UNIVERSITY LIFE IN PARIS.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7829, 6 April 1891, Page 3

UNIVERSITY LIFE IN PARIS.

Mr Mitchell Clarke, the newly appointed Professor of Modern Languages at Can* terbury College, delivered his inaugural lecture on Saturday evening at the College. Mr Clarke must nave felt gratified witthe reception accorded him, the lectnrf theatre being crowded with ladies aad gentlemen, who listened with great attention to a paper of a highly Interesting nature. The lecture was in connection with the Dialectic Society, and its full title was " University life In Paris, and the conclusions arrived at ou the teaching of modern languages." Tbe lecturer In the first place gave an amusing as well as a faithful account of the manner of living ol the Parisian student, and followed tnia with a brief description of a few of tbe characteristics of several of the French lecturers. In speaking upon the conclusions hi had arrived at with regard to the teaching of modern languages, Mr Clarke alluded to the difficulty English-taught students ot French encountered when they heard the language spoken by the natives. While so many professed to teach French, that was to say to write, to read, and to speak a foreign language, that very necessary branch to understand it was altogether omitted. He pointed out the absurdity of such teaching. When It was acknowledged that it was necessary to teach tbe proper pronunciation of a modern language, and also that a figured represents • tion of sounds was absolutely needed, every one would allow that a representation based on phonetic laws was the beat. Of course a broad but correct impression of these sounds could be first taught. The object was to make easier the acquire* ment of what children bad to learn. Tho question then came, what was the best kind of phonetic writing to ne'e f It was fatal to use one too like the ordinary writing, or one on which tho same sign represented more than one sound. The same sign should always represent the same sound. Tho best eigne were perhaps mathematical ones or Greek letters. Naturally, of course, the sounds, which were tbe same in both languages, would be represented in tbe ordinary way. Tben came the'question how. should the words be separated. After tbo consideration of many suggestions on this bead he had come to the decision that our present method of writing should be kept to until we found an obviously better one. He disapproved of phonetic writing and ordinary writing being learned together, bus'when some progress had been made the learner should have books, bearing ordinary writing ou .one side and a phonetic transcription on the other. " Hut at the beginning this would be mislead!—?, just as one would not begin to learn Spanish and Italian at the same time. But when tbe choice bad to be made will which the learner should begin it wotud unhesitatingly fall on the phonetic ana he submitted that there bad been mans proofs, since Ellis and Pitman start— their crusade against English spelling, .od children who having learnt toreadchi phonetic method had afterwards spelt quite as well as tbe others. They Bed the same result from those who baa used this method in teaching modern languages. In alluding to translation and composition he remarked upon the results which followed upon translating or composing without thinking in the language _ which they were writing, and added " read and try to understand the language in its original form." A new word should be well Impressed on the memory by thinking of the object it represents and not by thinking of the English. Hovi is it that children learning theli mother tongue ao rarely forget tb« names of objects they have seen, because these objects have come upon them as something new and have Impressed themselves on their minds. There are four things I would recommend In teaching modern languages in schools— (1) Speech in tho language should be learnt before writing; (2) The language should be learnt as a means of expressing one's thoughts, and not as meaningless forms; (3) That tbe rules of grammas should be learned by reading and comparison ; (4) Tbat the language shouut be learnt as much as possible by its own aid. The lecturer! then returned to the Jlx© ot the Paris students, and closed his address with a description of their A^**™*^ At the termination Mr Clarke waa «o* corded a hearty vote of thanks.