Charles Hardy

“ It is, of course, a drawback, that in this translation aloud and alone of the exercises, the eye should anticipate the ear in conveying the words to the brain, but, when full allowance has been made for this, the gain for the pupil is still immense as compared with the silent method of study.
The learner should not be satisfied with being able to translate the exercises, he should aim at being able to use his new tongue with the same ease, readiness and fluency, as his native language. ”

“ Of course, the pupil can only expect to be master of the language so far as he has studied and learnt. He cannot expect to reap where he has not sown. Within this limit he learns to read, in preparing the lesson, and to write, in writing out the exercises.
But Mr. Charles Sauer says in the preface to his Italian Grammar 5th Ed., page iv., “Everyone who has occupied himself with study of modern languages knows, that by far the more difficult task is to understand the foreign language,” (i.e., when spoken.) ”

“ The pupil can much hasten his own progress by varying the exercises, forming of them question and answer, changing tenses and moods of verbs, varying them so far as he can trying how far he can make conversation out of them.
This method has further the advantage of showing the pupil plainly, week by week, the progress he is making and the remedy being in his own hands, he becomes responsible for his own failure. If he cannot translate freely and easily, when with the teacher, he cannot expect later to speak freely and naturally, when he comes to engage in actual conversation with foreigners. ”

“ This is the road to honest success, to happiness and to self-improvement: this will continually enlarge his capabilities and strengthen his natural powers, and, even if he fail in accomplishing all he aimed at, there can be no better consolation than that of knowing that he has nothing to reproach himself with that he has manfully done his best, and that he is the better for the effort. ”

“ I venture to say that in dealing with a foreign language one cannot express one’s self with accuracy, nay one cannot be confident of expressing one’s own meaning at all without a grammatical knowledge of it. But, of course, speech means practice, and no amount of theory can become a substitute for this.
Mr. Gouin was a youthful unmarried student of Caen University distinguished by a capacious but not very retentive memory. He was sent by the Professors to attend lectures at Berlin University and Hamburg and proceeded to master German. He learnt the German Grammar in ten days. ”

“ Rodger’s prospectus. Nevertheless, it was impossible to regard as satisfactory a method of tuition or study, which left the pupil unable to understand or speak a language after having gone through a grammar like that of Otto. The Grammatical Method being one which does not seek to render easy and simple at the cost of efficiency, by eluding and evading the difficulties and peculiarities of a language, but being the one which fairly meets and masters them: there can be no question of dispensing with its valuable assistance. ”

“ Owing to the neglect of modern languages by our Universities and a system of higher education which took no cognizance of industrial needs we were amongst the most backward in this branch of study, but when interest was aroused our grammars were largely borrowed from our more successful competitors from those who excelled as much in modern languages as we ourselves in industry. ”

“ His remedy is to translate his exercises alone, until he can do so, as readily, as if they were English. The shyness and diffidence that so frequently accompany first attempts to converse are not experienced under this method.
One reason why pupils in conversation fail to understand readily is because they do not know the verbs well; do not know their grammar; a sentence does not convey to them at once a definite meaning, and whilst engaged in puzzling out the meaning of what has already been said they cannot give their undivided attention to what their interlocutor is just saying. ”

“ Gouin to the study of a good grammar of a foreign language who could reasonably complain of failure, nor indeed a shorter space of time applied under the same conditions which did not meet with a proportionate measure of success.
The titles of the new methods have been adroitly chosen, they claim to be those of nature and by implication stigmatise the Grammatical method as unnatural. They profess that they teach a foreign language as a child learns to speak its mother tongue. ”

“ Whilst mastering the first language the pupil is also learning how to learn languages, each successive one becomes more easy.
Let the pupil make it a rule always to do his best. He will naturally take a pride and a pleasure in work well done, and by continually striving and studying to do better, he cannot fail to improve in it. ”

“ The last are frequently overrated, the memory more quick than retentive. “Wie gewonnen, so zerronnen,” “Lightly come, lightly go,” mere quickness may prove a will o’ the wisp, and may be peculiar to one subject, but the capacity for patient, honest, painstaking work is a vastly more valuable quality, which can be applied with fair success to any pursuit. It gives earnest of the sense of duty, of responsibility, and that capacity for self-sacrifice, which peculiarly fit and qualify their possessor for positions of trust and responsibility ”

