I-NRLF
SB
GIFT OF
MICHAEL REESE
The Teaching
of
Modern Foreign Languages.
EonDon: C. J. CLAY AND SONS,
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,
AVE MARIA LANE.
263, ARGYLE STREET.
F. A. BROCKHAUS.
gorfe: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Bomirng: E. SEYMOUR HALE.
The Teaching
of
Modern Foreign Languages
m our
Secondary Schools
BY
KARL BREUL
LITT.D. (CAMBRIDGE), PH.D. (BERLIN)
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LECTURER IN GERMAN
CA1
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
1899
[All Rights reserved.'}
(VIC
First Edition, 1898.
Second Edition, 1899.
PREFACE.
THE paper on ' the teaching of modern foreign languages '
was first read, in the Lent Term of 1895, to the 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
95628
vi Preface.
(printed in the Educational Times, May 1894, and reprinted
by Professor Victor's special request in Die Neueren Sprachen
n. 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 W. G. Lipscomb and of Walter Rippmann.
It is hoped that the Extract from the latest Ordnung der
Prufung fur das Lehramt an hoheren Schulen in Preussen vom
12. September 1898, given in the Appendix, will be not un-
welcome to many readers of the present work.
K. B.
ENGLEMERE,
CAMBRIDGE,
Easter, i
CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. THE TEACHING OF MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN
OUR SECONDARY SCHOOLS 1-64
a. General part ......... i — 43
b. Special part : The Teaching of German . . . . 44 — 58
c. Bibliographical Appendix ...... 59 — 64
II. THE REFERENCE LIBRARY OF A SCHOOL TEACHER OF
GERMAN 65—84
APPENDIX . . . 85 — 90
INDEX ' „ 91—94
THE TEACHING
OF MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
IN OUR SECONDARY SCHOOLS.
THE subject which I propose to discuss to-night can
certainly not be likened to a smooth and flower-strewn path
leading down hill. 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 our Secondary
Schools. It has been my lot for more than twelve years to
make from time to time a careful study of that very remarkable
and ever increasing part of educational literature which is
1 See my edition of the fifteenth century poem "The Boke of Curtesy"
in Kolbing's Englis'che Studien, IX. (1885), 51 sqq.
B. I
2 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
known to the scholastic world by the high-sounding name of
' examination papers.' From 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 ' Because
Iphigenia is the heroine of the play which we had to get
up for this examination7? 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-movement7 in the teaching of foreign tongues, the
leading ideas of which were set forth lucidly and forcibly by
Professor Wilhelm Victor (now of Marburg) in his famous
pamphlet: ' Quousque tandem! Der Sprachunterricht muss
umkehren' This revolutionary little treatise was written in this
country in 1882. Since that date very many books and papers
have been written pro and contra, most of them advocating a
more or less radical reform of the old system of teaching in the
spirit of the so-called ' direct,' 'analytic' or 'imitative' method.
The 'new method7 or 'Neuere Richtung' has of late made
rapid strides in Germany, and its main principles are being
gradually, and deservedly, adopted by a small band of energetic
Modern Language teachers in this country. I cannot under-
take to discuss here even the best books and pamphlets on
new methods of Modern Language teaching. They will be
enumerated at the end of these lectures, and students and
teachers should make it a point to read the principal ones.
These lectures are especially intended to be suggestive,
and, in my own small way, I hope to fire your enthusiasm.
in our Secondary Schools.
Instead of discussing many different modem methods(l 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.
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
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 Languages 2^— 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 and with much better results than
heretofore. I firmly believe that there is a great chance for
Modern Language teachers in the immediate future, that great
opportunities will before long be given, and that all we have to
do at schools and universities is to prepare ourselves most
carefully so as to be ready when the time comes.) It should
not be said of us ' Aber der grosse Moment findet ein kleines
Geschlecht.'
The question arises :l 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 four conditions
be fulfilled :^
\(i) More time should be allotted to the study of Modern
1 See now Miss Mary Brebner's pamphlet * The Method of Teaching
Modern Languages in Germany' (London, 1898), Chapter v.
2 See, among others, C. Colbeck, 'On the Teaching of Modern Lan-
guages in Theory and Practice,' Lecture I. Cambridge, 1887, and Fr. Storr,
'The Teaching of Modern Languages' (1897), p. 274.
I 2
4 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
Languages at School. This is of paramount importance. Our
leading public schools should set the example.
(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
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 conducted exclusively by means of
printed papers and without any oral test. 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 in conducting the examinations of which I am of
course well aware. The written examinations of beginners
should be discouraged.^
(3) From the very beginning none but duly qualified
teachers should be entrusted with the teaching of Modern
Languages. As to the qualifications which I believe to be
absolutely indispensable I shall in the course of these lectures
briefly give you my views. For details I should like to refer
you to my lecture given in 1894 before the College of
Preceptors "On the training of teachers of Modern foreign
Languages" (Educational Times, May, 1894). 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
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
1 See Educ. Times, I.e. p. 230.
in our Secondary Schools. 5
low. He who forms an educational or any other ideal must
pitch it high ; time will show if he was right or if his demands
were excessive. I confidently leave you to judge for yourselves.
(4) 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 fourth point I wish to deyote special
attention in these lectures. It is the one which at this very
moment is engrossing the attention of Modern Language
teachers in this country1 and abroad.
Methods.
(jThere are many different methods of teaching Modern
Languages in the field — 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 too. Still it seems to me, and my experience as a teacher
and examiner confirms my impression — that 'the true method,'
' the royal road,7 has not as yet been discovered.
It has not been discovered either in England or abroad.
I certainly do not flatter myself that I have discovered it.
We are clearly just now in a time of transition and experiment,
and I think we are in a fair way towards agreeing on a number
of essential points. Many practical and experienced teachers
in this country as well as 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 on all the principal points of method has, however,
not up to the present been arrived at. Much more interchange
of ideas and experience is required. The chief work is being
done in Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, France and America
1 See the discussions in the Journal of Education and in the Modern
Quarterly of Language and Literature. Cp. the Bibliographical Appendix,
PP- 57-58.
6 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
—England, in spite of a few noteworthy exceptions, has un-
fortunately so far lagged behind.
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. They are mostly very one-sided, no doubt
very good with regard to one particular point, but, to the
neglect of all else, they carry one really good idea much too
far. They are as a rule more or less mechanical, of but little
scientific, literary or educational value ; they afford a certain
routine, but do not at all 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 the practical, though 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 aim of Modern Language teaching in our higher schools.
A language which has so subtle and elaborate a syntax I as
French, or a language which is so deeply saturated with poeJtry
as German, cannot and ought not to be studied by older boys
and girls by mere imitation, after the unconscious fashion of
an infant !
(2) Again, method itself, even the best method, however
important it is, is not everything. A very great deal of the
success depends on the natural gjifts, the previous training,
the energy and the experience of the individual teacher. It is
well known that the best Modern Language scholar does not
always obtain the best results as a teacher. Consequently the
Modern Language teacher must not -only be a well-trained
scholar, but in addition something of an artist and of a mari
of the world. He must have the power of speech, an easy
mastery of the foreign idiom, and the gift of drawing out his
in our Secondary Schools.
I
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 Miinch 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 I
moaify it in accordance with his own individuality and the/
requirements of different sets of pupils. He will continually i
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 zealous
teacher in order* to be successful, it would not be right to
undervaluev its* importance. On the contrary, it is most im-
portant 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.
Happily on a few important points there seems to exist
-even now an almost general agreement among experts. Let
me take these first. They are :
(i) 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
•
1 On the method of training of Modern Language teachers see my
before-mentioned lecture, and also the Journal of Education, February
1899, p. 151-
8 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
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 16.
(2) Modern Languages should not be taught in the same
style as the ancient tongues. They are not studied mainly for
the sake of their form, not even exclusively for the beauty and
value of their literature, but in teaching Modern Languages we
aim at teaching the principal features of the life, character and
thought of great foreign nations. You will, then, agree with
me that 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
^nd 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.
(3) And again, Modern Languages should beunuch 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 a man will possess the power of transforming himself
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 and of Modern History
and Geography, which are often sadly neglected at school, to
the Modern Language master.
I have maintained that Modem 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
in our Secondary Schools.
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
cannot be reached by mere unconscious imitation, but in the
case of some especially difficult sounds a certain amount of
phonetic drill is absolutely necessary in order to shorten and
to smooth the way of the pupil. No one should undertake to
teach Modern Languages even 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 as large and as useful as
possible.
Under the old system of studying Modern Languages cases
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. Schroder, 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 so much smack 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 ftir 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 home for
homme, vou for vu> and Enfenk for Anfang, swonsig for
zwansig, Studien for Studien, etc.
io The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
It is not easy to say to what extent oral and colloquial
German should be combined in school teaching with the study
and analysis of the written literary language. In order to
arrive at a fairly satisfactory conclusion and to strike a fair
balance between the views of the old school who almost
exclusively studied the written language of a few select classics,
mostly poets, and the modern extremists who condemn what-
ever 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 settle for ourselves the question : What should be the
aim of Modern Language teaching in our Secondary Schools'!
Here 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 that 'a practical mastery' of a foreign language as
promised by some methods cannot possibly be hoped for.
How many aduks 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 and
intelligently so as to become a good basis for later practice.
What is to 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
^4//want to read foreign books, periodicals and newspapers,
and to enjoy the treasures of foreign literature. All will one
\'
in our Secondary Schools. n
day be anxious to know something of and to appreciate
justly 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. ' Sprach-
gefiihl ' should be early aroused and carefully fostered by much
reading of first-rate modern authors. A sufficient amount of
grammar should be learned chiefly from the reading and a sub-
sequent systematic analysis of the most important sentences1.
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. Translation from the foreign language into
good and idiomatic English (not the usual shocking trans-
lation-English) should be carefully and systematically practised
after the first foundation has been laid (see p. 12). At
an early stage some very easy original composition in the
foreign language might be attempted with advantage. But
very little ordinary composition, i.e. translation from English
into the foreign language, should be done, 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 lower forms. In almost all schools
composition is begun much too early, when the children know
but little grammar, hardly any idiomatic turns and phrases,
and have not yet developed any 'Sprachgefiihl.' Most
1 See F. Spencer's 'Aims and Practice of Teaching' (Cambridge, 1897),
pp. 100 sqq. and J. Findlay's * Preparation for Instruction in English on a
direct method' (Marburg, 1893). It should, however, be borne in mind
that both of them gained their experience by teaching small classes of
adults. See also some of the pamphlets and essays enumerated in the
Bibliographical Appendix, especially those by W. Rippmann.
12 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
examinations prescribe it at a stage when the children cannot
possibly be expected to produce a piece of decent composition
of ordinary difficulty. The regulation requiring early compo-
sition and the pieces set may look very nice on the syllabus
and in the papers of certain examinations — but read the
Examiners' Reports in order to estimate the value of the work
sent up by the vast majority of the candidates. Rather set
them some easy original composition. Original compositions
are in fact easier than translations from the mother-tongue and
certainly at first better calculated to make the children enter
into the spirit of the foreign language. The writing of easy
letters on familiar subjects which would interest the children
should be encouraged early arid practised constantly. Little
stories read or told by the teacher should be reproduced by
the pupils, short accounts of ordinary things and occurrences
should be frequently given. The children should be en-
couraged to write and to speak about all they have actually
seen and experienced. During a Modern Language lesson no
English appellation should as far as possible 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 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 Correspondence between pupils attend-
ing German, French and English schools. This movement is
a very recent one but much good is reported of it1.
After 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
1 Apply to Dr M. Hartmann, Konigliches Gymnasium, Leipzig, and
also to Monsieur Sevrette, 31 Rue St Brie, Chartres (Eure et Loire).
Compare Miss M. Brebner, ' The Method of Teaching Modern Languages
in Germany,' pp. 38 — 39, and the Journal of Education^ 1897, p. 99.
in our Secondary Schools. 13
teaching of pronunciation, spelling, grammar, and similar points
of language, while in a subsequent lecture I shall discuss the
reading, the composition and study of reading-books, and the
proper selection and explanation of authors, and the teaching of
the history of foreign literature. In a final lecture I shall speak
of some special points referring to the teaching of German only.
Pronunciation.
Any child that is instructed in a foreign language has a right
to hear and to learn from its teacher a correct and idiomatic
pronunciation of the foreign tongue. Am I wrong if I main-
tain that in many schools, even in good ones, this condition is
far from being fulfilled ? I do not at all require a teacher to
dwell too long on phonetic niceties or to give a great deal of
precious time to the teaching of phonetics pure and simple.
There is neither time nor need for that. 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. 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 any mistake of any importance. He will not
unfrequently make the whole class pronounce 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 more 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 during the
lesson. They will be continually worked at, and the difficulties
will gradually become less and will finally be overcome by the
14 The Teacliing of Modern Foreign Languages
large majority of children1. Such difficulties are for instance
the French nasal sounds, the 1 mouille, the guttural r in French
and German, the pure (undiphthongised) long vowels and the
modified vowels in German, the German initial z, the ich and
ach sounds, etc. The instruction in actual phonetics should
be as short and as simple as possible, but its fundamental
principles should be imparted even to children. They should
'be told and shewn that the spoken words consist of sounds
and not of letters (e.g. veau, deuil, feuille; schwarz, stehen,
sprechen, etc.). There is no very great difference in the
pronunciation of the German Vieh, the English fee and the
French fi, although the vowel sound is sometimes a diphthong
in the English word (=feeee, phonetically^'). Again a teacher
would probably seize an opportunity of shevVitig the children
that our ordinary alphabet is not by any means complete, as it
is far from representing each sound occurring in a language by
a special symbol, but uses the same letter for various sounds,
e.g. ch in ich, ach, or b in Weib, Weibes \ or a in man, father,
small, or oo in good, floor, flood1, or th in thin and thine',
g in gin and gun ; I i\\ fusil, peril and jf/y (' sons' and 'threads');
// in famille, Camille\ or g in gant, mangeant. Again — and
here lies a great source of danger with regard to 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
much more opened and the vowel sound quite short and pure.
