  plurals,  comparisons, 
and  derivatives.     Here  a  careful  pronunciation  will  be  of  great 
help — but  much  must  simply  be  learned  by  heart,  e.g.  Tag, 
Tage,  but  Schlag,  Schlage;  Laut,  Laute,  but  Haut,  Haute. 

(4)  The  principal  types  of  declensions,  strong  and  weak. 

(5)  The  strong  verbs ;  the  separable  verbs. 

The  principal  ones  must  be  committed  to  memory;  com- 
parison with  English  (singe,  sang,  gesungen:  sing,  sang,  sung) 
will  in  many  cases  be  helpful,  and  will  at  all  events  remind 
pupils  that  a  verb  may  be  strong.  In  the  case  of  reflexive 
verbs  the  first  person,  and  not  the  infinitive,  should  be  learned; 
thus  ichfiirchte  mich,  ich  denke  mir  (not  sichfurchten,  sich  denken), 
ich  nehme  mich  in  acht,  ich  stelle  mir  vor,  ich  bilde  mir  ein,  ich 
erinnere  mich,  ich  bin  mir  bewusst,  ich  mache  mir  Gedanken,  etc. 
The  most  important  of  these  should  be  entered  in  the  pupil's 
note-book  and  committed  to  memory.  In  the  case  of  the 
separable  and  inseparable  verbs  the  principal  ones,  but  only 
the  principal  ones,  should  be  learned  early,  and  a  good 
pronunciation  should  be  insisted  upon.  Here  again  the  first 
persons  ich  setze  iiber,  '  I  put  across '  and  ich  iibersetze,  '  I  trans- 
teacher,  deduce  the  rules  themselves  and  may  afterwards  be  constantly 
referred  back  to  them.  See  W.  Rippmann,  Hints  on  the  teaching  of 
German,  p.  59,  where  this  is  worked  out  in  detail,  and  see  also  Rippmann's 
New  First  German  Book,  p.  138. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  73 

late,'  should  be  employed  in  class-teaching  instead  of  the 
infinitives  (ubersetzen,  ubersetzeri). 

Pupils  should  be  told  that  as  a  rule  in  cases  where  the 
force  of  the  preposition  is  still  felt  and  a  local  meaning  prevails 
the  verb  is  separable,  but  that  it  is  inseparable  where  its  equiva- 
lent is  not  a  true  English  verb  plus  a  preposition  or  adverb, 
but  a  compound  borrowed  from  Latin  or  Romance  and  where 
the  meaning  is  abstract.  Thus  ubersetzen  '  put  across,'  uber- 
setzen 'translate';  wiederholen  *  fetch  back, '  wiederhblen  '  repeat'; 
durchgehen  '  go  through,'  durchgehen  '  pervade';  iimgehen  'go 
round  about,'  umgehen  'circumvent,' etc. 

(6)  The  order  of  words  in  a  sentence.  This  is  of  the  very 
greatest  importance  and  causes  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  at 
first,  but  the  chief  points  can  perfectly  well  be  learnt  at  school. 
Begin  early  with  very  simple  sentences,  enlarge  them,  alter 
them  and  turn  them  about,  gradually  introduce  the  various 
kinds  of  dependent  clauses.  Make  your  own  examples  if 
necessary,  let  the  children  copy  them,  refer  at  first  invariably 
to  the  same  examples  until  the  Sprachgefuhl  of  the  children  is 
sufficiently  well  developed.  Begin  with  a  number  of  sentences 
such  as : 

Ich  kenne  den  Knaben. 

I  know  the  boy. 

Der  Knabe,  welchen  ich  kenne. 

The  boy  whom  I  know. 

Das  Made  hen  findet  das  Buch. 

The  girl  finds  the  book. 

Das  Madchen  hat  das  Buch  gefunden. 

The  girl  has  found  the  book. 

Many  instances  of  a  similar  kind  should  be  given  before  you 
go  on,  always  adding  a  little  : 

Das  [schone]  Madchen,  [welches  wir  (heute)  sahen],  hat 
seinen  [guten]  Vater  verloren,  etc.  etc. 

Invent  a  story  or  a  fable,  and  embody  in  it  the  chief  things 
you  are  anxious  to  illustrate,  e.g.  the  principal  differences 


74  The  Teaching  of  German 

between  English  and  German  syntax.  Let  this  be  written 
down  and  learned  by  heart  and  refer  to  it  again  and  again  when 
mistakes  have  occurred.  By  means  of  frequent  repetition  the 
memory  will  be  trained  and  at  last  the  teacher's  highest  aim 
will  be  attained — the}  development  of  Sprachgefuhl  on  the  part 
of  the  pupil. 

Genders. 

The  German  genders  are  certainly  very  troublesome  to 
foreigners,  e.g.  der  Rest,  die  Pest,  das  Fest,  Nest\  der  Ast, 
Gast,  Mast,  die  Hast,  Last;  Die  Bewandtnis,  das  Verhangnisy 
Der  Monat,  die  Heimat,  der  Vorrat,  die  Heir  at,  der  Hochmuty 
die  Armut,  etc.  Unfortunately  there  are  not  many  good  rules 
about  them.  I  wish  there  were.  I  cannot  say  more  than  the 
grammars.  Historical  and  etymological  explanations  are  as  a 
rule  out  of  place  in  school  teaching.  One  will  probably  explain 
the  reason  why  Madchen  is  a  neuter,  but  the  reason  for  the 
neuter  gender  in  the  case  of  Weib-\§  beyond  the  information 
to  be  given  at  school.  I  freely  admit  that  children,  while  at 
school,  cannot  be  expected  to  acquire  an  absolutely  correct 
knowledge  of  genders,  and  I  should  certainly  be  much  more 
annoyed  by  a  bad  mistake  in  pronunciation  than  by  a  mistake 
about  the  gender  of  a  less  familiar  word.  On  the  other  hand 
I  do  not  think  that  the  genders  are  quite  as  hard  as  they 
are  sometimes  made  out  to  be.  In  the  amusing  chapter  '  On 
the  awful  German  language'  added  to  his  delightful  ' Tramp 
abroad/  Mark  Twain  has  with  a  great  deal  of  humour 
exaggerated  the  difficulties.  I  think  that  even  school-children 
may  not  unreasonably  be  expected  to  know  the  genders  of  all 
or  nearly  all  the  German  words  of  everyday  occurrence.  Here 
the  *  systematic  vocabulary'  referred  to  on  pages  28  sqq.  should 
be  useful,  and  more  the  school  cannot  be  expected  to  give. 

Die  Sonne — der  Mond — der  Stern — die  Wolke — der  Nebely 
etc.  In  learning  words  children  should  not  say  Sonne — Mond 
but  die  Sonne — der  Mond,  always  adding  the  definite  article 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  75 

and  perhaps  an  ordinary  qualifying  adjective,  e.g.  Dieliebe  Sonne, 
der  gute  Mond,  der  helle  Stern,  die  schwarze  Wolke,  der  ivarrne 
Regen,  der  heulende  Wind,  der  dichte  Nebel,  der  gldnzende  Schnee, 
das  glatte  Eis,  etc.  A  story  might  be  made  up  by  the  teacher 
which  he  should  first  tell  and  then  dictate  to  the  class.  The 
pupils  would  learn  it  by  heart  and  could,  in  case  of  subsequent 
doubts  or  mistakes,  be  referred  back  to  it.  An  account  of  a 
ramble  in  the  country  might  end  as  follows :  '  Der  Gipfel  des 
Berges  war  bald  erstiegen.  Von  ihm  sahen  wir  die  Sonne  unter- 
gehen  und  bald  nach  ihrem  Untergang  den  Mond  und  den 
Abendstern  am  Himmel  aufgehen.  Eine  diistre  Wolke  verbarg 
uns  den  schonen  Stern  auf  kurze  Zeit,  ein  starkes  Gewitter  zog 
herauf,  ein  greller  Blitz  folgte  dem  andern,  der  Donner  rollte, 
der  Regen  flofi  in  Stromen  ;  bald  aber  war  das  schwere  Wetter 
vorbei  gezogen,  der  Himmel  wieder  klar,  von  der  Wiese  stieg 
der  weifie  Nebel  empor,  und  das  Licht  des  freundlichen  Sternes 
leuchtete  wieder  zu  uns  herab.'  Or  the  following  slightly  more 
difficult  piece  which  contains  many  of  the  ordinary  terms  con- 
nected with  the  sea  might  be  dictated  and  discussed  :  '  Hans, 
Hans,  wo  bist  du?  Beeile  dich  !  Komm  schnell  auf  Deck! 
In  fiinf  Minuten  fahren  wir  ab  und  hinaus  auf  das  Meer,  das 
ruhig  und  dunkel  vor  uns  liegt.  Ich  sehe  einige  Lichter  weit 
hinten  auf  dem  Wasser,  und  links  das  helle  Licht  des  Leucht- 
turms  oben  auf  der  Klippe.  Horch,  die  Glocke  tont,  die 
Laufbriicke  wird  zurlickgezogen,  und  die  Schiffspfeife  gibt  das 
Zeichen  zur  Abfahrt.  Die  Anker  werden  gelichtet,  die  schweren 
Ketten  rasseln,  jeder  Matrose  ist  auf  seinem  Posten,  und  oben 
auf  der  Kommandobriicke  steht  der  Kapitan.  Langsam  ver- 
lasst  unser  Dampfer  die  Landestelle.  Vorsichtig  gleitet  er 
durch  die  kleineren  Fahrzeuge,  welche  im  Hafen  vor  Anker 
liegen,  und  steuert  in  dunkler  Nacht  hinaus  auf  das  offne  Meer. 
Sieh,  wie  freundlich  die  Lichter  der  Stadt  noch  zu  uns  herii- 
berblitzen  !  Der  Strahl,  welcher  uns  plotzlich  trifft,  kommt 
von  dem  elektrischen  Scheinwerfer  des  Forts  dort  oben.  Nun 
aber  sind  wir  weit  vom  Lande  entfernt,  die  Lichter  ver- 


76  The  Teaching  of  German 

schwinden,  und  das  Kommando  erschallt  "Volldampf  voraus!" 
Lass  uns  noch  ein  wenig  auf  Deck  bleiben  und  plaudern ; 
wenn  morgen  friih  die  Sonne  aufgeht,  werden  wir  die  hollan- 
dische  Kiiste  vor  uns  sehen.' 

Word-formation . 

Only  the  most  important  facts  of  German  word-formation 
(derivation  and  composition  and  the  old  formation  by  vowel 
gradation)  should  be  taught,  but  word-formation  will  naturally 
play  an  important  part  in  the  construing  lessons  and  will  be 
sure  to  interest  the  children  if  it  is  properly  brought  before  them. 
Philological  knowledge  will  be  indispensable  to  a  teacher  even 
of  ordinary  German1.  He  might  show,  for  instance,  the  impor- 
tance of  noticing  older  case  forms  in  word-formation,  e.g. 
Sonncnschdn,  Frauenkirche,  Gansejeder,  Hahnenkamm,  Brdu- 
tigam,  Biirgemeister,  etc.  A  well  informed  teacher  may  also 
profitably  now  and  then  explain  the  formation  of  a  word  with 
a  view  to  giving  the  pupils  a  glimpse  of  old  German  life,  customs, 
and  beliefs.  The  discussion  of  the  names  of  the  days  of  the 
week,  words  such  as  Ostern,  Weihnachten,  Fastnacht,  Mahlstatte, 
Kurfurst,  Hochzeit,  Brautlauf  (in  Schiller's  *  Tell'),  and  of  such 
verbs  as  erfahren,  verteidigen,  sich  enischlie$en,  would  be  sure  to 
interest  and  instruct  the  children.  In  saying  this  I  am  far  from 
advocating  a  display  of  etymological  information  which  would 
be  beyond  the  understanding  of  the  children  and  altogether 
out  of  place  in  school  teaching.  Again  an  occasional  word  as 
to  family  names  such  as  Baumann,  Agricola,  Munch,  Thurn, 
Gottschall,  Wigand,  Wurmb,  Jacobi,  Jacobssohn,  Jacobs,  or  of 
German  and  foreign  proper  names,  such  as  Dietrich,  Leopold, 
Ludwig,  Wolfram,  Gottschalk,  Gerhard,  Reinhart,  Rudolf, 
Walter,  Minna,  Adelheid,  Gertrud,  Hedwig — Andreas,  Philipp, 
Moses,  Ludovica,  Louise — Wolfgang  Weber  and  Elisabeth 
Textor,  Lorelei,  Riibezahl,  or  names  of  towns  and  countries, 
such  as  Aachen,  Koln,  Braunschweig,  Mtinchen,  WeiBenburg, 
1  See  pages  82—83. 


in  our  Secondary  Schools  77 


Wittenberg,  Marienwerder,  Sigmaringen,  Lothringen,  could  be 
made  most  interesting  and  valuable  even  to  children.  Their 
attention  might  also  be  drawn  to  English  names  of  the  same  old 
stock,  e.g.  Hilda,  Mildred,  Winifred,  Alfred,  Harold.  Attention 
should  be  called  to  the  German  spelling  and  pronunciation  of 
Elizabeth  [?e  :  '//  :  za  :  bet],  Phi/i//  ['/*':/*>],  and  Ewanuel 
[?e  :  'ma  \nud\  Immanuel  ['?ima:nucf].  Such  instruction 
should,  however,  never  be  given  systematically  at  school,  but 
only  as  occasion  offers. 

I  shall  be  much  pleased  if  in  these  lectures  on  modern 
language  teaching  I  have  succeeded  in  throwing  out  some 
hints  which  will  prove  useful  in  your  future  work,  and  in 
firing  your  enthusiasm  for  a  subject,  the  study  and  teaching  of 
which  grows  more  attractive  and  is  being  more  fully  developed 
with  every  year.  You  will  soon  be  called  upon  to  take  your 
full  share  in  it.  The  way  is  long,  the  aim  is  high  —  let  us  make 
a  resolute  attempt  to  reach  the  goal  or  at  least  not  fall  too  far 
short  of  it  ! 


THE   TRAINING   OF    MODERN  LANGUAGE 
TEACHERS. 

IF  in  the  following  pages  I  shall  mainly  confine  myself 
to  the  discussion  of  the  training  of  a  future  teacher  of  German, 
I  trust  that  mutatis  mutandis  my  remarks  will  be  found 
equally  useful  for  intending  teachers  of  French  and  other 
modern  languages.  Nor  shall  I  speak  here  of  those  general 
qualifications  which  every  good  teacher  of  any  subject  must 
possess,  viz.  culture,  character,  energy,  tact  in  maintaining 
discipline,  and  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  minds  of 
young  people,  but  only  propose  to  discuss  the  special  training 
of  a  modern  language  teacher,  i.e.  I  shall  only  speak  of  such 
qualifications  as  can  be  won  by  scientific  and  practical  training 
with  regard  to  (i)  language,  (2)  literature,  and  (3)  facts  and 
studies  illustrating  these  which,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  I  shall 
in  the  following  paragraphs  call  'realia.' 

A  modern  language  master  of  the  best  type  must,  I  believe, 
(a)  not  only  study  the  language  and  literature  of  the  foreign 
nation  for  their  own  sake,  but  also  by  means  of  them  the  genius 
and  civilization  of  that  nation ;  (fr)  gain  his  knowledge  not  only 
in  England,  but,  to  some  extent,  abroad ;  (c)  overcome  com- 
pletely any  shyness  in  speaking,  free  himself  from  all  prejudice, 
look  at  what  he  sees  not  only  from  his  own  insular  standpoint, 
but  also  from  that  of  the  foreigner,  and  judge  of  things  and 
conditions  as  they  present  themselves  to  his  mind. 

*  What  is  the  best  linguistic  and  literary  training  for  a 
teacher  of  modern  languages,  and  especially  for  a  teacher  of 
German,  in  secondary  schools  ? ' 

It  will  be  easiest,  I  think,  to  give  a  satisfactory  answer  to 
the  above  question,  if  we  first  agree  as  to  what  a  competent 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers      79 

teacher  of  a  modern  language  should  know.  He  must,  I 
believe,  (a)  know  the  modern  language  thoroughly  in  its 
present  condition  ;  (/^)  be  able  to  explain  the  chief  linguistic 
and  literary  phenomena  historically. 

It  is  altogether  wrong  to  oppose  these  two  qualifications, 
as  if  the  one  excluded  the  other,  as  if  the  empirical  and  the 
scientific  mastery  of  a  language  must  not  of  necessity  supple- 
ment one  another.  Surely  both  are  necessary  and  should  go 
hand  in  hand.  The  past  must  be  illustrated  by  the  present, 
but  no  less  the  present  by  the  past. 

The  study  of  German  in  the  widest  sense  comprises  the 
study  of 

(A)  First,  the  living  language,  which  may  be  subdivided 
into    (a)    the    familiar    (spoken)    language    ( Umgangssprache) ; 

(b]  the  literary  (written)  language  {Schriftsprache,  also  Redner- 
sprache).      This    requires    a    practical    and    scientific    study; 

(c)  A   slight   acquaintance  with  a   few   of  the    most   striking 
peculiarities  of  some  of  the  most  important  dialects,  e.g.  Low 
German,  Saxon,  Bavarian,  or  Alemannic.    To  the  whole  of  the 
first  division  must  be  added  the  auxiliary  study  of  phonetics. 

(B)  Secondly,  it    must  embrace  the   older  phases   of  the 
language,  i.e.  some  selected  Old  and   Middle  High  German 
texts,  with  the  elements  of  O.H.G.  and  M.H.G.  grammar. 

(C)  Thirdly,  the  history  of  the  German  language.     In  this 
country  the  connection  with  English  should   be  pointed  out 
everywhere.     As  an  auxiliary  study  I  mention  the  outlines  of 
the  science  of  language  and  of  comparative  philology. 

(D)  Fourthly,    literature,    comprising    (a]    the    study    of 
representative   authors  of  different   periods  ;    (fr)  a   historical 
survey  of  the  development  of  literature,  in  which  the' manifold 
connections  of  German  with  English  literature  should  be  espe- 
cially carefully  noticed.     The  principal  auxiliary  studies  are : 
(i)  theory  of  metre  ;  (2)  theory  of  poetry. 

(E)  Fifthly,  realia,  i.e.  illustrative  facts  and  studies,  com- 
prising  a   study  of  German    life  and  thought,  customs,  and 


8o       The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers 

institutions  at  different  periods,  but  mainly  those  of  the  present 
time,  to  be  partly  acquired  abroad  by  personal  observation 
and  experience.  The  chief  auxiliary  studies  are :  history 
and  geography1. 

The  importance  of  most  of  the  branches  of  study  which 
I  have  mentioned  is  fully  recognised,  and  consequently  they 
do  not  require  any  comment.  But,  with  regard  to  a  few 
subjects,  a  general  agreement  has  not  yet  been  arrived  at,  and 
I  must  set  forth  my  views  on  them  somewhat  more  fully. 

Historical  and  Philological  Study  of  German  is  indispensable. 

A  true  philologist  is  bound  to  investigate  the  language  and 
literature  of  a  nation  in  their  historical  development,  or  else  he 
will  be  a  mere  maitre  de  langue.  As  a  rule,  I  have  found  that 
those  who  have  objected  most  strongly  to  the  historical  study 
of  German,  and  to  the  training  of  the  students  in  the  philo 
logical  (which  is  not  merely  an  equivalent  of  '  grammatical ') 
explanation  of  older  German  authors,  themselves  know  nothing 
of  Old  German.  The  mere  name  of  Old  High  German,  and 
above  all  of  Gothic^  is  enough  to  frighten  them.  While  thus 
strongly  objecting  to  the  study  of  the  older  stages  of  German, 

1  Is  it  too  much  to  expect  that  a  teacher  of  German  should  be  able  to 
make  clear  to  his  pupils  the  significance  of  the  term  das  heilige  romische 
Reich  deutscher  Nation  and  the  difference  between  the  authority  and  the 
functions  of  the  Hohenstaufen  and  Hohenzollern  emperors?  What  differ- 
ence is  there  between  the  Sachsenkaiser  and  the  Konige  von  Sachsent 
Why  is  William  II  called  deutscher  Kaiser  and  not  Kaiser  von  Deutsch- 
land"?  Who  are  die  Welfen  and  die  Wittelsbacherl  Who  were  die 
Deutschherrnl  What  difference  is  there  between  a  Markgraf  and  a 
Pfalzgrafl  Who  was  der  grofce  Kurfiirst  ?  What  does  die  Mark  Bran- 
denburg mean?  What  difference  is  there  between  Schlesien  and  Schleswig! 
What  is  meant  by  der  deutsche  Kriegl  die  Mainliniel  die  schwarz-Tveifc- 
roten  or  die  blau-weifcen  Grenzpfdhlel  What  is  meant  by  a  Kronungsstadtl 
What  is  a  freie  Stadt  in  modern  Germany  ?  By  whom  is  it  governed  and 
in  what  relation  does  it  stand  to  the  Empire  ?  What  are  the  chief  functions 
of  the  Bundesrat,  Reichstag,  Herrenhaus,  Abgeordnetenhausl  etc. 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers      81 

they  require  a  classical  master  to  study  the  old  Greek  dialect 
of  Homer,  and  are  pleased  if  he  has  devoted  some  time  to  the 
study  of  dialects  and  inscriptions.  They  justly  expect  a  botanist 
to  know  something  of  fossil  plants,  and  rightly  insist  on  a 
geologist  knowing  more  than  the  mere  surface  of  the  earth. 
For  the  same  very  good  reason,  we  maintain,  no  linguistic 
training,  whether  in  an  ancient  or  in  a  modern  language,  can 
be  called  scientific  and  thorough  which  is  not  largely  historical. 
We  want  to  trace  and  to  show  in  the  language  the  law  of 
development,  physiological  and  psychological. 

By  the  aid  of  such  study  fossilized  forms  in  modern 
German,  typical  phrases,  apparent  exceptions  to  general  rules, 
become  clear,  and  the  close  connection  between  German  and 
English  is  forcibly  brought  out. 

The  history  of  the  German  language  and  literature,  so 
far  as  we  can  trace  it,  covers  a  period  of  more  than  a  thousand 
years,  and  shows  us  both  in  very  different  stages  of  develop- 
ment. Can  we  doubt  that  the  study  of  the  chief  characteristics 
of  each  of  these  phases  forms  a  most  excellent  schooling  for 
the  future  teacher's  mind?  What  can  be  more  helpful  for 
^forming  large  views  and  a  proper  historical  sense?  What 
can  afford  the  teacher  a  clearer  insight  into  the  real  character 
and  constitution  of  the  German  language  and  literature  ?  We 
observe  German  speech  while  it  remains  still  tolerably  free 
from  any  foreign  intellectual  influence  ;  we  then  perceive  the 
gradual  operation  of  the  influence  of  Roman  civilization ; 
then  that  of  the  Christian  Church  makes  itself  strongly  felt 
in  language  and  literature ;  then  we  observe  the  influence 
of  late  Latin  and  early  French  and  Italian  civilization  ;  the 
deep  impression  produced  by  the  Crusades  can  be  traced 
everywhere ;  now  French  medieval  literature  becomes  of  the 
greatest  importance  ;  the  influence  of  the  Renaissance  and 
of  the  Reformation  of  the  Church  demands,  and  rewards,  care- 
ful study ;  French  and  English  culture,  and  the  rapidly 
increasing  intercourse  between  the  great  modern  civilized 

i',.  6 


82       The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers 

nations — all  these  influences  have  left  lasting  traces  in  the 
language  no  less  than  in  the  literature.  Let  me  remind  you  of 
Paul  Heyse's  pretty  l  Spruch  ' : — 

*  Die  Worte  werden  dir  manches  sagen, 
Verstehst  du  nur  sie  auszufragen.' 

By  the  foregoing  remarks  I  do  not,  however,  intend  to 
require  a  future  teacher  of  German  to  give  his  chief  attention 
to  Old  German  or  to  Medieval  literature.  A  schoolmaster  only 
wants  a  sound  knowledge  of  the  principal  facts  of  historical 
grammar ;  he  wants  a  knowledge  of  the  older  periods  of  the 
language  mainly  in  order  to  obtain  through  them  a  correct 
understanding  of  its  modern  form,  a  knowledge  which  saves 
him  from  making  any  of  the  annoying  mistakes  that  are  so 
often  made  by  philologically  untrained  teachers. 

If  up  to  now  I  have  only  insisted  on  the  importance  of 
philological  training  on  purely  theoretical  grounds,  I  now 
maintain  that  for  practical  reasons  a  good  training  in  historical 
grammar  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  A  teacher  may,  at  any 
moment,  be  called  upon  to  give  an  explanation  which  he 
cannot  give  without  some  knowledge  of  older  German  or  of 
historical  grammar.  Questions,,  often  of  an  apparently  elemen- 
tary nature,  must  crop  up  constantly  in  reading  the  great 
classics,  or  in  discussing  composition  in  the  higher  forms. 

