'Language teaching must start afresh!' A P. R.

Howatt
This article is a centenary tribute to the work of Wilhelm Vietor (18501918), whose rousingly polemical pamphlet Der Sprachunterricht muss umkehren I (Language teaching must start afresh I), published a hundred years ago this year, marked the start of modern methods of language teaching in Europe. Our sister-decade in the nineteenth century was one of the most active and continuously creative periods in the history of language teaching. Each year witnessed the publication of a new work on language teaching methodology, the establishment of a new journal or the foundation of an association of language teachers dedicated to the principles of die selfstyled Reform Movement which exploded onto the public scene widi the appearance of Wilhelm Victor's pamphlet Der Sprachunterricht muss umkehren! in 1882. It had, of course, been a long time coming. Interest on the scale diat Der Sprachunterricht provoked does not happen without years of privately expressed concern and publicly visible straws in the wind. But it was the Vietor pamphlet that made things happen when diey did. The exclamation mark at die end of his title makes it quite clear what he intended to do, and perhaps die use of a pseudonym, Quousque Tandem, for the first edition, expresses his apprehension diat he might possibly be all too successful. The Reform Movement itself (which should not be confused widi die Direct Mediod, diough diey share some common features) was a remarkable display of professional outrage at traditional language teaching mediods in secondary schools. It was sustained over a long period of time and attracted adherents from all over Europe, representing every aspect of language teaching. Among die leaders were Vietor himself in Germany, Henry Sweet in Britain, Otto Jespersen and Johann Storm in Scandinavia, and Paul Passy in France. Perhaps die fact diat most of diese men (Vietor, Jespersen, Passy) started out as school teachers helps to explain die active and energetic support die Movement received from die classroom teachers, of whom die most significant was die undeservedly litde-known Hermann Klinghardt. Widiout Klinghardt's dedication, and widiout his courage in putting die reputation of die Movement on trial by experimenting widi it in die mid 1880s at his school in Silesia, it might have become too heavily dominated by academic phoneticians and have lost its appeal for ordinary teachers. As it was, however, the Movement remained astonishingly cohesive and single-minded for more dian twenty years. Vietor himself started his career as a language teacher in various Realschulen in Germany in die 1870s. However, as we shall see, he had very broad interests, including historical philology, English literature (especially die plays of Shakespeare) and, above all, die new science of phonetics. He was one of the founding fadiers of diis science, and one of die most passionate advocates of its use in die classroom, both in die teaching of
ELTJournal Volume 36/4 July 1982 263

Downloaded from http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of York on October 22, 2011

pronunciation and in the preparation of specially transcribed texts for class study. He also believed that phonetics had a central role to play in the training and education of teachers. In the early 1870s he spent two years teaching German in England (18724), and in 1882 he returned to take up a tutorship in German at University College, Liverpool. It was while he was working at Liverpool that he composed Der Sprachuntenicht. . . during a short touring holiday in North Wales. It was published in Heilbronn in the same year. One of the first to give it wider circulation was Henry Sweet, who referred to it approvingly in his important and badly neglected paper The practical study of language', delivered to the Philological Society in May 1884. (By 1899 Sweet had developed this paper into the much betterknown Practical Study of Languages.) In diis paper Sweet gave the pamphlet its English title Language teaching must start afresh! There is, as yet, no English translation of die text (a gap diat with the help of my former colleague at Edinburgh, Professor David Abercrombie, I hope soon to rectify,1 and we shall follow Sweet's example). In modern eyes it is a curious document: part polemic, part academic paper. It would probably not find a publisher today, being too propagandist for die respectable specialist journal and too serious for die general press. Quoted out of context it can sound exaggerated and even at times intemperate, but it had an important and controversial social and educational context, which it is necessary to understand at die outset. Language teaching mediodology does not change because individuals have bright ideas (history is full of casualties), but because the ideas are needed and someone comes along widi die right tone of voice for die time. Vifitor's sub-tide 'Ein Beitrag zur Oberburdungsfrage' ('On die question of overworking pupils') gives die clue to its educational purpose. The question of overwork causing stress and ill-healdi in schools (all of which is implied in die term 'Uberbflrdungsfrage') had been under intense discussion for many years in Germany widi its ferociously academic system of Gymnasien (grammar schools), which were copied by the 'lower level' Realschulen where Vietor himself had worked. His central point in the pamphlet was a telling one, particularly in die Prussian context: 'Uberburdung' was not only morally wrong (an issue diat can always be argued bodi ways, usually widiout being resolved), but was inefficient and stupidly unnecessary as well. If modern, scientific mediods of language instruction were introduced, die same results, or better, could be achieved in a fraction of die time at a fraction of die cost in stress and strain. Vietor shifted die argument from die children, and whedier diey could be expected to tolerate die amount of work imposed on diem, to die senselessness of most of die work itself. Parents and others will go along widi heavy workloads on dieir children but only if die work makes sense and shows results. Vietor argued widi conviction and from experience diat it did neidier. The mediodology Vietor attacked, known to us as die GrammarTranslation Mediod, originated in Germany at die end of die eighteendi century and flourished in die academic hot-house of die Gymnasium system. The Reformers did not aim dieir appeal at die Gymnasium teachers so much as at die teachers in die Realschulen, who were living, as it were, in die shadow of'big brodier'. The Gymnasium, as expected, paid litde heed, but die Realschulen responded to die ideas of die Movement widi bodi relief and endiusiasm. The characteristics of die Grammar-Translation Mediod itself are probably too well known to need further rehearsal from
264 A. P. R. HowaU