The German Quell ' source ' is to be pronounced kvel (bilabial
but without protruding the lips at all), the English quell is
1 On the whole question see now the able lecture " On the use of
Phonetics in Modern Language Teaching" by Dr Paul Passy, an abstract
of wbich is printed in The Modern Quarterly of Language and Literature,
I. pp. 64sqq. and cp. The Journal of Education, 1897. (See the Index
under " Phonetics.")
in our Secondary Schools. 15
kuell. Or again, in many German words the so-called * glottal
stop' should be carefully noticed and practised, e.g. Verein
(=fdr>ain\ erortern (^-ar'ortdrri), geachtet (^gJactet), abdndern
(=dp'$nd?rri), Polar eis (= polar* als\ Wachtelei (vactzPai), etc.1
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'aiz^n) and
verreisen (firaizdn). See Miss Laura Soames, ' Introduction
to Phonetics,' p. 146, W. Victor in 6 German Pronunciation/
pp. 56 sqq., and W. Rippmann, ' Elements of Phonetics/
pp. 6, 24.
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
enunciation. He should not allow them to jerk out the words
one by one, but should strictly insist on their emitting them in
one continuous flow to the end of the sentence, however slow
the pronunciation of the whole sentence may be at first. This
is often neglected in school teaching, the masters being satisfied
with a correct pronunciation of individual words. Reciting
should be regularly and carefully practised from the beginning,
1 For the explanation of the symbols used in the transcription of the
German words see Victor's 'German Pronunciation,' Leipzig, 1890.
Professor Victor has now adopted the transcription of the Association
Phonetique which cannot be reproduced here.
1 6 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
and also dictation, in order to train the ear to catch foreign
sounds quickly and correctly.
In order to teach pronunciation effectively, most advocates
of the ' Ne^iere 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 ever so much better if they do not start with the
confusing spelling of the present day, and they are of opinion
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 been tried more than once 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 much wanted. As far as I can see at present and have
been able to gather from the experience of others, it is not
necessary to introduce transcribed texts — excellent and in-
dispensable as no doubt they are for students and teachers —
into class teaching. The modern reformers seem to go, in this
case, a little too far in their natural reaction against the old
method. They want revolution instead of reform. At all
events books like Dr Sweet's l Elementarbuch des gesprochenen
Englisch ' and *A Primer of Phonetics' will never do for school
teaching. Dr Passy's system as used in his periodical *Le maitre
phonetique-' is easier, and bids fair to become the r° cognised
International alphabet for phonetic transcriptions. Single words
of exceptional difficulty might well be transcribe/^ in class teach-
ing in the symbols of this alphabet. The books on phonetics
from which a teacher will derive useful information are enume-
rated in my * Handy Guide/ § 4, b. To these should now be
1 See The Mod. Quarterly of Language and Literature, 1 1. 150 — 3 and
jgy — g; the Report of the Mod. Lang. Association Sub-committee on
Phonetics will appear in the Quarterly of April, 1899.
in our Secondary ScJwols. 17
added Victor's ' Kleine Phonetik des Deutschen, Englischen
und Franzosischen,' Leipzig, 1897, and the most useful trans-
lation and adaptation of it by W. Rippmann (London, Dent,
1899) which has just appeared.
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 roi : parlerais : Francois should be
explained by an account of the earlier pronunciation of -oi
(like oe). The rimes of Schiller and Goethe, e.g. gliihn : ziehn ;
Euch : bleich ; krone : Thrdne^ an : Bahn ; keck : weg\ Getose :
Schosse, 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 pronunciation would not be out of place.
Spelling.
As to Spelling a word or two must suffice. German spelling
will be discussed in the last 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 represents in this case an earlier
stage of pronunciation, it is more or less ' historic' (cp. knight,
veau, Stahl). Much has now simply to be committed to
memory, but again the advantage of a good pronunciation on
the par^of the children will clearly shew itself. If children
have been taught from the beginning to distinguish in French
properly betw.in e, e and e, they will without fail write reponse,
but repos* and represented pere, and 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 Tochter,
Burgen and Biirgen, geachtet and geachtet, tauschen and tauschen
would be possible. They would distinguish in writing between
B. 2
1 8 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
reisend, reissend and reizend, between versehren and verzehren,
between Senne, Sehne, Scene, and Zdhne.
Grammar.
It is pretty generally admitted that up to now 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
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 grammar of the foreign tongue, ' but only the
master should have made it a special study. He should of
course be thoroughly well grounded in his grammar; more-
over— and this is important — he should be able to give, wher-
ever it may be desirable, the 'why' no less than the 'what.'
He should know the historical or phonetic reasons of the chief
grammatical phenomena1 — but it would be a grave mistake if
he were to introduce too 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
1 See Ernst Laas, ' Der deutsche Unterricht auf hoheren Lehranstalten '
(2nd ed. (by J. Imelmann), Berlin, 1886), pp. 217 — 222.
/';/ our Secondary Schools. 19
thoroughly to understand the words of the text, they are
certainly not meant to be learned by heart in order to be
reproduced in the next examination paper. They are intended
to relieve the teacher and to give him time for reading the
text and discussing the scenes and characters of great plays,
but not to disgust children with a beautiful poem or a fine
story.
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, 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 full. They should chiefly
be used as books of reference.
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 make them find themselves. The process may be at
first somewhat slow, but the interest of the pupils will never be
allowed to flag, and ultimately the rules will be much better
known, being remembered in their application and not merely
in themselves.
1 This point is not by any means new, but was emphasized by Comenius
and others.
2O The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
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 such
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. 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 Curt
Abel Musgrave, London, 1894.
Must, then, grammar be dry and repulsive to children? It
certainly was so under the old system when all schools were
' 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 everything de-
pends on the way in which a teacher will introduce 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 Sprachgefiihl, the unconscious and unerring
feeling for what is 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 children at school
should sometimes get a glimpse of the 'why' and the 'how/
although as a rule 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
in our Secondary Schools. 21
may be discussed as occasion offers itself, viz. the problems
of ordinary form-association (e.g. 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 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 develop-
ment of language. Good German instances are found in the
little book by E. Wasserzieher, 'Aus dem Leben der deutschen
Sprache' (3^.), also in R. Kleinpaul, 'Das Fremdwort im
Deutschen' (is. Sammlung Goschen, 55). and in the books by
O. Behaghel and O. Weise (see pages 69 — 70). The relation
of English 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 shewn. (For classified
lists of correspondences between German and English words
see my edition of ' Doctor Wespe ' by R. Benedix. Pitt Press
Series, 1888, 2i895.) Rather than not touch on these points
at all, sacrifice the greater number of exceptions, in fact a good
deal of what our practical grammars give in small print, and
what should not be got up, but only be referred to as occasion
offers. The discussion and brief explanation of such important
general phenomena is of far greater educational value than the
somewhat mechanical drill in rare exceptions or seldom used
words and phrases.
Idioms.
The study of idiomatic phrases and the acquisition of a
useful vocabulary cannot be begun too early. But only the
22 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
really current idioms should be committed to memory, and
sentences, not isolated words, should be learned. The princi-
pal idioms should be imparted gradually and, where advisable,,
explained. Ancient manners and bygone customs have left
many an interesting trace in the idiomatic phrases of everyday
speech. An explanation of German idioms such as einem die
Stange halten — einen im Stiche lassen — mir schwant Boses —
einem ein X fitr ein U machen — einen Kerb bekommen 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. In most schools they are unduly neglected. The
necessary books of reference for the teacher of German are
given on p. 71 and in my ' Guide1 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), but a really first-rate book for class purposes
has still to be written.
Vocabulary.
Apart from the vocabulary, which the pupils will gradually
I 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 will be learnt by the class. He will of course
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 ' Wandbilder fur den Anschauungs- und
Sprachunterricht,' n pictures, Wien, Holzel1), or G. Egli's
1 In connection with these may be used the books called * Konversations-
Unterricht nach Holzel's Bildertafeln ' (German, French, Italian, English)
published by Emil Roth at Giessen. The German, French, etc. parts can
be had separately. The First French Book and the First German Book in
Dent's Series will also be found most useful in this respect.
in our Secondary Schools. 23
cheap and useful little picture-books with vocabulary called
1 Satze fur den Unterricht in den vier Hauptsprachen ' (Bilder-
saal fur den Sprachenunterricht), Zurich, Orell Fiissli. He
will take such series of words as: father, mother, ' child, son,
daughter... i.e. all the ordinary (but* no unusual) family names
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... ; 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 stories 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. Subjects such as 'a walk in the country,'
4 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 is given.
Another way of increasing the vocabulary, which is often
very useful with more advanced pupils, is the study of ordinary
words which are connected by f o r m : sitzen, setzen, Sitzung,
Satzung, Sitz, Satz (Aufsatz, Einsatz, Vorsatz, Absatz), auf-
sitzen, absitzen, nachsitzen, einsetzen, absetzen, vorsetzen, versetzen,
besetzen, ubersetzen, Besitzung, Besatzung, Besetzung, Versetzung,
or steigen, Steig (Bahnsteig, Steigbiigel\ Stieg (Aufstieg, Abstieg),
Steg^ ein-, aus-, itm-steigen...z\.c. The difficulty here is where
to stop, but the conscientious teacher who has prepared his
lesson beforehand and has written down the words which he
intends to give to his pupils will not be exposed to the danger
if
\\
24 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
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 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. (See the lists
of sound-correspondences in my Pitt Press edition of * Doctor
Wespe.')
I should not advise teachers to confine themselves to one
method only — some change is always refreshing — but to take
the first method (the 'series' method — a simplified 'Gouin'
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
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;
4 Hints on teaching German/ London, 1899); who has also
contributed some valuable articles on the early teaching of
French to the first numbers of 'The School World.'
Conversation.
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. Egli's or Holzel's pictures; see above).
At first, of course, in order to be understood, he will occasion-
ally have to give some short explanations in English, and he
in our Secondary Schools. 25
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 beginning make
all the children take an active part in the lesson ; they must
be interested — stimulated to make out what the master says
and to express in the foreign tongue what they see him doing.
He has first to 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 first natural
shyness and disinclination to use the foreign idiom. Most
English boys and girls are unwilling to try to speak any other
language than their own, 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 fulfil this condition 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 teach for an hour in the foreign language. A
German modern language master is required in his 'Staats-
examen ' to s^ew 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.
In speaking the foreign language the teacher should at
1 At Cambridge the institution of -a new voluntary viva voce Examina-
tion on a much larger basis and of a much more searching nature than the
present oral test is just under consideration. For the latest ' German
regulations see the Ordnung der Priifung fur das Lehramt an hoheren
Schulen in Preussen vom 12. Sept. 1898, and cp. pp. 85 — 90.
26 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
first make use of some picture such as Holzel's. With older
pupils he may also take the map of Europe, and teach accord-
ing to the direct method, beginning perhaps by pointing to
England and saying l :
Dies ist England. Was ist dies? Dies ist England.
Dies ist Deutschland. Was ist dies ? Dies ist Deutsch-
land.
England (Deutschland) ist ein Land. Das Land ist gross,
das grosse Land. Deutschland ist ein grosses Land.
Dies ist die Nordsee. Die Nordsee ist ein Meer.
Dies ist der Rhein. Der Rhein ist ein Fluss.
Der'Fluss fliesst in das Meer (in die Nordsee).
Dies ist die Elbe. Die Elbe ist auch ein Fluss.
Die Elbe fliesst auch in die Nordsee.
Der Rhein und die Elbe sind Fliisse.
Die Elbe ist ein grosser deutscher Fluss.
A number of questions and answers — carefully pronounced
— would serve to make the children familiar with the foregoing
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 — gross ; grosser, grosse, grosses —
ist, sind — fliesst — Fluss, Fliisse — der Fluss, das Land, das
Meer, der Rhein, die Elbe, die Nordsee — England, Deutsch-
land, deutscher — ein deutscher Fluss.
Or a teacher might start with Egli's little picture-books and
discuss all the scenes of everyday life with his pupils, especially
1 Cp. now the excellent chapter on the teaching of German on a direct
system by Professor Spencer in his ' Aims and Practice of Teaching '
(Cambridge, 1897), pp. 100 — 120. My specimen above given was con-
structed before the appearance of Dr Spencer's valuable experiment. On
a similar experiment (by Dr Findlay, Mr Twentyman and Mr Kirkman)
see the Bibliographical Appendix p. 61 under 8 and 15.
in our Secondary ScJiools. 27
with young children -in the lower forms. With older children
historical and geographical pictures should be discussed also.
In order to secure, without risk of losing it again, an easy
command of the foreign idiom, teachers of Modern Languages
should 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 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 munici-
palities ; and in Sweden, I am informed, on such a scale that
every Modern Language teacher receives one every five years
on an average. America, as is well known, 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 government 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)." In England the State does not directly interfere
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 help
them by granting an occasional leave of absence. This is
a point of the very greatest 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
28 rf/ie Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
travelling scholarship to students of the Mason College.