Let  me  give  a  few  examples  :  Why  do  we  say  Mond,  but 
Monat  ?  Wahn,  but  Argwohn  ?  Shall  we  say  allesfalls  or 
aUenfalls,  reines  or  reinen  Herzenst  Meine  edeln,  teuern 
Freunde  or  edlen,  teuren  Freundel  Is  it  right  to  say  bar  Geld^ 
or  should  we  say  bares  Geld?  We  always  say  :  auf  gut  Gliick. 
Is  verstunde  just  as  good  as  verstande,  dducht  as  dunktyfodem 
as  fordern,  empfahn  as  empfangen  ?  How  are  hangen,  hdngen 
and  henken  used  in  older  and  in  Modern  German  ?  Would 
you  allow  pupils  to  say  der  Rock  hangt  am  Nagel  or  da  hangen 
drei  Hiitet  Why  is  it  der  Henkert  Ought  one  to  write  er 
frug  or  erfragtet  Does  it  matter  which  is  used  ?  How  would 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language   Teachers      83 

you  explain  lines  in  well-known  poems  of  Goethe,  Uhland  and 
Dach,   such  as  :    Die  Augen  tdten  ihm  sinken  ;  die  Statt,  wo 
Roland  jimgst  gestritten  hdtt ' ;  der  wackre  Schwabe  forchf  sick 
nit  \    kani  alles    Wetter  gleich  auf  uns  zu  schlahn  ?     Ought  a 
teacher  of  German  to  be  ignorant  of  the  reasons  why  it  is  er 
nimmt  but  sie  nehmen  •  wenden,  wandte  but  blenden,  blendete ; 
denken,  dachte,  but  senken,  senkte;  gehe,  ging,  but  stehe,  stand, 
sehe,  sah,  wehe,  wehtet    Why  is  it  er  bei$t,  but  er  zveifi?  er  macht, 
but  er  mag ;  er  gonnt,  but  er  kann  ?    How  would  he  account  for 
the  plurals  Mann,  Manner,  Mannen ;  Lande,  Lander  \  Orte,  Orter\ 
Worte,  Worter ;  or  for  the  reasons  for  the  different  gender  in  der 
Heide  and  die  Heide,  der  Tor  and  das  Tor  ?  or  for  the  composi- 
tion of  Mondlicht,  Mondenschein,  Mondesglanz  ;  Frauenkirche, 
Frauenzimmert     Explain:     uber  See,  but  ubers  Meer fahren; 
im  Himmel  und  auf  Erden.     Explain  :  Er  blieb  stehen  ;  der  zu 
schreibende  Brief;  es  (and  das)  nimmt  mich  wunder;  Hier  ist 
seines  Bleibens  nicht ;  saget  niemand  nichts ;  keinen  wirklichen 
Nebel  sake  Achilles  nicht ;   Gott  schuf  den  Menschen  ihm  zum 
Bilde ;  der  Sohn,  so  ihm  der  Herr  gegeben  ;  Ich  bin  ein  guter 
Hirte ;    JEs  fiel  ein  Reif  in  der  Fruhlingsnacht ;    an  ein  hohes 
Ministerium  ;    Was  da  der  edeln  Garben  auf  alien  Feldern  lag  \ 
er  kiifcte  sie  an  den  Mund  so  bleich ;   etc.     An  acquaintance 
with  older  German  is  also  indispensable  for  the  right  explana- 
tion of  nouns  such  as  Bursch.  (Es  zogen  drei  Bursche  wohl  uber 
den    Rhein),   Knabe    (Jung  Siegfried  war  ein   stolzer  Knab], 
Frdulein  (Bin  weder  Frdulein  weder  schon],   Tugend  (ich  messe 
mich  mit  Euch  in  jeder  ritter lichen  Tugend),  etc.,  or  of  common 
adjectives   such  as  stolz,   mild,  frech,  fromm,  frei,   reich,   hell 
(in  in  hellen  Haufen\  schlecht  (in  schlecht  und  recht},  and  others. 
Again,    it   is    most   instructive   to    compare    German   and 
English — within    proper    limits.     Some    knowledge  of    older 
English,  including  Chaucer's  '  Canterbury  Tales,'  is,  no  doubt, 
possessed   by  most   Modern  Language  teachers.     Why,  then 
is  it,  if    in    a  great    many  cases    English    o  (pa)   corresponds 
to  German  ei  (e.g.  home,  stone,  bone,  alone,  soap,  broad,  etc.), 

6—2 


84      The   Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers 

we  find  in  some  strong  preterites  English  o  corresponding  to 
German  i  (rode,  smote,  wrote,  etc.)  ?  The  slightest  knowledge 
of  M.  H.  G.  explains  the  apparent  anomaly. 

Teachers  should  have  definite  \dews,  based  on  scientific 
principles,  on  important  everyday  questions  concerning  their 
subject,  e.g.  the  much  discussed  question  of  spelling  reform 
(German,  French,  English).  How  far  is  reform  still  needed  in 
Germany  since  the  changes  of  1902?  How  far  is  a  spelling 
reform  practicable  ?  Should  reformers  adopt  the  historical  or 
the  phonetic  principle,  or  a  mixture  of  the  two  ?  What  attempts 
have  been  made  in  Germany  up  to  the  present  time?  Is  it 
desirable  to  have  an  academy  regulating  the  spelling  from 
time  to  time  ?  Is  there  at  present  in  Germany  any  Society  the 
authority  and  functions  of  which  can  be  compared  with  those 
of  the  Academic  Fran$aiset  What  are  the  aims  and  what  is 
the  influence  of  the  Allgemeiner  deutscher  Sprachverein  ?  Ought 
an  English  teacher  of  German  to  support  it?  To  what 
extent  should  capital  letters  be  employed?  When  and  in 
what  way  were  they  first  introduced  into  German  writing  and 
printing?  Should  we  teach  the  use  of  Latin  or  of  German 
letters  ?  Are  the  so-called  Gothic  letters  a  national  cachet  and 
a  valuable  characteristic  of  the  German  language  ?  How 
did  the  u  hook  and  the  modification  marks  arise?  What  is 
the  best  German  pronunciation  ?  Is  it  Hanoverian  German  ? 
If  an  older  pupil  is  sent  abroad  for  one  or  two  months,  does  it 
much  matter  if  he  goes  to  Dresden  or  to  Bremen,  to  Bochum 
or  to  Stuttgart?  To  what  extent  does  an  ordinary  German 
New  Testament  as  sold  by  the  Bible  Societies  represent  the 
linguistic  form  of  Dr  Luther's  New  Testament  ?  Are  the 
differences  at  all  important?  Teachers  should  have  thought 
about  all  these  things  during  their  academical  course,  and 
should  have  worked  out  these  and  similar  questions  for 
themselves  under  the  guidance  of  the  University  professor. 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers      85 

Why  should  a  Teacher  of  MODERN  German  know  some 
OLD  High  German  ? 

There  are  many  people  who,  while  fully  admitting  the 
necessity  of  a  future  teacher  being  trained  in  historical  grammar, 
yet  suppose  a  knowledge  of  Middle  High  German  to  be 
sufficient  for  the  purpose.  Correspondences,  such  as  /  rode 
— ich  ritt,  are  easily  explained  by  M.H.G.,  and  so  are,  in  fact, 
many  of  the  more  elementary  questions  of  historical  grammar. 
Is,  then,  M.H.G.  not  really  sufficient  for  the  wants  of  a 
teacher?  I  have  been  asked  this  question  more  than  once; 
allow  me  to  answer  it  once  more  in  this  connection.  I 
thoroughly  believe  some  knowledge  of  O.H.G.  to  be  indis- 
pensable to  a  future  teacher  of  German.  My  reasons  are  the 
following:  Firstly,  O.H.G.  is  essential  on  account  of  the 
preservation  of  the  full^vowejs  in  unaccepted  syllables,  which 
were  in  M.H.G.  all  weakened  into  the  same  monotonous  e. 
Thus  in  O.H.G.  we  have  the  clue  to  the  explanation  of  vowel 
mutation  (Umlaut},  e.g.  scorii>schdn,  scono>schon,  hendin, 
handun  >  Handen,  vor-handen.  (For  the  explanation  of  handun 
some  Gothic  is  welcome.)  The  modern  change  in  the  radical 
vowels  of  words,  such  as  Erde,  irden ;  sehen,  sieht ;  nehmen, 
nimmt ;  Gold,  gulden  ;  bieten,  beut ;  wurden,  wurden  can  only 
be  satisfactorily  explained  by  the  O.H.G.  forms  erda,  irdin; 
sehan,  sihit  \  neman,  nimit ;  gold,  guldin  ;  biotan,  biutit ;  wurdun, 
wurdin.  In  O.H.G.  many  of  the  later  contractions  had  not 
yet  taken  place.  The  modern  and  M.H.G.  Mensch  is  still 
mannisco,  our  welsch  is  walhisc,  our  Amt  (M.H.G.  ambef)  is 
ambaht,  glauben  is  gilouban,  Menge  is  managi,  etc.  A  know- 
ledge of  O.H.G.  consonants  is  needed  for  a  full  scientific 
understanding  of  the  laws  of  sound-shifting,  and  analogous 
cases  might  be  given  from  other  parts  of  grammar.  Even 
some  elementary  Gothic  is  sometimes  helpful,  e.g.  in  explaining 
such  preterites  as  er  hie$,  from  hiez,  hiaz,  hez,  het,  *heht, 
hehait  (Gothic  spelling,  haihait],  or  /*>/?,  from  Hez,  liaz,  lez, 


86      The   Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers 

let,  */#•/,  lelot  (Gothic  lailof)\  the  O.H.G.  reduplicated  form 
teta  ('  I  or  he  did ')  immediately  explains  the  indicative  tdte  in 
Uhland's  Da  tdten  sie  sich  trennen.  The  reduplication  in 
Latin  and  Greek  will  suggest  itself  for  comparison. 

Again,  if  the  student  wishes  to  form  a  correct  idea  of 
the  oldest  German  versification — i.e.  the  style  of  alliterative 
poetry — he  will  find  some  scanty  fragments  of  it  preserved  in 
O.H.G.  alone,  while  in  later  German  only  isolated  alliterative 
phrases  (singen  und  sagen,  Leib  und  Leben,  etc.)  survive. 

I  should  therefore  advise  every  future  teacher  of  modern 
German  to  read  some  representative  O.H.G.,  M.H.G.,  and 
sixteenth  century  classics.  He  should  have  read  them  in 
order  to  study  the  language  in  connected  texts.  He  should 
not,  like  many  students  of  comparative  philology,  study 
isolated  words.  He  must  examine  sentences,  explain  idiomatic 
expressions,  investigate  peculiarities  of  style  (in  prose  and 
poetry),  appreciate  the  metre,  in  short,  enter  fully  into  the 
spirit  of  the  language  at  different  periods,  but  at  the  same  time 
not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  it  is  not  for  the  sake  of  the 
language  only  that  he  ought  to  study  the  old  classics. 

For  these  reasons  I  insist  on  my  pupils  reading  a  sufficient, 
though  not  excessive,  amount  of  Older  German.  I  know  from 
a  long  experience  that  most  of  those  who  care  for  the  study, 
and  other  students  should  not  be  encouraged  to  become 
teachers  of  Modern  Languages,  do  this  willingly.  I  am 
personally  quite  free  from  any  undue  predilection  for  medie- 
valism, but  I  am  concerned  that  all  parts  of  my  subject 
should  receive  the  attention  which  is  due  to  them.  While 
taking  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  Old  German  authors,  I 
certainly  consider  Modern  German  literature,  on  the  whole, 
to  be  much  superior  to  the  Old,  quite  apart  from  its  greater 
practical  importance,  and  consequently  deserving  of  much 
closer  study.  But  it  cannot  be  seriously  questioned  that 
a  good  foundation  in  the  philological  study  of  any  modern 
language  should  be  laid  at  the  University — the  only  place 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers      87 

where  it  can  be  laid  satisfactorily — otherwise  it  must  be  left 
to  the  energy  of  the  individual  teacher  to  acquire  a  sufficient 
amount  of  the  necessary  information  by  private  reading.  To 
obtain  this  information  by  his  own  unaided  efforts  is  a  very 
difficult  task. 

There  seems  to  be  much  less  doubt  as  to  the  training 
which  a  teacher  of  German  wants  with  regard  to  the  modern 
language.  It  is  agreed  on  all  sides  that  he  should,  (a)  pro- 
nounce German  words  correctly,  and  the  sentences  with  proper 
intonation ;  (/>)  secondly,  that  he  should  find  his  words  easily, 
choose  them  fitly,  master  the  synonyms,  etc.  ;  and  (c)  thirdly, 
that  he  should  construct  his  phrases  not  only  correctly,  but 
idiomatically. 

Pronunciation. 

I  think  the  very  great  practical  importance  of  pronun- 
ciation is  not  yet  sufficiently  insisted  on  in  all  quarters,  and 
the  high  value  of  phonetic  training  is  recognised  still  less. 

A  teacher  should  possess  a  correct  pronunciation,  and  a 
sufficient  knowledge  of  the  auxiliary  science  of  phonetics,  to  be 
able  to  teach  the  conscious  imitation  of  foreign  sounds. 

He  must  show  his  pupils  that  sounds  which  are  usually 
considered  to  be  the  same  are  by  no  means  pronounced 
exactly  alike  in  German  and.  English.  He  will  point  out  the 
difference  between  apparently  similar  groups  of  sounds,  such  as 
the  English  fear  and  German  vier  ;  he  will  not  allow  his  boys 
to  pronounce  the  German  rot  like  the  English  wrote,  Koffer  like 
(s)coffer,  or  Lehm  like  lame,  as  they  are  told  in  some  books  to 
do.  He  will  inform  them  of  the  different  values  of  r,  or  s,  or 
/,  etc.,  in  the  two  languages.  See  pages  16-7  and  63  sqq. 

Every  mistake  of  the  master  will  be  magnified  by  his  boys. 
The  acquisition  of  a  good  and  idiomatic  pronunciation 
should  therefore  be  from  the  first  lesson  an  object  of  constant 
effort.  Dictation  given  by  a  teacher  with  a  strong  Saxon 
pronunciation  will  make  the  boys  write  Freide,  umhillen,  etc. 


88       The  Training  of  Modern  Language   Teachers 

No  difference  will  be  made  between  gefreut  and  gefreit,  gb'nnen 
and  kennen.  The  mistakes  which  a  modern  language  master 
makes  in  pronunciation  are  much  more  serious  than  those  of  his 
classical  colleague.  It  is  certainly  by  no  means  unimportant 
how  we  pronounce  pater peccavi  or  vicissim,  but  we  cannot,  under 
any  circumstances,  allow  the  boys  to  say :  swonsig,  Nacht  (with 
palatal  ch),  Gold,  Fin-ger,  Boseuuikt,  fumf.  A  criminal  who 
is  gedchtet  (outlawed)  should  not  be  called  geachtet  (esteemed). 
It  seems  strange  that  this  important  part  of  a  teacher's 
training  should  not  have  received  full  recognition  till  com- 
paratively recently.  Scholars  who  shudder  at  the  slightest 
grammatical  blunder,  e.g.  the  use  of  a  wrong  gender,  a  wrong 
case,  or  a  wrong  preposition,  and  who  severely  censure  the 
smallest  mistake  made  in  the  recognised  spelling  of  a  word,  do 
not  mind  (or  notice)  a  very  bad  pronunciation,  which  would 
grate  on  a  native's  ear. 

The  question :  What  is  correct  German,  and  where  should 
German  pronunciation  be  studied  ?  has  been  discussed  on 
pages  6 1  and  following. 

Importance  of  Training  in  Phonetics. 

The  scientific  study  of  phonetics  should  be  left  to  the 
University  training,  but  a  rough  classification  of  sounds  may 
well  be  given  at  school,  and  the  fundamental  axioms  of  phonetics 
(e.g.  'a  (spoken)  word  consists  of  sounds  and  not  of  letters '  (cp. 
Scherz  :  Sch  -  i  sound,  z  =  2  sounds,  viz.  /  +  s\  should  be 
impressed  on  the  boys  and  girls  as  early  as  possible. 

At  the  University  the  training  must  become  more  full  and 
systematic.  The  student  must  be  trained,  and  train  himself,  to 
observe  and  to  imitate  consciously.  He  should  learn  to  analyse 
the  sounds  of  a  foreign  idiom,  and  to  compare  them  with  those 
of  his  native  tongue.  He  must  know  the  special  difficulties 
which  German  offers  to  English  students,  in  order  to  help  his 
class  to  overcome  them.  Such  marked  provincialisms  as  the 
Westphalian  Schinken  (sxt'vfon),  the  Swabian  Geischt,  Oberscht, 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers      89 

re(d)cht  (with  guttural  ch\  the  Berlin  janz  und  jar,  Mutta^  the 
Saxon  inability  to  distinguish  between  treu  and  drei,  Rote  and 
Rede,  Greis  and  Kreis,  Bein  and  Pein  will  be  studied  scientifi- 
cally. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  importance  of  phonetics  should 
not  be  overrated ;  a  teacher  need  not  be  a  phonetic  specialist. 
He  has  other  and  more  important  subjects  to  study;  his 
time  of  preparation  is  too  short.  Phonetics  must  be  for 
him  merely  an  auxiliary  subject.  The  chief  thing  for  the 
great  majority  of  school  children  will  always  be  to  be  taught 
to  read  the  foreign  language  with  ease,  and  to  enjoy  the 
treasures  of  its  literature. 

This  is  what  I  believe  a  teacher  of  German  should  know. 
Now  the  question  arises :  What  kind  of  training  will  enable 
him  to  put  himself  in  possession  of  the  above-mentioned 
qualifications  ?  I  am  aware  of  the  fact  that  up  to  now  many 
excellent  teachers  of  German — Englishmen  or  Germans — have 
for  one  reason  or  other,  not  gone  through  a  course  such  as  I 
am  recommending.  Their  way  must  have  been  all  the  more 
beset  with  difficulties,  and  our  appreciation  of  their  energy  and 
talents  will  of  necessity  be  all  the  greater.  But  the  growing 
interest  in  the  study  of  modern  languages,  and  the  increasing 
provision  for  it,  have  now  given  many  encouragements  and 
facilities  which  it  would  be  wrong  for  intending  students  to 
ignore. 

I  shall,  in  what  follows,  distinguish  between  the  training/ 
obtainable  in  England  and  the  training  which  should  be  gone' 
through  abroad. 

The  training  in  England  may  be  considered  under  three 
heads,  viz.  : — 

(a)  Firstly,  the  preparatory  training  at  school. 

(b}  Secondly,  the  University  curriculum.  (Three,  and  if 
possible  four,  years  of  higher  study.) 

(c)  Thirdly,  the  self- training  of  the  teacher  at  a  school. 


QO      The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers 

TRAINING  IN  ENGLAND. 
(a)  At  School. 

I  should  like  to  make  a  few  remarks  under  this  head,  as 
possibly  some  masters  preparing  boys  for  the  study  of  modern 
languages  may  care  to  consider  them. 

A  boy  who  wishes  to  become  a  teacher  of  modern  lan- 
guages should  not  specialize  too  early,  but  should  endeavour  to 
become  as  proficient  as  possible  in  languages,  ancient  as  well 
as  modern,  and  also  in  history  and  geography.  I  much  regret 
the  hard  and  fast  line  which  is  usually  drawn  between  classical 
and  modern  languages.  A  future  teacher  of  modern  languages 
should  be  most  anxious  to  know  something  of  both  the  ancient 
languages  and  literatures ;  such  knowledge  cannot  fail  to  be  of 
great  interest  and  advantage  to  him1.  He  will  get  in  this  way 
a  good  general  linguistic  training;  he  will  learn  many  character- 
istics of  the  classical  languages,  which  will  be  of  great  value  to 
him  in  studying  modern  languages ;  many  words  will  be  learnt 
which  will  be  useful  for  philological  comparisons.  A  boy  who 
has  read  classics  is,  to  some  extent,  familiar  with  the  chief 
classical  metres,  a  knowledge  of  which  is  indispensable  for  the 
study  of  modern  German  poets,  such  as  Klopstock,  Goethe, 
Platen,  Geibel,  etc.  Ancient  literature  has  exercised  an  im- 
mense influence  on  German  and  other  modern  literatures, 
which  cannot  be  justly  appreciated  by  a  man  destitute  of 
classical  knowledge.  Many  of  Goethe's  masterpieces  were 
composed  under  the  direct  influence  of  classical  models. 

For  these  reasons  I  should  strongly  advise  a  boy  who 
wishes  to  study  modern  languages  not  to  neglect  at  school  the 
study  of  the  classics,  and  to  learn  more  than  the  bare  minimum 
required  in  order  to  enable  him  to  pass  the  University  Entrance 
Examinations ;  nothing  can  afford  a  future  language  teacher 

1  See  my  pamphlet  on  *  Greek  and  its  humanistic  alternatives  in  the 
Little-go,'  Cambridge,  1905,  pages  4  and  18. 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers     91 

a  better  preparation  than  a  connected  study  of  the  ancient  and 
modern  languages,  together  with  the  elements  of  universal 
history  and  the  main  facts  of  European  geography. 

He  should  also  be  especially  proficient  in  the  mother- 
tongue.  He  should  have  had  careful  training  in  writing 
English ;  he  should  know  how  to  arrange  and  connect  his 
thoughts ;  he  should  have  had  years  of  practice  in  essay- 
writing,  as  schoolboys  get  it  in  Germany  and  in  France. 

With  regard  to  the  special  school  training  in  German,  the 
following  seems  to  be  essential.  First  of  all,  a  boy  must 
acquire  a  good  pronunciation.  He  should  have,  as  early  as 
possible,  regular  practice  in  speaking,  his  master  making  it  a 
point  to  talk  German  to  his  classes  almost  from  the  beginning 
during  some  part  of  the  lesson  ;  he  should  recite  (and  in  some 
cases  sing)  first  little  popular  rimes  and  songs,  later  on  poems, 
prose  fables,  striking  passages  from  speeches,  etc.  ;  he  should 
overcome  his  natural  shyness  in  speaking  and  imitating  foreign 
sounds.  In  the  middle  forms  he  should  begin  to  write  original 
German,  which  is  really  easier  than  translation  from  English 
into  German.  Little  descriptions  or  renderings  of  a  story  afford 
good  practice  at  the  beginning ;  simple  letters  might  follow ;  a 
natural  gradation  of  subjects  should  be  devised;  he  should  regu- 
larly write  from  dictation ;  he  should  not  learn  any  Old  German 
or  receive  any  systematic  instruction  in  historical  grammar. 
But  in  a  boy  who  wishes  to  become  a  teacher  of  languages  the 
sense  of  historical  development  should  be  aroused  early;  he 
should  have  some  notion  of  the  real  meaning  of  '  rules '  and 
'  exceptions ' ;  he  might  be  expected  to  have  some  idea  of 
mots  populaires  and  mots  savants  in  French  (menble  and  mobile), 
or,  in  German,  have  a  notion  of  the  existence  of  different 
groups  of  loan  words  coming  from  the  same  source,  e.g. 
Kerker  and  Karzer ;  Orgel  and  Organ ;  Pfaffe,  Papst,  Papa, 
Pope,  etc.  An  advanced  boy  might,  before  coming  up  to  the 
University,  read  some  little  book  on  German,  such  as  Wasser- 
zieher's  '  Aus  dem  Leben  der  deutschen  Sprache ' 


92      The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers 

But  he  should  not  go  too  far,  and  should  be  especially  careful 
about  the  use  of  philological  terms. 

If  a  boy  wants  to  compete  for  a  scholarship,  he  might  use 
Brandt's  '  German  Grammar '  in  addition  to  his  school  gram- 
mar, and  read  through  a  number  of  well-annotated  editions  of 
modern  classics.  If  he  wishes  to  begin  the  study  of  M.H.G. 
between  his  school  and  his  University  course,  he  should  not 
follow  the  usual  guessing  method,  but  should  use  Zupitza's 
practical  and  reliable  'Einfiihrung  in  das  Studium  des  M.H.D.,' 
and  read  through  one  or  two  of  the  nice  little  volumes  of  the 
'Sammlung  Goschen.'  But,  above  all,  he  should  be  well 
trained — as  far  as  can  reasonably  be  expected  of  a  boy — in 

[understanding,  speaking,  reading,  and  writing  modern  German; 
he  should  be  able  to  do  creditably  a  piece  of  easy  composition, 
and  have  some  practice  in  writing  in  idiomatic  style  a  simple 
original  composition. 

It  is  most  important  that  boys  should  come  to  the  Univer- 
sity well  prepared  in  general  information,  and  also  reasonably 
well  grounded  in  their  special  subject.  They  have,  as  a  rule, 
only  three  years  at  their  disposal,  and  the  terms  are  very 
short ;  while  in  Germany  most  men  find  it  now  necessary  to 
devote  four  years  to  their  studies.  Intending  students  should 
at  once  consult  the  University  professors  and  lecturers  about 
their  work.  In  one  respect  it  is  .essentially  different  from  that 
of  all  other  students ;  it  cannot  be  well  carried  out  in  England 
alone.  A  parent  allowing  his  son  to  study  modern  languages 
should  be  prepared  to  let  him  go  abroad,  at  least  once  or  twice 
in  the  vacations.  The  omission  of  such  foreign  training  would 
be  a  great  loss  to  his  son.  To  him  the  foreign  countries  are 
what  the  laboratories  are  to  the  student  of  science. 

All  indications  point  to  a  great  future  for  properly  trained 
modern  language  students,  men  and  women,  but  we  want 
for  the  work  bright  students,  not  such  as  cannot  do  any- 
thing else  and  rely  on  their  having  lived  abroad  for  some 
time.  They  should  not  take  up  Modern  Languages  because 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers     93 

they  think  the  study  of  them  easier  than  that  of  anything 
else ;  but  because  they  care  for  the  subject,  and  are  anxious  to 
know  more  of  the  language,  literature,  culture,  and  spirit  of  two 
of  the  most  important  nations  of  the  world.  They  will  some 
day,  as  teachers,  be  called  upon  to  interpret  foreign  ideas  to 
their  own  countrymen,  to  promote  at  home  a  just  appreciation 
of  foreign  excellence.  The  minds  of  the  next  generation  are 
to  be  formed  partly  by  them  ;  their  task  is  as  noble  as  it  is 
diffiQuJt.  Idle  boys  without  ideas  or  ideals  who  have  merely 
resided  abroad  for  some  time  will  never  perform  that  task. 

A  student  who  comes  to  the  University,  intending  to  read 
for  an  Honours  course  in  Modern  Languages,  should  have 
completed  his  reading  for  his  Preliminary  Examinations,  so  that 
he  can  devote  at  least  three  clear  years  to  his  special  study. 
This  is  too  often  neglected,  and  the  loss  of  time  cannot, 
under  the  present  system,  be  made  up.  If  he  is  not  ready  to 
pass  his  Entrance  Examination  at  once,  let  him  defer  coming 
up  for  a  year. 

(^)  University  Training. 

The  University  course  stands  in  the  centre  of  a  modern 
language  master's  training.  The  student  gets  here,  better  than 
he  gets  it  from  any  books,  a  general  and  methodical  survey  of 
the  whole  domain  of  his  subject.  He  will,  later  on,  till  but  a 
limited  field  himself,  but  he  should  not  start  as  a  narrow 
specialist.  He  should  be  early  accustomed  to  look  over  the 
fences  and  hedges,  and  see  what  place  his  work  must  take  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  whole  land.  Perhaps  he  may  some  day 
single  out  a  favourite  and  promising  spot  where  he  will  dig 
deep.  A  science  which  is  as  young  as  ours  requires  frequent 
explanation  and  discussion  by  the  professor.  Here  the  student 
learns  methodical  work  •  he  learns  to  view  the  development  of 
language  and  literature  in  the  light  of  history ;  he  learns  not 
only  the  facts,  but  their  inner  connection;  he  becomes  acquainted 
with  the  critical  interpretation  of  old  and  modern  texts.  Much 


94      The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers 

of  a  modern  language  student's  work  cannot  be  done  by  him- 
self in  the  study.  It  must  be  done  in  the  lecture  room. 

At  our  Universities  we  teach  much  more  than  a  master  can 
and  should  directly  use  in  class ;  but  a  good  schoolmaster 
-  ought  to  be  widely  read  in  his  subject.  How  else  can  he  make 
a  good  choice  of  the  books  to  be  used,  or  decide  about  methods 
to  be  adopted?  He  must  also  know  by  experience  how 
scientific  results  in  his  subject  are  obtained,  or  how  far  certain 
current  linguistic  or  literary  theories  can  be  considered  as 
well  established.  He  ought  not  to  be  dependent  on  the 
primers  on  language  and  literature  which  he  happens  to  use. 
This  thorough  information  about  his  subject  is  the  indispens- 
able background  for  every  single  piece  of  his  work ;  it  is  the 
shadow  which  he  casts — to  borrow  a  suggestive  simile  from 
Chamisso's  'Peter  Schlemihl' — without  which,  although  he 
cannot  use  it  directly,  he  will  everywhere  feel  hampered  and 
embarrassed. 