“ Hanes says it is impossible to learn a language by the translation of disconnected sentences, referring to the usual exercises of the Grammatical Methods, and by learning lists of words. The sentences are only disconnected in that they do not always form question and answer, but this the student can easily and profitably remedy. Besides all speech is not dialogue. See page 7. They are no more disconnected than are so many soldiers of a regiment, moving at the impulse of one mind, and marching to the attainment of one object. ”

“ Until recently our universities, or seats of learning, catered only for the aristocracy, the land-owning class, and the clergy: science was neglected. Originating in the natural advantages of an abundant supply of easily-worked coal and iron, an extensive coast line, and a favourable geographical situation, we had achieved an undeniable pre-eminence in industry and manufactures, which was supported by abundant cheap capital and a spirit of enterprise; it was backed by workmen possessed of natural ability, and such skill as practice and highly sub-divided labour can impart. ”

“ A very high classical authority coupled “ratio et oratio” reason and speech as complements and indubitably speech can only improve and develop as the mind unfolds and matures. Those who adopt the new method appear to think the limitations imposed by the immature child’s mind worthy of imitation when dealing with the riper adult. Rule of Thumb has the advantage that being born of and acquired by p. 12practice it can be applied and put into practice, but it is certainly rather late in the day to revert to it in the acquirement of languages. ”

“ In these schools the method of teaching from objects is not anti- but simply ante-grammatical as is apparent from the classes in which the two methods are respectively in use. In the two lowest classes of a primary school, ignorance of their own language, and their unripe mental powers would not admit of children of such tender age learning otherwise than from objects. ”

“ He is less sensible to the attractions of football and out-door sports or at least they are not of such an all-absorbing irresistible temptation. With a mother tongue compounded of the Teutonic and Romance languages, no other people than the British enjoys such a natural facility for acquiring both the German and French and their sister tongues. ”

“ Belgium was selected as a field for investigation, says Professor Strong, because, from force of circumstances it has paid particular attention to this branch of instruction, the necessity of learning modern languages being there felt, much more strongly than in Britain. It is a small country, thickly populated, with an extensive commerce, for which as well as for its literature, it is compelled to look to countries larger than itself. ”

“ As the limbs are invigorated and strengthened by suitable exercise, so the powers of the mind are strengthened and developed by following a great mind at its best, following its train of thought, of reason. ”

“ That cannot be called a success which leaves the most difficult part of the task unaccomplished, nor can it be wise to allow difficulties to amass and accumulate, if they can be mastered in detail as they present themselves. ”

“ At five years of age it begins to go to school, and from that time until its fourteenth or sixteenth year, whatever else it studies, it must study its mother tongue. All other knowledge reaches it through this medium. ”

“ The teacher should then translate aloud sentence by sentence, the French exercise into English; the pupil retranslating each sentence into French.
This will double the exercises, which are usually rather scanty. As we see, this part of the lesson is for the pupil exclusively aural and oral; he works through the ear and tongue only, his book being kept closed.
In working alone at the preparation of his lesson, there is the disadvantage for the ear, that, before the sound reaches it, the eye has conveyed the meaning to the brain, but when working p. ”

“ Every other study compels the study and practice of its mother tongue and allowing ten hours per day for sleep, by the time it is fourteen years of age seventy-one thousand six hundred hours have been spent in such study and practice. ”

“ All this was found insufficient to enable us to hold our own, our supremacy was passing away, and when the cause of our inability to maintain it was investigated, our deficiency was declared to be the lack of a systematised higher education. Public Spirit founded our Technical Schools to supply the remedy and they have been found effective. ”

“ The memory for sound, form, music, figures, spelling, etc., appears to be distinct and to vary in each one. If the memory for sound could be brought more into play, it must help to retain more tenaciously what was learnt. ”

“ Let us take the case of the youth or man who commences the study of a foreign language. He has found that a foreign language will be of use to him or has become necessary to him in his work. He begins to study it and takes the usual one lesson per week of one hour’s duration. In a year he has spent fifty hours with the teacher; if he devoted two or three hours weekly to the preparation of each lesson, he will have spent 150 to 200 hours per annum upon it, or, less absences and omissions, perhaps p. ”

“ Gouin states that his memory was in his eye not in his ear, and that a month’s interruption of his labours proceeding from disease of sight brought on by overwork was sufficient to efface from his memory Grammar, Dictionary all previously learnt. Dicken’s Yorkshire schoolmaster, Mr. Squeers recognised that knowledge acquired, ought speedily to be put into practice. ”