Here County Councils and private donors can do much good.
At present there exist in various French, Swiss, and in three
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 method (often
' direct method ' courses) given. Such summer meetings are
being held in July and August at the German Universities
of Greifsvvald (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 Frangaise
(apply to the Secretary, 45, Rue de Grenelle) and (at Caen
and Tours) by the Modern Language Holiday Courses Com-
mittee (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-35sqq. Many of my
own students have derived the greatest benefit from attending
them. Moreover the Ferienkurse are cheap, part of them
specially devised for the needs of foreigners and, from all I
have heard of them from a number of students of both sexes,
most enjoyable1. 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, and not go to one of the large boarding-
houses, which are obviously the most unsuitable places to go
to if one wants to learn a foreign language. There is a grow-
1 See also the Modern Language Quarterly, i. (July, 1897), p. 37 ;
II. (November, 1897), p. 89; the Mod. Q. of Lang, and Lit. II. (July,
1898), pp. 153 — 60; and several notices in The Journal of Education and
other educational papers. Read also the report of an important discussion
in the Journal of Education, 1899, p. 151.
in our Secondary Schools. 29
ing 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 and well justified view —
I cannot discuss it here at length — 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 power1. Here at Cambridge
we have now (1899) for nearly fifteen 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 Tripos2. 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 in my lecture on the training of Modern Language
Teachers.
Reading.
As the object of Modern Language teaching is in my
opinion to teach not only the foreign language, but at the same
1 Books such as * French Daily Life ' (by W. Rippmann, based on
Kron's Le petit Parisien, London, 1898) 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 Nord-
deutschland, Rhein, etc. in German); Langenscheidt's ' Notworterbuch
der franz. Sprache ' in. ('Land und Leute in Frankreich ') ; Mahrenholtz,
'Frankreich' (Leipzig, 1897); and consult Klopper's * Franzosisches Real-
Lexikon ' (Leipzig : in course of publication).
2 An account of the history and present position of the Cambridge
Medieval and Modem Languages Tripos is given by me in the April
number (1899) of the Modern Quarterly, pp. 322—26.
3O The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
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 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 map of Germany (or
France) with German (or French) names should be hung up
in the Modern Language class room during all German or
French Lessons. German names of German places should
be taught throughout (why are they usually given in French
spelling and in English pronunciation?), e.g. Aachen, Koln,
Mainz, Wiirzburg, Miinchen, Braunschweig, Wien, Donau,
Weichsel, Vogesen, 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 Reader for English Schools has not yet been
written. E. Hausknecht's 'The English Student,' perhaps
also W. Victor's and F. Dorr's 'Englisches Lesebuch,' or
O. Jespersen's and Chr. Sarauw's ' Engelsk Begynderbog '
(Kj^benhavn, 1896) are the books which I should set up as
models to be followed.
In the upper forms the Reader should be replaced by the
study of some of the best classical works.
Nature of the proposed ' Reader.''
Our model 'Reader' — which is as yet unwritten— should
contain only pieces illustrating the life and thought of foreign
nations in olden and, still more, in our own times. The
in our Secondary Schools. 31
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-asserting criticism. The texts should as
far as possible be accompanied by a series of illustrations.
A complete glossary at the end, carefully compiled, 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 and 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 'the boy
and the serpent,' etc. On the othejc 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 to
the Louvre/ or ' to the Castle at Heidelberg/ or ' to Cologne
Cathedral/ ' a reception into the Academic Frangaise/ ' a
speech by Bismarck in the Reichstag/ 'a German school-treat,'
'a Turnfahrt/ ' a Sangerfest/ etc. Or 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.
Pieces such as these would be just as useful to the pupils
learning the German 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,
32 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
and would furnish excellent material for comparison and dis-
cussion.
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. Special maps of Berlin and Vienna (or Paris) and
surroundings should be included.
(2) Tables of foreign measures, weights, and moneys (the
latter perhaps with coloured illustrations — few English children
realise the size and value of a German Pfennig 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.
(5) 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.
(6) A list of all the most common abbreviations used in
the foreign languages.
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 devised. This again would be a
really useful subject for discussion among the members of the
Modern Language Association, and the columns of the Modern
Quarterly of Language and Literature are at the disposal of
in our Secondary Schools. 33
persons of experience anxious to discuss this most important
problem. As but little time can be allotted to Modern Lan-
guages in the curricula of our High 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.^
This is at present very frequently not the case ; a number of the
books prescribed and 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
than the books actually studied.
The ' canon' of works to be read should of course be
sufficiently comprehensive to admit of frequent changes : at
one time one of Lessing's plays, at another one of Goethe's or
Schiller's or Grillparzer's or some other great dramatist might be
set, the same standard of difficulty being kept. But nothing that
is not of real literary excellence should be read, and for this
reason for instance Kotzebue's old-fashioned and one-sided farce,
6 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 Freytag's comedy, * Die Journalisten,' is not read half as
much as it deserves to be.
A ' canon' of poems to be learned by heart — after due
explanation and recitation by the master — should also be
prepared. There should be a gradation from the easier to
the harder, and the older poems should be repeated from time
to time in later terms.
Some prose pieces (fables, passages from speeches) might
also occasionally be committed to memory and recited with
suitable intonation before the class. If properly treated this is .
really a most useful exercise, but of course the master must
take care that the piece is well learned, well understood, and
recited with the proper expression. The pieces thus learned
B. i
34 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
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 the necessary changes in Modern Language examinations
are made and due importance is attached to the spoken lan-
guage. It is to be hoped, and it is indeed probable, that this
change for the better — an all-important change for the proper
teaching and study of the modern living tongues — will soon
take place.
I sincerely trust that before long all the better 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 find out
(1) How many hours for how many terms and years you
can dispose of at present at your school ; then
(2) Make a general plan of work on a clearly conceived
system.
(3) Endeavour to bring about a fruitful interchange of
ideas with your fellow-teachers, especially with your colleagues
at the same school, as to what should be read.
The study of foreign classics should be less dependent
upon ' set books ' appointed for examinations. The draw-
backs 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 or five of the
same size might have been read and enjoyed within the same
space of time. Sometimes, of course, prescribed 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 following is a true though rather an extreme
in our Secondary Schools. 35
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 one set book, but I have worked • through many — exami-
nation papers ' !
More than once I have been asked by teachers : Do you
think that the French and German iyth and 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, but
unfortunately this interest 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 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
poems of Paul Verlaine, still less is Schiller's ' Wallenstein '
the most suitable preparation for the 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 choice language. It is the privilege of a teacher to shew to
his pupils how these great works of art should be appreciated
and enjoyed. His zeal and enthusiasm should fire that 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
3 2
"
"
** -., ^
36 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
should be laid on the careful study of a number of foreign
masterpieces of the iyth and i8th centuries. These convic-
<s tions do not in the least prevent me from admitting 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
teaching of grammar pure and simple, and very little to the
mechanical manufacturing of colourless translations from
English into the foreign language.
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 propose 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
in our Secondary Schools. 37
careful not to talk above the understanding of the children,"^
especially of the average children, in the discussion of a great V
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
carefully and pleasantly, 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 passage with the class he will be careful to create,
as it were, 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 business-like
tone : * Smith, will you read the first stanza of the 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 before-
hand, and then proceeds to reading 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. 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
38 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
difficulties and ask questions concerning passages which require
explanation — but he should not create difficulties. In the case
of poems it is often 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 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 zuriickkehrenden Grafen'). Never give a poem to the class
to be learned by heart without having first read and fully
explained the whole of it. Avoid setting very long poems in
the lower and middle classes.
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 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 Hne by line
and scene by scene in homoeopathic doses — 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 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. Of course 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.
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
in our Secondary Schools. 39
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. 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/ a play con-
sisting 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 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. Who was to blame? Not the
children, but the teachers, who had plainly neglected to pay
any attention whatsoever \vform.
Another point at which the teacher ought to work with his
class is the making clear to every child the plan of the poet —
the arrangement of thought — the connection of the scenes —
the development of the action — the climax, peripeteia, and
the catastrophe — in short what we may fitly call the 'inner
4O The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
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 my own old
head-master Dr Wiedasch of Hanover. But where is the
corresponding teaching of English literature in our secondary
schools? Great reforms in the teaching of English seem to
me to be most urgently required in the immediate future in
many schools.
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. 'Maria Stuart' and 'Wilhelm Tell' are easy
plays in this respect, * Minna von Barnhelm,' ' Iphigenie,'
'Tasso/ * Die Jungfrau von Orleans' and 'Wallenstein ' present
greater difficulties1.
A teacher is very 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 other 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
1 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. 41
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
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 will be 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
Anstalt 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 in my Handy
Guide, pp. 75 and 103, will be found most 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 a great tragedy-writer has treated and transformed
the facts of history. Goethe's ' Egmont ' and Schiller's c Maria
Stuart' or 'Jungfrau von Orleans' afford good examples.
Again, if the play should happen to be Goethe's ' Iphigenie,'
do not waste much valuable time in pointing out conscien-
tiously— if conscience has any part in such a proceeding — all
the numerous cases in which Goethe differs from Euripides, but
42 The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages
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.
The last question connected with Modern Language
teaching with which I propose to deal in these lectures is
Should Foreign Literature as such be taught in Schools ?
I think not. It cannot and it should not. It will be found
difficult enough to give the children 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 know something about the greatest modern
foreign writers, they should know about their lives, aims, and
lasting merits — they should see pictures of them and take a
real interest in them. But these must only be the stars of the
first magnitude. We must not attempt to do too many things,
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
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 existing conditions they can never, as it were, 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 — go on in later life extending their knowledge of
in our Secondary Schools. 43
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 the school 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, even these 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 close
of our century I think 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 Modem Languages to a successful
analysis of the various types of business letters or 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 SCHOOLS.
IN this supplementary lecture my aim is to throw out some
hints as to the special objects and the special difficulties of the
teaching of German. I also propose to give you my own
opinion as to some much discussed points of spelling, pro-
nunciation and reading, as it is of the greatest importance that
intending teachers should start with definite views on such
vexed points.
But 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, does not merely mean to teach Grammar and Com-
position, but above all to teach the spirit of the language, the
ready understanding and use of it, and by means of language
arid literature to spread a just understanding of the spirit of the
German nation, and to produce a sympathetic appreciation 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.
1 English teachers of German may perhaps like to join the newly
established (January, 1899) Zweigverein London des Allgemeinen Deutschen
Sprachvereins. Applications should be addressed to the Secretary (Hugo
Bartels, Esq., Panthurst, Sevenoaks Weald, Kent). See also the Modern
Quarterly of Language and Literature, No. 4, April 1899, p. 337.
The Teaching of German in our Secondary Schools. 45
On the other hand it will be the task of a good teacher to
find out the chief and 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 children 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 words consist of sounds and not of letters, and also
that the pronunciation changes more rapidly than the spelling,
which on this account never quite accurately represents the
actual pronunciation. To-day I have to deal with the German
letters, the peculiar German (Austrian and Swiss) alphabet.
The question arises : Should the use of German small and
capital letters, two new alphabets to 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 beginning, the new letter
in connection with the foreign sound1. The initial trouble
is exceedingly small, 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
1 This is called in German Schreiblesen.
46 The Teaching of German
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. 70 l. 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 it — they will look upon it as an accomplish-
ment. It is true that in * Local' and other Examinations
candidates are ' not required ' to use the German handwriting,
but this does not mean that those who write German really well
are forbidden to write it. Only 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 hand-
writing, and cannot possibly hope to finish their task in time
if they use German characters.
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 type2 in Germany and elsewhere, I am of course
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
1 For exercise books for writing German apply to Mr Nutt, 270, Strand.
2 See G. Hempl, German Orthography and Phonology, Boston and
London, 1897.
in our Secondary Schools. 47
type which for various reasons deserves to be recommended —
still I think we teachers of German in England have no right
to initiate so great a change and to deny to our pupils that
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. There are but few
German letters which present any difficulty.
In reading German letters teach the distinctions between
ie and et, 6 and b, f and f, r and r, 33 and 93, 3R and SB,
% and 3, 9t and if. All the others are perfectly easy1. In
writing German insist on your pupils marking the modification
of vowels, the u hooks, and the difference between $, (, ((, £.
As to the Modern Spelling (of 1880) I believe that it should
be adopted. It can very easily be taught, and it prevails now
in all schools and is used by most publishers and newspapers.
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 be met with in the seventies of this century, and
certainly much better than the previous anarchy in spelling.
There is, moreover, no reason why the present official ortho-
graphy should not be revised again and somewhat improved in
the course of the next century. The best books of reference
for teachers are named on pp. 68, 72 and in my Handy
Guide to the Study of German, pp. "34, 51.
German Pronunciation.
Even the most elementary teaching — the laying of a good
foundation — should be given by a carefully trained and duly
qualified master. He should be well acquainted with the
1 Cp. the useful word-lists in O. Siepmann's excellent * Public School
German Primer,' pp. xxvii — xxx, which afford ample reading practice.
48 The Teaching of German
elements of phonetics and should have a really good pro-
nunciation ; 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 pronunciation. He
should have carefully considered what pronunciation he is
to teach and what the standard of refined German speech
requires1.