The  University  cannot  and  should  not  be  expected  to  train 
students  of  modern  languages  exclusively  for  the  profession 
of  teachers.  The  University  has  a  twofold  aim,  viz.  : — 
(a)  to  promote  science  (die  Wissenschaff)  and  to  train 
scholars  for  that  purpose  ;  (b)  secondly,  to  prepare  men  qualified 
to  do  good  work  in  different  branches  of  practical  life,  which 
means,  in  our  case,  (i)  teachers,  (2)  writers  and  critics, 
(3)  diplomatists,  (4)  civil  servants,  (5)  men  of  business.  We 
have  had  students  reading  for  all  these  different  professions; 
the  University  course  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  benefit  all 
these  different  classes.  It  would  be  a  serious  mistake  to 
neglect  the  wants  of  the  scholar ;  it  must  be  our  aim  to  estab- 
lish at  the  English  Universities  a  thoroughly  good  English 
modern  languages  school,  producing  valuable  work.  It  is  true 
that  a  large  percentage  of  men  come  up  with  a  view  to  be- 
coming teachers ;  but,  without  professing  to  prepare  them  for 
their  task  more  than  the  others,  I  yet  believe  that,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  Universities  do  this,  and  that  he  who  knows  how 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers     95 

to  profit  by  the  instruction  can  secure  an  excellent  training. 
He  should  only  beware  of  imagining  that  the  University  can 
do  everything  for  him.  Much  must  be  left  to  his  own  indi- 
vidual efforts,  and  the  end  of  the  University  course  does  not  at 
all  imply  that  his  training  as  a  teacher  has  come  to  an  end. 
He  should  go  on  working  and  improving  his  knowledge  no 
less  than  his  practical  experience. 

The  chief  subjects  of  University  study  are: — (i)  Firstly, 
the  advanced  study  of  the  language,  including  practical  exer- 
cises, essays,  phonetics,  history  of  the  language,  and  study  of 
specimens  of  the  German  language  in  old  and  modern 
times.  (2)  Secondly,  the  study  of  literature,  including 
representative  authors  from  the  various  periods,  history  of 
German,  and  comparison  with  English  literature,  theory  of 
metre,  and  theory  of  poetry.  (3)  Thirdly,  'realia,'  i.e.  the 
outlines  of  German  life  and  thought,  customs  and  institutions, 
in  old  and  modern  times. 

To  master  even  the  chief  facts  of  all  these  subjects  is  no 
small  matter,  and  requires  at  least  three  clear  years  of  con- 
scientious work.  Provision  is  made  in  the  Cambridge  Tripos 
that  a  student  may  stay  on  for  a  fourth  year,  and  take  up,  if  he 
likes,  one  of  the  more  strictly  philological  sections,  or  read  for 
one  of  the  English  sections  in  connection  with  his  modern 
language  work,  unless  he  prefers  to  stay  a  fourth  year  without 
taking  any  other  examination  solely  with  the  view  of  extending 
his  knowledge  and,  if  possible,  doing  a  certain  amount  of 
original  work. 

The  student  should  attend  all  the  University  lectures  by 
which  he  is  likely  to  profit,  and  not  be  discouraged  if,  at 
first,  he  should  fail  to  understand  every  word  of  those  de- 
livered in  the  foreign  language.  The  ear  naturally  requires 
considerable  training,  but  I  know  from  experience  that,  after 
some  time,  he  will  be  able  to  follow  with  ease.  He  should 
take  good  lecture  notes,  and  read  them  over  and  correct  them, 
where  necessary,  soon  after  the  lecture.  He  should  add  to 


g6      The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers 

them  by  later  reading.  Good  notes  are  especially  important 
in  modern  languages,  because  the  subject  is  so  new.  Many 
printed  books  on  philology  and  historical  grammar  are  obso- 
lescent or  superseded;  new  theories  are  crowding  in  from 
everywhere;  it  therefore  would  be  indeed  humiliating  if  it 
could  be  said  of  a  University  lecturer  on  modern  languages  : — 

*  Dass  er  nichts  sagt,  als  was  im  Buche  steht. ' 

The  exercises  in  speaking  and  writing  should  never,  during 
the  whole  course,  be  interrupted ;  original  composition, 
especially,  should  not  be  neglected.  The  ear  should  be 
trained  also  by  dictation,  and  the  speech  organs  practised  by 
frequent  recitation.  Poems  and  prose  pieces  of  striking 
excellence  should  be  learned  by  heart,  and  often  repeated ; 
philological  and  literary  exercises  should  not  be  neglected, 
and,  in  an  advanced  class,  students  should  be  trained  in  the 
methodical  explanation  of  texts,  and  in  criticism.  Such 
students  as  wish  for  private  tuition,  in  addition  to  University 
and  College  teaching,  should,  if  possible,  seek  scientific  in- 
struction through  the  medium  of  the  foreign  language.  The 
private  work  of  the  student  should  be  partly  scientific,  partly 
practical.  He  ought  to  read  up  the  prescribed  subjects  and, 
as  far  as  he  can,  the  great  masterpieces  of  modern  literature. 
He  should  work  carefully  through  his  lecture  notes,  alone  or 
with  a  fellow-student.  He  should  make  it  a  point  to  go 
frequently  to  the  University  library  or  a  Modern  Language 
Students'  library  to  read  up  references  to  books  and  scientific 
periodicals.  The  practical  work  includes  reading  of  repre- 
sentative German  of  our  own  time,  studying  of  the  best 
magazines  and  newspapers,  or  well  written  novels  representing 
German  life  and  thought. 

If  the  work  during  the  term  is  chiefly  scientific,  the 
vacation  work  will  be  chiefly  modern  and  literary. 

A  student  who  does  not  wish  to  spend  the  whole  vacation 
at  home  or  at  an  English  University  may  very  profitably  spend 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers     97 

some  months  on  the  Continent  in  a  town  where  he  can  see 
some  of  the  great  classical  plays  which  he  is  studying  acted 
on  the  stage.  At  most  English  Universities  there  are  oppor- 
tunities of  conversing  with  natives  of  Germany  and  France. 
The  student  should  try  to  profit  by  them.  If  there  is  a 
Modern  Language  Club,  the  student  should  join  it.  Many  men 
have  been  abroad  at  different  places ;  an  exchange  of  experi- 
ence and  impressions  must  be  of  value  for  all  members. 
The  student  should  also  try  to  get  to  know  the  professor  or 
University  lecturer  of  his  subject  and  obtain  his  advice  when 
in  doubt  or  difficulty.  I  shall  discuss  the  study  of  l  realia '  in 
connection  with  the  training  abroad. 

(c)   Training  after  the   University  Course^  Self-Training. 

A  student  who  has  qualified  in  the  highest  University 
examinations  can  safely  be  left  to  himself,  but  he  will  probably 
himself  realize  that,  if  he  wants  to  become  a  successful  teacher 
of  German,  his  training  is  not  yet  finished.  He  will — apart 
from  the  necessary  methodical  study  of  the  art  of  teaching 
and  its  auxiliary  subjects,  ethics  and  psychology,  and  apart 
from  storing  up  practical  experience  gained  by  school  teaching — 
go  on  studying  the  classical  authors,  reading  foreign  periodicals 
and  magazines,  scientific  and  literary,  and  also  good  news- 
papers. He  may  perhaps  subscribe  to  one  or  two,  such  as 
Die  Neueren  Sprachen,  the  Archiv  fur  das  Studium  der  Neueren 
Sprachen  und  Litteraturen,  the  Zeitschrift  fur  den  deutschen 
Unterricht  (see  p.  103),  and  a  magazine,  such  as  Die  Woche, 
Das  literarische  Echo^  or  the  Deutsche  Rundschau.  In  reading 
German  he  should  use  Heyne's  Dictionary,  in  which  the  words 
are  explained  in  German.  He  should  endeavour  to  keep  up 
regular  intercourse  with  natives,  for  which  there  are  many 
opportunities  in  large  towns,  especially  in  London.  He  might 
exchange  lessons  or  conversation,  or  even  correspondence.  No 
less  should  he  cultivate  the  society  of  teachers  of  modern 
B.  7 


98      The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers 

languages.  By  joining  the  Modern  Language  Association  he 
would  come  into  contact  with  other  modern  language  masters, 
and  would  have  excellent  opportunities  of  exchanging  experi- 
ence. He  should  now  turn  earnestly  to  the  study  of  books  on 
method,  and  test  promising  theories  by  his  practical  experi- 
ence. At  the  University  there  was  little  time  for  such  studies, 
but  now  is  the  right  time  for  them. 

Realia. 

The  adherents  of  the  t  new  method '  have  rightly  insisted 
that  in  the  training  of  modern  language  masters  greater  promi- 
nence should  be  given  to  the  study  of  those  auxiliary  subjects, 
without  some  knowledge  of  which  a  master  would  not  be  fully 
qualified  for  his  work.  As  I  have  said  before,  the  life  and 
thought  of  the  nation,  its  institutions  and  customs,  social 
relations,  history  and  geography,  philosophy  and  religion,  are 
comprised  in  this  general  term.  An  English  teacher  of  German 
should  be  especially  well  informed  about  German  school  and 
University  life. 

For  general  information  and  reference  to  larger  works, 
nothing  can  be  better  than  Meyer's  handy  'Kleines  Konver- 
sations  Lexikon,'  in  three  volumes,  6i905.  For  history  and 
geography,  the  teacher  will  do  well  to  buy  the  best  current 
German  and  French  school  books.  See  pages  136 — 139. 

TRAINING  ABROAD. 

We  have  seen  that,  however  successfully  a  student  and 
young  master  may  work  in  England,  a  most  essential  part 
of  his  training  must  be  gone  through  on  the  Continent. 
Large  schools,  Universities,  County  Councils,  private  donors 
should  all  help  modern  language  students  and  teachers  in 
obtaining  this  very  necessary  training  abroad1.  A  student 

1  For  travelling  bursaries,  posts  of  assistants  at  Prussian  state  schools, 
etc.  see  pages  34—37  and  J5O—  r5r- 


The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers      99 

should,  however,  take  good  care  to  arrive  on  the  Continent 
well  prepared,  or  else  the  stay  abroad  will  profit  him  but 
little.  The  importance  of  the  place  selected  is  too  much 
underrated  by  Professor  Breal  in  his  book  De  r  enseignement 
des  langues  vivantes  (pp.  40,  41).  A  North  German  town 
is  certainly  to  be  preferred  to  a  South  or  Middle  German  one, 
a  large  town  to  a  small  town ;  a  University  town  offers  many 
additional  advantages ;  the  capital  of  a  country  should  be 
known  to  a  teacher  in  the  first  instance.  Berlin  or  Paris 
should  consequently  be  chosen  by  preference.  If  they  are  well 
known  to  the  student,  and  if  a  good  pronunciation  has  been 
acquired,  he  may  reside  for  some  time  in  a  small  and  pretty 
Middle  or  South  German  place,  e.g.  at  Jena  (near  Weimar 
and  Eisenach)  or  Marburg,  or  at  Heidelberg  or  Freiburg. 
There  is  a  great  difference  between  North  and  South  German 
speech,  life,  and  character,  and  a  teacher  should  know  and 
appreciate  both.  The  decentralization  of  Germany  is  as 
interesting  as  it  is  fortunate. 

About  the  length  of  the  stay  abroad  no  definite  rule  can  be 
laid  down.  Of  course,  the  longer  the  better ;  but  the  student 
should,  at  least,  have  passed  one  whole  long  vacation  in 
Germany,  and  a  teacher  should  make  it  a  point  to  go  again, 
from  time  to  time,  so  as  not  to  get  rusty.  The  best  plan 
for  a  future  German  master  is  to  arrange  to  spend  at  least  six 
months  in  Germany  immediately  after  having  taken  his  degree. 
Only  then  may  he  hope  to  become  well  acquainted  with 
Germany  and  the  Germans.  Especially  should  a  teacher 
beware  of  rash  generalizations,  and  not  say,  after  a  very  short 
stay  in  one  place,  '  I  know  Germany.7  A  student  should  stay 
with  a  refined  German  family,  and  should  avoid  all  boarding- 
houses  announcing  4  English  comfort,'  *  afternoon  tea,'  etc.  He 
should  stipulate  that  he  should  be  the  only  foreigner  received 
at  that  time.  The  family  of  a  German  secondary  teacher 
will  be,  for  obvious  reasons,  the  best  for  him  to  go  to. 
University  professors  do  not,  as  a  rule,  take  boarders. 

7—2 


ioo    The  Training  of  Modern  Language  Teachers 

English  teachers  of  limited  means  may  sometimes  reduce 
expenses  by  giving  or  exchanging  lessons.  Professor  Victor 
has  kindly  consented  to  print  applications  in  his  periodical, 
Die  Neueren  Sprachen  \  but  one  who  is  not  absolutely  obliged 
thus  to  reduce  his  expenses  should  not  sacrifice  part  of  his 
valuable  time  abroad  to  work  which  does  not  materially 
promote  his  own  training.  Teachers  who  have  been  abroad 
before  may  like  to  join  some  of  the  numerous  Modern 
Language  Holiday  Courses1. 

Once  settled  in  a  foreign  country,  a  student  should  hear, 
see,  and  speak  as  much  as  possible ;  he  should  attend  public 
lectures,  University  lectures,  hear  sermons  and  political 
debates ;  he  should  make  German  acquaintances,  know  stu- 
dents and  teachers,  walk,  talk,  and  read  with  them.  I  usually 
tell  my  students :  First  of  all  speak  much  in  the  family  with 
which  you  stay,  and  insist  on  having  your  pronunciation 
corrected  ;  keep  studiously  away  from  everything  English ;  live 
with  Germans  in  the  German  way,  even  if  you  do  not  like 
everything  at  first;  try  to  be  introduced  into  good  German 
society,  and  study  society  life;  join  in  a  Schulreise^  witness  a 
great  public  festival,  a  Turnfest,  Schulfest,  Sangerfest,  a  military 
display ;  attend  the  meetings  of  a  Philologentag  or  Kunstler- 
verein  or  Liedertafel;  go  to  the  theatres,  and  read  the  plays 
beforehand ;  buy  and  analyse  different  German  newspapers 
and  magazines,  subscribe  to  a  lending  library;  try  to  be 
admitted  to  the  University  library,  and,  if  you  happen  to  be  at 
Heidelberg,  see  not  only  the  great  tun  but  the  great  Minne- 
singer manuscript ;  see  the  great  works  of  art,  and  endeavour 
to  find  out  which  subjects  are  best  treated  and  which  are 
treated  by  preference ;  compare  the  North  and  South  German 
comic  papers,  and  compare  them  with  the  Austrian,  French, 
and  English — you  will  find  that  all  have  an  individuality  of 
their  own ;  take  lessons  in  original  composition,  describe  your 
impressions,  and  ask  your  teacher  and  your  friends  about 
1  See  pages  36—37. 


The  Training  of  Modern,  Language  Teachtr*.   101 

everything  that  strikes  you;  take,  if  possible,  some  lessons 
on  pronunciation  and  delivery  of  classical  poetry  and  prose 
passages  from  a  good  actor  or  actress ;  keep  a  diary  in  which 
you  enter  anything  that  strikes  you  as  characteristic  of  foreign 
life;  collect  illustrated  catalogues;  buy  photographs  and  picture 
post-cards,  e.g.  the  Heidelberg  Castle,  Cologne  Cathedral, 
Wartburg,  Roland  of  Bremen  and  Halle,  Lubeck  gates,  etc. 
Procure  some  collection  of  popular  songs  with  music,  and 
books  illustrating  German  life  and  customs ;  buy  a  good  school 
atlas — you  will  want  detailed  maps  of  Germany  with  the  German 
names ;  read  German  books  written  in  a  truly  German  spirit, 
not  the  poor  imitators  of  Zola  and  Ibsen ;  try  to  be  admitted 
to  good  schools,  and  attend  lessons  in  different  classes. 

This  is  what  I  wished  to  say  concerning  the  training  of 
modern  language  masters.  You  will  have  noticed  that  a 
training  such  as  I  propose  for  intending  teachers  of  modern 
languages  is  just  as  long,  their  work  at  least  as  hard,  as  sound, 
as  important  and  dignified,  as  that  of  their  classical  colleagues. 
They  have  to  master  one,  or  even  two,  exceedingly  difficult 
languages,  to  be  acquainted  with  the  masterpieces  of  a  rich 
literature  extending  over  many  centuries ;  they  have  not  only 
to  write,  but  to  speak,  these  languages  easily  and  with  genuine 
foreign  intonation.  This  requires  them  to  go  through  a 
special  scientific  and  practical  training  of  the  ear  and  of  the 
speech  organs,  and  involves  an  expensive  stay  abroad.  . 

To  bring  about  an  improvement  in  the  status  of  duly 
qualified  modern  language  masters  is  one  of  the  principal  aims 
of  the  Modern  Language  Association1,  of  which  I  most 
heartily  approve. 

1  Information  about  the  aims  of  the  association,  list  of  members,  etc. 
can  be  obtained  from  the  Hon.  Secretary,  W.  Osborne  Brigstocke,  Esq., 
31,  Cornwall  Road,  Bayswater,  London,  W.  The  annual  subscription 
is  icxr.  6d.,  for  which  members  are  entitled  to  receive  The  Modern 
Language  Review  and  Modern  Language  Teaching  post-free. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   APPENDIX 

PERIODICALS1. 

1.  The  Modern  Language  Quarterly  (for  some  years,  The  Modern 

Quarterly  of  Language  and  Literature].  Edited  by  H.  Frank 
Heath,  with  the  assistance  of  E.  G.  W.  Braunholtz,  Karl  Breul, 
I.  Gollancz,  E.  L.  Milner-Barry,  A.  W.  Pollard,  W.  Rippmann, 
and  V.  Spiers.  London.  Seven  Volumes  1897-1904.  (2^.  6d. 
each  part.)  Quarterly.  Now  split  up  into  two  separate 
publications : — 

2.  The    Modern    Language    Review.     Quarterly.     Edited    (with 

the  assistance  of  an  advisory  board)  by  John  G.  Robertson. 
Cambridge.  University  Press.  Since  October,  1905.  is.  6d. 
per  number.  This  is  the  strictly  scholarly  portion. 

3.  Modern    Language    Teaching.     Monthly.     Edited-   (with    the 

assistance  of  an  advisory  committee  of  secondary  teachers) 
by  Walter  Rippmann.  London.  Black.  Since  March,  1905. 
Yearly  eight  numbers.  6d.  a  number. 

4.  The  School  World.     Often  contains  good   articles,  sometimes 

especially  devoted  to  modern  languages,  e.g.  March,  1901  (Vol. 
III.  No.  27.  Special  number).  6d.  a  number. 

5.  Modern  Language  Notes.    Edited  by  A.  Marshall  Elliott,  James 

W.  Bright,  Hans  C.  G.  v.  Jagemann,  Henry  Alfred  Todd. 
Baltimore.  Since  1886.  Eight  numbers  a  year.  (Subscrip- 
tion in  advance,  js.  a  year2.) 

1  The  full  titles  of  most  of  the  above-mentioned  and  of  many  other  im- 
portant periodicals  are  given  in  the  first  chapter  of  my  Handy  Guide.    The 
Journal  of  Education  and  The  School  World  should  also  be  referred  to  and 
consulted  throughout. 

2  A  number  of  American  Periodicals,  also  Transactions  and  Proceedings 
of  American  Modern  Language  Associations,  are  not  included  as  unfortu- 
nately they  can  hardly  be  anywhere  consulted  in  this  country.     But  see 
Reports  4  and  5. 


Bibliographical  Appendix  103 

6.  Archiv  fur  das  Studium  der  Neueren  Sprachen  und  Littera- 

turen.  Started  by  Ludwig  Herrig.  Braunschweig.  Since 
1846.  Continued  by  Julius  Zupitza  and  Adolf  Tobler.  Now 
edited  (since  1903,  Vol.  in)  by  Aloys  Brandl  and  Heinrich 
Morf.  The  u6th  volume  is  in  course  of  publication. 
Braunschweig.  1905-6.  Half-yearly.  (8s.  per  volume.) 

7.  Die  Neueren  Sprachen,   Zeitschrift   fiir   den    Neusprachlichen 

Unterricht.  Mit  dem  Beiblatt  "  Phonetische  Studien."  Pub- 
lished by  Wilhelm  Victor  (with  collaboration  of  Franz  Dorr 
and  Adolf  Rambeau).  Marburg.  Since  1893.  Yearly  ten 
parts.  (i2s.  a  year.) 

8.  Zeitschrift   fiir    Franzosischen    und   Englischen    Unterricht. 

Edited  by  M.  Kaluza,  E.  Koschwitz  (  +  ),  G.  Thurau.  Berlin. 
Since  1902.  Yearly  6  parts.  IDS.  a  year. 

9.  Neuphilologisches  Zentralblatt.     Organ  der  Vereine  fiir  Neuere 

Sprachen  in  Deutschland.  Monthly.  xix.  vols.  Since 
1887.  1905.  Hannover.  8^.  a  year. 

10.  Zeitschrift  fiir  den   Deutschen    Unterricht,   begriindet   unter 
Mitwirkung  von  Rudolf  Hildebrand,  herausgegeben  von  Otto 
Lyon.     Leipzig.     Since  1887.     Monthly.     (i2s.  a  year.) 

11.  Wissenschaftliche  Beihefte  zur  Zeitschrift  des  Allgemeinen 
Deutschen  Sprachvereins.     Berlin.    Verlag  des  Sprachvereins. 
Cheap  and  valuable.     Up  to  November,  1905  :  27  Hefte. 

12.  Zeitschrift  fiir  Franzosische  Sprache  und  Litteratur,  originally 
Zeitschrift  fur  Neufranzbsische  Sprache  und  Litteratur,  mit 
besonderer  Beriicksichtiguhg  des  Unterrichts  im  Franzosischen 
auf  den  deutschen  Schulen,  herausgegeben  von  G.  Korting  und 
E.   Koschwitz.     The   present   general   editor  is  D.   Behrens. 
Oppeln    und    Leipzig.      (Now    Berlin.)      Since    1879.      This 
periodical  is  no  longer  devoted  exclusively  to  Modern  French. 
(15^.  a  year.) 

13.  Litteraturblatt  fiir  Germanische  und  Romanische  Philologie, 
herausgegeben    von    Otto     Behagel    und     Fritz    Neumann. 
Leipzig.     Since  1880.     Monthly,     (us.  a  year.) 

14.  Monatsschrift  fur  Hohere  Schulen.     Edited  by  R.  Kopke  and 
A.    Matthias.      Berlin.     Weidmann.     Since    1902.     Monthly. 
i$s.  a  year. 


IO4  Bibliographical  Appendix 

15.  Revue  de  ?  Enseignement  des  Langues  Vivantes.     Edited  by 
A.  Wolfromm.     Paris.     Since  1883.    (15^.  a  year.)     Monthly. 

16.  Bulletin  mensuel  de  la  Societe  des   professeurs  de  langues 
vivantes  de  1'enseignement  public.     Since  1903.     Monthly. 

17.  Le  Maitre  Phonetique,  organe   de   FAssociation  Phonetique 
Internationale.     Edited  by  Paul  Passy.    Bourg-la-reine  (near 
Paris).     Since  1886.     (4 s.  a  year.) 

REPORTS. 

1.  Verhandlungen     der     Deutschen    Neuphilologentage.      Every 

alternate  year  one  volume  of  proceedings.  Vols.  I. — x. 
Hannover.  Since  1886.  Vol.  XL  Koln.  1905.  3^. 

2.  Jahresberichte  fur    das    hb'here    Schulwesen.     Edited    by    K. 

Rethwisch.  Berlin.  Weidmann.  Since  1886.  One  Vol. 
yearly.  Price  varying  from  los.  to  15^. 

3.  Special  Reports  on  Modern  Language  Teaching.     [Education 

Department]  London.     Since  1899. 

4.  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Twelve  of  the  Modern  Language 

Association  of  America.  With  introduction  by  the  Chairman, 
Calvin  Thomas.  Boston.  1900. 

5.  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Nine  of  the   Modern   Language 

Association  of  America,  to  consider  the  advisability  and 
feasibility  of  extending  the  High  School  course  in  German. 
Prepared  by  Prof.  A.  R.  Hohlfeld.  Madison.  1905. 

6.  Full    reports   of  the  proceedings    of  the  (English]   Modern 

Language  Association  and  of  papers  read  at  their  general 
meetings  used  to  be  given  in  "The  Modern  Language 
Quarterly,"  and  will  in  the  future  be  found  in  "The  Modern 
Language  Review"  and  in  "  Modern  Language  Teaching."  See 
also  the  "Journal  of  Education." 

7.  Suggestions  for  a  Modern  Language  Ctirriculum.     Report  by 

a  Special  Sub-committee  of  the  Education  Sub-committee  on 
an  Ideal  Curriculum  in  Modern  Languages.  See  "Modern 
Language  Teaching"  I.  (1905),  241-45. 


Bibliographical  Appendix  105 


BOOKS,   PAMPHLETS   AND   ESSAYS1. 

1.  Allcock  (A.   £.).     The   Teaching   of  Modern   Languages   (in 

"  Essays  on  Secondary  Education  by  various  contributors/' 
ed.  Chr.  Cookson,  pp.  149  sqq.).  Oxford.  1898.  (43.  6d.  cloth. ) 

2.  Atkinson  (H.    W.\     An    Experiment   in    Modern    Language 

Teaching  (Journal  of  Education,  May,  1897).  On  the  articles 
by  F.  B.  Kirkman ;  his  reply  is  contained  in  the  Journ.  of 
Educ.  June,  1897. 

3.  Bagster-Collins  (Elijah    W.}.     The   Teaching   of   German  in 

Secondary  Schools.  New  York  and  London.  Macmillan. 
1904.  6^.  6d.  net. 

4.  Bahlsen   (Z,.).     Der   franzosische    Sprachunterricht    im    neuen 

Kurs.  Berlin.  1892.  (is.  $d.  unbound.)  There  is  an 
English  edition  of  these  lectures. 

5.  Baumann  (Fr.).     Reform  und  Antireform  im  Neusprachlichen 

Unterricht.     Berlin.     1902.     (is.  unbound.) 

6.  Bell  (G.  C).     The  Relative  Advantages  of  Different  Systems  of 

Modern  Language  Teaching  (a  paper  read  at  the  Headmasters' 
Conference,  Cambridge,  Dec.  1901  and  published  as  a  pamphlet). 

7.  Braunholtz  (E.  G.  W.).     Books  of  Reference  for  Students  and 

Teachers  of  French.  A  critical  survey.  London.  Hachette. 
1901.  2s.  6d. 