Downloaded from http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of York on October 22, 2011

me; however, it is worth mentioning that they were more extreme and more excessive at die end of the nineteendi century than they had been earlier, or than they have been more recendy. Teaching was obsessed widi die written language to die exclusion of speech, and concentrated all its attention on die rote-learning of grammatical rules and their application to isolated and often incredibly silly sentences. Later, diere might be some drearily wordiy texts. There were endless lists to memorize, giving new words, exceptions by die score, fussy minor rules, etc., etc. It was, of course, a popular mediod widi many teachers because it was easy (for diem). The children had to do all die work, memorizing, preparing texts at home, doing dieir sentences and translations, and so on. All die teacher had to do was test and criticize. He did not even have to pronounce die language properly. To Victor and die odiers in die Reform Movement diis was outrageous. The heart of die Reform Movement's philosophy was die supremacy of die spoken language. The children should hear die new language first, spoken properly by die teacher in die classroom, before seeing it in its written form. Moreover, when they did come to read die texts, diey should not be misled by die use of die phonetically irregular and inconsistent traditional orthography, but should see die words in specially prepared, phonetically transcribed form first. Secondly, diey claimed diat die use of isolated sentences was absurd and should be replaced by connected texts of some intrinsic value. The class should concentrate on oral question-andanswer work widi die teacher, and should never learn die grammar until after diey had seen it in operation in die texts diemselves. Translation of passages into die foreign language was poindessly difficult for most pupils and should be replaced by oral, and later written, 're-tells' of die contents of die texts. Mediods of diis kind would effectively abolish die practice of homework altogedier and appreciably reduce die amount of unnecessary work imposed on die children. The only form of homework Vigtor encouraged was die learning of short poems and odier 'party pieces', which he diought would be motivating. He included a large number of diem in his textbook Englisches Lesebuch ('English Reader' 1887b), written in collaboration widi Franz D6rr. Sweet (1899) quotes a number of Vietor's examples, but he was not entirely happy widi die policy. As can be seen from die extract from Der Sprachunterricht. . . quoted below (my translation), neidier grammar nor translation was 'banned' in die Reform Movement. Grammar was redefined and should be taught 'inductively' (a term coined later by Sweet). Text-translation was rejected, but die use of the modier-tongue in order to gloss new words or ensure comprehension was retained. It was die later American Direct Mediod diat had 'draconian' views on translation, particularly in die Berlitz version of it. The extract comes from die closing pages of die pamphlet and describes the typical Reformed Classroom very well: The pupils should not be required to do any preparatory homework. In die class die teacher should read a short text aloud to die pupils slowly, clearly, and as often as required. The pupils should listen widi dieir books closed. The teacher should gloss any new words which cannot be made clear from die context, but let die class suggest a complete translation under his guidance. Only dien should the pupils open dieir books. The text should be read aloud again, eidier by die teacher or by
A centenary tribute to Wilhebn Victor 265