The present standard pronunciation of Modern German is
the pronunciation of the best actors on the stage2. Here a
common pronunciation is absolutely necessary. A play like
1 Iphigenie ' would be completely spoilt if Orestes was to speak
Swabian, Pylades Westphalian, Iphigenia Saxon, and King
Thoas East-Prussian. While the forms of the literary language
are a compromise between South and Middle German, their
pronunciation should be in the main North German. The
pronunciation of refined Berlin ladies is particularly recom-
mended. The Hanoverian pronunciation — excellent as it is
in many respects — is not free from a number of very marked
provincialisms which should not be imitated. Being myself a
native of the town of Hanover I can speak from personal
experience.
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, 1890) will
help him to catch the proper accent of the sentence. In some
cases of special difficulty he may well resort to a simple method
1 See 'German as she is spoke' (Journal of Educ., 1897, pp. 533 sqq.).
2 See the books enumerated in my Guide on p. 35, to which should
now be added Theod. Siebs, Deutsche Biihnenatissprache, Berlin, 1898. is.
in our Secondary Schools. 49
of phonetic transcription of German words and sentences, such
as is used by Prof. Victor in 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 rougn tabulated summary of the chief
difficulties experienced by children in pronouncing German.
The chief difficulties of German pronunciation L.
1. & 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
quite short.
2. 1, e, 6, u, especially before r, as in ihr, Lehm, rot,fuhr.
Here the difficulty lies in the necessity of producing a long
clear vowel, without sounding a second element after it, e.g. vier
is not to be pronounced like our fear, Lehm not like lame,
rot not like wrote, pur not like poor. The lips should be
properly rounded in the pronunciation of o and u.
3. o, 6, ii, ii, a as in Holle, Hohle ; fulle,fiihle ; ware.
The modified vowels o, ii (short and open — long and
closed) do not exist in English and require special practice.
Teachers should not allow pupils to say fu(h}r instead of fur,
or funf instead of fiinf, 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 it and o, and should practise
these sounds whenever an opportunity offers. They should
also point out the difference in sound between ware and where,
Kafer and cave, Ahre and air, and so forth.
4. au as in rauschen, heraus.
The mouth should be opened sufficiently for the a element
of the diphthong (see under i). The second element resembles
more an o than a u.
1 The symbols used are those of Victor's 'German Pronunciation.7
Compare the useful observations in W. Rippmann's Hints on Teaching
German, pp. 18 — 22.
B. 4
5O The Teaching of German
5. e in unaccented syllables is nearly always reduced to a
dull P, e.g. behende should be pronounced bd/iend? ; nehmen is
nemdn. In familiar pronunciation, which is not to be imitated,
it often disappears, e.g. leben becomes leb™, sieden becomes
zidn, etc.
6. The glottal stop before the initial vowel, even if the
word is the second part of a compound, should be carefully
noticed, e.g. geachtet should be pronounced gfactdt, Verein is
fdr'ain, 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 artificial school pronunciation.
Wehen is to be pronunced vedn, ziehen is tsfat.
8. Final b, d as in Weib, Held, Gold are to be pro-
nounced as voiceless sounds (/, t\ hence vaip, helt, golt\ b and
d after a consonant do not lengthen the preceding vowel in
German as they do in some cases in English: e.g. Hand,
4 hand.' Exceptions to this general rule are Mond, Pferd.
9. w has the sound not of an English w but of a v,
e.g. wichsen 'to black (boots)' is viksdn, after sch a w is
bilabial but without any rounding of the lips, e.g. schwarz is
svarts (NOT suarts).
10. u after q has likewise the sound of bilabial v, with-
out rounding of the lips qu - kv, e.g. Quell is kvel, Qual is
kvdl, quer is kver.
11. Th« guttural n before g and k when it is followed
by a vowel. A g following n is not sounded in German.
The guttural n is as a rule transcribed by #, #, or g. The
German Finger is to be pronounced ftndr^ singen is zirwn,
while sinken is z in ken. The pronunciation of words such as
Engel, Enkel\ Range, Ranke, etc. should be practised.
1 2. The peculiar German ch with its twofold pronunciation
after front and back vowels, e.g. lacheln and lachen; ich, dock
in our Secondary Schools. 5 1
(cp. the Scotch 'loch'); Frikhte, Frucht ; brache, brack. One
may transcribe Idcheln by //£*/*» but lachen by lacdn1.
As ch may be sounded differently in forms of the same
word, great care is necessary in practising the pronunciation.
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
like rff), and distinguish between Seiten and Zeiten, sauber and
Zauber, sog and zog, Sehne, Zdhne^ Szene ^-stsend\ and pro-
nounce zwanzig (tsvdntsif), Zwergzwiebel (tsverktsvtb9l\
cedcr (tsedzr).
14. Initial sp and st even at the beginning of the
second part of a compound should be pronounced sp^ st, as on
the stage and in the greater part of Germany. The rounding
of s before p and t should take place just as it has taken place
before /, m, n, w all over the country. The Hanoverian
pronunciation is in this case archaic, and obviously influenced
by Low German. Hence sprechen should be sprepn, gestehen
should be gf stezn. The South German pronunciation of
final st as st (Oberst) should not be imitated.
A number of smaller points might still be touched upon,
such as the difference between the (thinner) German and the
(fuller) English final //, compare voll and full, but the time at
my disposal does not admit a discussion of them, and these
hints must not become a treatise. The books by Victor, Siebs,
Rippmann, and Miss Soames will give teachers all the neces-
sary information as to particular points. A teacher of German
in (this country cannot afford to leave them unread
Open Questions.
The pronunciation of initial r (dental or guttural) and of
medial and final g are still moot points with the Germans
1 It was impossible to introduce the system of transcription adopted
by the 'Association Phonetique Internationale' (see the Mod. Quarterly,
April, 1899, p. 320—1) into this edition. .^
4—2
52 The Teaching of German
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,
and I should advocate the teaching of medial g between vowels
as a voiced mute and not as a spirant. Hence I should
transcribe Wege not vej9 but vege. About final g I do not
feel so sure and should (at present) admit the pronunciation
vek and vec for Weg. The latter (vec) is the more familiar one
and the one more generally heard, it seems to be the pronun-
ciation of the future — hence perhaps the best plan for the
present is to pronounce final g hard in high style and in
poetry, but spirantic in ordinary prose anrf in conversation.
In case this was thought unadvisable I think the spirantic
pronunciation of final g should be adopted in both cases.
Grammar.
The few words I propose to say under this head are of
course entirely dictated by the practical considerations of school
teaching. The general principles have been discussed in a
previous lecture, e.g.Qhat only the chief facts of grammar I
should be taught and everything exceptional at first be care- |
fully eliminated-^-that grammar should not be taught at school
for its own sake and that everything should be deduced from
carefully chosen examples of good modern German.
What is the standard? I think the usage of first-rate
modern writers such as Heyse, Spielhagen, Wildenbruch,
Storm, Geibel, Bodenstedt, Freiligrath, 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 of course be great works of art, but they cannot
be used for school purposes or invariably as models of refined
modern prose.
in our Secondary Schools. 53
The existing Grammars of German compiled for the use of
English schools have nearly all serious defects in addition to
those general shortcomings noted in a previous lecture :
(1) They do not sufficiently distinguish between familiar,
ordinary and historical, and elevated modern prose.
(2) They do not distinguish between 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 and attempted.
(3) They do not as a rule distinguish carefully enough
between prose and poetry.
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.
(4) Another prevalent fault is the failure to distinguish
between the cases used in connection with certain verbs, e.g.
geniessen^ entbehren, rufen^ 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 ') says : Ich entbehre 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 says to Faust Wer 'ruft mir?
' Who calls for me?; But such rare or dialectic or poetic con-
structions should be briefly explained when they occur in the
text before the pupils and not before.
A good teacher should not only teach the dry facts of
grammar, but sometimes in appropriate cases give an explana-
tion. In my previous lecture I have cautioned teachers not
to go too far ; but they may well here and there ;give some
colour to their teaching by supplying an easy explanation, e.g.
54 The Teaching of German
on the origin of many German prepositions, kraft — laut — wegen
(why do they take the genitive ?) or of adverbs : flugs — rings —
spornstreichs — allerdings^ 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, Bursch and
Borse, dichten and diktieren. Even the inorganic / in eigentlich^
geflissentlich after the analogy of hoffentlich, flehentlich (for
flehend-lich ' like -one imploring ') might be occasionally ex-
plained to more advanced pupils. They will thus get a
glimpse of the life of the language. There is no lack of
handy books of reference for the teacher of German who is
anxious to obtain fuller information \
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 three ever-recurring phrases :
' for the sake of euphony,7
1 by false analogy ' (with what ? why false ?),
or ' for the sake of the metre,'
as if Goethe or Schiller could not have managed their versifi-
cation properly !
I have said that a teacher will 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.
^^ principal difficulties of German Grammar seem to me :
(i) The right use of the prepositions and of the case
required in connection with them. The grammars are not
quite sufficient in this respect, e.g. the short rule as to ' rest '
and ' motion ' does not suffice in the case of prepositions with
two cases. The right use of the prepositions is a great diffi-
culty2.
1 See my essay: 'The Reference Library of a School Teacher of
German,' printed on pp. 65 — 84 of this book.
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
in our Secondary Schools. 55
(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 point is really
easy — a number of typical instances will suffice to teach it.
These examples should be gathered from the Reader and
learned by heart.
(3) The modifications of root-vowels in plurals, comparisons,
and derivatives. Here a good and careful pronunciation will
be of great help — but much must simply be learned by heart
e.g. Tag, Tage, but Schlag, Schldge.
(4) 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 at all events remind pupils
that a verb may be strong. 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. Instead of giving the infinitives (ubersetzen,
ubersetzen) it is preferable to teach the ist persons ich setze
iiber, ' I put across ' and ich uber seize, ' I translate.7
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 it is inseparable where its equivalent
is not a true English verb plus a preposition or adverb, but a
compound borrowed from the Latin and where the meaning is
abstract and metaphorical. Thus ubersetzen ' put across/ uber-
setzen ' translate7; wiederholen * fetch back/ wiederhblen ' repeat7;
durchgehen 'go through/ durchgehen ' pervade7; umgehen 'go
round about/ umgehen ' circumvent/ etc.
(5) The order of words in a sentence. This is of the very
greatest importance and causes a great deal of difficulty at
entered as they occur, e.g. Er schwimmt iiber den Fluss — Der Ballon
schwebt iiber der Stadt — Er freut sich iiber sein neues Buch — Der Rock
hangt iiber dem Stuhl. — When there are enough examples the children
deduce the rules themselves.
56 The Teaching of German
first, but the chief points can be learnt during the time the
children are at school. Begin very 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 :
Das Mddchen findet das Buck
The girl finds the book.
Das Mddchen 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 gesehen haben,
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
between English and German syntax.
Genders.
The German genders are indeed very troublesome to
foreigners, more especially to English girls, who as a rule do
not do Latin and Greek and are therefore more apt to forget
about the genders. There are hardly any good rules about
them. I wish there were. I cannot say more than the
grammars. I freely admit that children, while at school,
can hardly be expected to acquire an absolutely correct
knowledge of genders. But 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 the children may very well be
in our Secondary Schools. 57
expected to know the genders of all the principal and really
important German words. Here the ' systematic vocabulary '
referred to in a previous lecture should be useful.
Die Sonne — der Mond—der Stern — die Wolke — etc. Of
course in learning words children should not say Sonne — Mond
but die Sonne — der Mond, always adding the definite article.
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 nachher den Mond und den Abendstern
am Himmel aufgehen. Eine diistre Wolke verdeckte den
schonen Stern auf kurze Zeit, ein starkes Gewitter zog
herauf, ein greller Blitz folgte dem andern, der Donner rollte,
der Regen floss in Stromen ; bald aber war das schwere
Wetter vorbei gezogen und das Licht des freundlichen
Sternes leuchtete wieder zu uns herab.'
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 properly brought before them.
A well-informed teacher may well 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, Hochzeit, Brautlauf (in Schiller's
'Tell'), would be sure to interest and instruct the children.
In saying this I am of course far from advocating a display
of etymological information which would be beyond the under-
5 8 TJie Teaching of German in our Secondary Schools.
standing of the children and out of place in school-teaching.
Again an occasional word as to family names such as Baumann,
Agricola, Jacobi, Jacobssohn, Jacobs, or of German and foreign
proper names, such as Dietrich, Leopold, Ludwig, Wolfram,
Rudolf, Minna, Adelheid, Gertrud — Andreas, Philipp, Moses,
Ludovica, Louise — Dietrich Kraft and Ludovica Jacobi, could
be made most interesting and valuable even to children. Such
instruction should, however, not be given systematically but
only as occasion offers.
I should be much pleased if in these lectures I should
have succeeded in throwing out some hints which will prove
useful in your teaching, and in firing your enthusiasm for a
subject, the study and teaching of which grows more attractive
and more important with every year. 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 !
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.
PERIODICALS1.
1. The Modern Language Quarterly (now 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. Since 1897. London. Dent £ Co. (2^. 6d.
each part.) ""*
2. 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.
(Subscription in advance, js. a year.)
3. Archiv fur das Studium der Neueren Sprachen imd Litter a-
turen^ begriindet von Ludwig Herrig, herausgegeben von Aloys
Brandl und Adolf Tobler. The iooth vol. has just appeared.
Braunschweig. 1898. Yearly 4 tiefte. ( 8 s. a year.)