1  The  books,  pamphlets  and  essays  enumerated  are  unequal  in  value 
and  not  invariably  written  from  the  same  point  of  view,  nor  do  they  always 
agree  with  the  views  set  forth  in  the  preceding  pages,  but  they  will  all  be 
found  suggestive  and  helpful.  These  lists  do  not  comprise  all  that  is 
worth  reading  on  the  subject,  their  aim  being  simply  to  point  out  a  large  -1 
number  of  recent  contributions  to  the  study  of  Methods  of  Modern  Lan- 
guage Teaching,  to  which  teachers  will  find  it  useful  to  refer.  Several 
articles  contained  in  the  Journal  of  Education  (October,  1896,  and  the 
following  months)  are  very  suggestive,  also  the  contributions  by  "Zeitgeist" 
in  y.  of  Educ.  March,  1902,  and  "  Sapere  Aude,"  y.  of  Educ.  April,  1902. 
For  further  information  see  Miinch's  and  Glauning's  book  (described  under 
40)  which  gives  very  valuable  bibliographical  lists.  The  books  most  useful  for 
the  teacher  of  German  are  discussed  on  pp.  115  sqq.  Cp.  also  the  Biblio- 
graphy in  Bagster-Collins,  pp.  224  sqq.  (described  under  3  in  this  list). 


io6  Bibliographical  Appendix 

8.  Brtal    (Michel}.      De    1'enseignement    des    langues    vivantes. 

Paris.     1900.     (frcs  2  unbound.) 

9.  Brebner  (Mary].     The  Method  of  Teaching  Modern  Languages 

in    Germany.     London.     1898.     (is.    6d.    cloth.)     See    also: 
Sadler's  Reports,  Vol.  III.  (1898),  no.  8.     (The  whole  volume  is 

3^.  6d.  net.) 

10.  Brereton  (Cloudesley).     The  Teaching  of  Modern  Languages 
with   special   reference   to    big    towns.       London.       Blackie. 
1905.     (is.) 

11.  Breul  (Karl}.     The  Training  of  Teachers  of  Modern  Foreign 
Languages.     Lecture  delivered  at  the  College  of  Preceptors. 
(Educational  Times,  May,  1894.)     See  now  pages  78  sqq. 

12.  Breul  (Karl).     Speeches  on  the  needs  of  Modern  Languages 
delivered  at  Cambridge  (see  Mod.  Lang.  Quarterly)  and   at 
London  (see  M.  L.  Q.  iv.  2  (July,  1901)  pp.  156-8).     See  also 
The  Times,  Dec.  26th,   1900— Jan.   29th,  1901,  Sapere  Audey 
"The  means  of  encouraging  the  Study  of  Modern  Languages"; 
also  Journal  of  Education,  April,  1902,  "Modern  Languages 
and  the   Universities,— Supply  of  Teachers";   also   Morning 
Post  (Oct.    3ist   and   Nov.    ist,   1902),   "On  the  teaching  of 
Modern  Languages."     (Reprinted  in   T/>/>  /y^/W^  /Yfifd  PP 
199 — 222  and  286,  edited  by  Spenser  Wilkinson.)  London.  1903. 

13.  Breul  (Karl).     Greek  and  its  humanistic  alternatives  in  the 
Little-go.     Cambridge.     1905.     (is.) 

14.  Breul  (Karl).     A  Handy  Bibliographical  Guide  to  the  Study 
of  German  Language  and  Literature,  for  the  use  of  students 
and  teachers  of  German.     Hachette.     1895.     (2s.  6d.  net.) 

15.  Breymann   (H.).     Die   neusprachliche    Reform-Literatur   von 
1876—93,  Leipzig,  1895  (3s-  unbound);  von  1894 — 99,  Leipzig, 
1900  (2s.   $d.   unbound) ;   von  1899 — 1904,  Leipzig,    1905  (4^. 
unbound).     The  third  part  is  called  '  Eine   bibliographisch- 
kritische  Ubersicht,'  contributed  by  Prof.  Dr  Steinmiiller. 

16.  Colbeck  (C.\     On   the   Teaching   of   Modern    Languages   in 
Theory    and    Practice.     Two    Lectures.     Cambridge.     1887. 
(2s.  cloth.) 


Bibliographical  Appendix  107 

17.  Eggert  (Bruno}.     Phonetische  und   Methodische  Studien  in 
Paris.     Zur  Praxis  des  neusprachlichen  Unterrichts.     Leipzig. 
1900.     (2s.  6d.) 

18.  Eggert  (Bruno).     Der  psychologische  Zusammenhang  in  der 
Didaktik    des    neusprachlichen     Reformunterrichts.      Berlin. 
1904.     (is.  lod.) 

19.  Eve  (H.    IV.).     The  Teaching  of  Modern    Languages.     (In 
National    Education,    London,    1901,    228 — 253.)     Reprinted 
London,    1905.     See   also   Educ.   Times,  February,   1901,  pp. 

55—57- 

20.  Findlay  (J.).    An  Experiment  in  Modern  Language  Teaching. 
(Journal  of  Education,  Oct.  Nov.  Dec.  (with  A.  E.  Twentyman), 
1896.)     See  Kirkman. 

21.  Franke  (F.).     Die  praktische  Spracherlernung  auf  Grund  der 
Psychologic   und   der    Physiologic    der    Sprache    dargestellt. 
Leipzig.   1890.     (8<tf.  unbound.) 

22.  Frazer  (Mrs  J .  G.).     The  Phonograph  as  a  School  appliance. 
(Journal  of  Educ.  Nov.  1905,  736 — 737.)     See  nos.  48  and  52. 

23.  Gouin  (F.).     The  art  of  teaching   and   studying   languages. 
Translated  into  English  by  Swan  and  Be'tis.     London.     1892. 
7s.  9*/.     See  no.  34. 

24.  Hartmann  (K.  A.  M.\     Die  Anschauung  im  neusprachlichen 
Unterricht.     Wien.     1895.     (6d.  unbound.) 

25.  Hartmann  (K.  A.  M.).     Reiseeindriicke  und  Beobachtungen 
eines  deutschen  Neuphilologen  in  der  Schweiz  und  in  Frank- 
reich.     Leipzig.     1897.     ($s.  unbound,  4^.  cloth.) 

26.  Hausknecht  (Emit).     The  Teaching  of  Foreign  Languages. 
In  Sadler's  Reports,  Vol.  vm.  (1898),  no.  9. 

27.  Holzer    (G.)    und    Schmidt    (G.).      Zur    franzosischen    und 
englischen    Unterrichtssprache.      Beitrage    zu    einer    Schul- 
phraseologie.     Heidelberg.     Programm    666.     Beilage.     Hei- 
delberg.    1900. 

28.  Jeffrey  (P.  Shaw).     The   study   of  Colloquial  and   Literary 
French.     London.     Whittaker.     1899.     (5*.) 


io8  Bibliographical  Appendix 

29.  Jespersen  (Otto].     How  to  teach  a  foreign  Language.     Trans- 
lated from  the  Danish  original  by  Sophia  Ylsen-Olsen  Bertelsen. 
London.     1904.     (3^.  6d.) 

30.  Kirkman   (F.    B.}.     An    Experiment   in    Modern    Language 
Teaching.    (Journal  of  Education,  February,  April,  1897.)    See 
Findlay  ;  Atkinson. 

31.  Kirkman  (F.  B.}.     Reform  in   Modern   Language   Examina- 
tions.    (Journal  of  Education,  April,  1900,  pp.  230  ff.) 

32.  Klinghardt    (//.).     Ein    Jahr    Erfahrungen    mit    der    neuen 
Methode.     Marburg.     1888.     (is.  8d.  unbound.) 

33.  Klinghardt  (//.).     Drei  weitere  Jahre  Erfahrungen   mit   der 
neuen  Methode.     Marburg.     1892.     (2s.  6d.  unbound.) 

34.  Kron  (7?.).     Die   Methode    Gouin  oder  das  Seriensystem  in 
Theorie  und  Praxis.     Marburg.     2i9oo.     (3.$-.  6d.  bound.) 

35.  Lange  (Paul).     Zur  Reform  unserer  Neusprachlichen  Schul- 
ausgaben.     Leipzig.     1901.     (3^.) 

36.  Mangold  (  W.}.     Geloste  und  ungeloste  Fragen  der  Methodik, 
auf  dem  Gebiet  der  neueren  Fremdsprachen.     Berlin.     1892. 
(8d.  unbound.) 

37.  Mangold  (  W.\     Der  Unterricht  im  Franzosischen  und  Eng- 
lischen,  in  the  Reform  des  Hoheren  Schulwesens  in  Preussen. 
Halle.     1902.     Pp.  191  —  226,  and  bibliographical  references  at 
end.     12s.  ;  145.  cloth. 

38.  Montgomery  (Miss  J.  D.).    The  Teaching  of  Modern  Languages 
in  Belgium  and  Holland.     In  Sadler's  Reports,  Vol.  n.  (1898), 
no.  26. 


39.  Munch  (W.\     Zur  Forderung  des  franzosischen  Unterrichts. 
Heilbronn.     1883.     2nd  (improved)  edition.     Leipzig.     1895. 
(2s.  $d.  unbound.) 

40.  Munch  (W.)  und  Glauning  (Fr.).     Didaktik  und    Methodik 
des    franzosischen    und    englischen    Unterrichts.     Miinchen. 
1895  (from  Dr  A.  Baumeister's  "Handbuch  der  Erziehungs- 
und  Unterrichtslehre  fur  hohere  Schulen  ").    This  book  contains 
a  most  valuable  and  up-to-date  bibliography.    (4^.  6d.  unbound.) 
New  editions.     Munch  (1902),  Glauning  (1903). 


Bibliographical  Appendix  109 

41.  Miinch   (W.}.     Welche   Ausriistung    fiir   das   neusprachliche 
Lehramt  1st  vom  Standpunkte  der  Schule  aus  wiinschenswert? 
(In  "Die  Neueren  Sprachen,"  IV.  Heft  6.)     Marburg.     1896. 
is.   &d.     A  number  of  other  essays  of  Miinch   scattered  in 
various  German  periodicals  are  likewise  well  worth  reading. 

42.  Miinch  (IV.}.    Das  Akademische  Privatstudium  der  Neuphilo- 
logen,  in  "  Lehrproben  und   Lehrgange  der  Gymnasien  und 
Realschulen."    1905.    Separately  printed.    Halle.    1906.    (5^.) 

43.  Neumann  (A.).     Fiihrer  durch  die  Stadte  Nancy,  Lille,  Caen, 
Tours,    Montpellier,    Grenoble,    Besangon,    fiir    Studierende, 
Lehrer  und  Lehrerinnen.     Marburg.     1902.     (2s.  bound.) 

44.  Ohlert    (A.}.     Die    fremdsprachliche    Reformbewegung,    etc. 
Konigsberg.     1886.     (is.  $d.  unbound.) 

45.  Passy  (Paul}.     De  la  me'thode  directe  dans   Penseignement 
des    langues    vivantes.     Paris.     1899.     (Armand   Colin    Cie.) 
(frcs  1.50.) 

46.  Rippmann  ( Walter].     Hints  on  Teaching  French.     London. 
3 1 904.     (is.   6d.   net,  boards.)     Hints  on  Teaching  German. 
London.     1899.     (is.  net,  boards.) 

47.  Rippmann  (Walter}.     On   the   Early   Teaching    of    French. 
(A  series  of  Articles  in  Macmillan's  "School  World,"  beginning 
in  no.  i.) 

48.  Rippmann   (Walter}.      The   Production   of  artificial   speech 
sounds.     (In  the  School  World,  April,  1906.)     See  no.   51. 

49.  Roden  (A.  v.}.     In  wiefern  muss   der  Sprachunterricht  um- 
kehren?     Ein  Versuch  zur  Verstandigung   iiber  die  Reform 
des  neusprachlichen  Unterrichts.     Marburg.     1890.     (is.  %>d. 
unbound.) 

50.  Roden  (A.  v.}.     Die  Verwendung  von  Bildern  zu  franzosischen 
und  englischen  Sprechiibungen,  methodische  Ansichten  und 
Vorschlage.     Marburg.     1898.     (is.  $d.  unbound.) 

51.  Rossmann  (P.).     Ein  Studienaufenthalt  in  Paris.     Ein  Fiihrer 
fiir    Studierende,    Lehrer    und    Lehrerinnen.       2nd    edition. 
Marburg.     1902.     (3^.  bound.) 

52.  Rouse   (W.  H.  D.}.     The    Phonograph   in   the    Class- Room. 
(Illustrated.)     The  School  World.     May,  1906.     6d. 


no  Bibliographical  Appendix 

53.  Salhviirck    (E.    -z/.).     Fiinf  Kapitel   vom    Erlernen    fremder 
Sprachen.     Berlin.     1898.     is.  %d. 

54.  Savory  (D.  Z,.).     Progress  of  the  Reform  Method  of  Teaching 
Modern  Languages,  in  Speaker,  Sept.  23rd,  1905.    (Cp.  article 
by  same  writer  in  Speaker,  Sept.  I9th,  1903.) 

55.  Schlapp  (Otto}.     Modern   Languages  in  Scotch   Schools  and 
Universities,    their    present    position    and    prospects.     Edin- 
burgh.    1899. 

56.  Schlapp  (Otto}.    The  Report  of  the  Scottish  Universities  Com- 
mission and  the  place  of  Modern  Languages  in  the  Examina- 
tions for  Bursaries  of  the  Scottish  Universities.     Edinburgh. 
Darien  Press.     1900.     ($d.) 

57.  Siepmann  (Otto].     The  advantages  and  fallacies  of  the  new 
method  of  teaching  French.    (An  address  delivered  in  London, 
Dec.  1903.)     Reprinted  from  the  Preparatory  Schools  Review. 
Oxford.     Bocardo  Press.     1904. 

58.  Siepmann  (Otto).     Modern   Languages  as   an   instrument  of 
Education    arid    Culture.     (A   paper   read   at    Oxford,    April, 
1904.)     London.      Hodgson    Co.     1904.      [Reprinted   in   the 
"Zeitschrift  fur  franzosischen  und  englischen  Unterricht."  1905.] 

59.  Siepmann   (Otto}.     Preface  to  his  '  Primary  French  Course.' 
London.     1902. 

60.  Sigwalt    (Ch.}.     De    1'enseignement    des    langues    vivantes. 
Paris.     1906.     (3^.  unbound.) 

61.  Soltmann  (H.  C.).     Der  fremdsprachliche  franzosische  Unter- 
richt an  der  Hoheren  Madchenschule.     Leipzig.     1889.     (is. 
unbound.) 

62.  Soltmann  (H.   C.).     Das  propadeutische  Halbjahr  des  fran- 
zosischen Unterrichts  in  der  Hoheren  Madchenschule.     Bre- 
men.    1893.     (is.  6d.  unbound.) 

63.  Spencer  (Fr.}.     Chapters  on  the  aims  and  practice  of  teaching. 
Chapter  ill.   (French  and  German,   by   the   general   editor.) 
Cambridge.     1897.     (6s.  cloth.) 

64.  Storr  (Fr.).    The  Teaching  of  Modern  Languages  (French  and 
German)  in  "Teaching  and  Organisation,  with  special  reference 
to  Secondary  Schools.     A  manual  of  practice,  edited  by  P.  A. 
Barnett."     London.     1897.     Pp.  261 — 280.     At  the  end  of  this 
essay  some  other  contributions  by  Mr  Storr  to  the  question  of 


Bibliographical  Appendix  1 1 1 

Modern  Language  Teaching  are  enumerated.  See  also  A.  T. 
Pollard's  remarks  on  pp.  24 — 26  of  the  same  volume.  (6s.  6d. 
cloth.) 

65.  Sweet  (//.)•     The  Practical   Study  of  Languages.     London. 
1899.     New  York.     1900.     (6^.  net.) 

66.  Tanger  (G.).    Muss  der  Sprachunterricht  umkehren?    Berlin. 
1888.     (gd.  unbound.)     See  no.  71. 

67.  Tuke    (Margaret   J.).      Article    in    Journal   of  Education. 
November,  1902. 

68.  Thiergen  (Oscar).    Methodik  des  neusprachlichen  Unterrichts. 
Leipzig.     1903.     (4J.  $d.  cloth.) 

69.  Thomas  (Calvin),  A.  Marshall  Elliott,  W.  Stuart  Macgowan 
and    others.      Methods    of    Teaching    Modern    Languages. 
Boston,  U.  S.  A.     1891.     (Essays  and  speeches  very  unequal 
in  value  and  importance.     $s.  6d.  cloth.) 

70.  Veyssier  (£.).     De  la  me'thode  pour  Tenseignement  scolaire 
des  langues  vivantes.     Paris.     1898.     (3^.) 

71.  Victor  (W.}.   (Quousque  Tandem.)    Der  Sprachunterricht  muss 
umkehren.    Heilbronn.    1882.    Third  ed.  with  additional  notes, 
1905.     (8d.  unbound.) 

72.  Victor  (  W.}.     Die  Methodik  des  neusprachlichen  Unterrichts. 
Ein   geschichtlicher   Uberblick   in   vier  Vortragen.     Leipzig. 
1902.     (is.  unbound.) 

73.  Victor  (W.}.     Wissenschaft  und  Praxis  in  der  neueren  Philo- 
logie.     Marburg.     1899.     ($d.  unbound.) 

74.  Waetzoldt  (St.).     Die   Aufgabe  des  Neusprachlichen  Unter- 
richts und  die  Vorbildung   der  Lehrer.     Berlin.     1892.     (is. 
unbound.)     Compare  the  "  Verhandlungen  des  fiinften  allge- 
meinen    deutschen     Neuphilologentages    zu    Berlin"    (1892) 
(Hannover,  1893,  pp.  25  sqq.)  and  the  reviews  of  Waetzoldt's 
lecture    in    "  Die    Neueren    Sprachen"   I.    48    sqq.    (Victor); 
"  Mitteilungen  zur  Anglia"  in.  361  sqq.  (Wendt)  ;  "Zeitschr. 
fur  franzosische  Sprache "  xiv.  i  sqq.  (Stengel)  ;  "  Englische 
Studien"     XIX.     137    sqq.    (Kolbing);     "  Litteraturblatt    fur 
germanische    und     romanische     Philologie"     XV.     130    sqq. 
(Koschwitz). 


112  Bibliographical  Appendix 

75.  Walter  (Max).     Der   franzosische    Klassenunterricht.     Mar- 
burg.    1888,  21895.     (Is-  3d-  unbound.) 

76.  Walter  (Max).    Englisch  nach  dem  Frankfurter  Reformplan. 
Marburg.     1900.     ($s.  6d.  unbound.) 

77.  Walter  (Max).      Die    Reform  des    Neusprachlichen    Unter- 
richts  auf   Schule   und  Universitat.     Mit  Nachwort  von  W. 
Victor.     Marburg.     1901.     (6d.) 

78.  Walter  (Max).     Der  Gebrauch  der   Fremdsprache   bei   der 
Lektiire  in  den  Oberklassen.     Marburg.     1905.     9^. 

79.  Ware  (Fabian].     Phonetics  and  Modern  Language  Teaching. 
(Journal  of  Education.     August,  1897.)     See  Kirkman. 

80.  Ware   (Fabian).     The   Teacher    of    Modern    Languages    in 
Prussian  Secondary  Schools.     His  education  and  professional 
training.     In  Sadler's  Reports,  Vol.  III.  (1890),  no.  10. 

81.  Ware  (Fabian}.     The   Teaching   of   Modern    Languages   in 
Frankfurt  a/M   and  district.     In   Sadler's    Reports,  Vol.   III. 
(1898),  no.  7- 

82.  Widgery  ( W.  H.\     The  Teaching  of  Languages  in  Schools. 
London.     1888.    (With  a  very  full  chronological  bibliography 
up  to  1888.)     Reprinted.     London.     1903.     (is.) 

83.  Winch  (William  H.}.     Notes  on  German  Schools.     London. 
1904.     (Chapter  XV.  pp.  162 — 202,  on  the  teaching  of  foreign 
languages  in  Germany.)     (6s.  bound.) 

84.  Wolfromm  (A.).     La  question  des  methodes.     Revue  de  1'en- 
seignement  des  langues  vivantes.    Paris.    1902.    (April  number.) 


SPECIAL   BOOKS   ON   THE   TEACHING   OF  GERMAN1. 

85.    Hildebrand  (R.\     Vom   deutschen    Sprachunterricht   in   der 
Schule.     Leipzig.     4i89o.     (3^.  unbound.) 

1  Those  books  which  are  specially  intended  for  the  use  of  German 
teachers  in  German  Schools  contain  much  more  than  an  English  teacher 
can  possibly  expect  to  get  through  ;  but  as  the  smaller  is  contained  in  the. 


Bibliographical  Appendix  113 

86.  Laas  (E.).     Der  deutsche    Unterricht   auf  hoheren    Lehran- 
stalten.     Berlin.     1872.     2i886  (edited  by  I.  Imelmann).     (Ss. 
unbound.)     See  p.  141. 

87.  Lehmann  (Rud.\     Der  deutsche  Unterricht.     Eine  Methodik 
fur  hohere  Lehranstalten.     Berlin.     2nd  edit.  1897.     9^.  cloth. 

88.  Wendt    (Gustav).      Didaktik   und    Methodik   des   deutschen 
Unterrichts  und  die  philosophische  Propadeutik  (from  Bau- 
meister's 'Handbuch' Vol.  ill.).     2nd  edit.     Miinchen.     1905. 
With  useful  bibliographical  lists.     (3^.  6d.  unbound.) 

89.  Matthias  (Adolf].     Handbuch  des  deutschen  Unterrichts  an 
den  hoheren  Schulen.     A  monumental  work  which  will  ulti- 
mately comprise  six  volumes,  produced  by  the  collaboration  of 
a  number  of  first-rate  authorities.     Miinchen.     Only  a  small 
portion  has  so  far  appeared.     1906. 

PHONETICS1. 

90.  Klinghardt  (//.).     Artikulations-  und  Horiibungen.     Cothen. 
J^97-     (5s-  bd.  unbound.) 

91.  Passy(Paul\    Les  sons  du  Fran^ais.    Paris.    3i892.    (frcs.  1.50 
unbound.) 

92.  Passy  (Paul).     Abrdgd  de  prononciation  franchise.     Leipzig. 
1897.     2i9oi.     (is.) 

greater,  English  teachers  of  German  will  in  many  cases  find  such  works  of 
the  utmost  service — except  in  the  case  of  the  special  conditions  and  special 
difficulties  of  the  English  learner.  With  regard  to  these  and  to  a  detailed 
account  of  the  method  of  teaching  German  in  English  schools  the  best  book 
is  at  present  the  American  book  by  E.  W.  Bagster-Collins.  See  no.  3  of 
the  foregoing  list. 

1  For  more  detailed  information  see  my  Handy  Bibliographical  Guide, 
pp.  8,  24 — 26,  35,  and  also  pp.  125  sqq.  of  this  book.  For  French,  see 
Braunholtz,  '  Books  of  Reference  for  Students  and  Teachers  of  French.' 
London,  1901.  Here  on  pages  32  and  45 — 7  the  titles  of  the  important 
books  by  Beyer,  Koschwitz,  and  others  are  given  in  full.  See  also  Miss 
Brebner's  pamphlet  (No.  5),  pp.  70 — 72,  and  Le  Maitre  Phonetique  (January, 
1897),  pp.  39 — 41  (ouvrages  recommandes  pour  1'etude  de  la  phonetique  et 
de  la  pedagogic  linguistique).  (See  also  Rippmann  in  Modern  Langtiage 
Teaching.}  The  larger  and  most  useful  works  on  Phonetics  by  Sievers, 
Trautmann,  Victor,  Jespersen  and  others  are  here  not  enumerated. 

B.  8          \^ 


H4  Bibliographical  Appendix 

93.  Rippmann  (W.\     Elements  of  Phonetics.     English,  French, 
and    German.     Translated  and  adapted   from    Prof.  Victor's 
uKleine  Phonetik."     London.     1899.     (2s.  6d.  net,  boards.) 

94.  Scholle  ( W.)  and  Smith  (£.).    Elementary  Phonetics.    English, 
French,  German.     Their  theory  and  practical  application  in 
the  classroom.     London.     1903.     (zs.  6d.  net.) 

95.  Vietor  (W.\     German   Pronunciation,  Practice  and  Theory. 
Leipzig.     3i9O3.     (2s.  cloth.)     (See  pp.  62 — 63  of  this  book.) 

96.  Johannson  (Arwid).     Phonetics  of  the  New  High  German 
Language.     Manchester  and  Leipzig.     ($s.  net.)     1906. 

97.  Siebs  (Theodor).    Deutsche  Biihnenaussprache.    Berlin,  Koln, 
Leipzig.       1898.      2i9oi.      ($s.    $d.    bound.)      Grundziige   der 
Biihnenaussprache.     ibid.     21904.     (2s.  bound.) 

98.  Bangert  (W.).     Ubersicht   liber  die   phonetische    Bewegung 
zwischen   1878 — 93,  in  "Verhandlungen  der  Direktoren-Ver- 
sammlung   der  Provinz    Schleswig-Holstein."     Berlin.     1898. 
pp.   117—184. 

99.  Breymann  (//.).     Die  phonetische  Litteratur  von  1876 — 1895. 
Eine     bibliographisch-kritische    Ubersicht.      Leipzig.      1897. 
(3J.  6d.  unbound.) 

100.  Bremer    (Otto}.      Wandtafeln     der    deutschen     Aussprache. 
Tafel  I :    Die   menschlichen    Sprechwerkzeuge.     Senkrechter 
Durchschnitt  durch  die  Mitte  des  Kopfes.    Leipzig.    Breitkopf 
&  H artel.     1903.     is. 


THE    REFERENCE    LIBRARY  OF   A   SCHOOL 
TEACHER   OF   GERMAN1. 

THERE  are  no  doubt  many  difficulties  which  beset  a  teacher 
of  German  in  this  country,  such  as — want  of  time  allotted  to 
his  subject  in  the  school  curriculum,  necessity  of  preparing  his 
pupils  for  a  host  of  examinations,  want  of  a  clearly  defined 
and  methodically  arranged  curriculum,  lack  of  encouragement 
of  the  subject  in  the  vast  majority  of  schools,  distinct  dis- 
couragement in  the  present  regulations  for  various  exami- 
nations, shyness  of  many  pupils  in  dealing  with  the  living  and 
spoken  idiom,  uncertainty  concerning  the  best  method  to  be 
adopted  in  teaching,  and  doubt  as  to  what  books  should  be 
used  with  the  classes,  and  more  especially  in  preparing  for 
his  own  work. 