Downloaded from http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of York on October 22, 2011

one of the better pupils. The odiersand diere will be great eagerness to take partshould also have a chance of reading and translating later. Once he has made sure that the pupils understand the individual words, the teacher should ask questions about the content of the text. These questions may have to be put in German first and then in the foreign language, but diey should always be answered in the foreign language in complete sentences. Afterwards, the pupils should close dieir books again, and try to re-tell the story in die foreign language. The teacher should choose die more self-confident pupils first, but later on encourage the less confident as well. Next die class should do some writing. This should consist of die answers to die questions which were done earlier in die lesson. They should be written on the blackboard and copied into die pupils' exercise books. The text should be revised in die next lesson. There should be a glossary (widi a phonedc transcription) at die back of die textbook, so diat die children can revise die new words at home. They should not have to prepare texts at home or learn word-lists by heart. However, once die children are confident diat diey 'can do it', diey might be encouraged to leam a short poem or an appropriate piece of prose by heart, so diat diey can perform it in front of Modier or one of dieir sisters. There should be no written homework at a l l . . . . . . Translation into die foreign language is an art which is inappropriate for die school classroom. Gradually the teacher will have to develop a freer approach to die handling of texts in class, but he should never lose sight of die two basic aims: comprehension and textreproduction. Aldiough die latter should become increasingly free and spontaneous as die pupil's vocabulary and powers of expression increase, it should be allowed to take its time. Where, dien, is the grammar? It is embedded in die reading texts diemselves. At some point, which should not be too distant, die teacher should revise die reading texts widi a specific grammar-point in mind, and present the results of diis study in a systematic way so diat die grammar builds up over die course of time. Also, it goes widiout saying diat die foreign language should always be spoken in die classroom.
(From Der Sprachunterricht muss umkehren! pp 30-1)

Many of diese improvements came about in die German Realschulen from die 1880s onwards. An American visitor on a tour of German schools in 1888 was gready impressed by an English lesson he attended in a school in Krefeld in die Rhineland. The lesson followed Victor's oudine very closely but what impressed the visitor most was, in his own italics, 'except where new rules had to be formulated, English was the medium of instruction throughout' (Klemrn 1903: 96). By die time Vietor came to prepare his second edition of Der Sprachunterricht. . . in 1886, he had become Professor of English Philology at Marburg University. If die pseudonym was intended to protect his career prospects, it was no longer needed, and most people already knew who die audior was anyway. So die 1886 ediuon (textually die same as die 1882 original, and die one used for die above translation) carried Vigtor's real name in brackets under die by-now famous Quousque Tandem. Informally translated, quousque tandem means 'how long is all this going to go on for, dien?'. It is die opening challenge of Cicero's address to die Senate on die Cataline conspiracy. The similarity of die challenge was noted by Vietor's contemporaries.
266 A. P. R. Hawaii

Downloaded from http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of York on October 22, 2011

Victor did not publish anything like Der Sprackunterricht. .. again, though he continued to take a dose interest in die progress of die Reform Movement. In die same year as he took up die Chair at Marburg, he published die first version of his Elemente der PhonetUt (1884) later revised under a slighdy different tide (1893), which, widi Sweet's Handbook of Phonetics (1877), was one of die founding classics of modern phonetics. Later, he ran a series of summer schools on modern mediods of language teaching at Marburg, and his lectures were published under die tide Die Methodik des Neusprachlichen Unterrichts (The Mediodology of Modern Language Teaching' 1902), widi die sub-tide 'ein geschichdidier Oberblick' ('an historical survey'). His historical interests were also evident in an article on die first textbook for die teaching of English as a foreign language to
speakers of German, A Double Grammar for Germans to Learn English and for Englishmen to Learn the German Tongue (1687) written by Henry Offelen, a
Downloaded from http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of York on October 22, 2011

self-styled 'professor of seven languages' (Vietor 1887a). Vietor was also a Shakespearean scholar of repute widi a number of publications in die field, notably a two-volume study of Shakespearean pronunciation (Vietor 1906). His continuing interest in teaching is also dear from his acceptance of die Presidency of die newly-formed Phonetic Teachers' Association in Paris. The founder, die much-loved and respected Paul Passy, stepped down from a role which was not entirely congenial to his temperament and Vietor took it on in 1888. The following year die Assodation re-named itself die Phonetic Association (adding die adjective International in 1897) and started Le Maitre Phonetique, die most influential of all die Reform Movement publications. Vietor died, in Marburg, shortly before die end of die First World War on 22 September 1918. He was 67 years of age. There were many people who worked togedier to ensure die success of die Reform Movement, but it was Wilhelm Vietor who possessed die judgement correcdy to assess die temper of die time and die resolution to express it. Following Vietor's lead, die Reform Movement succeeded in establishing a credible alternative mediodology to die Grammar-Translation Mediod diat won widespread and continuing support"among secondary school teachers. Looked at from die vantage point of a century or so later, it could be described as a middle-of-die-road compromise between die extreme bilingualism of die traditional approach and die extreme monolingualism of die Direct Mediod. The latter presupposed relatively small classes of adult learners taught by a native-speaking teacher, whereas die Vietor-Sweet reforms were intended to work widi non-native teachers, properly trained in phonetics, working widi fairly large secondary school classes. The academic function of die secondary school had to be preserved and 'natural mediods', as die Direct Mediod was commonly referred to at die time, meant emphasizing die more 'trivial' aspects of language and language-use. 'Natural mediods' also implied a significant change in die sodal relationships between teacher and pupils, a move towards egalitarian 'madness', that neidier die teachers nor die pupils would have accepted. This leads to one final point which, it seems to me, is of some contemporary relevance. The Reform Movement was die last major initiative towards progress in language teaching mediods to have originated in die secondary schools. It is a curious fact, but I diink true nonedieless, diat few of die recent proposals for change have come from the secondary sector in spite of die fact diat most of die language teaching in die world takes place diere. They
A centenary tribute to Wilhelm Viitor 267