4. Die Neueren Sprachen , Zeitschrift fur den Neusprachlichen
Unterricht. Mit dem Beiblatt " Phonetische Studien." In
Verbindung mit Franz Dorr und Adolf Rambeau herausgegeben
von Wilhelm Victor. Marburg. Yearly ten parts. Since 1893.
(\2s. a year.)
5. Zeitschrift fur den deutschen Unterricht^ begriindet unter
Mitwirkung von Rudolf Hildebrand, herausgegeben von Otto
Lyon. Leipzig. Since 1887. Monthly. (i2s. a year.)
6. Zeitschrift fur neufranzbsische Sprache und Litteratur^ mit
besonderer Beriicksichtigung des Unterrichts im Franzosischen
auf den deutschen Schulen, herausgegeben von G. Korting und
E. Koschwitz. The present general editor is D. Behrens.
Oppeln and Leipzig. (Now Berlin.) Since 1879. The
periodical is no longer exclusively devoted to Modern French,
and the present title is Zeitschrift fur franzosische Sprache
und Litteratur. ( i $s. a year.)
1 The full titles of most of the above mentioned and of many other
important periodicals are given in the first chapter of my Handy Guide.
The Journal of Education should also be referred to. With regard to the
prices mentioned see note 2 on p. 66.
6o Bibliographical Appendix.
7. Revue de renseignement des langues vivantes, edited by
A. Wolfromm. Paris. Since 1883. (15$. a year.)
8. Le mattre phon^tique^ organe de 1'association phone'tique inter-
nationale, edited by Paul Passy. Paris. (Bourg-la-Reine.)
Since 1885. (3s- a year.)
9. Litteratiirblatt fiir Germanische und Romanische Philologie,
herausgegeben von Otto Behaghel und Fritz Neumann.
Leipzig. Since 1880. Monthly, (iij. a year.)
10. Verhandlungen der deutschen Neuphilologentage. Every second
year one volume of proceedings.
BOOKS, PAMPHLETS AND ESSAYS1.
1. Allcock (A. E.\ The Teaching of Modern Languages (in
"Essays on Secondary Education by various contributors,"
ed. Chr. Cookson, pp. 149 sqq.). Oxford. 1898. (4^. 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. Bahlsen (Z.). Der franzosische Sprachunterricht im neuen
Kurs. Berlin. 1892. (is. 6d. unbound.)
4. Breal (Michel}. De 1'enseignement des langues vivantes.
Paris. 1893. (is. %d. unbound.)
5. Brebner (Mary). The Method of Teaching Modern Languages
in Germany. London. 1898. (15-. 6d. cloth.) See also:
Sadler's Reports, Vol. ill. (1898), no. 8. (The Vol. is 3* $d.
net.)
1 The books, pamphlets and essays enumerated are unequal in value
and not invariably written from the same point of view, but they will all be
found suggestive and helpful. These lists do not comprise all that is worth
reading on the subject, their aim being simply to point out a certain
number of recent contributions to the study of Methods of Modem Language
Teaching which teachers will find it useful to refer to. Several articles
contained in the Journal of Education (October 1896 and the following
months) are very suggestive. For further information see Munch 's and
Glauning's book (described under 22) which gives very valuable biblio-
graphical lists. The books most useful for the teacher of German are
discussed on pp. 65 — 84.
Bibliographical Appendix. 61
6. Breul (Karl}. The Training of Teachers of Modern Foreign
Languages. Lecture delivered at the College of Preceptors.
(Educational Times, May, 1894.)
7. Colbeck (C.\ On the Teaching of Modern Languages in Theory
and Practice. Two Lectures. Cambridge. 1887. (is. cloth.)
8. Findlay (J^. An Experiment in Modern Language Teaching
(Journal of Education, October, November, December (with
A. E. Twentyman), 1896). See Kirkman.
9. Franke (F.). Die praktische Spracherlernung auf Grund der
Psychologic und der Physiologic der Sprache dargestellt.
Leipzig. 1890. (%d. unbound.)
10. Hartmann (K. A. M.\ Die Anschauung im neusprachlichen
Unterricht. Wien. 1895. (6d. unbound.)
11. Hartmann (K. A. M.}. Reiseeindrticke und Beobachtungen
eines deutschen Neuphilologen in der Schweiz und in Frank-
reich. Leipzig. 1897. ($s. unbound, 4^. cloth.)
12. Hausknecht (Emil}. The Teaching of Foreign Languages.
In Sadler's Reports, Vol. in. (1898), no. 9.
J&> Jeffrey (P. Shaw}. How shall we learn French? (Journal of
Education, October, 1897.)
^^- Jeffrey (P- Shaw}. The study of Colloquial and Literary
French. London. Whittaker. 1899. (Will appear soon.)
15. Kirkman (F. B.\ An Experiment in Modern Language
Teaching (Journal of Education, February, April, 1897). See
Findlay ; Atkinson.
16. Klinghardt (H.\ Ein Jahr Erfahrungen mit der neuen
Methode. Marburg. 1888. (is. %d. unbound.)
17. Klinghardt (//.). Drei weitere Jahre Erfahrungen mit der
imitativen Methode. Marburg. 1892. (2s. 6d. unbound.)
18. Kiihn (V. K.\ Entwurf eines Lehrplans. Marburg. 1889.
(is. unbound.)
19. Mangold (W.\ Geloste und ungeloste Fragen der Methodik.
Berlin. 1892. (8d. unbound.)
20. Montgomery (Miss J. D.\ The Teaching of Modern Language s
in Belgium and Holland. In Sadler's Reports, Vol. n. (1898),
no. 26.
21. Munch ( W.\ Zur Forderung des franzosischen Unterrichts.
Heilbronn. 1883. 2nd improved ed. Leipzig. 1895. (2S- 6d-
unbound.)
62 Bibliographical Appendix.
22. Munch (W.} und Glauning (Fr.). Didaktik und Methodik
des franzosischen und englischen Unterrichts. Miinchen.
1895 (from Dr A. Baumeister's c Handbuch der Erziehungs-
und Unterrichtslehre fiir hohere Schulen'). This book contains
a most valuable up to date bibliography. (4^. 6d. unbound.)
23. Munch ( IV.). Welche Ausriistung fiir das neusprachliche
Lehramt ist vom Standpunkte der Schule aus wiinschenswert ?
(In 'Die Neueren Sprachen,' iv. Heft 6.) Marburg. 1896.
24. Rippmann (Walter}. Hints on Teaching French. London.
1898. (is. 6d. net, boards.). Hints on Teaching German.
London. 1899. (IS* net> boards.)
- 25. Rippmann ( Walter'). On the early Teaching of French. (A
series of articles in Macmillan's * School World,' beginning in
no. i.)
26. Roden (A. v.\ In wiefern muss der Sprachunterricht um-
kehren ? Ein Versuch zur Verstandigung liber die Reform
des neusprachlichen Unterrichts. Marburg. 1890. (is. 8d.
unbound.)
27. Roden (A. von}. Die Verwendung von Bildern zu franzosischen
und englischen Sprechiibungen, methodische Ansichten und
Vorschlage. Marburg. 1898. (is. ^d. unbound.)
28. Spencer (Fr.). Chapters on the aims and practice of teaching.
Chapter III. (French and German, by the general editor).
Cambridge. 1897. (6s. cloth.)
~29. 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
Modern Language Teaching are enumerated. See also A. T.
Pollard's remarks on pp. 24 — 26 of the same volume. (6s. 6d.
cloth.)
30. Tanger (G.). Muss der Sprachunterricht umkehren ? Berlin.
1888. (qd. unbound.)
31. Veyssier (E.\ De la m&hode pour Penseignement scolaire
des langues vivantes. Paris. 1898. (3^.)
32. Victor ( W.\ (Ouousque tandem.) Der Sprachunterricht muss
umkehren. Heilbronn. 1882. Reprint 1886. (8rf. unbound.)
Bibliographical Appendix. 63
33. Waetzoldt (£/.)• Die Aufgabe des Neusprachlichen Unter-
richts und die Vorbildung der Lehrer. Berlin. 1892. (\s.
unbound.) (Compare the " Verhandlungen des fiinften allge-
meinen deutschen Neuphilologentages zu Berlin (1892).)
Hannover. 1893. PP- 25 s^*!- anc^ ^e reviews of Waetzoldt's
lecture in 'Die Neueren Sprachen' I. 48 sqq. (Victor);
" Mitteilungen zur Anglia" in. 361 sqq. (Wendt) ; "Zeitschr.
f. franz. Spr." xiv. i sqq. (Stengel); "Englische Studien"
XIX. 1 37 sqq. (Kolbing); " Litteraturblatt f. germ, und roman.
Philologie" XV. 130 sqq. (Koschwitz).
34. Walt her (Max}. Der franzosische Klassenunterricht. Mar-
burg. 1888, 2i895. (IS- 3^ unbound.)
^-35. Ware (Fabian}. Phonetics and Modern Language Teaching
(Journal of Education^ August, 1897). See Kirkman.
36. Ware (Fabiaii}. The Teacher of Modern Languages in Prussian
Secondary Schools. His education and professional training.
In Sadler's Reports, Vol. in. (1898), no. 10.
37. Ware (Fabian). The Teaching of Modern Languages in
Frankfurt a/M and district. In Sadler's Reports, Vol. ill.
(1898), no. 7.
38. Widgery ( W. H.\ The Teaching of Languages in Schools.
London. 1 888. (With a very full bibliography.) This pamphlet
is now unfortunately out of print.
— 39. Methods of Teaching Modern Languages. By A. Marshall
Elliott, Calvin Thomes, W. Stuart Macgowan, and others.
Boston, U.S.A. 1894. (Essays and speeches very unequal
in value and importance.) (3^. 6d. cloth.)
40. Breymann (//.). Die neusprachliche Reform-Litteratur von
1876 — 93. Leipzig. 1895. (3s- unbound.)
SPECIAL BOOKS ON THE TEACHING OF GERMAN1.
41. Hildebrand (/?.). 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
greater, English teachers of German will in many cases find such works of
64 Bibliographical Appendix.
42. Laos (E.). Der deutsche Unterricht auf hoheren Lehran-
stalten. Berlin. 1872. 2 1886 (edited by I. Imelmann). (8s.
unbound.)
43. Lehmann (Rud.). Der deutsche Unterricht. Eine Methodik
fiir hohere Lehranstalten. Berlin. 1890. (8s. unbound.)
44. Wendt (Gustcm). Der deutsche Unterricht und die philo-
sophische Propadeutik (from Baumeister's ' Handbuch ' Vol.
ill.). Miinchen. 1896. With useful bibliographical lists.
(3^. unbound.)
PHONETICS1,. >«*^'
45. Klinghardt (//.). Artikulations- und Horiibungen. Cothen.
1897. ($s. 6d. unbound.)
46. Passy (Paul). Les sons du Frangais. Paris. 3i892. (is. 6d.
unbound.)
47. Passy (Paul}. Abre'ge' de prononciation franchise. Leipzig.
1897. (is. 2.d. boards.)
48. Rippmann (IV.). Elements of Phonetics. English, French
and German. Translated and adapted from Prof. Victor's
" Kleine Phonetik." London. 1899. (zs. 6d. net, boards.)
49. Victor (IV.). German Pronunciation, Practice and Theory.
Leipzig. 21890. (zs. cloth.) (See pp. 72—73 of this book.)
50. Breymann (H.). Die Phonetische Litteratur von 1876 — 1895.
Eine bibliographisch-kritische Ubersicht. Leipzig. 1897.
(3.9. unbound.)
the utmost service — except in the cases of the special conditions and special
difficulties of the English learner. With regard to these and to the right
methods of teaching German in English schools the standard book has still
to be written.
1 For more detailed information see my Handy Bibliographical Guide^
pp. 8, 24 — 26, and 35, and also pp. 72 — 73 of this book. For French see :
Miinch, in his ' Methodik und Didaktik des franzosischen Unterrichts,'
pp. 95 — 96. Here 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 maitrc phonetique (January, 1897), pp. 39 — 41
(ouvrages recommandes pour 1'etude de la phonetique et de la pedagogic
linguistique).
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 the army exami-
nations, shyness of the 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 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
should be used by preference. The school reference libraries
are, as a rule, very poor as far as German is concerned;
moreover, most teachers will probably wish, as far as may be,
1 Revised and enlarged Reprint from the Modem Language Quarterly
for November 1897. A similar up-to-date list of the best books of reference
for a teacher of French has still to be written.
B,
66 The Reference Library of
to purchase gradually all the necessary books of reference for
themselves. 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 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 younger teachers to some extent in making
their choice. New books of value and interest will henceforth
be regularly noticed in the Modern Quarterly of Language and
Literature. (London : Dent and Co. Single numbers, 2s. 6d.}
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.
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 at present
the largest English-German and German-English dictionary
which is complete. Its full title is Felix Flugel, ' Allgemeines
Englisch-Deutsches und Deutsch-Englisches Worterbuch.'
Fourth, entirely remodelled, edition. 2 parts in 3 vols.
Braunschweig, 1891. (Price, bd., £2. $s.)2 The English-
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 this article are of more recent date than the 'Guide.'