It  can,  however,  not  be  urged  that  there  is  not  now  a  great 
number  of  really  good,  scientific,  as  well  as  practical  books 
available  for  a  teacher  to  refer  to  in  all  cases  of  difficulty  and 
doubt,  such  as  may  arise  at  any  moment  in  the  various 
departments  of  his  every-day  teaching.  On  the  contrary,  there 
are,  at  least  in  some  cases,  so  many  books  on  the  same  subject 
that  a  real  difficulty  is  experienced  by  teachers  as  to  which 

1  Revised  and  enlarged  Reprint  from  the  Modern  Language  Quarterly 
for  November,  1897.  For  a  similar  up-to-date  list  of  the  best  books  of 
reference  for  a  teacher  of  French,  see  E.  G.  W.  Braunholtz,  'Books  of 
reference  for  students  and  teachers  of  French,'  London,  1901,  and  also 
O.  Siepmann's  list  of  books  in  'The  School  World,'  March,  1901,  and  W. 
Rippmann  in  'Modern  Language  Teaching,'  I.  6  (Oct.  1905),  pp.  171  sqq. 

8—2 


Ii6  The  Reference  Library  of 

should  be  used  by  preference.  The  school  reference  libraries 
are  as  yet  very  poor  as  far  as  German  is  concerned,  and 
teachers  of  German  should  make  every  effort  to  improve  them. 
Apart  from  this,  however,  most  teachers  will  probably  wish,  as 
far  as  may  be,  to  purchase  gradually  all  the  necessary  books  of 
reference  for  themselves.  But  as  only  a  very  few  teachers  will 
be  able  to  possess  all  the  books  which  they  may  from  time 
to  time  wish  to  consult,  the  establishment  of  good  school 
libraries  for  teachers  of  modern  languages  is  a  pressing  need 
which  cannot  be  ignored  any  longer. 

The  choice  of  tools  will,  of  course,  largely  depend  on  the 
kind  of  work  which  the  teacher  will  have  to  do,  but  a  well- 
equipped  and  sufficiently  endowed  reference  library  will  be  found 
by  every  teacher  of  the  very  greatest  importance  for  the 
success  of  his  teaching  and  for  necessary  self-improvement. 
It  is  the  object  of  this  article  to  assist  young  teachers  to  some 
extent  in  making  their  choice  and  in  recommending  books 
for  school  and  college  libraries.  As  far  as  possible  the  latest 
editions  are  quoted.  New  books  of  value  and  interest  will 
henceforth  be  regularly  noticed  in  Modern  Language  Teaching 
and  The  Modern  Language  Review,  as  they  used  to  be  (since 
1897)  in  the  columns  of  the  Modern  Language  Quarterly. 

Such  ordinary  grammars,  composition-books,  school  dic- 
tionaries, and  the  like,  as  are  in  daily  use  in  schools,  and 
with  which  every  teacher  is  naturally  familiar,  have  all,  or 
nearly  all,  been  excluded  from  the  following  lists.  I  shall,  in 
the  subsequent  paragraphs,  freely  refer  readers  to  my  '  Handy 
Guide1,'  where  a  much  greater  number  of  books  of  reference  is 
given,  and  will  here,  once  for  all,  draw  attention  to  a  work 
now  in  course  of  publication,  which  when  completed  will  be  of 

1  Karl  Breul,  'A  Handy  Bibliographical  Guide  to  the  Study  of  the 
German  Language  and  Literature  for  the  use  of  Students  and  Teachers  of 
German.'  London:  Hachette  £  Co.,  1895,  8vo.  Bound,  is.  6d.  Some 
books  enumerated  in  the  present  chapter  are  of  more  recent  date  than  the 
'Guide.' 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  117 

the  greatest  utility  to  teachers  :  the  '  Handbuch  des  deutschen 
Unterrichts  an  den  hoheren  Schulen.'  (To  be  completed  in 
about  14  parts,  published  separately  and  each  complete  in  it- 
self; General  Editor,  Adolf  Matthias,  Miinchen,  1906.)  It  will 
contain  much  that  English  teachers  of  German  will  not  require, 
but  a  great  part  of  it  will  be  to  them,  no  less  than  to  their 
German  colleagues,  of  the  utmost  importance.  As  it  is  a  very 
expensive  work  it  will  be  difficult  for  many  teachers  to  buy  it, 
but  it  might  well  find  a  place  on  the  shelves  of  the  reference 
library  for  modern  language  teachers  in  the  larger  secondary 
schools. 

Dictionaries. — A  number  of  dictionaries  of  different 
kinds  should  be  found  on  the  shelves  of  a  well-equipped 
reference  library.  Apart  from  the  ordinary  small  school 
dictionaries,  a  teacher  will  be  in  constant  need  of  at  least 
one  large  dictionary  of  the  first  order.  The  last  edition  of 
Fliigel's  well-known  and  time-honoured  dictionary  is  much  to 
be  recommended.  Its  full  title  is  Felix  Fliigel,  'Allgemeines 
Englisch-Deutsches  und  Deutsch-Englisches  Worterbuch.' 
Fourth,  entirely  remodelled,  edition.  2  parts  in  3  vols. 
Braunschweig,  1891.  (Price,  bd.,  £2.  ^s.)1  The  English- 
German  part  is  by  far  the  better  of  the  two,  it  gives  many 
carefully  chosen  instances  from  English  classical  authors  of  all 
times,  with  exact  references  to  the  works  where  they  occur,  and 
good  German  renderings ;  the  German-English  part,  which  is 
really  the  more  important  one  for  English  students,  is  written 
on  a  different  plan  and  leaves  more  to  be  desired.  A  smaller 
dictionary,  partly  based  on  the  large  Fliigel  (the  English- 
German  part  only),  is  the  one  called  Fliigel-Schmidt-Tanger, 
1 A  Dictionary  of  the  English  and  German  Languages  for 
Home  and  School.'  Two  vols.  London,  1896  (15*.  bound). 

1  The  prices  quoted  in  this  article  are  those  for  which  the  books  may 
be  obtained  from  Messrs  Heffer  and  Sons,  Petty  Cury,  Cambridge.  The 
prices  are  liable  to  the  usual  discount. 


n8  The  Reference  Library  of 

It  is  excellently  printed,  very  full,  marvellously  cheap,  and  most 
useful  for  all  ordinary  purposes. 

Still  better  from  a  scientific  point  of  view  is  Schroer's  new- 
adaptation  of  Grieb's  well-known  dictionary.  (Vol.  I.  English- 
German.  Vol.  II.  German-English.  Paul  Neff,  Stuttgart, 
1894-1902.  Its  price  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  Fliigel- 
Schmidt-Tanger.  155-.) 

A  work  which  surpasses  even  the  big  Fliigel  in  complete- 
ness is  the  '  Encyclopadisches  Englisch-Deutsches  und  Deutsch- 
Englisches  Worterbuch,'  compiled  by  Ed.  Muret  and  Daniel 
Sanders  with  the  help  of  many  specialists.  It  consists  of  four 
volumes,  each  costing  £i.  is.  half-bound.  (Berlin,  1891-1902.) 
An  abridged  school  edition  of  this  work  has  also  been  published. 
(It  is  very  full,  the  print  is  good  though  rather  small,  and  it  is 
obtainable  in  two  vols.  16^.;  in  one  vol.,  15^.,  Berlin,  1900.) 

The  smaller  books  by  Thieme-Preusser,  and  Kohler  (which 
have  been  completely  re-edited),  and  the  still  smaller  books  by 
Whitney,  Krummacher,  James,  and  Weir  (of  which  I  have  just 
completed  a  revised  and  much  enlarged  edition  to  be  published 
in  the  autumn),  are  certainly  useful  in  many  respects  to  school 
children  and  students  at  the  beginning  of  their  course,  but  do 
not  afford  all  the  information  a  teacher  of  German  may  desire 
to  obtain.  Among  the  host  of  very  small  books  may  be  men- 
tioned E.  Muret's  '  Taschenworterbuch  der  Englischen  und 
Deutschen  Sprache'  (Berlin,2 1 902, 35. 6^.) and  Jaschke's '  English- 
German  Conversation  Dictionary,'  which  is  excellent  for  use 
when  travelling  in  Germany.  (London,  Nutt,  1893.  2s.6d.} 

Apart  from  German-English  and  English-German  dic- 
tionaries, a  teacher  will  often  desire  to  consult  a  German 
dictionary  with  German  explanations,  and,  if  possible,  with 
well-chosen  German  instances.  The  very  big  works  of  the 
brothers  Grimm  and  their  successors,  and  of  Daniel  Sanders 
(see  my  '  Guide,'  pp.  48 — 49),  are  too  bulky  and  expensive 
for  ordinary  purposes ;  the  former  is  still  uncompleted. 
Two  recent  dictionaries  of  smaller  size  will  probably  be  very 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  119 

welcome  to  many  teachers  of  German.  One  is  by  Moriz  Heyne, 
'  Deutsches  Worterbuch,'  3  vols.  Leipzig,  1890-95  (;£i.  los. 
unbound,  £i.  iqs.  half  calf).  It  contains  numerous  well-chosen 
instances,  and  is  most  handy  for  reference.  A  new  enlarged 
edition,  giving  the  latest  official  spellings,  is  now  in  course  of 
publication,  Leipzig,  1905-6.  An  abridgment  of  the  original 
edition,  in  one  vol.,  was  published  in  1897  (13^.  half  calf). 
Another  most  useful  dictionary,  in  which  no  full  quotations  are 
given,  but  the  development  of  meaning  of  the  words  very  care- 
fully elaborated,  is  the  '  Deutsches  Worterbuch,'  by  Hermann 
Paul.  Halle,  1897  (Ss.  unbd. ;  IQS.  half  calf).  Heyne  and 
Paul  exclude  all  foreign  words  of  recent  importation.  Every 
teacher  should  endeavour  to  get  Paul's  dictionary  and  the  large 
Heyne — both  will  be  of  daily  use  to  him.  English  teachers  of 
German  will  sometimes  be  in  doubt  as  to  the  inflexion 
or  pronunciation  of  foreign  words  in  German.  They  should 
consult  the  '  Fremdworterbuch/  by  Dan.  Sanders,  2  vols. 
Leipzig,  2 1891-2  (155.  half  calf).  There  is  now,  however,  a 
strong  tendency  in  Germany  to  avoid,  if  possible,  the  use  of 
foreign  words,  and  several  dictionaries  have  been  compiled  in 
which  German  equivalents  of  foreign  words  are  given.  Such 
are  G.  A.  Saalfeld,  '  Fremd-  und  Verdeutschungsworterbuch,' 
Berlin,  1898  (7$.  6d.  bound),  and  O.  Sarrazin,  '  Verdeutschungs- 
worterbuch.' Berlin,  3i9o5  (6s.  bound).  Mention  should 
also  be  made  of  the  '  Verdeutschungsworterbiicher  des  Allge- 
meinen  Deutschen  Sprachvereins '  (issued  to  its  members). 
The  separate  parts  are  also  obtainable  at  low  prices,  e.g.  Die 
Speisekarte  (i),  Der  Handel  (ii),  Die  Schule  (vii),  etc.  The 
most  handy  dictionary  of  synonyms  is  Eberhard's  'Synony- 
misches  Handworterbuch  der  deutschen  Sprache'  (the  latest, 
1 6th  ed.,  by  Otto  Lyon)  with  well-chosen  German  instances 
and  translations  of  the  German  synonyms  into  English,  French, 
Italian,  and  Russian.  Leipzig,  1904  (half-bound,  135.  6d.). 
The  etymology  of  words  of  German  origin  has  been  admirably 
treated  by  Fr.  Kluge  in  his  '  Etymologisches  Worterbuch  der 


I2O  The  Reference  Library  of 

deutschen  Sprache.'  This  book,  the  first  edition  of  which  ap- 
peared in  1 88 1,  has  rapidly  gone  through  a  number  of  carefully 
revised  editions.  The  last  edition  was  published  at  the  end  of 
1898  and  costs,  bound  in  leather,  rcxr.  A  very  short,  but  useful, 
etymological  German  dictionary  is  the  one  by  Ferd.  Better. 
Leipzig,  1897.  (Sammlung  Goschen,  No.  64,  lod.  cloth.) 
A  very  good  systematical  English- German  vocabulary  (parts  of 
which  will  be  found  useful  for  class-teaching)  has  been  com- 
piled by  Gustav  Kriiger,  '  Englisch-Deutsches  Worterbuch  nach 
StofTen  geordnet  fur  Studierende,  Schulen  und  Selbstunterricht.' 
Berlin,  ^895  (35.  io</.). 

Many  other  dictionaries,  including  older  German  dic- 
tionaries, special  glossaries,  dialect  dictionaries,  dictionaries 
of  technical  and  commercial  words  and  phrases,  etc.,  which 
are  of  less  importance  for  ordinary  teaching,  must  be  passed 
over  in  this  article.  Their  full  titles  are  given  in  my  *  Guide,' 
chapter  vi.,  pp.  45 — 54.  I  will  only  mention  F.  W.  Eitzen's 
*  Worterbuch  der  Handelssprache,'  2  vols.  English-German, 
Leipzig,  1893  (i6s.  bound),  which  is  very  full  and  on  the 
whole  reliable,  and  is  not  mentioned  in  the  '  Guide.' 

Grammars,  etc.  —  Such  books  as  are  very  widely  known 
and  extensively  used  in  class-teaching,  e.g.  the  grammars  by 
Kuno  Meyer,  Macgowan,  Fiedler,  Aue,  Eve,  Weisse,  Meissner, 
Siepmann,  and  others,  need  not  be  discussed  in  this  place. 
I  wish  to  call  attention  to  some  excellent  books  which  seem  to 
be  less  known.  L.  Harcourt's  '  German  for  Beginners/  Marburg 
and  London,  2i898  (2s.  &d.  net),  is  an  admirable  book  for  its 
purpose.  The  *  Leitfaden  fiir  den  ersten  Unterricht  im  Deut- 
schen '  by  S.  Alge,  with  the  collaboration  of  S.  Hamburger  and 
W.  Rippmann,  deserves  warm  recommendation.  A  new 
edition,  completely  rewritten,  has  been  published  in  1905 
under  the  title  'Dent's  New  First  German  Book,'  is.  6rf.  H.  G. 
Atkins'  ;  Skeleton  Grammar  of  German '  (London,  Blackie, 
i s.  6d.)  will  be  found  useful,  where  it  is  desirable  to  em- 
phasize only  the  main  facts  of  accidence  and  syntax.  The 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  12 1 

excellent  American  book  by  H.  C.  G.  Brandt,  'A  Grammar 
of  the  German  Language  for  High  Schools  and  Colleges, 
designed  for  beginners  and  advanced  students/  Boston,  6i893 
(6s.  net,  cloth),  which  is  far  too  little  known  in  this  country, 
will  be  found  extremely  useful.  Teachers  should  make  it 
a  point  to  obtain  the  larger  edition  (including  the  advanced 
portion).  Among  the  more  bulky  works  on  German  grammar 
written  in  English,  G.  O.  Curme's  recently  published  '  Grammar 
of  the  German  Language,  designed  for  a  thorough  and  practical 
study  of  the  language  as  spoken  and  written  to-day'  (New 
York,  1905,  icxy.),  is  to  be  warmly  recommended.  There  is 
a  Grammar  of  the  German  language  by  G.  H.  Clarke  and 
C.  J.  Murray  which  has  just  (1906)  been  published  by  the 
Cambridge  University  Press.  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to 
examine  it.  It  is  smaller  than  Curme's  book,  but  fuller 
than  most  school  grammars  (6s.).  Of  those  written  in 
German,  the  '  Neuhochdeutsche  Grammatik  mit  Beriicksich- 
tigung  der  historischen  Entwickelung  der  deutschen  Sprache,' 
F.  Blatz,  Karlsruhe,  3 1895-6,  2  vols.  (entirely  rewritten), 
unbound,  22^.,  half-calf,  26^.,  deserves  special  recommenda- 
tion. Students  and  teachers  will  find  Curme  and  Blatz  most 
useful  for  study  and  for  reference.  They  may  also  like  to 
consult  L.  Siitterlin's  'Die  deutsche  Sprache  der  Gegenwart,' 
Leipzig,  1900,  6s.,  and  the  shorter  '  Deutsche  Sprachlehre  fiir 
hohere  Lehranstalten,'  Leipzig,  1905,  2s.  $d.  (by  L.  Siitterlin 
and  A.  Waag),  both  extremely  good  books.  Of  the  older 
books,  I.  Ch.  Aug.  Heyse's  '  Deutsche  Grammatik,'  26th  ed., 
completely  rewritten  by  Otto  Lyon,  Hannover,  1900  ($s.), 
may,  in  spite  of  some  shortcomings,  still  be  used  with  advantage 
in  many  cases.  The  '  Deutsche  Grammatik '  (Gotisch,  Alt- 
Mittel-  und  Neuhochdeutsch),  by  W.  Wilmanns,  which  is  now 
in  course  of  publication,  will  probably  be  of  too  strictly  philo- 
logical a  character  to  meet  the  practical  needs  of  school-teachers. 
So  far  vol.  i.  (phonology),  Strassburg,  2i897  (8^.  unbound,  los. 
half-bound),  and  vol.  n.  (word-formation),  §trassburg, 


122  The  Reference  Library  of 

(\2S.  6d.  unbound),  and  the  first  half  of  vol.  in.  have 
appeared.  A  fourth  volume,  and  possibly  a  fifth,  are  to 
follow.  It  is  an  admirable  piece  of  work. 

An  excellent  short  book  for  repetition  of  the  principal  facts 
of  old  and  modern  phonology  and  accidence  is  Fr.  Kaufifmann, 
'Deutsche  Grammatik.'  Marburg,  3i902  (2S.  gd.  cloth).  The 
book  is  only  intended  for  the  use  of  students,  and  cannot  be 
used  for  class-teaching. 

With  regard  to  syntax  alone,  the  works  by  Vernaleken, 
Erdmann,  Kern,  and  Wunderlich,  give  much  useful  infor- 
mation. (See  my  'Guide,'  p.  32.)  Erdmann's  work  (in  two 
volumes),  which  is  now  completed  (vol.  n.  by  Otto  Mensing, 
Stuttgart,  1898),  deserves  special  recommendation.  (los.  un- 
bound the  2  vols.) 

There  are  a  number  of  German  books  in  which  doubtful 
points  of  grammar  and  the  'best  German5  are  discussed  at 
length.  Five  of  these  will  be  especially  serviceable  to 
English  teachers  (for  others,  see  my  '  Guide,'  pp.  29 — 30). 
K.  G.  Andresen,  '  Sprachgebrauch  und  Sprachrichtigkeit  im 
Deutschen.'  Eighth  edition,  Leipzig,  1898  (6s.,  or  cloth  7^.). 
This  is  the  most  conservative  book  of  the  three.  Th.  Matthias, 
in  his  'Sprachleben  und  Sprachschaden.'  Leipzig,  2i897  (6s.  $d. 
cloth),  of  which  an  abridged  edition  has  been  published  in  1896 
(Kleiner  Wegweiser  durch  die  Schwankungen  und  Schwierig- 
keiten  des  deutschen  Sprachgebrauchs,  is.  5^.),  makes  greater 
concessions  to  recent  usage.  The  third  book  is  much  shorter, 
but  also  very  useful — A.  Heintze,  'Gut  Deutsch.'  Eighth 
edition,  Berlin,  1897  (is.  6d.  cloth).  Heintze  has  also  recently 
brought  out  a  very  large,  and  on  the  whole  reliable,  work  in 
dictionary  form  on  the  doubtful  points  of  grammar  and  style 
under  the  title  '  Deutscher  Sprachhort,'  Leipzig,  1900  (i2s.  un- 
bound), which  deserves  to  be  recommended.  The  last  book 
of  this  kind  is  W.  Grunow,  '  Grammatisches  Nachschlagebuch, 
ein  Wegweiser  fiir  jedermann  durch  die  Schwierigkeiten 
der  deutschen  Grammatik  und  des  deutschen  Stils.'  Leipzig, 
1905  (2s.  6d.). 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  123 

The  fundamental  questions  concerning  the  history  of 
language  in  general  have  been  discussed  in  a  masterly  way  by 
Henry  Sweet  in  his  '  History  of  Language/  London,  Dent, 

1900  (is.  net).     More  detailed  books  on  the  subject  are  Otto 
Jespersen's  'Progress  in  Language,'  London,   1894  (7^.  6d.\ 
and  H.  Paul's  'Principien  der  Sprachgeschichte '  (IQS.  bound). 
The   books  (written  from   different  points   of  view)  of  Wilh. 
Wundt,    'Sprachgeschichte  und    Sprachpsychologie,'    Leipzig, 

1901  (35-.  bound),  and  B.  Delbriick,  '  Grundfragen  der  Sprach- 
forschung'  (against  Wundt),  Strassburg,  1901  (45-.  lod.  bound), 
are  of  a  more  advanced  character. 

Those  who  wish  to  have  a  brief  survey  of  the  history  of  the 
German  language  and  its  grammar  should  refer  to  O.  Weise's 
*  Unsere  Muttersprache ;  ihr  Werden  und  ihr  Wesen  '  (Leipzig, 
3i897,  2s.  %d.\  and  also  to  W.  Uhl,  VEntstehung  und  Entwicke- 
lung  unserer  Muttersprache.'  Leipzig,  1906  (is.  3^.).  A  some- 
what older  book  of  a  similar  character,  and  especially  good 
with  regard  to  strictly  philological  information,  is  O.  Behagel's 
4  Die  deutsche  Sprache'  (Leipzig,  ^902,  revised  and  enlarged 
edition)  (3^.  8d. ).  An  adaptation  of  the  original  edition,  which  is, 
however,  not  free  from  slips,  appeared  in  London,  1891,  under 
the  title,  'A  Short  Historical  Grammar  of  the  German  Language7 
(4-j-.  6d.).  A  really  first-rate  account  of  the  history  of  the  German 
language  considering  the  special  needs  of  English  students 
of  German  has  still  to  be  written.  Teachers  may  also  like  to 
refer  to  O.  Brenner's  'Grundziige  der  geschichtlichen  Grammatik 
der  deutschen  Sprache.'  Miinchen,  1896  (2^.  5^.  unbound).  In- 
formation on  special  points  is  given  in  A.  Waag's  'Bedeutungsent- 
wickelung  unseres  Wo rtschatzes' (based  on  H.  Paul's  Dictionary), 
Lahr,  1901  (35-.  unbound);  Albert  Polzin's  * Geschlechtswandel 
der  Substantiva  im  Deutschen  (mit  Einschluss  der  Lehn- 
und  Fremdworte),'  Hildesheim,  1903,  and  with  regard  to  the 
vocabulary  (especially  loan-words)  the  following  books  should 
be  consulted  : — F.  Seiler,  '  Die  Entwickelung  der  deutschen 
Kultur  im  Spiegel  des  deutschen  Lehnworts'  (Halle,  i.  1895, 


124  The  Reference  Library  of 

2i905;  ii.  1900),  45-.  the  two  parts,  unbound.  R.  Kleinpaul, 
'  Das  Fremdwort  im  Deutschen '  (Sammlung  Goschen.  Leipzig, 
lodf.).  A  small  pamphlet  containing  a  few  short  and  popular 
articles  on  the  German  language,  such  as  boys  preparing  for 
scholarships  may  like  to  read,  is  the  one  by  E.  Wasserzieher, 
'Aus  dem  Leben  der  deutschen  Sprache.'  Leipzig,  no  date 
(3^.).  A  well-written  and  practical  book  is  the  one  by  Henri 
Lichtenberger,  '  Histoire  de  la  langue  allemande.'  Paris,  1895 
(frcs.  7.50).  Another  useful  French  book,  treating  of  the  mutual 
relation  of  English  and  German  grammar,  is  a  book  by 
V.  Henry,  which  was  translated  by  the  author  himself,  under 
the  title,  '  A  Short  Comparative  Grammar  of  English  and 
German,  as  traced  back  to  their  Common  Origin  and  con- 
trasted with  the  Classical  Languages.'  London,  1894  (js.  6d.}. 
Excellent  information  with  regard  to  niceties  of  spelling 
is  given  by  W.  Wilmanns  in  his  valuable  book,  '  Die  Ortho- 
graphic in  den  Schulen  Deutschlands.'  Berlin,  1887  (3$.  8</. 
unbound).  It  is,  however,  to  some  extent  superseded  by  the 
new  ;  Reichsorthographie,'  and  reference  should  therefore  be 
made  to  the  latest  books  giving  the  spellings  now  officially 
adopted  by  Germany,  Austria  and  Switzerland,  such  as  the 
pamphlet  called  'Regeln  fiir  die  deutsche  Rechtschreibung  und 
Worterverzeichnis,'  Berlin,  1902  (3^.);  K.  Duden's  handy 
and  reliable  '  Orthographisches  Worterbuch  der  deutschen 
Sprache  mit  etymologischen  Angaben,  kurzen  Sacherklarungen 
und  Verdeutschungen  der  Fremdworter.  Nach  den  fiir  Deut- 
schland,  Osterreich  und  die  Schweiz  giiltigen  amtlichen  Regeln,' 
Leipzig- Wien,  ^905  (is.  &/.).  Otto  Sarrazin,  in  his  'Deutsche 
Einheitsschreibung,'  Berlin,  3i9o6  (iod.\  goes  even  further,  in 
that  he  does  away  with  those  older  spellings  which  Duden, 
following  the  official  regulations,  in  some  cases  allowed  as 
alternatives.  Sarrazin  justly  believes  that  two  ways  of  spelling 
the  same  word  should  be  discouraged  and  only  prints  the  more 
modern  spelling  in  all  cases  of  doubt.  Aug.  Vogel,  '  Ausfiihr- 
liches  Grammatisch-orthographisches  Nachschlagebuch,'  Berlin, 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  125 

1902,  2s.  io*/.  bound,  is  also  a  most  useful  book  of  reference 
written  on  a  different  plan  from  Duden's  which  teachers  may 
sometimes  like  to  consult  by  the  side  of  Duden's  book.     They 
should  also  read  what  has  been  forcibly  urged  by  Otto  Siebs 
in  his  'Zur  Einfuhrung  der  neuen  Rechtschreibung,'  Breslau, 

1903.  Valuable  critical  remarks  on  spelling  are  to  be  found  in  a 
small  book  by  O.  Brenner,  'Die  lautlichen  und  geschichtlichen 
Grundlagen    unserer    Rechtschreibung.'      Leipzig,    1902    (is. 
unbound).     The  differences   between    the    new  and   the   old 
spelling  are  well  summarised  in  Johannes  Meyer's  pamphlet 
'  Die  Abweichungen  der  neuen  von  der  alten  Rechtschreibung/ 
2nd  ed.,  Hannover,   1902   (3^.).     A   short  guide  to  modern 
punctuation  is  the  book  by   O.  Glode,  '  Die  deutsche  Inter- 
punktionslehre.'    Leipzig,  1893  (4^-)-    Teachers  will  remember 
that  some  attention  to  German  punctuation  is  indispensable,  as 
in  several  important  points  the  principles  governing  English 
and  German  punctuation  are  at  variance.     Teachers  who  have 
to  prepare  boys  for  examinations  in  which  they  must  show 
proficiency  in  reading  German  handwriting  should  use  C.  F.  A. 
Kolb,   '  Lesebuch  in  Handschriften,'  9th  ed.,  Stuttgart,   1900 
(is.  zd.  boards),  or  H.  Oskar  Sommer,  '  Specimens  of  German 
handwriting'  (with  detachable  key),  London,  Hachette,  1900 
(25.  6d.). 