derive either from the primary sector (activity methods, groupwork, role plays, etc.) or from the problems of teaching languages to adults (the Threshold Level, specific-purpose teaching, study skills, etc.). The secondary schools have responded to change but diey have not initiated it, though diere are signs of movement in the current development of 'graded objectives'. The Reform Movement succeeded, in part anyway, because it preserved die Socratic principle in the secondary school classroom. The Grammar-Translation Approach grew strong because the use of isolated sentences permitted plenty of practice examples to be shared out 'round die class' (die same goes for structuralist pattern practice). The Reformers maintained diis principle but replaced die sentences-for-translation by comprehension questions. Most modern communicative mediods imply a radical restructuring of die teacher-pupil relationship and offer no alternative 'round-die-class' technique comparable to die comprehension question. While many teachers might want to say 'good riddance' to the 'old ways', diere is a real need for die security and control that round-dieclass work provides bodi for teachers, especially non-native speakers, and for pupils, particularly in diose areas of die world where instant antitradidonalist attitudes are less popular dian diey are in nordiern Europe. If die new concern for communication could come up widi a simple technique diat would replace die comprehension question widi a better idea, i.e. one diat would allow learner-initiated language-use on a round-dieclass basis, it could be more effective dian many of die elaborate interactive techniques which die new ideas seem to favour, but which in pracdce rarely permit die individual teacher-learner feedback diat die muchmaligned round-die-dass comprehension quesdon provided.
ReceivedJanuary 1982 Vietor, Wilhelm, with Franz Dorr. 1887b. Englisches Note Lesebuch. Leipzig: Teubner. 1 An English translation of Vigtor's text will be included in A. P. R. Howatt's forthcoming History of Vietor, Wilhelm. 1893. Elemente der Phonetik des
English Language Teaching, to be published by Oxford Deutschen, Englischen, und FranzSsischen. Leipzig,

Downloaded from http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of York on October 22, 2011

University Press in 1983.

Reisland. (3rd, improved edition of Vietor 1884.)

Vietor, Wilhelm. 1902. Die Methodik des Neusprachlichen Unterrichts. Leipzig: Teubner. Bibliography Klemm, L. R. 1903. European Schools. New York: D. Vietor, Wilhelm. 1906. Shakespeare's Pronunciation.

2 vols. Marburg. Appleton. Sweet, Henry. 1877. A Handbook of Phonetics. Oxford: The author Clarendon Press. Sweet, Henry. 1884. The practical study of language' After leaving university, Tony Howatt taught EFL for a in Transactions of the Philological Society, 1882-84: number of years in Spain, Germany, and Sweden. 577-99. Since 1965 he has been a lecturer in applied linguistics Sweet, Henry. 1899. The Practical Study of Languages. at the University of Edinburgh and was a contributor to the series The Edinburgh Course in Applied Linguistics. London: Dent. He was closely involved with the Adult Literacy Victor, Wilhelm. 1882. Der Sprachunterricht muss Campaign in Scotland and a member of the manageumkehren! Heilbronn: Henniger. ment committee of the Scottish Adult Literacy Agency. Vietor, Wilhelm. 1884. Elemente der Phonetik und Orthoepit des Deutschen, Englischen, und FranzBsischen. More recent activities include serving on the consultancy team for the UMESPP project in Malaysia, Heilbronn: Henniger. (See Vietor 1893.) Vietor, Wilhelm. 1887a. 'Die Slteste deutsch-englische and the preparation of a forthcoming History ofELT, to be published by Oxford University Press in 1983. He und englisch-deutsche Grammauk (1686-7)'. is a founder member of the Scottish Association EngUsche Studien, Vol. X: 361-66. SATEFL.

268

A. P. R. Howatt