2 The prices quoted in this article are those for which the books may
be obtained from Mr Th. Wohlleben, 45, Great Russell Street, London,
W.C. (opposite the British Museum). The prices are liable to a discount
of 10% for foreign and 25% for English books to bona fide teachers.
a School Teacher of German. 67
German part is by far the better of the two; the German-
English part, which is really the more important one for
English students, leaves a good deal to be desired. A smaller
dictionary, partly based on the large Fliigel (the English-
German part only), is the one called — Fliigel-Schmidt-Tanger,
' A Dictionary of the English and German Languages for
Home and School.7 Two vols. Braunschweig, 1896 (12^. 6d.
bound). It is excellently printed, very full, and most useful
for all ordinary purposes.
A work which will surpass in completeness even the big
Fliigel is now in course of publication. It will ultimately
consist of four large volumes. The first two volumes, con-
taining the English and German part (compiled by G. Muret,
with the help of many specialists), are completed (half-bound,
£2. 2s.). The publication of the second part has been begun
by the Langenscheidt'sche Buchhandlung, Berlin, 1897. The
editor of the first number was the late well-known lexico-
grapher Daniel Sanders. The work is being continued under
the general editorship of Immanuel Schmidt. An abridged
school-edition of this work (in 2 volumes) is also in course of
publication. Vol. i. (the English-German part) has appeared.
(is. 6d.)
The smaller books by Grieb, Thieme-Preusser, Kohler
(all of which have been, or are being, completely re-edited),
and the still smaller books by Whitney, Krummacher, and
Weir (of which I am preparing a thoroughly revised edition)
are certainly useful in many respects, but do not always
afford all the information a teacher of German may desire
to obtain.
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
5—2
68 The Reference Library of
ordinary purposes. Two recent dictionaries of smaller size
will probably be very welcome to many teachers of German.
One is by Moriz Heyne, ' Deutsches Worterbuch,' 3 vols.
Leipzig, 1890-95 (;£i. IQJ. unbound, £i. 195. half calf). It
contains numerous well-chosen instances, and is most handy
for reference. An abridgment of it in one vol. has recently
(1897) been published (135. half calf). Another most useful
dictionary, in which no instances are given, but the develop-
ment of meaning of the words very carefully elaborated, is
the * Deutsches Worterbuch,' by Hermann Paul. Halle, 1897
(8s. unbd. ; IQS. half calf). Both books strictly 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, 2iSgi-2
(145. 6d. 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 equi-
valents of foreign words are given. Such are C. A. Sahlfeld,
'Fremd- und Verdeutschungsworterbuch.' Berlin, 1898 (js. 6d.
bound) and O. Sarrazin, ' Verdeutschungsworterbuch.' Berlin,
2i889 (6s. bound). A short account of the history of
foreign words in German has been given by Rud. Kleinpaul,
under the title * Das Fremdwort im Deutschen,' Leipzig, 1896.
(Sammlung Goschen, No. 55, lod. boards.) Many teachers
will be glad of a very complete and useful dictionary giving
every ordinary modern German word, whether of German or of
foreign origin, according to the so-called new spelling. One of
the greatest authorities on moderate spelling reform, Konrad
Duden, has compiled a 'Vollstandiges orthographisches Worter-
buch der deutschen Sprache mit etymologischen Angaben,
kurzen Sacherklanmgen und Verdeutschungen der Fremd-
worter. Nach den neuen amtlichen Regeln.' Leipzig, 5th ed.,
a School Teacher of German. 69
1898 (is. 6d.}. The most handy dictionary of synonyms is
Eberhard's ' Synonymisches Handworterbuch der deutschen
Sprache' (the latest, i5th ed., by Otto Lyon) with well-chosen
German instances and translations of the German synonyms
into English, French, Italian, and Russian. Leipzig, 1896
(half-bound, i$s. 6d.). The etymology of words of German
origin has been admirably treated by Fr. Kluge in his * Etymo-
logisches Worterbuch der deutschen Sprache.' This book, the
first edition of which appeared in 1881, 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, los. A short, but very useful, etymological German
dictionary is the one by Ferd. Better. Leipzig, 1897. (Samm-
lung Goschen, No. 64, lod. boards.) A very good systematical
English- German vocabulary (parts of which will be found
useful for class-teaching) has been compiled by Gustav Kriiger,
1 Englisch-Deutsches Worterbuch nach Stoffen geordnet fur
Studierende, Schulen und Selbstunterricht.' Berlin, ^895 (4^.).
A most useful and handy little pocket-dictionary for travelling
purposes is the ' English-German Conversation Dictionary/ by
Richard Jaschke. London, 1893 (2$. 6d.}.
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 e Guide,'
chapter vi., pp. 45-54. I will only mention F. W. Eitzen's
' Worterbuch der Handelssprache.' German-English. Leipzig,
1893 (us. 6d. bound), which seems to be very full, 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, Baumann,
Meissner, Siepmann, and others, need not be discussed here.
I wish to call attention to some excellent books which seem to
7<D The Reference Library of
be less known. L. Harcourt's ' German for Beginners/ Marburg
and London, 2i898 (23. 6d. net), is an admirable book for its
purpose. The 'Leitfaden fur den ersten Unterricht im Deut-
schen ' by S. Alge, with the collaboration of S. Hamburger and
W. Rippmann. Part I., 2i899 (is. qd. net), London, deserves
warm recommendation. Part II will appear this year. Among
the smaller grammars of German for English students there is the
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 and will be found extremely
useful. The ' Deutsche Grammatik und Geschichte der deut-
schen Sprache' by Otto Lyon, Stuttgart, 2i892 (Sammlung
Goschen, No. 20, lod. boards), will be found useful in many
cases where brief and reliable information is wanted. Among
the more bulky works on German grammar, written in German
and intended for teachers and students, the following deserves
special recommendation : F. Blatz, l Neuhochdeutsche Gram-
matik mit Beriicksichtigung der historischen Entwickelung der
deutschen Sprache.' Third ed., entirely rewritten in two vols.
Karlsruhe, 1895-6 (unbound, 22^., half-bound, 26^.). This
is a most useful book for study and for reference. Of the older
books, I. Ch. Aug. Heyse's * Deutsche Grammatik,' 25th ed.,
completely rewritten by Otto Lyon. Hannover, 1893 (5^.),
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 most teachers.
So far vol. i. (phonology), Strassburg, ^1897 (8^. unbound, los.
half-bound), and vol. n. (word-formation), Strassburg, 1896
(i2s. 6d. unbound, 15^. half-bound), have appeared. Two,
or possibly three, more volumes are to follow. It is an
admirable piece of work.
An excellent short book for repetition of the principal facts
a School Teacher of German. 71
of old and modern phonology and accidence is Fr. Kauffmann,
' Deutsche Grammatik.' Marburg, second edition, 1895 (2^ ^.
cloth). The book is only for teachers and students, it 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. (13^. un-
bound.)
There are a number of German books in which doubtful
points of grammar and the 'best German ' are discussed at
length. Three 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.' Seventh edition, Leipzig, 1892 (6^. or cloth 7^.).
This is the most conservative book of the three. Th. Matthias,
in his 'Sprachleben und Sprachschaden.' Leipzig, 2 1897 (6s.
cloth), of which an abridged edition has been published in 1896
(Kleiner Wegweiser durch die Schwankungen und Schwierig-
keiten des deutschen Sprachgebrauchs, is. 6^/.), makes greater
concessions to recent usage. The third book is much shorter,
but also very useful — A. Heintze, 'Gut Deutsch.' Sixth
edition, Berlin, 1895 (is. 6d. cloth). These books will often
be found useful in cases where the ordinary school-grammars
do not give sufficient information. Wustmann's often quoted
* Sprachdummheiten ' should be used with the greatest caution.
Teachers who are anxious to have a brief survey of the
history of the German language should refer to the following
books — O. Weise, ' Unsere Muttersprache ; ihr Werden und ihr //
Wesen.' Third ed., Leipzig, 1895 (2*. 6d. cloth). An English
translation of this work which, in spite of a number of
minor mistakes, is useful and suggestive, is being prepared in
America. A somewhat older book of a similar character and
more reliable with regard to strictly philological information is
72 The Reference Library of
O. Behaghel, 'Die deutsche Sprache,' Leipzig, 1886 (is.)-, an
adaptation of it, which is not free from slips, by E. Trechmann,
appeared in London, 1891, under the title, 'A Short Historical
Grammar of the German Language.' (^s.6d.) 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. W. F. Cerf
has begun a ' Short Historical Grammar of the German Lan-
guage' (Part I. : Introduction and Phonology. London, 1894.
45".), the second part of which has not yet appeared. A
somewhat larger book is the one by Henri Lichtenberger,
'Histoire de la langue allemande.' Paris, 1895 (6.r. 6d.}.
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 contrasted with the
Classical Languages.' London, 1894 (yj. 6d.). All desirable
information with regard to the new spelling is given by
W. Wilmanns in his valuable book, ' Die Orthographic in den
Schulen Deutschlands.' Berlin, 1887 ($s. 6d. unbound). A
short guide to modern punctuation is the book by O. Glode,
'Die deutsche Interpunktionslehre.' Leipzig, 1893 (6d.).
Teachers who have to prepare boys for examinations in which
they must shew proficiency in reading German handwriting
should use C. F. A. Kolb, ' Lesebuch in Handschriften.' 8th ed.
Stuttgart, 1895 (is. $d. boards), or B. Levy, ' Recueil de lettres
allemandes reproduites en ecritures autographiques pour exercer
k la lecture des manuscrits allemands.' Paris. Sixth edition,
1892 (2S. &d.). The subject of the best German pronunciation
is still a very vexed question, even among the Germans them-
selves. Teachers should consult the various books by W. Victor
(see my 'Guide/ pp. 35, 47) and the 'Deutsche Buhnenaus-
sprache' by Th. Siebs. Berlin, 1898 (2s.). Those which will be
a School Teacher of German. 73
most helpful for English teachers are Victor's * German Pronun-
ciation: Practice and Theory.' Leipzig, 1890 (2^.), his 'Die
Aussprache des Schriftdeutschen,' 4th ed., Leipzig, 1898, with
the transcription of the Association Phonetique Internationale
(is. 6d.), and the reprint of his lecture, 'Wie ist die Aussprache
des Deutschen zu lehren ? ' Marburg, 1893 (is.). A ' Deutsche
Lauttafel/ illustrating 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 (25. 6d.}. Teachers
who are anxious to consult handy books on phonetics may refer
either to Laura Soames, 'An Introduction to Phonetics.'
London, 1891 (25. bd.\ which is now out of print, to some
extent replaced by Soames' ' Phonetic Method ' \ or to Victor's
* Elemente der Phonetik und Orthoepie des Deutschen,
Englischen und Franzosischen, mit Riicksicht auf die Be-
diirfnisse der Lehrpraxis.' Leipzig. Third edition (with useful
bibliography), 1894 (8s. cloth). An abridged edition of this work
has just been issued. Leipzig, 1897 (3^.). It is called 'Kleine
Phonetik des Deutschen, Englischen und Franzosischen' (3^. 6d.
cloth). A useful translation and adaptation of it is W. Ripp-
mann's 'Elements of Phonetics.' London, 1899 (2S- 6d- net).
There are several books devoted to the teaching of conver-
sation (see my ' Guide/ p. 38). Perhaps the most serviceable
of them is A. Hamann's 'Echo of Spoken German.' Leipzig,
1892 (25-. 6d. cloth), a series of excellent dialogues, which
afford, at the same time, a useful introduction to the study of
German life and manners.
For the explanation of German idiomatic phrases, no better
books could be desired than those by Wilh. Borchardt, 'Die
sprichwortlichen Redensarten im deutschen Volksrnund nach
Sinn und Ursprung erlautert.' Leipzig. Fourth ed., 1894
(js. cloth), and by H. Schrader, ' Der Bilderschmuck der
deutschen Sprache.' Berlin. Second edition, 1889 (js. cloth).
For other similar books, familiar quotations, slang, etc., see my
'Guide,' p. 39.
74 The Reference Library of
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, 1895-1897. (Parts
I. and III. 3J., Part II. 35. 6d. cloth.)
Histories of Literature. — There is not as yet a really
satisfactory History of German Literature written in English
and based on a first-hand acquaintance of the author with the
German works of literature of old and modern times. The
English translations and 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
works of moderate size on the subject. The following will, in
my opinion, best serve his purpose — Wilhelm Scherer, <Ge-
schichte der deutschen Litteratur.' Berlin, yth ed., 1895 (los.
cloth, i2s. half-bound), perhaps the most brilliant book of its
kind, written by a ripe scholar, who was endowed with a refined
taste for literary beauty. A new edition (apparently unaltered)
is just being issued in parts at 15-. each. A book of similar
compass is that by the late poet and professor Otto Roquette,
'Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung von den altesten Denk-
malern bis auf die Neuzeit.' Frankfurt-on-the-Main. 3rd ed.,
1882 (>js. 6d. unbound). The last book of this kind deserving
warm recommendation has only quite recently appeared. It
is the 'Geschichte der deutschen Litteratur von den altesten
Zeiten bis zur Gegenwart,' by Friedrich Vogt and Max Koch.
Leipzig and Wien, 1897 (bound, 16^.). This book is pro-
fusely 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 (25th revised ed. in two vols.
a School Teacher of German. 75
Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1895 (£i half-bound), which has had
a wide circulation in Germany. A fine and suggestive book
giving a full account of the development of German literature
as influenced by social forces hails from America. It is
called 'Social Forces in German Literature. A study in the
history of Civilization' by Kuno Francke. New York, 2i89y.