The  subject  of  the  best  German  pronunciation  is  still  a  very 
vexed  question,  even  among  the  Germans  themselves.  Teachers 
should  refer  to  pages  61 — 64  and  87 — 89,  and  consult  the 
'Deutsche  Biihnenaussprache '  by  Th.  Siebs,  Berlin,  2i9oi 
(35-.  $d.  bound),  or  the  abridged  edition  of  this  book  ('Grundziige 
der  Biihnenaussprache,'  Berlin,  ^904,  2s.  $d.  bound)  which 
contains  many  practical  hints  as  to  how  common  mistakes  of 
pronunciation  may  be  avoided.  The  books  which  will  be  most 
helpful  for  English  teachers  are  Victor's  'German  Pronunciation : 
Practice  and  Theory,'  Leipzig,  3i903  (2$.),  his  'Die  Aussprache 
des  Schriftdeutschen,'  Leipzig,  5i9oi,  with  the  transcription  of 
the  Association  Phone'tique  Internationale  (is.  &/.),  and  the 


126  The  Reference  Library  of 

reprint  of  his  lecture,  *  Wie  ist  die  Aussprache  des  Deutschen  zu 
lehren?'  Marburg,  3i9oi  (is.).  A  'Deutsche  Lauttafel,'  illus- 
trating this  lecture,  was  published  at  the  same  time  (is.  6d.). 
It  can  also  be  had  on  a  large  scale  and  mounted  to  be  hung 
up  on  the  wall  of  the  class-room  (2^.  6d.\  Heinrich  Oberlander's 
'Ubungen  zum  Erlernen  einer  dialektfreien  Aussprache,'5 1900, 
Miinchen  ($s.  8d.  bound),  will  also  be  found  very  helpful. 
Teachers  who  are  anxious  to  consult  handy  books  on  phonetics 
may  either  refer  to  Arwid  Johannson's  '  Phonetics  of  the  New 
High  German  Language,'  Manchester  and  Leipzig,  1906  (3^.); 
or  to  Laura  Soames,  '  An  Introduction  to  English,  French,  and 
German  Phonetics,  with  reading  lessons  and  exercises,'  new 
edition,  revised  and  edited,  after  Miss  Soames'  death,  by  W. 
Victor,  London,  1899  (6s.);  to  Soames'  '  Phonetic  Method'  2 
parts  (each  2s.  6d.)\  to  W.  Scholle  and  G.  Smith,  'Elementary 
Phonetics,  English,  French,  and  German,  their  theory  and 
practical  application  in  the  class-room  '  London,  1903 
(25.  6d.) ;  or  to  Victor's  'Kleine  Phonetik  des  Deutschen, 
Englischen  und  Franzosischen,'  Leipzig,  3i903  (2s.  lod.  cloth). 
A  useful  translation  and  adaptation  of  it  is  W.  Rippmann's 
*  Elements  of  Phonetics.'  London,  ^903  (2^.  6d.  net). 

Other  books  and  pamphlets  on  pronunciation  and  phonetics 
are:  W.  Braune,  'Uberdie  Einigung  der  deutschen  Aussprache.' 
Rektoratsrede.  Heidelberg,  1904 (1^.3^.).  Karl  Luick, 'Deutsche 
Lautlehre,  mit  besonderer  Beriicksichtigung  der  Sprachweise 
Wiens  und  der  Osterreichischen  Alpenlander'  (Leipzig-Wien, 
1904,  2s.  6d.).  H.  Huss,  '  Lehre  vom  Accent  der  deutschen 
Sprache  zum  erstenmal  vollstandig  behandelt  und  fiir  Fremde 
bearbeitet'  (Altenburg,  1877,  "•  3^)-  G.  Hempl,  'German 
orthography  and  phonology'  (Boston,  U.S.A.,  1897,  9^.).  C.  H. 
Grandgent,  'German  and  English  Sounds.'  Boston,  U.S.A., 
1892  (2^.  6d.).  For  the  use  of  those  who  are  anxious  to  study 
German  texts  of  an  easy  character  in  phonetic  transcription 
W.  Victor  has  written  a  '  Deutsches  Lesebuch  in  Lautschrift ' 
Part  I.  2i904  (3*.  bound).  Part  II.  1902,  3^.  bound.  Leipzig 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  127 

and  London  (Nutt).  There  exists  an  edition  of  Schiller's 
'  Wilhelm  Tell '  in  phonetic  script  by  Pierce-Hempl.  New 
York,  1900.  Mention  may  here  be  made  also  of  the  36 
German  phonographic  records  (in  3  sets),  spoken  by  me 
for  Mrs  J.  G.  Frazer's  series  (Cambridge,  1906)  (each  record 
3^.,  booklets  2d.  for  each  series),  which  will  be  found  a  help 
to  individual  teachers  preparing  for  their  work  as  well  as 
to  classes  of  moderate  size.  The  records  aim  at  giving  as  far 
as  possible  a  model  pronunciation  of  a  considerable  number  of 
carefully  selected  and  graduated  specimens  of  German  prose 
and  poetry.  They  should  be  several  times  repeated  by  the 
phonograph  till  the  scholars  are  familiarized  with  every  sound 
and  have  also  caught  the  accent  of  the  phrase  and  have  under- 
stood the  proper  way  of  reciting  German  prose  and  verse. 

There  are  several  books  devoted  to  the  teaching  of  conver- 
sation (see  my  '  Guide, 'jg^3&)>  Perhaps  the  most  serviceable 
of  them  is  A.  Hamann's  Hicho  of  Spoken  German,'  Leipzig, 
1892  (2S.  6d.  cloth),  a  series  of  excellent  dialogues,  which 
afford,  at  ihe  same  time,  a  useful  introduction  to  the  study  of 
German  life  and  manners.  With  regard  to  the  latter,  R.  Kron's 
German  Daily  Life'  (London,  4i905)  (2s.  6d.  net),  and  also 
the  '  Bilder  deutschen  Lebens  und  Wesens  '  by  the  same  author 
(Karlsruhe,  1905,  15-.  3^.  bound),  will  be  found  interesting. 

For  the  explanation  of  German  idiomatic  phrases,  no  better 
books  could  be  desired  than  those  by  Wilh.  Borchardt,  '  Die 
sprichwortlichen  Redensarten  im  deutschen  Volksmunde  nach 
Sinn  und  Ursprung  erlautert,'  Leipzig,  5i895  (by  G.  Wustmann) 
(>js.  cloth),  and  by  H.  Schrader,  '  Der  Bilderschmuck  der 
deutschen  Sprache.'  Berlin.  Sixth  edition,  1901  (>js.  cloth). 
For  other  similar  books,  familiar  quotations,  slang,  etc.,  see  my 
*  Guide,'  p.  39,  but  the  smaller  books  on  idioms  are,  for  various 
reasons,  all  more  or  less  unsatisfactory.  To  those  enumerated 
in  the  *  Guide'  might  now  be  added : — M.  Taker  and  F.  F.  Roget, 
'German  Idioms.'  London,  1900  (35.  6d.).  A.  Oswald,  'A 
Selection  of  German  Idioms  and  Proverbs.'  London,  1902 


128  The  Reference  Library  of 

(is.  6d.}  Still  a  really  good  book  for  English  students  remains 
to  be  written. 

Teachers  who  make  their  advanced  pupils  write  free  essays 
on  German  classical  works  or  characters  occurring  in  great  plays 
should  use  among  others  the  books  of  Victor  Kiy,  'Themata 
und  Dispositionen  zu  deutschen  Aufsatzen  und  Vortragen  im 
Anschluss  an  die  deutsche  Schullektiire  fur  die  oberen  Klassen 
hoherer  Lehranstalten,'  three  parts,  Berlin,  2nd  ed.  1897—1899 
(Parts  I.  and  III.  3*.,  Part  II.  3*  6ft.  cloth);  H.  Ullrich, 
'Deutsche  Muster- A  ufsatze'  (Leipzig,  2i 903,  2S.  lod.  unbound); 
Karl  Kiiffner,  '  Aufsatzbuch '  (Niirnberg,  1905,  3^.  unbound). 

For  the  teaching  of  scientific  German  nothing  can  be  better 
than  '  A  first  German  course  for  science  students,'  comprising 
a  Reader  and  outline  of  grammar  with  diagrams  and  vocabulary, 
by  H.  G.  Fiedler  and  F.  E.  Sandbach,  London,  1906  (25.  6d.). 
It  is  to  be  followed  shortly  by  a  second  course  which  will  con- 
tain graduated  passages  from  modern  scientific  publications 
with  grammatical  notes. 

Histories  of  Literature. — The  best  history  of  German 
literature  written  in  English  is  the  one  by  John  G.  Robertson 
(Edinburgh  and  London,  1902,  los.  6d.  net.).  In  a  second 
edition  of  this  excellent  book  the  relations  between  German 
and  English  literature  and  the  most  significant  parallels  and 
differences  between  the  two  might  with  advantage  be  more 
strongly  emphasized.  A  fine  and  suggestive  book  giving  a  full 
account  of  the  development  of  German  literature  as  influenced, 
by  social  forces  has  hailed  from  America.  It  was  originally 
called  '  Social  Forces  in  German  Literature.  A  study  in  the 
history  of  Civilization '  by  Kuno  Francke,  which  title  has  now 
been  altered  to  '  A  History  of  German  Literature  as  determined 
by  Social  Forces/  New  York,  4i9oi  (IQS.  cloth.).  The  older 
books  in  English  are  of  little  or  no  value  and  should  not  be  used, 
and  the  English  translations  or  adaptations  of  German  works 
are  none  of  them  free  from  very  serious  shortcomings.  Hence 
a  teacher  will  very  likely  prefer  to  possess  one  or  more  German 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  129 

works  of  moderate  size  on  the  subject.  The  following  will, 
in  my  opinion,  best  serve  his  purpose — Wilhelm  Scherer, 
'  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Litteratur,'  Berlin,  9th  ed.,  1902 
(IDS.  cloth,  i2s.  half-calf),  perhaps  the  most  brilliant  book  of 
its  kind,  written  by  a  ripe  scholar,  who  was  endowed  with  a 
refined  taste  for  literary  beauty.  Another  very  valuable 
work  is  the  t  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Litteratur  von  den 
altesten  Zeiten  bis  zur  Gegenwart,'  by  Friedrich  Vogt  and 
Max  Koch.  Leipzig  and  Wien,  1897,  2i904,  2  vols.  (;£i). 
This  book  is  profusely  adorned  with  very  carefully  selected  and 
splendidly  executed  illustrations,  giving  facsimiles  of  old  and 
modern  manuscripts  and  handwritings,  and  numerous  portraits 
of  famous  authors,  etc.  The  scientific  value  of  this  book  is 
incomparably  higher  than  that  of  another  well-illustrated  history 
of  literature  by  Robert  Konig  (26th  revised  ed.  in  two  vols. 
Bielefeld  and  Leipzig,  1898)  (£i  half-calf),  which  has  still 
a  wide  circulation  in  Germany.  A  splendid  large  picture-book, 
merely  illustrating  German  literature  from  the  earliest  times 
to  the  present  day  by  over  2200  pictures  and  illustrations,  is 
Gustav  Koennecke's  'Bilderatlas  zur  Geschichte  der  deutschen 
Nationalliteratur.  Erganzung  zu  jeder  deutschen  Litteratur- 
geschichte.'  2nd  ed.  Marburg,  1895  (£*•  %s-  half  calf).  It  is 
marvellously  cheap  for  what  it  contains.  For  German  literature 
as  seen  by  a  French  critic,  see  A.  Bossert,  '  Histoire  de  la 
litterature  allemande'  (2nd,  revised  ed.  Paris,  1904,  frcs.  5) 
which  is  a  very  interesting  and  helpful  book.  A  model 
of  the  way  in  which  special  studies  in  literature  should  be 
written  is  Charles  Herford's  *  Literary  Relations  of  England 
and  Germany  in  the  XVIth  Century'  (Cambridge  University 
Press,  1886  (9*). 

For  the  eighteenth  century  the  great  work  by  H.  Hettner, 
4  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Litteratur  im  achtzehnten  Jahr- 
hundert,'  4th  ed.  (revised  by  O.  Harnack),  Braunschweig,  1894 
(£>l-  15S-  6d-  unbound,  or  bound  in  2  vols.  ( leather  )£i.  igs.  6d.\ 
will  be  found  as  useful  as  it  is  interesting.  For  the  two  last 

B.  0 


130  The  Reference  Library  of 

centuries  all  necessary  personal  and  bibliographical  references 
are  given  in  the  second  edition  of  Karl  Goedeke's  admirable 
*  Grundrisz '  which  after  Goedeke's  death  is  being  con- 
tinued by  a  number  of  leading  German  scholars.  7  vols. 
£4.  1 6^.  lotf7.  unbound.  There  are  not  a  few  books  from 
which  information  as  to  German  literature  in  the  nineteenth 
century  can  be  obtained.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that 
they  differ  a  great  deal  in  character  and  judgment,  but  in 
most  of  them  there  is  plenty  of  interesting  matter  and 
valuable  information.  I  must  pass  over  a  number  of  such 
works  but  should  like  to  draw  the  attention  of  teachers  of 
German  to  the  following :  Richard  M.  Meyer,  Die  deutsche 
Litteratur  des  neunzehnten  Jahrhunderts.  Berlin,  1900,  3i9o6 
(re-written,  i2s.  6d.  bound).  This  is  a  very  valuable  book 
written  by  one  of  the  most  gifted  pupils  of  Scherer.  It  is  the 
outcome  of  a  stupendous  amount  of  reading  and  suggestive  on 
every  page  even  if  one  cannot  always  agree  with  the  views  of 
the  learned  author.  Most  useful  bibliographical  references  are 
contained  in  the  same  author's  'Grundriss  der  neueren  deut- 
schen  Litteraturgeschichte.'  Berlin,  1902  (75.  bound).  Older 
books  are  R.  v.  Gottschall,  '  Die  deutsche  Nationallitteratur 
des  neunzehnten  Jahrhunderts.  Litterarhistorisch  und  kritisch 
dargestellt,'  6th  ed.,  4  parts.  Breslau,  1892  (£i  unbound). 
L.  Salomon,  '  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Nationallitteratur  des 
neunzehnten  Jahrhunderts,'  2nd  ed.  (with  thirty  portraits  of 
poets).  Stuttgart,  1887  (125.  cloth).  Ad.  Stern,  'Studien  zur 
Litteratur  der  Gegenwart'  (with  portraits  of  authors).  Dresden 
and  Leipzig,  ^898  (los.  6d.  unbound,  125-.  6d.  cloth).  John 
Firman  Coar,  Studies  in  German  literature  in  the  nineteenth 
century.  New  York,  1903  (los.  6d.  net,  bound).  This  is  an  in- 
teresting book  and  contains  many  excellent  observations.  It 
should,  however,  be  noted,  that  it  is  written  'with  the  intention 
to  measure  the  development  of  the  German  nation  by  ideals  of 
American  democracy,  though  not  by  standards  of  American 
living.'  A  short  but  useful  account  of  recent  German  literature 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  131 

is  given  by  Carl  Weitbrecht  under  the  title  '  Deutsche  Littera- 
turgeschichte  des  19.  Jahrhunderts '  (Sammlung  Goschen), 
2  vols.,  1901  (bound  is.  8//.).  The  short  account  of  nineteenth- 
century  literature  by  Adolf  Stern,  *  Die  deutsche  National- 
litteratur  vom  Tode  Goethes  bis  zur  Gegenwart'  (originally 
intended  to  form  a  supplement  to  Vilmar's  '  History  of  German 
Literature'),  Marburg,  4i9oi,  is  also  not  without  value  (2^.  icu/. 
cloth).  Books  dealing  with  the  various  departments  of  literature 
in  detail — the  novel,  the  drama,  lyric  poetry,  etc. — cannot  be 
enumerated  here.  The  titles  of  many  of  the  more  important 
ones  will  be  found  in  chapters  8  and  12  of  my  ' Handy  Guide.' 
From  a  great  number  of  German  primers  of  literature  for  schools 
only  those  by  H.  Kluge,  G.  Egelhaaf,  Max  Koch,  G.  Botticher 
and  K.  Kinzel,  and  Gotthold  Klee  (Dresden  and  Berlin,  8i9o6) 
need  be  mentioned.  See  my  '  Guide,'  pp.  63 — 64.  Each  has 
its  own  advantages.  Klee's  book  (2^.  cloth)  is  the  best  for 
school  purposes. 

Metre. — A  short  but  useful  survey  of  the  history  of  German 
metre,  with  good  specimens  and  due  consideration  of  modern 
forms,  is  given  by  Fr.  KaurTmann  in  his  '  Deutsche  Metrik  nach 
ihrer  geschichtlichen  Entwickelung.'  Marburg,  1897  (4^.  3^.). 
A  more  detailed  account  of  modern  German  metre — a  subject 
which  apparently  is  hardly  ever  touched  upon  in  school  teaching, 
while  the  outlines  of  it  deserve  to  be  just  as  well  known  as 
the  metrical  art  of  the  ancient  classical  writers — is  given  in 
F.  Minor's  'Neuhochdeutsche  Metrik.'  Strassburg,  2i902  (icxr. 
unbound;  i2s.  half  calf).  Most  teachers  will  probably  find 
the  book  too  elaborate  for  their  purpose  in  spite  of  its  being 
extremely  readable  and  suggestive.  The  metre  of  a  play  in 
blank  verse  and  in  the  Old  German  free  metre  of  four  accents 
is  fully  discussed  in  my  edition  of  Schiller's  'Wallenstein  i.' 
Cambridge,  2i896  (3^.  6d.  cloth) ;  blank  verse  alone  in  my 
editions  of  'Wilhelm  Tell,'  Cambridge,  ^897  (25.  6<t.  cloth), 
and  of  Goethe's  'Iphigenie,'  Cambridge,  1899  (3^.  6d.  cloth). 

9—2 


132  The  Reference  Library  of 

Theory  of  Poetry,  etc. — A  number  of  'Poetiken'  of 
very  different  size  and  character  are  enumerated  in  my  '  Guide ' 
on  pp.  74-75.  There  will  be  little  time,  and  perhaps  little  need, 
for  systematic  instruction  in  the  theory  of  poetry  in  our  schools, 
but  teachers  will  probably  like  to  possess  and  use  at  least  the 
following  small  and  cheap  hand-book :  C.  F.  A.  Schuster, 
'Lehrbuch  der  Poetik  fur  hohere  Lehranstalten,'  Halle,  3rd 
ed.  1890  (2*.  cloth).  In  this  connection  I  should  like  to 
mention  and  to  recommend  very  strongly  three  books  which 
teachers  will  find  helpful  in  preparing  discussions  of  the 
classical  German  dramas  with  more  advanced  pupils.  They 
are :  Gustav  Freytag,  '  Die  Technik  des  Dramas,'  9th  ed. 
Leipzig,  1901  ($s.  unbound,  6^.  6d.  bound);  the  American 
translation  of  this  book  by  E.  J.  MacEwan,  Chicago,  1895 
(75-.  6d.  cloth),  does  not  seem  to  be  very  well  done.  R.  Franz, 
1  Der  Aufbau  der  Handlung  in  den  klassischen  Dramen/ 
Bielefeld  and  Leipzig,  2i898  (4^.  6d.  unbound,  6^.  half-bound), 
and  H.  Bulthaupt,  '  Dramaturgic  des  Schauspiels.'  Vol.  i. 
(Lessing,  Goethe,  Schiller,  Kleist).  Oldenburg  and  Leipzig, 
9th  ed.  1902  (7^.  cloth).  Paul  Goldscheider's  '  Erklarung 
deutscher  Schriftwerke  in  den  oberen  Klassen  hoherer  Lehran- 
stalten'  (Berlin,  1889,  is.  6d.  unbound,  and  a  'Nachtrag' 
published  in  1893),  and  his  recent  book  '  Lesestiicke  und 
Schriftwerke  im  deutschen  Unterricht'  (Miinchen,  1906,  85-., 
cloth  95-.),  will  also  be  found  useful. 

Among  the  numerous  prose  readers  the  following  will  be 
found  suitable  for  advanced  students  and  of  interest  to  the 
teachers  themselves :  Wilhelm  Paszkowski,  '  Lesebuch  zur 
Einfiihrung  in  die  Kenntnis  Deutschlands  und  seines  geistigen 
Lebens,  fiir  auslandische  Studierende  und  fiir  die  oberste  Stufe 
hoherer  Lehranstalten  des  In-  und  Auslands  '  (Berlin,  2i 905, 
35.  $d.  cloth).  Margarete  Henschke,  '  Deutsche  Prosa,  ausge- 
wahlte  Reden  und  Essays,  zur  Lektiire  auf  der  obersten  Stufe 
hoherer  Lehranstalten  zusammengestellt'  (Leipzig-Berlin,  1905, 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  133 

$s.  6d.  cloth).  O.  Weise,  '  Musterstiicke  deutscher  Prosa,  zur 
Stilbildung  und  zur  Belehrung '  (Leipzig-Berlin,  1903,  is.  $d. 
cloth).  H.  Raydt  und  R.  Rossger,  '  Deutsches  Lesebuch  fiir 
Handelsschulen  und  verwandte  Anstalten '  (Leipzig,  1902, 
2S.  lod.  cloth).  The  latter  will  be  found  especially  useful  for 
advanced  students  of  commercial  German. 

German  Classics. — A  great  number  of  school  editions  of 
German  classics  with  English,  German,  and  French  Notes  are 
enumerated  in  my  '  Guide,'  pp.  94 — 96.  For  particulars  as  to 
English  editions  of  German  Classics  available  in  1893  see  my 
article  in  Lyon's  'Zeitschrift  fiir  den  deutschen  Unterricht,' 
Vol.  viii.  (1894),  pp.  167  sqq.  Of  English  editions  without 
notes  Max  Miiller's  *  German  Classics'  in  2  vols.,  Oxford,  1886, 
deserves  to  be  mentioned.  Vol.  n.  has  been  recently  revised 
by  F.  L.  Armitage.  (Vol.  i.  Ss.  6d.  net,  Vol.  n.  $s.  6d.  net.) 
Of  German  editions  the  Cotta  Jubilee  edition  of  Schiller's  and 
Goethe's  works  is  excellent  (Schiller  in  16  vols. ;  Goethe,  in  40 
vols.,  is  not  yet  complete,  cloth,  2s.  each).  The  Hempel  editions 
of  Lessing,  Goethe  and  Schiller,  the  'German  classics'  editions  in 
the  Leipzig  Bibliographical  Institute,  including  editions  of  Goethe, 
Schiller,  Burger,  Uhland,  Heine,  Kleist,  Reuter  and  others 
(each  vol.  separately  obtainable,  well  bound,  for  2s.)  by  the  same 
publishers,  and  most  of  the  volumes  of  Kiirschner's  '  Deutsche 
National-Litteratur '  and  of  Brockhaus'  'Bibliothek  der  deut- 
schen Nationallitteratur  des  achtzehnten  und  neunzehnten  Jahr- 
hunderts,'  deserve  to  be  recommended.  Uhland's  poems  have 
been  well  edited  by  Erich  Schmidt  and  Julius  Hartmann  in  their 
<  Vollstandige  kritische  Ausgabe,'  in  2  vols.  Stuttgart,  1898. 
16$.  bound.  Of  the  cheap  series  the  volumes  of  Cotta's  'Biblio- 
thek  der  Weltlitteratur '  (bound),  and  those  of  the  'Collection 
Spemann '  (bound),  uniformly  printed  in  excellent  type  on 
excellent  paper,  can  be  had  for  is.  each ;  the  well-known  series 
of  novels,  original  and  translated  from  many  foreign  languages, 
which  is  called  '  Engelhorns  Allgemeine  Roman-Bibliothek ' 


134  The  Reference  Library  of 

(Stuttgart,  each  vol.  6d.  unbound,  and  lod.  bound),  the  still 
cheaper  '  Deutsche  Biicherei '  (Berlin,  each  vol.  $d.  unbound, 
and  6d.  bound) ;  the  Hendel  editions  (Halle,  unbound)  for 
3^.  per  volume;  Reclam's  texts,  'Universal  Bibliothek'  (Leipzig), 
3^.  per  volume;  and  the  texts  of '  Meyer's  Volksbticher'  (Leipzig) 
and  the  '  Wiesbadener  Volksbiicher '  for  2d.  per  volume. 

A  number  of  anthologies  of  modern  German  lyric  poetry 
have  been  enumerated  on  pages  98-99  of  my  guide.  To  these 
I  should  like  to  add  the  following,  all  of  which  will  be  found  of 
moderate  compass  and  worth  reading :  Carl  Busse,  '  Neuere 
deutsche  Lyrik,'  Halle,  1895  (2S-  bound.);  J.  Loewenberg,  'Vom 
goldnen  Uberfluss,'  Leipzig,  1902  (is.  lod.  bound).  A  handy 
edition  for  school  purposes  is  '  Deutsche  Lyrik  des  neunzehnten 
Jahrhunderts,'  by  M.  Consbruch  and  F.  Klincksieck,  Leipzig, 
1903  (2s.  bound).  A  good  popular  and  cheap  selection  ($d.) 
is  L.  Jacobowski's  little  book,  called  '  Neue  Lieder  der  besten 
neueren  Dichter  furs  Volk,'  Berlin.  A  delightful  anthology  of 
the  best  German  songs,  with  music,  is  the  one  just  published 
under  the  general  editorship  of  A.  R.  Hohlfeld  by  Messrs 
Heath  and  Co.  It  is  called  'Deutsches  Liederbuch  fur  ameri- 
kanische  Studenten,'  Boston,  1906. 

Some  other  excellent  sets  of  classics  of  a  more  scientific 
character  are  enumerated  in  my  'Guide'  on  pp.  81 — 82, 
and  some  commentaries  mentioned  on  pp.  100 — 104. 

Old  German. — Few  teachers  will  feel  inclined  to  give 
much  time  and  attention  to  Old  German,  and  will  therefore 
hardly  be  in  need  of  advice  as  to  what  books  to  use  for  the 
study  of  the  Older  German  classics.  Moreover  they  will 
probably  have  become  acquainted  with  the  best  books  of 
reference  at  the  Universities  where  in  the  future  most  of  our 
modern  language  teachers  will  receive  their  preliminary  training. 
Still  many  teachers  may  at  the  present  moment  wish  to  prepare 
boys  for  scholarships  at  the  Universities,  and  although  Old 
German  is  with  very  good  reason  no  longer  an  indispensable 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  135 

condition  for  success  in  an  Entrance  Scholarship,  a  teacher  may 
occasionally  like  to  give  specially  promising  pupils  a  start  and 
teach  them  the  elements  of  Middle  High  German  or  at  least 
some  sixteenth  century  German1.  Some  teachers  may  also 
like  to  continue  their  own  reading  and  extend  their  knowledge 
of  Older  German  literature. 