(IQS. cloth.) A splendid work, merely illustrating German
literature from the earliest times to the present day by over
2200 pictures and illustrations, is Gust. Koennecke's 'Bilder-
atlas zur Geschichte der deutschen Nationallitteratur. Er-
ganzung zu jeder deutschen Litteraturgeschichte/ 2nd ed.
Marburg, 1895 (£I- %s- na^ calf). For the eighteenth
century the great work by H. Hettner, * Geschichte der
deutschen Litteratur im achtzehnten Jahrhundert,' 4th ed.
(revised by O. Harnack), Braunschweig, 1894 (£i. i$s. 6d.
unbound, or bound in 2 vols. (leather) ^i. igs. 6d.), will be
found as useful as it is interesting.
There are several books from which information as to
German literature in our own century can be obtained. It
is hardly necessary to say that they differ a great deal in
character and judgment, but in all of them there is plenty of
interesting matter and valuable information. The following
may be mentioned in the first instance — R. v. Gottschall, ' Die
deutsche Nationallitteratur des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts.
Litterarhistorisch und kritisch dargestellt,' 6th ed., 4 parts.
Breslau, 1892 (£i unbound). Fr. Kirchner, 'Die deutsche
Nationallitteratur des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts/ Heidelberg,
1894 (75-. 6d. unbound, los. half calf). L. Salomon, 'Ge-
schichte der deutschen Nationallitteratur des neunzehnten
Jahrhunderts/ 2nd ed. (with thirty portraits of poets). Stuttgart,
1887 (i2s. cloth). Ad. Stern, 'Studien zur Litteratur der
Gegenwart ' (with portraits of authors). Dresden and Leipzig,
2 1 898 (IQS. 6d. unbound, i2s. 6d. cloth). A short and somewhat
one-sided work is the 'Geschichte der deutschen Litteratur in
der Gegenwart,' by Eugen Wolff. Leipzig, 1896 (6.r. 6d. cloth).
76 The Reference Library of
In many ways preferable is the still shorter book by A. Bartels,
'Die deutsche Dichtung der Gegenwart.' Leipzig, 2i898 (3^. 6d.
boards). 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, ^890, is also not without value (25. $d. cloth).
The modern German drama has been treated with much
interest by Berthold Litzmann. Hamburg and Leipzig,
2i894 (5^.). From a great number of German primers of
literature for schools only those by H. Kluge, G. Egelhaaf,
Max Koch, G. Botticher and K. Kinzel, and Gotthold Klee
(Dresden and Berlin, 2nd ed. 1897) need be mentioned. See
my ' Guide,' pp. 63-64. Each has its own advantages. Klee's
book (2s. cloth) is perhaps the best for school purposes. Brief
and reliable information concerning all living modern German
authors (not only poets, but men of letters generally), authors'
societies, periodicals and newspapers, etc. is given in Joseph
Klirschner's annual publication (somewhat corresponding to
our ' Who's who') called 'Deutscher Litteratur-Kalender.' The
2oth volume appeared at Leipzig, 1898 (bound, 6*. 6d.}.
Metre. — A short but useful survey of the history of German
metre, with good specimens and due consideration of modern
forms, is given by Fr. Kauffmann in his l Deutsche Metrik nach
ihrer geschichtlichen Entwickelung.' Marburg, 1897 (^s. 6d.).
A more detailed account of modern German metre — a subject
which apparently is hardly ever touched upon in school teaching,
while the outlines of it deserve to be just as well known as
the metrical art of the ancient classical writers — is given in
F. Minor's 'Neuhochdeutsche Metrik.' Strassburg, 1893 (IQS.
unbound; 12$. 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.'
a School Teacher of German. 77
Cambridge, 2i896 (3^. 6d. cloth); blank verse alone in my
editions of 'Wilhelm Tell/ Cambridge, "1897 (2*. 6d. cloth),
and of Goethe's ' Iphigenie/ Cambridge, 1899 (3s- &d. cloth).
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 our school teaching, but teachers
will probably like to possess and use at least the following two
small and cheap hand-books : C. F. A. Schuster, ' Lehrbuch
der Poetik fur hohere Lehranstalten.' Halle, 3rd ed. 1890
(2S. cloth), and the still smaller * Deutsche Poetik' by Karl
Borinski, * Sammlung Goschen,' 1895 (lod. cloth). In this
connection I should like to mention and to recommend very
strongly three books which teachers will find helpful in dis-
cussing German dramas with more advanced pupils, or in
preparing for scholarship examinations : Gustav Freytag, ' Die
Technik des Dramas,' 4th ed. Leipzig, 1881 (55-. unbound,
6s. 6d. bound). The American translation of this book by
E. J. MacEwan, Chicago, 1895 (ls- 6^- cloth), does not seem
to be very well done. R. Franz, ' Der Aufbau der Handlung
in den klassischen Dramen.' Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1892
(4s. 6d. unbound, 6^. half-bound), and H. Bulthaupt, ' Drama-
turgic des Schauspiels.' Vol. i. (Lessing, Goethe, Schiller,
Kleist). Oldenburg and Leipzig, 5th ed., 1893 (6s. cloth).
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 fur den deutschen Unterricht,'
Vol. viu. (1894), pp. 167 sqq. Of English editions without
notes Max Miiller's 'German Classics' in 2 vols., Oxford, 1886
(;£i. is.), deserves to be mentioned. Professor Schiiddekopf
, is preparing a comprehensive modern anthology ; and I am
preparing a selection of the best and most characteristic of
Goethe's collected works in one volume for the Clarendon
78 The Reference Library of
Press. Of German editions : the Hempel editions of Lessing,
Goethe and Schiller, the Schiller edition by Bellermann for
the Leipzig Bibliographical Institute, the editions of Burger,
Uhland, Riickert, Heine (in 7 volumes) and others by the same
publishers, and most of the volumes of Kiirschner's * Deutsche
National-Litteratur' and of Brockhaus' 'Bibliothek der deutschen
Nationallitteratur des achtzehnten und neunzehnten Jahr-
hunderts,' deserve to be recommended. Of the cheap series
the volumes of Cotta's ' Bibliothek 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 Hendel editions (Halle, unbound) for $d. per
volume; Reclam's texts, ' Universal Bibliothek' (Leipzig),
$d. per volume ; and the texts of the series called ' Meyer's
Volksbiicher' (Leipzig) for 2d. per volume.
Some other excellent sets of classics of a more scientific
character are enumerated in my l Guide ; on pp. 81-82, and a
number of commentaries mentioned on pp. 100-104. English
teachers of German will find M. W. Gotzinger's ' Deutsche
Dichter,' 5th ed. (partly rewritten by E. Gotzinger), 2 vols.
Aarau, 1876-7 (iSs. unbound, and £i cloth), very useful.
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. Still many teachers may
in a not very distant future wish to prepare boys for scholar-
ships at the Universities, and although Old German is with
very good reason no longer an indispensable 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 and sixteenth century
German1. Some teachers may also like to continue their
1 On the whole question see The Educational Times, May i, 1894 ;
and my article on 'Modern Languages at Cambridge' in P. Shaw Jeffrey's
The Study of Colloquial and Literary French, London, 1899, p. 190.
a School Teacher of German. 79
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 very well and carefully taught
by an experienced 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
' Einfiihrung in das altere Neuhochdeutsche,' Leipzig, 1894
(2s.), in which the first fifty-five stanzas of the poem of 'Huernen
Seyfrid ' are commented on, and then proceed to reading some
of the small volumes in 'GoschenV or 'Botticher and KinzelV
sets (see ' Guide/ pp. 79-80). In the 'Sammlung Goschen,'
Vol. xxiv. might be selected for this purpose. It contains a
selection (by L. Pariser) of passages from ' Seb. Brant, Luther,
Hans Sachs and Fischart.' Stuttgart, 1893 (iodf. cloth). In
' Botticher and KinzePs ' ' Denkmaler der alteren deutschen
Litteratur,' the volumes ' Hans Sachs ' (by K. Kinzel). Halle,
1893- (is. unbound), and ' Kunst- und Volkslied in der Re-
formationszeit ' (by K. Kinzel). Halle, 1892 (is. unbound),
will be found useful.
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 use the excellent and handy book by
A. Reifferscheid, ' Marcus Evangelion Martin Luthers nach
der Septemberbibel, mit den Lesarten aller Originalausgaben,
etc/ Heilbronn, 1888 (4.$-. 6d. unbound). For other sixteenth
century texts nothing can be better than Braune's cheap and
reliable ' Neudrucke.' (See * Guide/ p. 8r.)
So The Reference Library of
The best introduction to the study of Middle High
German is Jul. Zupitza's ' Einfiihrung in das Studium des
Mittelhochdeutschen.' Oppeln, 1868. 4th ed., 1891 (23. 6d.
unbound, $s. cloth). Many scholars have been first initiated
into a serious study of Middle High German by this most
excellent little book. After having gone through Zupitza's
introduction, teachers might rapidly read through Jos. Wright's
' Middle High German Primer.' Oxford, 1888, "1899 (3* 6<£),
and then study Hartman von Ouwe's ' Der arme Heinrich '
in J. G. Robertson's edition. London, 1895 (4^. 6</.), or
W. Golther's selections from * Der Nibelunge Not ' (Sammlung
Goschen, ioa). Stuttgart, 1895 (io</. cloth), or some other
volumes from Goschen's series. English editions of the
Nibelungenlied and of a selection from the Minnesinger are
being prepared by Professor Fiedler. The small Middle High
German grammar by H. Paul (Halle, 3i889, 35. 6*/.), and the
small dictionary by M. Lexer (Leipzig, 3i885, 65-.), 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.
Stuttgart, 1893; the booklet on 'Die deutsche Heldensage '
is by O. L. Jiriczek. Stuttgart, 1894. The larger books on
those subjects are enumerated in my ' Guide' on pp. 110-112.
To these should now be added W. Golther, 'Handbuch der
germanischen Mythologie.' Leipzig, 1895 (14*. half calf ), and
O. L. Jiriczek, 'Deutsche Heldensagen,' i. Strassburg, 1898
(8s. unbound).
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 either subject, and should possess German
a School Teacher of German. Si
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 German1. A book on Germany
similar to Wendt's < England ' has still to be written ; a small
book on ' German J3aijy Life' is being prepared by Dr Kron. l-'
I can recommend the following : David Miiller, ' Leitfaden zur
Geschichte des deutschen Volkes.' loth ed. Berlin, 1897,
2s. 6d. cloth. A larger book by the same author is called
' Geschichte des deutschen Volkes in kurzgefasster iibersicht-
licher Darstellung.' i5th ed. Berlin, 1894 (bound 6s.). The
t Deutsche Geschichte ' by O. Kammel is also largely used in
Germany. Some consider it to be now the best work of its
kind (Ss.). A shorter work by Otto Kammel also deserves to
be recommended. It is called * Der Werdegang des deutschen
Volkes. Historische Richtlinien fur gebildete Leser.' Vol. i.
Das Mittelalter. Leipzig, 1896 (25*. 6d. cloth). Vol. n. Die
Neuzeit. Leipzig, 1898 (3^. cloth). K. Biedermann's Deutsche
Volks- und Kulturgeschichte fur Schule und Haus. 3 Parts
in i Volume. Wiesbaden, 2i89i (7^. 6d. cloth), is much to
be recommended. Teachers may also like to read through
J. Jastrow's interesting book called * Geschichte des deutschen
Einheitstraumes und seiner Erfiillung.' Berlin, 4i89i (6s.
unbound, >js. half-bound). A most excellent ' Atlas fur
Mittel- und Oberklassen hoherer Lehranstalten ' was published
in 1898 at Bielefeld and Leipzig under the editorship of
R. Lehmann and W. Petzold (5^.). Teachers of German will
1 In Germany an acquaintance with the principal English and French
Realien is required by the present regulations of the Oberlehrerpriifung
(see pp. 89, 90). There is no book on German Realien corresponding to
Cl. Klopper's Englisches Real-Lexikon and Franzosisches Real-Lexicon
which are in course of publication (Leipzig, since 1897).
B. 6
82 The Reference Library of
find it extremely useful. The small Atlas by E. Debes
'Schulatlas fur die mittlere Unterrichtsstufe,' Leipzig (is. 6d.),
deserves to be mentioned in this connection, and will suffice
for ordinary purposes. A useful little book is also A. L. Hick-
mann, * Geographisch-statistischer Taschen-Atlas des deutschen
Reiches.' 3 Parts. Leipzig- Wien (23. each part cloth,
or the three in one volume, 3^. cloth). Very cheap and
useful for class teaching is P. KnotePs * Bilderatlas zur
deutschen Geschichte' (with explanatory notes). Bielefeld
and Leipzig, 1895 (&•)• 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. Concerning
the rights and duties of German citizens teachers will find
reliable information in the book by A. Giese, 'Die deutsche
Biirgerkunde.' Leipzig, 1894 (is. 3^.), and in G. Hoffmann
and E. Groth, ' Deutsche Biirgerkunde. Kleines Handbuch
des politisch Wissenswertesten fiir jedermann.' Leipzig (2$.
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. 5th ed.
Leipzig, 1893 (half-bound, £i. 4*.), which will prove of the
greatest use in many questions, and which every teacher of
German should endeavour to get. The 6th edition is just
being published in parts. A very concise book giving brief
information concerning German affairs, institutions, customs
etc. is J. Kiirschner's Jahrbuch. Berlin-Leipzig-Eisenach, 1898.
(is. unbound). Some good English books on Germany are
W. H. Dawson, 'Germany and the Germans.' London,
1894, 2 vols. (26^.), and S. Whitman, 'Imperial Germany.'
London, 1889 (new ed. 1895, 2s. 6d.}. An interesting book,
written from the French point of view by a man of culture,
is 'Les Allemands' by Le Pere Didon. Paris, 1884 (6s.
unbound).
a School Teacher of German. 83
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. 60-64 of this book. 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 (2^.). W. Rippmann,
' Hints on teaching French ' and ' Hints on teaching German.'
(See p. 62.) Michel Breal, ' De Fenseignement 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 a number
of 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 ' Neuere Richtung,'
and 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
6—2
84 Reference Library of a School Teacher of German.
the works by R. Lehmann, ' Der deutsche Unterricht. Eine
Methodik fiir hohere Lehranstalten.' Berlin, 2i897 (9^. cloth);
and by G. Wendt, < Der deutsche Unterricht.' Miinchen,
1896 (35-. unbound). The latter contains also an admirable
bibliography.
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 recently published Ordnung
der Priifung fur das Lehramt an hoheren Schulen in
Preussen vom 12. September 1898. Berlin, W. Hertz.
1898.
o n
8 8-
Umfang und Form der Priifung.
Die Priifung besteht aus zwei Theilen, der Allgemeinen und der
Fachpriifung. Beide sind schriftlich und miindlich ; die schrift-
lichen Hausarbeiten sind vor der miindlichen Priifung zu erledigen.
Sovvohl in der Allgemeinen als auch in der Fachpriifung ist dem
Unterrichtsbediirfnisse der hoheren Schulen Rechnung zu tragen.
Priifungsgegenstande.
i. Priifungsgegenstande sind
A. in der Allgemeinen Priifung fiir jeden Kandidaten : Philo-
sophic, Padagogik und deutsche Literatur ; ferner fiir die Kandida-
ten, welche einer der christlichen Kirchen angehoren : Religions-
lehre.
[In den von den Kandidaten gewahlten Fachern (in der Fach-
priifung) muss sich Franzosisch mit Englisch verbinden, aber es
kann an Stelle der einen oder der andern Fremdsprache auch
Deutsch von den Kandidaten gewahlt werden. K. B.]
86 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 bios ausreichendes Wissen und ein verstandnis-
volles Urtheil liber den behandelten Gegenstand zu bekunden,
sondern auch zu zeigen, dass er einer sprachrichtigen, logisch
geordneten, klaren und hinlanglich gewandten Darstellung fahig
ist.
Fiir die mundltche Priifung ist zu fordern, dass der Kandidat
1. in der Religionsjehre sich mit Inhalt und Zusammenhang
der Heiligen Schrift bekannt zeigt, einen allgemeinen Ueberblick
iiber die Geschichte der fchristlichen Kirche hat und -die Haupt-
lehren seiner Konfession kennt ;
2. in der Philosophic mit den wichtigsten Thatsachen ihrer
Geschichte sowie mit den Hauptlehren der Logik und der Psycho-
logie 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 fiir die Aufgaben seines kiinftigen Berufes gewonnen hat ;
4. in der deutschen Litteratur darthut, dass ihm deren allge-
meiner Entwickelungsgang namentlich seit dem Beginne ihrer
Bliitheperiode 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 Fachpriifung zu stellenden A nforderungen.
Vorbemerkung. Auf jedem Priifungsgebiete ist von den
Kandidaten Bekanntschaft mit den wichtigsten wissenschaftlichen
Hiilfsmitteln zu fordern.
Appendix. 87
§ II-
Abstufung der Lehrbefahigung.
i. Die Lehrbefahigung in den einzelnen Fachern hat zwei
Stufen : die eine, fiir die unteren und mittleren Klassen (zweite
Stufe), reicht bis Unter-Sekunda einschliesslich, die andere (erste
Stufe) umfasst auch die oberen Klassen bis Ober-Prima 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.
§ 14-
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 Uebersicht 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
darzuthun ;
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 gesammten deutschen
Litteratur ; 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
Klassen erforderlich ist ; dazu nach Wahl des Kandidaten entweder
88 Appendix.
Bekanntschaft mit den Hauptergebnissen der historischen Gram-
matik und Kenntnis der Elemente des Gothischen und Althoch-
deutschen, oder die Lehrbefahigung in der Philosophischen Pro-
padeutik (§ 13).
Franzosisch.
Von den Kandidaten, welche die Lehrbefahigung im Fran-
zosischen nachweisen wollen, ist zu forden
a. fur die zweite Stufe : Kenntnis der Elemente der Phonetik,
richtige und zu fester Gewohnung gebrachte Ausprache ; Vertraut-
heit mit der Formenlehre und Syntax sowie der elementaren Syno-
nymik ; Besitz eines ausreichenden Schatzes an Worten und Wen-
dungen und einige Uebung im miindlichen Gebrauche der Sprache ;
Einsicht in den neufranzosischen Versbau und Uebersicht liber den
Entwickelungsgang der franzosischen Litteratur 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 Uebersetzung 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 Sprachschatze
und der Eigenthiimlichkeit 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, fiir welches
Kenntnis der Elementargrammatik nachzuweisen ist nebst der
Fahigkeit, einfache Schulschriftsteller, wie Caesar, wenigstens in
leichteren Stellen richtig aufzufassen und zu iibersetzen ; ferner
Kenntnis der allgemeinen Entwickelung der franzosischen Litte-
ratur, verbunden mit eingehender Lektiire einiger hervorragender
Schriftwerke aus fruheren Perioden wie aus der Gegenwart ; Ein-
sicht in die Gesetze des franzosischen Versbaues alterer und
Appendix. 89
neuerer Zeit ; Bekanntschaft mil der Geschichte Frankreichs,
soweit sie fur die sachliche Erlauterung der gebrauchlichen Schul-
schriftsteller erforderlich ist.
Bemerkung. Fiir minder eingehende Kenntnisse auf dem
Gebiete der geschichtlichen Entwickelung der Sprache kann eine
besonders tiichtige Kenntnis der neueren Litteratur nebst hervor-
ragender Beherrschung der gegenwartigen Sprache ausgleichend
eintreten.
§ 18.
Englisch.
Von den Kandidaten, welche die Lehrbefahigung im Eng-
lischen nachweisen wollen, ist zu fordern
a. fur 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 Uebung im miindlichen Gebrauche der
Sprache ; Uebersicht liber den Entwickelungsgang der englischen
Litteratur seit Shakespeare, aus welcher einige Werke der hervor-
ragendsten Dichter und Prosaiker, auch der neuesten Zeit, mit
Verstandnis gelesen sein miissen ; Fahigkeit zu sicherer Ueber-
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 Eigenthiimlichkeit 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-
meinen Entwickelung der Litteratur, 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
9O Appendix.
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 tlichtige Kenntnis der neueren Litteratur 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-
Ausfukrung der miindlichen Priifting*
5. Die Fachpriifung in Franzosischen, Englischen, Polnischen
oder Danischen ist insoweit in der betreffenden Sprache selbst zu
fiihren, dass dadurch die Fertigkeit des Kandidaten im miindlichen
Gebrauche derselben ermittelt wird.
UNIVERSITY )
INDEX.
abbreviations, the chief foreign ab-
breviations, 32
aims of modern language teaching
in secondary schools, 8, 10, 29,
35> 44
analytic method, 2
answers in complete sentences, 25
books on modern language teaching,
60-64
books on the study and teaching of
German, 66-84
Cambridge Medieval and Modern
Languages Tripos, 29
classics, 18, 32, 36; German classics,
77-78
' canon ' to be elaborated, 33
annotated editions, 18, 33, 38,
77
French and German i7th and
1 8th century classics, 35
English renderings of foreign clas-
sics, ii, 38
foreign texts always to be read
out in class, 38
archaisms in classics, 52-53
rimes in classics, 17
biographical accounts of classics,
42
composition, ordinary, n, 36; free,
11-12, 74
conversation, 24-26, 73
correspondence, international, 12
dictation, 16
dictionaries : German dictionaries,
66-69
German-English, 66-67
German- German, 67-68
foreign words in German, 68
German equivalents of foreign
words, 68
orthographical, 68
etymological, 69
synonymical, 69
systematical (English- German), 69
travelling (English-German), 69
commercial, 69
miscellaneous, 82
differences between German and
English, 45
difficulties, chief difficulties of Ger-
man grammar, 54; of German,
pronunciation, 49-52
direct method, 2, 26-27
English, too much neglected in
many schools, 40
Index.
essays, books on German essay
writing, 74
etymological comparisons, 21, 24
examinations
neglect of the spoken language,
4> 34
prescribed books, 34-35
foreign examinations for modern
language teachers, 25
form-association, 21, 54
form, metrical form of foreign poetry,
38-39
foreign words in German, books
on, 68
P'rench, first teaching of, 24
German :
aim of teaching German, 44
books on the teaching of German,
63-64, 66-84
classics, books on, 77-78
conversation, 24-26, 73
dictionaries, 66-69
difficulties of German, 49-52, 54,
/i
essays, 74
genders, 56-57
geography, 80-82
grammar teaching, 52-58; gram-
mars, 69-71
handwriting, 72 ; in examinations,
46
history, 80-82
history of the German language,
books on, 71-72
history of German literature,
books on, 74-76
idioms, 73
letters, 45-47, 72
German :
Middle High German, 79-80
mythology, 80
names, 58
Old German, 78-80
pronunciation, 47-52, 72-73
punctuation, 72
'Realien,' 80-82
sagas, 80
sixteenth century German, 79
spelling, 47, 72
syntax, books on, 71
word-formation, 57
glottal stop, 15, 50
gradation of reading, 30
„ of poems to be learnt, 33
grammar, teaching of grammar,
18— 21
German grammar, 52-58; defects
of many school grammars of
German, 53
historical grammar, 20-21, 53-4
holiday courses abroad, 28
idioms, 9, 21-22 ; German idioms
explained, 73
illustrated Primer, 30; illustrated
Reader, 30
international correspondence, 12
Latin words in German, French
and English, 21
learning by heart, poetry and prose,
33—34
leave of absence for modern language
teachers, 28
letters in German Reader, 32
literature, books on German litera-
ture, 74-76
Index.
93
literature,
should foreign literature as such
be taught in schools?, 42
maps of the foreign country, 30, 32
method, new, direct, analytic, 2
method of reading with a class,
36
methods (various) of teaching
modern languages, 5
books on methods of teaching
modern languages, 60-64, of
teaching German, 82-84
methodical preparation for a reading
lesson, 36-38
metre, 38-39, 53 ; books on German
metre, 76-77
Modern Language Association, 27,
32
Modern (Language) Quarterly, 5, 12,
14, 16, 28, 32, 44, 51, 59, 65
Modern Languages at Cambridge,
25, 29
Modern Languages:
educational value, 3, 35
not to be taught like dead
tongues, 8
to be connected with English, 8 ;
with history and geography, 8
increased interest in, 35
opportunities for teachers, 3, 43
not to be degraded, 43
mots populaires and mots savants,
21. 54
names, German geographical, 30
proper names and family names
in German, 58
Neuere Richtung, 2, 83
new method, 2, 83
object lessons, 30
oral test necessary in examinations,
4' 34 j
orthography, German, 47, 68, 72
periodicals, 59-60
phonetics, 13-15, 64, 73
phonetic transcription, 16
phrases, idiomatic, 9, 21, 73
pictures in 'Reader,' 30, 32
picture-books, discussions of pictures
in lower forms, 22, 24, 26
plays: discussion of great plays,
38-41 ; historical plays, 41 ;
acted abroad, 40 ; books on
classical German plays, 77
poems to be learned by heart, 33, 37;
reading in school, 37-38
prepositions, right use of German
prepositions, and case after
them, 54
prescribed books for examinations,
34
punctuation, book on German, 72
Reader, centre of modern language
teaching, 30
constitution of model Reader, 30-
32
reading, 29 ; what should be rejected,
3i, 33
reciting, 15
residence abroad, 27-29
results of teaching modern languages,
42-43
rimes of the classics, 17
self-abnegation of modern language
teacher, 37
series-method, 24
94
Index.
sound-tables, 13, 73
spelling, 17; German spelling, 47,
72
spoken language neglected in our
examinations, 4, 34
Sprachgefiihl, 20, 56
structure of dramas, explanation, 40,
77
tables of foreign measures, weights
and moneys, 23, 31; of foreign
sounds, 13
teacher : only duly qualified teachers
to be appointed, 4, 18 ; teachers,
q'ualifi cations, 25-26, 37-41
training of modern language
teachers, 4, 7
modern language teachers to be
mainly English, 29; reference
library of a teacher of German,
65-84
theatre, visits to foreign theatres,
40-41
theory of poetry, books on, 77
time, all important question for
success in modern language
teaching, 3-4
translation, u, 38
travelling scholarships for modern
language students and teachers
urgently wanted, 27-28 ; at
Birmingham, 27
utilitarian views on modern lan-
guage study, 35
verbs, strong and separable verbs in
German, 55
vocabulary, 9, 22-24
wall-pictures, 22, 24-25
word-formation, 23, 57
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY j. AND c. r. CLAY, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
THIS BOOK is DTTE
T
** -BfMjjUW
NOV
an*
1946
JAN 14
re 0505
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11