I  shall  not,  in  the  following  list  of  books,  include  any 
works  of  an  advanced  character,  being  strongly  of  opinion 
that  Old  German  as  such  is  not  a  school  subject,  and  should 
not,  unless  in  very  exceptional  cases,  be  begun  before  the 
University  course.  Moreover,  a  smattering  of  Old  German 
and  German  philology,  if  not  carefully  taught  by  an  ex- 
perienced teacher,  is  sure  to  do  far  more  harm  than  good. 

The  basis  of  the  modern  literary  language  is  sixteenth  century 
German.  A  teacher  might  first  use  Raphael  Meyer's  *  Einfiih- 
rung  in  das  altere  Neuhochdeutsche,'  Leipzig,  1894  (15-.  &/.), 
in  which  the  first  fifty-five  stanzas  of  the  poem  of  '  Huernen 
Seyfrid '  are  commented  on,  and  then  proceed  to  read  some  of 
the  small  volumes  in  the  handy  'Sammlung  Goschen'  (Leipzig, 
lod.  per  volume)  (see  'Guide,'  pp.  79-80).  In  a  similar  series, 
viz.,  Botticher  and  Kinzel's  'Denkmaler  der  alteren  deutschen 
Literatur,'  the  volumes  '  Hans  Sachs '  (by  K.  Kinzel),  Halle, 
4i902  (is.  unbound),  and  '  Kunst-  und  Volkslied  in  der  Re- 
formationszeit '  (by  K.  Kinzel),  Halle,  1892  (is.  unbound), 
will  be  found  useful  and  interesting. 

If  teachers  should  desire  to  give  their  pupils  some  speci- 
mens of  the  actual  text  of  Luther's  first  translation  of  the 
Bible  ('Septemberbibel')  and  briefly  to  discuss  the  principal 
changes  from  sixteenth  to  nineteenth  century  German,  they 
cannot  do  better  than  choose  them  from  the  excellent  book  by 
A.  Reifferscheid,  '  Marcus  Evangelion  Martin  Luthers  nach 

1  On  the  whole  question  see  page  92,  and  my  article  on  'Modern 
Languages  at  Cambridge'  in  P.  Shaw  Jeffrey's  The  Study  of  Colloquial  and 
Literary  French,  London,  1899,  p.  190. 


136  The  Reference  Library  of 

der  Septemberbibel,  mit  den  Lesarten  aller  Originalausgaben, 
etc.'  Heilbronn,  1889  (4*.  $d.  unbound).  For  other  sixteenth 
century  texts  nothing  can  be  better  than  Braune's  cheap  and 
reliable  '  Neudrucke.'  (See  '  Guide,'  p.  81.) 

The  best  introduction  to  the  study  of  Middle  High 
German  is  Julius  Zupitza's  *  Einfiihrung  in  das  Studium  des 
Mittelhochdeutschen.'  Oppeln,  1868.  6th  ed.,  1901  (25.  6d. 
unbound,  3^.  cloth).  Many  scholars  have  been  first  initiated 
into  a  serious  study  of  Middle  High  German  by  this  most 
excellent  little  book.  After  going  through  Zupitza's  practical 
introduction,  teachers  might  read  through  Jos.  Wright's  'Middle 
High  German  Primer,'  Oxford,  1888,  ^899  (3^.  6//.),  and 
then  study  Hartman  von  Ouwe's  '  Der  arme  Heinrich '  in 
J.  G.  Robertson's  edition,  London,  1895  (2S-  6d-)>  or  Dr  Bieger's 
annotated  edition  of  the  best  part  of  'Das  Nibelungenlied,' 
Leipzig,  1904,  3.$".  6d.,  or  some  volumes  from  Goschen's  series. 
The  small  Middle  High  German  grammar  by  H.  Paul  (Halle, 
15 1 900,  3.?.  9^.),  and  the  small  dictionary  by  M.  Lexer  (Leipzig, 
6i9oi,  6s.),  are  much  to  be  recommended. 

Mythology,  Sagas. — A  teacher  who  is  desirous  of  ob- 
taining a  rapid  survey  of  German  Mythology  and  'Heldensage' 
without  being  able  to  devote  much  time  to  the  study  of  the 
more  comprehensive  books  might  read  two  handy  volumes 
(lod.  each)  of  the  very  useful  '  Sammlung  Goschen.'  The 
one  on  '  Deutsche  Mythologie'  is  by  Fr.  Kauffmann,  2nd  ed. 
Leipzig,  1900;  the  booklet  on  '  Die  deutsche  Heldensage' 
is  by  O.  L.  Jiriczek.  Leipzig,  3i9o6.  English  translations  of 
these  have  been  made  by  Miss  M.  Bentinck-Smith  ('Northern 
Hero  Legends,'  1902)  and  Miss  M.  Steele  Smith  ('Northern 
Mythology,'  1903)  in  Dent's  'Temple  Classics'  (is.  each). 
The  larger  books  on  these  subjects  are  enumerated  in  my 
*  Guide'  on  pp.  no — 112.  To  these  should  now  be  added 
W.  Golther,  'Handbuch  der  germanischen  Mythologie,'  Leipzig, 
1895  (145".  half  calf),  and  O.  L.  Jiriczek,  'Deutsche  Heldensagen,' 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  137 

i.  Strassburg,  1898  (8s.  unbound).  The  Nibelungen  and  Kudrun 
Sagas  have  been  carefully  dealt  with  by  Francis  E.  Sandbach 
in  'The  Nibelungenlied  and  Gudrun  in  England  and  America,' 
London,  1904  (los.  6d.  net),  and  the  Dietrichsage  by  the  same 
author  in  his  booklet  on  '  The  Heroic  saga-cycle  of  Dietrich  of 
Bern'  (Vol.  xv.  of  Nutt's  'Popular  Studies  in  Mythology, 
Romance,  and  Folklore'),  London,  1906  (6d.}. 

History  and  Geography. — Although  German  history 
and  geography  as  such  will  hardly  ever  be  taught  in  ordinary 
schools,  a  teacher  of  German  should  make  it  a  point  to  be 
well  informed  as  to  the  main  facts  of  either  subject,  and  should 
possess  some  standard  German  books  with  German  names  of 
places  and  events  in  his  private  library.  The  histories  and  atlases 
of  this  kind  need  not  be  very  bulky  and  expensive ;  some  really 
good  German  school  and  family  books  will  amply  suffice  for  his 
purpose.  There  are  a  good  many  works  which  would  do  very 
well,  but  German  books  on  German  Realien  do  not  seem  to  be 
as  yet  very  familiar  to  English  teachers  of  German.  A  few 
suggestions  may  therefore  be  welcome1.  With  regard  to 
history,  I  can  recommend  David  Miiller's  *  Leitfaden  zur 
Geschichte  des  deutschen  Volkes'  (Berlin,  "1899,  2s.  6d.  cloth), 
and  the  larger  book  by  the  same  author,  called  '  Geschichte 
des  deutschen  Volkes  in  kurzgefasster  iibersichtlicher  Darstel- 
lung'  (Berlin,  18i902,  6s.  bound).  The  'Deutsche  Geschichte' 
by  O.  Kammel  is  also  widely  used  in  Germany.  Some  consider 
it  to  be  now  the  best  work  of  its  kind  (12^.  6d.  half  calf). 
A  shorter  work  by  Otto  Kammel  also  deserves  to  be  recom- 
mended. It  is  called  '  Der  Werdegang  des  deutschen  Volkes. 
Historische  Richtlinien  fur  gebildete  Leser.'  Vol.  i.  Das  Mittel- 
alter.  Leipzig,  1896  (23. 6d.  cloth).  Vol.  n.  Die  Neuzeit.  Leipzig, 

1  In  Germany  an  acquaintance  with  the  principal  English  and  French 
Realien  is  required  by  the  present  regulations  of  the  Oberlehrerpriifung  (see 
pp.  149 — 150).  There  is  so  far  no  book  on  German  Realien  corresponding 
to  Cl.  Klopper's  Englisches  Real-Lexikon  and  Franzosisches  Real-Lexikon. 


138  The  Reference  Library  of 

1904  ($s.  6d.  cloth).  K.  Biedermann's  l  Deutsche  Volks-  und 
Kulturgeschichte  fiir  Schule  und  Haus,'  3  Parts  in  i  Volume, 
Wiesbaden,  4i9oi  (js.  6d.  cloth),  is  much  to  be  recommended. 
Teachers  may  like  to  read  through  Parts  iv.  and  v.  (on  '  Deutsche 
Geschichte ')  of  Friedrich  Neubauer's  '  Lehrbuch  der  Geschichte 
fiir  hohere  Lehranstalten,'  yth  and  6th  edd.  Halle,  1905, 
and  consult  J.  Jastrow's  book,  '  Geschichte  des  deutschen 
Einheitstraumes  und  seiner  Erfiillung '  (Berlin,  4i89i,  6^. 
unbound,  JS.  half-bound).  A  most  excellent  '  Atlas  fiir 
Mittel-  und  Oberklassen  hoherer  Lehranstalten '  was  published 
in  1898  at  Bielefeld  and  Leipzig  under  the  editorship  of 
R.  Lehmann  and  W.  Petzold  (5^.)  The  small  Atlas  by 
E.  Debes,  'Schulatlas  fiir  die  mittlere  Unterrichtsstufe,'  Leipzig 
(is.  6d.\  will  suffice  for  ordinary  purposes.  A  useful  little  book 
is  also  A.  L.  Hickmann,  '  Geographisch-statischer  Taschen- 
Atlas  des  deutschen  Reiches.'  3  Parts.  Leipzig- Wien  (2^. 
each  part  cloth,  or  the  three  in  one  volume,  5^.  cloth).  There 
is  a  good  'Historischer  Schulatlas'  by  F.  W.  Putzger  (new 
ed.  by  Baldamus).  Bielefeld  and  Leipzig,  1905  (2^.  lod. 
boards).  Very  cheap  and  useful  for  class  teaching  is  P.  Knotel's 
'Bilderatlas  zur  deutschen  Geschichte'  (with  explanatory  notes), 
Bielefeld  and  Leipzig,  3i903  (3^.).  H.  Luckenbach's  cheap 
and  excellent  '  Abbildungen  zur  deutschen  Geschichte'  (Miin- 
chen  and  Berlin,  1903,  is.  6d.  boards)  may  also  be  recom- 
mended. A  book  on  Germany  similar  to  Wendt's  '  England ' 
has  still  to  be  written,  but  a  number  of  valuable  and  interesting 
books  on  German  History  and  on  German  Life  and  Customs 
are  enumerated  in  my  '  Guide'  on  pp.  116  sqq.  To  these 
should  now  be  added  a  small  book  by  Kron,  entitled,  *  Bilder 
deutschen  Lebens  und  Wesens;  zusammenhangende  Lesestoffe 
iiber  Verhaltnisse  und  Vorgange  des  taglichen  Lebens'  (1905, 
i s.  $d.  cloth),  Fr.  Ratzel's  l  Deutschland,  Einfiihrung  in  die 
Heimatkunde,'  Leipzig  (25-.  6^.),  August  Sach's  '  Deutsche 
Heimat,  Landschaft  und  Volkstum '  (with  excellent  illustra- 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  139 

tions)  (Halle,  2i902,  js.  6d.,  IQS.  cloth),  Hans  Meyer's  'Das 
deutsche  Volkstum '  (Leipzig-Wien,  1898,  2i903.  2  vols. 
9«r.  6d.  each,  cloth),  W.  H.  Dawson's  '  German  Life  in  Town  and 
Country,'  with  illustrations  from  photographs  (London,  Newnes, 
1901,  3^.  6d.  net).  Some  other  English  books  on  Germany  are 
W.  H.  Dawson,  'Germany  and  the  Germans,'  London,  1894, 
2  vols.  (265-.),  and  S.  Whitman,  'Imperial  Germany,'  London, 
1889  (new  ed.  1895,  2S.  6^/.),  to  which  may  be  added  the 
interesting  account  written  from  the  French  point  of  view  by 
Le  Pere  Didon  called  '  Les  Allemands,'  Paris,  1884  (frcs.  7.50 
unbound).  Concerning  the  rights  and  duties  of  German 
citizens,  teachers  will  find  reliable  information  in  the  book  by 
A.  Giese,  'Die  deutsche  Biirgerkunde,'  Leipzig,  3i903  (is.  6d. 
boards),  and  in  G.  Hoffmann  and  E.  Groth,  '  Deutsche  Biirger- 
kunde. Kleines  Handbuch  des  politisch  Wissenswertesten  fiir 
jedermann.'  "1902,  Leipzig  (25.  6d.  bound). 

General  Information. — Succinct  and  reliable  informa- 
tion on  all  matters  connected  with  German  history  and 
biography,  life  and  thought,  may  be  obtained  from  Meyer's 
'  Kleines  Konversations-Lexikon  '  in  3  volumes,  6th  ed.  Leipzig 
(half-bound,  ^i.  icxr.),  which  will  prove  of  the  greatest  use 
and  which  every  teacher  of  German  should  endeavour  to  get. 
The  6th  edition  has  just  appeared.  Brief  information  concern- 
ing the  government  and  administration  may  be  found  in  John 
Wenzel's  '  Comparative  view  of  the  executive  and  legislative 
departments  of  the  governments  of  the  United  States,  France, 
England  and  Germany'  (Boston,  U.S.A.,  1901,  is.).  A  very 
concise  book  giving  brief  information  concerning  German 
affairs,  institutions,  customs,  etc.  is  J.  Kiirschner's  Jahrbuch, 
published  every  year.  Berlin-Leipzig-Eisenach  (is.  unbound). 
Brief  and  reliable  information  concerning  all  living  modern 
German  literary  men  (not  only  poets  and  novelists),  authors' 
societies,  periodicals  and  newspapers  is  given  in  an  annual 
publication  called  '  Deutscher  Literatur-Kalender,'  started  by 


140  The  Reference  Library  of 

the  late  Joseph  Kiirschner.  The  28th  vol.  appeared  at  Leipzig 
in  1906  (6s.  6d.  bound),  and  there  is  now  (since  1905)  H.  A.  L. 
Degener's  new  annual  'Wer  ist's?  Zeitgenossenlexikon  '  (Leipzig, 
95-.  6d.  cloth),  corresponding  to  the  English  '  Who's  Who  ? ' 

Lessons  may  also  be  made  more  interesting  by  the  exhi- 
bition of  picture  postcards,  large  and  small,  and  by  photographs 
of  towns,  scenery,  monuments,  great  men,  etc.  Intending 
teachers  and  teachers  travelling  abroad  should  make  a  point 
of  collecting  such  things  and  should  bring  back  with  them 
specimens  of  the  coins,  stamps,  popular  costumes,  text,  music 
and  illustrations  of  the  principal  popular  songs,  and  any- 
thing else  characteristic  of  the  places  in  which  they  have  been. 
Such  photographs  and  postcards  in  so  far  as  they  would 
directly  illustrate  the  authors  read  at  school  and  modern 
German  life  should  also  at  all  good  schools  form  part  of  the 
scholars'  and  teachers'  reference  libraries. 

Method  of  Teaching. — However  well  informed  a  teacher 
may  be,  he  will  have  to  adapt  himself  in  his  teaching  to  the 
school  curriculum,  to  the  aims  to  be  attained  by  his  pupils, 
and  he  will  have  to  give  his  most  serious  attention  to  the 
study  and  consideration  of  the  methods  to  be  followed  in  his 
teaching.  No  school  teacher  who  takes  the  slightest  interest 
in  his  subject  can  at  the  present  time  afford  to  keep  aloof 
from  the  discussions  as  to  the  best  method  of  teaching 
modern  foreign  languages,  and  every  one  will  be  able  to  learn 
a  great  deal  from  the  books  written  on  the  subject  of  the 
teaching  of  German.  A  number  of  the  most  suggestive 
books  have  been  enumerated  on  pp.  112-113.  Some  of  these 
works  a  Modern  Language  teacher  will  no  doubt  wish  to 
possess  for  himself,  so  as  to  be  able  to  refer  to  them  from  time 
to  time  as  occasion  arises.  The  following  books  appear  to 
me  to  be  especially  useful — W.  H.  Widgery,  '  The  teaching  of 
languages  in  schools.'  London,  1888  (2s.).  W.  Rippmann, 
1  Hints  on  teaching  French '  and  '  Hints  on  teaching  German.' 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  141 

(See  p.  62.)  Michel  Breal,  *  De  1'enseignement  des  langues 
vivantes,  Conferences  faites  aux  etudiants  en  lettres  de  la 
Sorbonne.'  Paris,  1893  (2^.).  Fr.  Spencer,  'Aims  and  Practice 
of  Teaching.'  Cambridge,  1897  (6s.).  An  interesting  account  of 
the  new  methods  of  Modern  Language  teaching  in  some  particu- 
larly good  German  schools  was  given  by  Miss  M.  Brebner  in  her 
pamphlet  called  '  The  Method  of  teaching  Modern  Languages 
in  Germany.'  London,  1898  (is.  6d.  cloth).  All  of  these 
books  advocate  more  or  less  the  so-called  Reformmethode  or 
'  Neuere  Richtung,'  and  are  therefore  in  accordance  with  the 
requirements  of  the  '  Kaiserliche  Erlass '  (Kiel,  Nov.  26th, 
1900),  which  determined  among  other  things  that  teachers  of 
modern  languages  should  especially  strive  to  give  their  pupils 
facility  in  speaking  in  the  foreign  tongue  and  the  ability  clearly 
to  understand  current  authors.  Most  of  them  also  lay  stress  on 
the  value  of  modern  languages  as  humanistic  studies — a  con- 
sideration which  should  be  always  kept  in  view.  In  this 
connection  O.  Siepmann's  lectures  may  again  be  mentioned. 
His  views  on  this  point  are  sound  and  forcibly  expressed,  and 
I  am  in  hearty  agreement  with  him  when  he  discusses  the 
spirit  in  which  modern  languages  should  be  taught.  Similar 
views  are  in  some  places  expressed  by  Ch.  Sigwalt.  The 
books  and  pamphlets  that  have  so  far  been  mentioned  are 
written  for  teachers  whose  native  tongue  is  not  German, 
but  much  that  is  useful  can  also  be  learned  from  some 
German  books  for  German  teachers,  if  one  bears  in  mind 
that  the  standards  set  up  in  them  require  modification  and 
abatement,  as  German  is  a  foreign  language  in  this  country. 
Teachers  can  still  learn  a  great  deal  from  a  careful  study  of  the 
books  by  E.  Laas  and  R.  Hildebrand  (see  my  '  Guide,'  pp.  37 
and  119,  120),  but  generally  speaking  they  will  derive  most 
benefit  from  the  works  by  R.  Lehmann,  '  Der  deutsche 
Unterricht.  Eine  Methodik  fur  hohere  Lehranstalten,'  Berlin, 
(95.  cloth) ;  and  by  G.  Wendt, '  Der  deutsche  Unterricht.' 


142  The  Reference  Library  of 

Miinchen,  1896  ($s.  6d.  unbound).  The  latter  contains  also 
an  admirable  bibliography.  More  recent  is  Lehmann's  '  Der 
Unterricht  im  Deutschen,'  contributed  to  W.  Lexis'  splendid 
work  '  Die  Reform  des  hoheren  Schulwesens  in  Preussen,' 
Halle,  1902,  pp.  177-190,  and  the  most  comprehensive  work 
on  the  subject,  mainly  intended  for  Germans,  will  be  the 
encyclopaedia  edited  by  Adolf  Matthias  which  is  mentioned 
on  page  113. 

Valuable  works  on  German  education  in  general,  and  there- 
fore including  the  teaching  of  modern  languages,  are :  James  E. 
Russell,  '  German  Higher  Schools.  The  History,,  Organization 
and  Method  of  Secondary  Education  in  Germany  '  (New  York, 
1899,  75-.  6d.  net.).  E.  M.  Sadler,  '  Problems  in  Prussian 
Secondary  Education  for  Boys,  with  special  reference  to  similar 
questions  in  England'  (London,  1898).  F.  E.  Bolton,  'The 
Secondary  School  System  of  Germany'  (London,  1900,  6^.  6d.). 
W.  H.  Winch,  '  Notes  on  German  Schools,  with  special  relation 
to  curriculum  and  methods  of  teaching'  (London,  1904,  6s.). 
Hugo  Miiller,  '  Das  hohere  Schulwesen  Deutschlands  am 
Anfang  des  20.  Jahrhunderts '  (Stuttgart,  1904,  25.  unbound). 
See  also  Baumeister's  Handbuch,  vol.  i.  2.  On  *  German  ideals 
of  to-day '  in  life  and  education  there  is  a  recent  excellent 
article  by  Kuno  Francke  in  'The  Atlantic  Monthly'  of  Dec. 
1905  (is.)  which  deserves  careful  perusal  by  anyone  who  takes 
an  interest  in  the  intellectual  life  of  Germany. 

Concerning  higher  and  highest  German  education  teachers 
will  find  valuable  information  in  Fr.  Paulsen,  '  Die  Deutsche 
Universitat  als  Unterrichtsanstalt  und  als  Werkstatte  der 
wissenschaftlichen  Forschung '  (in  *  Deutsche  Rundschau/ 
Sept.  1894,  xx.  Heft  12,  pp.  341  ff.);  'Die  hoheren  Schulen 
und  das  Universitatsstudium  im  2osten  Jahrhundert'  (Braun- 
schweig, 1901,  TO^/.);  'Die  deutschen  Universitaten  und  das 
Universitatsstudium '  (a  fine  book,  Berlin,  1902,  7^.  3^.  bound)1; 
1  An  English  translation  of  this  important  book  has  just  been  published 


a  School  Teacher  of  German  143 

*Die  hoheren  Schulen  Deutschlands  und  ihr  Lehrerstand,  in 
ihrem  Verhaltnis  zum  Staat  und  zur  geistigen  Kultur.'  Braun- 
schweig, 1904,  6//.  (all  by  the  same  author).  The  following 
volumes  (io</.  each)  of  the  'Sammlung  Goschen '  deserve  to 
be  warmly  recommended :  Paul  Stoetzner,  '  Das  offentliche 
Unterrichtswesen  Deutschlands  in  der  Gegenwart,'  Leipzig, 
1901,  and  Friedrich  Seiler,  'Geschichte  des  deutschen  Unter- 
richtswesens,'  Leipzig,  1906.  (Vol.  i.  to  the  end  of  the  i8th 
cent.,  Vol.  ii.  till  the  present  day.)  In  both  of  these  works  the 
best  books  of  reference  for  a  more  detailed  study  are  carefully 
enumerated. 

With  regard  to  French  methods,  which  teachers  of  German 
may  wish  to  compare,  refer  to  '  Special  Reports  on  Education 
in  France,'  London,  1899  (a  reprint  from  vol.  n.  of  'Special 
Reports '  of  the  Education  Department),  and  to  Oskar  Mey's 
4  Frankreichs  Schulen  in  ihrem  organischem  Bau  und  ihrer 
historischen  Entwickelung,  mit  Beriicksichtigung  der  neuesten 
Reformen.'  2nd  ed.  (rewritten  and  enlarged).  Leipzig,  1901 
(45-.  lod.  unbound).  See  also  the  account  given  by  Eugene 
Stropeno  in  Baumeister's  Handbuch  der  Erziehungs-  und 
Unterrichtslehre  flir  hohere  Schulen.  Vol.  i.  Part  2  (Miinchen, 
1897),  pp.  419-461,  and  also  pp.  737-892,  where  the  organisa- 
tion of  secondary  education  in  Great  Britain  has  been  treated 
by  me  at  length,  and  has  in  some  places  been  compared  with 
the  conditions  obtaining  in  Germany. 

Teachers  should  also  make  it  a  point  to  read  some  of  the 
periodicals  enumerated  in  section  i  of  the  bibliographical 
appendix  to  this  book,  such  as  '  Modern  Language  Teaching/ 
' Modern  Language  Review,'  'Die  Neueren  Sprachen,"Archivfiir 
das  Studium  der  Neueren  Sprachen  und  Litteraturen/  'Bulletin 

by  Messrs  Longmans,  Green  and  Co.  (London,  1906,  bound,  i$s.  net). 
The  translation  is  by  Frank  Thilly  and  William  W.  Elwang,  to  which  is 
prefixed  a  very  valuable  preface  by  M.  E.  Sadler,  and  another  suggestive 
preface  by  one  of  the  American  translators  (Thilly). 


144     The  Reference  Library  of  a   Teacher  of  German 

Mensuel  de  la  societe  des  professeurs  de  langues  vivantes,3 
1  Modern  Language  Notes,'  in  order  to  keep  themselves  in 
touch  with  modern  theories  and  opinions  on  questions  of  the 
method  of  teaching.  Some  of  these  ought  to  be  taken  in  by 
the  better  schools  for  the  teachers'  reference  library  which 
should  be  found  in  all  of  them. 

I  trust  that  the  recommendations  and  hints  given  above 
may  enable  teachers  to  make  a  good  choice  of  books  of 
reference  in  the  various  departments  of  their  teaching  and 
private  study.  More  than  once  I  have  been  privately  asked 
by  practical  teachers  for  information  of  this  kind;  may  the 
suggestions  and  recommendations  now  given  be  found  useful 
to  a  wider  circle  of  readers,  and  thus  render  some  service 
to  the  cause  of  the  study  and  teaching  of  German  in  Great 
Britain  ! 


APPENDIX. 

EXTRACT  from  the  Ordnung  der  Priifung  fur  das 
Lehramt  an  hoheren  Schulen  in  Preussen  vom  12. 
September  1898.  Halle  a.  S.  3igo6. 

§  8. 
Umfang  und  Form  der  Priifung. 

Die  Priifung  besteht  aus  zwei  Teilen,  der  Allgemeinen  und  der 
Fachprufung.  Beide  sind  schriftlich  und  miindlich  ;  die  schrift- 
lichen  Hausarbeiten  sind  vor  der  miindlichen  Priifung  zu  erledigen. 

Sowohl  in  der  Allgemeinen  als  auch  in  der  Fachprufung  ist  dem 
Unterrichtsbediirfnisse  der  hoheren  Schulen  Rechnung  zu  tragen. 

§9. 

Priifungsgegenstande. 

i.     Priifungsgegenstande  sind 

A.  in  der  Allgemeinen  Priifung  fur  jeden  Kandidaten  :  Philo- 
sophic, Padagogik  und  deutsche  Literatur  ;  ferner  fur  die  Kandida- 
ten, welche  einer  der  christlichen  Kirchen  angehoren  :  Religions- 
lehre. 

[In  den  von  den  Kandidaten  gewahlten  Fachern  (in  der  Fach- 
priifung)  muss  sich  im  allgemeinen  Franzosisch  mit  Englisch  ver- 
binden,  aber  es  kann  an  Stelle  der  einen  oder  der  andern  Fremd- 
sprache  auch  Deutsch  von  den  Kandidaten  gewahlt  werden.  K.  B.] 

B.  10 


146  Appendix 


§  I0- 

Mass  der  in  der  allgemeinen  Priifung  zu  stellenden 
A  nforderungen. 

Bei  der  Allgemeinen  Priifung  kommt  es  nicht  auf  die  Darlegung 
fachmannischer  Kenntnisse  an,  sondern  auf  den  Nachweis  der  von 
Lehrern  hoherer  Schulen  zu  fordernden  allgemeinen  Bildung  auf 
den  betreffenden  Gebieten. 

Demnach  hat  der  Kandidat  in  der  ihm  nach  §  28,  I  obliegenden 
Hausarbeit  nicht  bloss  ausreichendes  Wissen  und  ein  verstandnis- 
volles  Urteil  liber  den  behandelten  Gegenstand  zu  bekunden, 
sondern  auch  zu  zeigen,  dass  er  einer  sprachrichtigen,  logisch 
geordneten,  klaren  und  hinlanglich  gewandten  Darstellung  fahig 
ist. 

Fur  die  mundliche  Priifung  ist  zu  fordern,  dass  der  Kandidat 

1.  in  der  Religionslehre  sich  mit  Inhalt  und  Zusammenhang 
der  Heiligen  Schrift  bekannt  zeigt,  einen  allgemeinen  Uberblick 
iiber  die  Geschichte  der  christlichen  Kirche  hat  und  die  Haupt- 
lehren  seiner  Konfession  kennt ; 

2.  in  der   Philosophic  mit  den  wichtigsten  Tatsachen  ihrer 
Geschichte  sowie  mit  den  Hauptlehren  der  Logik  und  der  Psycho- 
logic bekannt  ist,  auch  eine  bedeutendere  philosophische  Schrift 
mit  Verstandnis  gelesen  hat ; 

3.  in  der  Padagogik  nachweist,  dass  er  ihre  philosophischen 
Grundlagen  sowie  die  wichtigsten  Erscheinungen  in  ihrer  Entwicke- 
lung  seit  dem  16.  Jahrhundert  kennt  und  bereits  einiges  Verstand- 
nis fur  die  Aufgaben  seines  kiinftigen  Berufes  gewonnen  hat ; 

4.  in  der  deutschen  Literatur  dartut,  dass  ihm  deren  allge- 
meiner   Entwickelungsgang   namentlich    seit   dem   Beginne  ihrer 
Bliiteperiode  im   18.    Jahrhundert   bekannt   ist,  und  dass  er  auch 
nach  dem  Abgange  von  der  Schule  zu  seiner  weiteren  Fortbildung 
bedeutendere  Werke  dieser  Zeit  mit  Verstandnis  gelesen  hat. 

§   ii  bis  §  27. 
Mass  der  in  der  Fachprufung  zu  stellenden  Anforderungen. 

Vorbemerkung.  Auf  jedem  Priifungsgebiete  ist  von  den 
Kandidaten  Bekanntschaft  mit  den  wichtigsten  wissenschaftlichen 
Hilfsmitteln  zu  fordern. 


Appendix  147 


§  ii. 

Abstufung  der  Lehrbefdhigung. 

i.  Die  Lehrbefahigung  in  den  einzelnen  Fachern  hat  zwei 
Stufen  :  die  eine,  fiir  die  unteren  und  mittleren  Klassen  (zweite 
Stufe),  reicht  bis  Untersekunda  einschliesslich,  die  andere  (erste 
Stufe)  umfasst  auch  die  oberen  Klassen  bis  Oberprima  ein- 
schliesslich. 

3.  Bei  der  Erwerbung  der  Lehrbefahigung  fiir  die  erste  Stufe 
ist  in  jedem  Falle  Voraussetzung,  dass  den  fiir  die  zweite  Stufe 
in  dem  betreffenden  Fache  zu  stellenden  Forderungen  entsprochen 
ist. 


Deutsch. 

Von    Kandidaten,   welche  die    Befahigung   fiir   den  deutschen 
Unterricht  nachweisen  wollen,  ist  zu  fordern 

a.  fiir    die    zweite    Stufe  :    Sichere    Kenntnis    der   neuhoch- 
deutschen     Elementargrammatik     und    Bekanntschaft     mit    der 
Geschichte  der   neuhochdeutschen   Schriftsprache  ;    eingehendere 
Beschaftigung   mit    klassischen   Werken    der    neueren    Literatur, 
insbesondere    aus    ihren    fiir    die    Jugendbildung    verwendbaren 
Gebieten,     und     Ubersicht     iiber    den     Entwickelungsgang    der 
neuhochdeutschen    Literatur.     Ausserdem  ist    Bekanntschaft   mit 
den    Grundziigen    der    Rhetorik,    Poetik   und    Metrik   sowie    mit 
den  fiir  die  Schule  wichtigen  antiken  und  germanischen  Sagen 
darzutun  ; 

b.  fiir    die    erste    Stufe    iiberdies  :    Eine    Beherrschung    des 
Mittelhochdeutschen,    welche     befahigt,    leichtere    Werke    ohne 
Schwierigkeit  zu  lesen  und  mit  grammatischer  und  lexikalischer 
Genauigkeit   zu    erklaren  ;   eine,   wenigstens   fiir   die   mittelhoch- 
deutsche  und  neuere  Zeit,  auf  ausgedehnterer  Lektiire  beruhende 
Kenntnis    des    Entwickelungsganges    der    gesamten     deutschen 
Literatur  ;   Vertrautheit   mit   der    Poetik    und   deutschen    Metrik 
sowie  mit  denjenigen  Lehren  der  Rhetorik,  deren  Kenntnis  fiir  die 
Anleitung   zur    Anfertigung    deutscher   Aufsatze   in    den    oberen 


148  Appendix 


Klassen  erforderlich  1st  ;  dazu  nach  Wahl  des  Kandidaten  entiveder 
Bekanntschaft  mit  den  Hauptergebnissen  der  historischen  Gram- 
matik  und  Kenntnis  der  Elemente  des  Gotischen  und  Althoch- 
deutschen,  oder  die  Lehrbefahigung  in  der  Philosophischen  Pro- 
padeutik  (§  13). 

§  17. 

Franzosisch. 

Von  den  Kandidaten,  welche  die  Lehrbefahigung  im  Fran- 
zosischen nachweisen  wollen,  ist  zu  fordern,  dass  sie  Kenntnis  der 
lateinischen  Elementargrammatik  nachweisen  nebst  der  Fahigkeit, 
einfache  Schulschriftsteller,  wie  Casar,  wenigstens  in  leichteren 
Stellen,  richtig  aufzufassen  und  zu  iibersetzen  ;  sodann 

a.  fur  die  zweite  Stufe  :  Kenntnis  der  Elemente  der  Phonetik, 
richtige  und  zu  fester  Gewohnung  gebrachte  Aussprache  ;  Vertraut- 
heit  mit  der  Formenlehre  und  Syntax  sowie  der  elementaren  Syno- 
nymik  ;  Besitz  eines  ausreichenden  Schatzes  an  Worten  und  Wen- 
dungen  und  einige  Ubung  im  miindlichen  Gebrauche  der  Sprache  ; 
Einsicht  in  den  neufranzosischen  Versbau  und  Ubersicht  iiber  den 
Entwickelungsgang  der  franzosischen  Literatur  seit  dem  17.  Jahr- 
hundert,  aus  welcher  einige  Werke  der  hervorragendsten  Dichter 
und  Prosaiker,  auch  der  neuesten  Zeit,  mit  Verstandnis  gelesen  sein 
miissen  ;    Fahigkeit   zu    sicherer    Ubersetzung   der   gewohnlichen 
Schriftsteller  ins  Deutsche  und  zu  einer  von  groberen  sprachlich- 
stilistischen    Verstossen   freien    schriftlichen    Darstellung    in   der 
fremden  Sprache  ; 

b.  fiir  die  erste  Stufe  :  Fur  den  schriftlichen  und  miindlichen 
Gebrauch  der  Sprache  nicht  bloss  voile  grammatische  Sicherheit 
bei  wissenschaftlicher  Begriindung  der  grammatischen  Kenntnisse, 
sondern   auch  umfassendere  Vertrautheit  mit  dem   Sprachschatz 
und  der  Eigentiimlichkeit  des  Ausdrucks,  sowie  eine  fiir  alle  Un- 
terrichtszwecke  ausreichende  Gewandtheit  in  dessen  Handhabung  ; 
iibersichtliche    Kenntnis   der    geschichtlichen    Entwickelung    der 
Sprache  seit   ihrem   Hervorgehen  aus  dem    Lateinischen,  ferner 
Kenntnis  der  allgemeinen  Entwickelung  der  franzosischen  Lite- 
ratur, verbunden  mit  eingehender  Lektiire  einiger  hervorragender 
Schriftwerke  aus  friiheren  Perioden  wie  aus  der  Gegenwart  ;  Ein- 


Appendix  149 


sicht  in  die  Gesetze  des  franzosischen  Versbaues  alterer  und 
neuerer  Zeit ;  Bekanntschaft  mit  der  Geschichte  Frankreichs, 
soweit  sie  fur  die  sachliche  Erlauterung  der  gebrauchlichen  Schul- 
schriftsteller  erforderlich  ist. 

Bemerkung.  Fur  minder  eingehende  Kenntnisse  auf  dem 
Gebiete  der  geschichtlichen  Entwickelung  der  Sprache  kann  eine 
besonders  tiichtige  Kenntnis  der  neueren  Literatur  nebst  hervor- 
ragender  Beherrschung  der  gegen  wartigen  Sprache  ausgleichend 
eintreten. 

§   1 8. 
Englisch. 

Von  den  Kandidaten,  welche  die  Lehrbefahigung  im  EngUschen 
nachweisen  wollen,  ist  zu  fordern,  dass  sie  Kenntnis  der  lateinischen 
Elementargrammatik  nachweisen  nebst  der  Fahigkeit,  einfache 
Schulschriftsteller,  wie  Casar,  wenigstens  in  leichteren  Stellen, 
richtig  aufzufassen  und  zu  ubersetzen  ;  sodann 

a.  fiir  die  zweite  Stufe  :  Kenntnis  der  Elemente  der  Phonetik, 
richtige  und  zu  fester  Gewohnung   gebrachte  Aussprache  :  Ver- 
trautheit  mit  der  Formenlehre  und   Syntax  sowie  der  elementaren 
Synonymik  ;  Besitz  eines  ausreichenden  Schatzes  an  Worten  und 
Wendungen  und  einige    Ubung  im   miindlichen    Gebrauche  der 
Sprache  ;  Ubersicht  liber  den  Entwickelungsgang  der  englischen 
Literatur  seit  Shakespeare,  aus  welcher  einige  Werke  der  hervor- 
ragendsten  Dichter  und  Prosaiker,  auch  der  neuesten  Zeit,  mit 
Verstandnis  gelesen  sein   miissen  ;    Fahigkeit  zu   sicherer   Uber- 
setzung  der  gewohnlichen  Schriftsteller  ins  Deutsche  und  zu  einer 
von  groberen  sprachlich-stilistischen  Verstossen  freien  schriftlichen 
Darstellung  in  der  fremden  Sprache  ; 

b.  fiir  die  erste  Stufe  :  Fiir  den  schriftlichen  und  miindlichen 
Gebrauch  der  Sprache  nicht  bloss  voile  grammatische  Sicherheit 
bei  wissenschaftlicher  Begriindung  der  grammatischen  Kenntnisse, 
sondern  auch  umfassendere  Vertrautheit  mit  dem  Sprachschatz  und 
der  Eigentiimlichkeit  des  Ausdrucks,  sowie  eine  fiir  alle  Unter- 
richtszwecke  ausreichende  Gewandtheit  in  dessen  Handhabung  ; 
iibersichtliche    Kenntnis    der    geschichtlichen    Entwickelung    der 
Sprache  von  der  altenglischen  Periode  an  ;  Kenntnis  der  allge- 

io—3 


1 50  Appendix 


meinen  Entwickelung  der  Literatur,  verbunden  mit  eingehender 
Lektiire  einiger  hervorragender  Schriftwerke  aus  friiheren  Perioden> 
wie  aus  der  Gegenwart ;  Einsicht  in  die  Gesetze  des  englischen 
Versbaues  alterer  und  neuerer  Zeit  ;  Bekanntschaft  mit  der 
Geschichte  Englands,  soweit  sie  fur  die  sachliche  Erlauterung  der 
gebrauchlichen  Schulschriftsteller  erforderlich  ist. 

Bemerkung.  Fiir  minder  eingehende  Kenntnisse  auf  dem 
Gebiete  der  geschichtlichen  Entwickelung  der  Sprache  kann  eine 
besonders  tiichtige  Kenntnis  der  neueren  Literatur  nebst  hervor- 
ragender Beherrschung  der  gegenwartigen  Sprache  ausgleichend 
eintreten. 

§  28. 
Schriftliche  Hausarbeiten. 

2.  Priifungsarbeiten  aus  dem  Gebiete  der  klassischen  Philo- 
logie  sind  in  lateinischer,  aus  dem  der  neueren  Sprachen  in  der 
betreffenden  Sprache,  alle  iibrigen  aber  in  deutscher  Sprache 
abzufassen. 

§  33- 
Ausfiihrung  der  mundlichen  Priifung. 

5.  Die  Fachpriifung  im  Franzosischen,  Englischen,  Polnischen 
oder  Danischen  ist  insoweit  in  der  betreffenden  Sprache  selbst  zu 
fiihren,  dass  dadurch  die  Fertigkeit  des  Kandidaten  im  mundlichen 
Gebrauche  derselben  ermittelt  wird. 


CONTINENTAL  TRAINING  FOR  TEACHERS. 

The  following  communication  has  been  issued  by  the  Board  of 
Education  : 

The  French  and  Prussian  Governments  have  initiated,  in  con- 
junction with  the  Board  of  Education,  a  scheme  whereby  a  number 
of  young  teachers  (men  and  women  in  the  case  of  France,  men 
only  in  the  case  of  Germany)  can  be  appointed  as  temporary 
"  assistants  "  for  one  year  in  French  lycdes  and  colleges  or  Prussian 
gymnasia  respectively.  The  two  Ministries  will  proceed  shortly  to 
make  fresh  appointments. 


Appendix  1 5 1 


The  main  duty  of  the  "  assistant "  will  be  to  conduct  small  con- 
versation classes  for  about  two  hours  daily. 

Though  not  taking  any  part  in  the  regular  instruction  of  pupils, 
he  will,  both  in  France  and  Germany,  be  considered  in  all  other 
respects  as  the  colleague  of  the  masters.  He  will  not  receive  a 
salary,  but  he  will  be  lodged  and  boarded  at  the  institution  to 
which  he  is  attached,  subject  to  the  provision  that  in  Germany,  in 
certain  cases,  a  sum  of  about  ^65  (1,300  marks)  may  be  paid  to 
him  in  lieu  of  board  and  lodging. 

Candidates  for  such  posts  must  be  teachers  (or  intending 
teachers)  in  secondary  schools,  and  should  preferably  be  graduates 
of  some  British  university.  Applications,  containing  particulars  as 
to  course  of  study  and  qualifications,  should  be  forwarded  without 
delay  to  the  Director  of  Special  Inquiries  and  Reports,  Board  of 
Education  Library,  St  Stephen's  House,  Cannon-row,  Westminster, 
with  testimonials  in  duplicate  as  to  character  and  capacity  and 
teaching  experience,  and  a  medical  certificate  of  health.  It  will 
also  be  necessary  for  each  candidate  to  have  a  personal  interview 
with  the  Director  at  his  office. 


INDEX. 


Abbreviations,  the  chief  German,  42 

Aims  of  Modern  Language  Teaching 

in  Secondary  Schools,  9,  12,  13, 

45.  55.  57,  78 
Alliteration,  86 
Analytic  method,  3 
Answers,  in  complete  sentences,  32 

Bibliographical  appendix,  102-14 

Periodicals,  102-104 

Reports,   104  f. 

Books,  pamphlets  and  Essays  on 
modern  language  teaching, 
105  f. 

Books  on  teaching  of  German, 
112-113 

Books  on  phonetics,  113-114 

Books  on  modern  language  teach- 
ing, 105-13 

Books  on  the  study  and  teaching 
of  German,  115-43 

Cambridge    Medieval  and   Modern 

Languages  Tripos,  38,  95 
Classics,  study  of  the,  24,  39,  42-7 
Canon  of  suitable   books  to  be 

read,  39-40,  42>  43 
Canon  of  suitable  pieces  to  be 

learnt  by  heart,  43 
Rimes  in  classics,  21 
Annotated  editions  of  classics, 

24*  39>.42 
Biographical  accounts  of  classics, 

54 

English  renderings  of  foreign 
classics,  49 


Classics, 

French   and   German   i;th  and 

1 8th  cent,  classics,  45 
German  classics,  133-4 
Classrooms,  special,  to  be  allotted 
to  modern  language  teaching,  5 
Coins,  foreign,  29,  41,  140 
Composition,  ordinary,   only  to  be 
done  by  advanced  pupils,   13, 

T4  . 

Composition,  original,  13,  14,  52 

Conversation,  31-8,  127 
Correspondence'  international,    14- 
15,  97 

Dictation,  19,  22,  87 
Dictionaries,  38,  117-20 
German,  i  j  7  ff. 
German- English,  117-8 
German-German,  118 
of  foreign  words  in  German,  119 
etymological,  1 19 
orthographical,  124 
synonym  ical,  119 
systematic  English-German,  120 
for  travelling,  38,  118 
commercial   and    miscellaneous, 

120 
Differences   between    German   and 

English,  57 
Difficulties      (chief)      of      German 

Grammar,   71-4 

Difficulties  (chief)  of  German  pro- 
nunciation, 63-8 

Direct  method  of  teaching  modern 
languages,  3,  31-4 


154 


Index 


English  too  much  neglected  in  many 

schools,  51-2,  54 
Essays,    books    on    German    essay 

writing,   128 

Etymological  comparison,  30 
Examinations 

drawbacks     of    set     books     in 

Examinations,  44-5 
Foreign,  for  mod.  lang.  teachers, 

33,  145-150 
Neglect  of  the  spoken  language 

in,  5 

Viva  Voce,  32 
Exchange  of 
lessons,  97 
letters,  15,  97 
pupils,  15 
teachers,  36 

Explanation  of  poems,  dramas,  etc., 
51-2 

Foreign  words  in  German,  books  on, 

119 

Form  association,  26,  70 
Form,  metrical,  50-1 
French 

relation  to  English,  27 

difficult  sounds,  16,  17,  19 

enunciation,  18 

metre,  21,  50-51 

first  teaching  of,  31 

Geography,  80,  91,  98,  137-8 
German,  aim  of  teaching,  57  f. 

Books     on     teaching,     105-14, 
140-3 

classics,     books     on     teaching, 

133-4 

conversation,  31-8,  127-8 
dialects,  61-2,  84,  88-9 
dictionaries,  117-20 
difficulties  of,  63-7,  71-4 
essays,  52,  128 
first  teaching  of,  31 
geography,  80,  137-8 
grammars,  120-4 
grammar  teaching,  68-77 
handwriting,  58,  59,  125 
history,  80,  136-8 
idioms,  27,  127 


German, 

language  (books  on  history  of), 

1^3-4 

letters,  use  of,  58-60 
letter  writing,  42 
literature  (books  on  history  of), 

128-31 
literature,  should  it  be  taught  as 

such?  54 
middle  high  German,  79,  84,  85, 

134-5 

mythology  and  sagas,  136 

names,  39,  76 

old  high  German,  84,  86 

old  German,  135 

'Realien,'  29-30,  39,  41-2,  80 

(sixteenth  century),  135 

spelling,  21-2,  60,  124 

syntax,  83;  books  on,  122 

word  formation,  76 
Glottal  stop,  1 8,  65 
Gradation  of  reading,  39 

of  poems  learnt  by  heart,  43-4 
Grammar,  68-74 
Grammars,  120-4 

Defects      of      existing      school 

grammars,   24,  69 
Grammar  teaching,  13,  22-7,  69 
Gramophone,  19,  62 

Handwriting  (German),  58,  59,  125 
Historical  Grammar,  23,  24,  26,  70 
History,  80,  91,  98,  136-8 
Holiday   courses   for   teachers   and 
students,  36-7 

Idioms,  to  be  taught,  10,  27-8 
explained  (books  on),  127 

Illustrated  Reader,  40 
Primer,  39 

International  correspondence,  14 

Intonation,  characteristic  foreign,  to 
be  taught,  18,  19,  62 

Latin  words  in  German,  French  or 

English,  26 

Learning  by  heart,  43-4 
Leave  of  absence   for   mod.    lang. 

teachers,  35 
Letters  in  German  reader,  42 


Index 


155 


Letter  writing,  14,  42 

Library   of  mod.    lang.   books   for 

junior   and   senior   pupils,  46; 

mod.  lang.  students'   reference 

library,    96  ;     ideal    teachers' 

library,   113-43 
Literature,    foreign,    should    it    be 

taught  in  schools,  54;  English 

Ht.,  51,  54 
books  on  German,  128-31 

Maps,  5,  39,  41 

Method   of    reading   with   a   class, 

47-53 
Methodical  preparation  of  lessons, 

47 
Metres,  study  of,  50-1 

books  on  German,  131 
Modern  Languages 

Association,  35,  98,  101 
at  Cambridge,  32,  38 
educational  value  of,  4,  55 
connected  with  study  of  History 

and  Geography,  10,  80 
interest  in,  45 
not  to  be  degraded,  55 
not  to  be  taught  like  classical 

languages,  9 
to  be  taught  mainly  by  English 

men  and  women,  37 
how  the  teaching  of  them  may 

be  improved,  4-6 
time  allotted  to  them  in  schools, 

4i44 

principles  of  teaching,  9 
methods  of  teaching  (various),  6 
books  on  methods  of  teaching, 

105-12 
onesidedness  of  some  methods  of 

teaching,  7 
the  direct  or  analytic  method  of 

teaching,   3 
general  agreement  as  to  method 

of  teaching,  6,  9 
Mod.  Language 

Quarterly,  6,  13,  16,  20,  38,  102, 

113,  116,  143 

Review,  TOI,  102,  116,  143 
Teaching,  15,  31,  42,  101,  102, 

113,  116,  143 


Mother  tongue,  sound  teaching  of  it 
important  for  foreign  language 
teaching,  52 

Mots  populaires  and  Mots  savants, 
26,  70,  91 

Names,  German  geographical,  41 

proper  and  family,  76 
*  Neuere  Richtung,'  3,  19,  140 

Object  lessons,  39 
Old  German,  study  of,  85,  134 
Oral  test  in  examinations,  5,  32,  44 
Orthography,  German,  60,  124-25 

Paraphrase,  14,  48 

Periodicals,  102-4 

Phonetics,  15-18,  87-89 

Phonetic   transcription,    19-20,   40, 

63,   127 
Phonetics  (drill  in),  10 

(books  on),  113-4,  125-26 
Phonograph,  19,  48,  62,  109 
Phrases  (idiomatic),  10,  27,  127 
Pictures  (use  of)  in  lower  forms,  28, 

.  31*  33 

in  Reader,  40,  41 
Picture  Post  Cards,  30,  101,  140 
Plays,  discussion  of  great,  50-3 

historical,  53 

acted  abroad,  52 

classical  (books  on),  133 
Poems  to  be  learnt  by  heart,  43,  49 

to  be  read  in  school,  48-9 
Poetry,    books    on   the   theory   of, 

.132-33 
Precision,  62 

Prepositions,  use  of  German,  7 1 
origin  of  certain  German,  71 
Prescribed  books  in  examinations, 

44-5 

Primer,  39 
Pronunciation,  10,  15-22 

German,  61-4,  84,  87-8,  125-26 
Punctuation,  22 

book  on,  125 

Reader,     centre     of     mod.     lang. 
teaching,  39 
nature  of  proposed  reader,  40-2 


156 


Index 


Reader, 

what    to    reject    and    what    to 

include  in  it,  40-2 
Reading,  to  be  placed  in  the  fore- 
front, 12 
method  of  reading  with  a  class, 

47-54 
lesson,   preparation    of   teacher 

for,  47-8 

Readings  and  recitations  by  foreign- 
ers, 63 
'  Realien,'  29-30,  39,  41-2,  80,  98, 

137 

Reciting,  19,  44 
Reform  movement,  2 
Relation  of  French  and  German  to 

English,  26 
Reproductions,  14 
Residence  abroad,  34-7,99-101, 140 
Results  of  teaching  mod.  langs.,  55 
Rimes  in  the  classics,  21 

Self-abnegation  of  teacher,  47 
Series  method,  28-9,  107-8 
Size  of  classes,  5 
Sounds 

Etymological      correspondences 
between  English  and  German 
sounds,  27,  30 
Sound  Tables,  16,  63 
Spelling,  21,  22,  60,  124 

imperial  German,  60-1 
Spoken  language  often  neglected  in 

examinations,  5,  32,  44 
Sprachgefuhl,  13,  26 
Structure  of  Dramas,  books  on,  132 
of    dramas     to    be    explained, 

50  sqq. 

Study  of  German  (what  it  comprises) 
79-80 

Tables  of  foreign  moneys,  weights, 

measures,  etc.,  29,  41 
of  foreign  sounds,  16,  63-68 


Teachers  of  foreign  languages,  onl; 

duly  qualified  ones  to  be  ap 

pointed,   5 

qualifications  of,  8,  78-80 
scholarships  for,  35 
exchange  of,  36 
to  be  mainly  English,  37 
residence  abroad  of,  34-38,  98- 

101 
number  of  hours  they  should  b 

required  to  teach,  9 
of     German,      ideal     referenc 

library   for,    113-43 
training  of,  5/9,  78-101 
training  of,  at  school,  90-93 
training   of,   at   the    University 

93-97 
training  of,  after  the  Universit 

course,  97-101 
training  of,  abroad,  98-101 
Theatre,  52-3 

Theory  of  poetry  (books  on),  132 
Time,  all  important  for  success  i: 

mod.  lang.  teaching,  4 
Translation,  12-14,  46,  49 
Travelling  Scholarships  for  teacher 

and  students  needed,  35-6 
at  Birmingham,  35 

University     training     in      moder 

languages,  93  ff. 
Use  of  German  type,  57-8 
Utilitarian    views    on    mod.    lan£ 

study,   45,  46,  55 

Verbs,  strong,  72 
separable,  72 

Vocabulary,  methods  of  increasing 
10,  28-31 

Wall-maps  of  foreign  countries,  « 

39»  4i 

Wall-pictures,  28-9,  31,  33 
Word  formation,  30,  76 


LD2l-100m-7,'33 


Tb   UDUDQ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY