The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1910)

THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. 19 THE PHONOGRAPH AS A TEACHER. Prof. Savory, M. A., of Queens University at Belfast, Ireland, Recently Delivered a Most Interesting Lecture in Which He Demonstrated the Important Place of the Phonograph as an Educator and in the Teaching of Modern Languages. For some years now we on this side of the "big pond" have been familiar with the use of the phonograph as an alm'ost invaluable aid in the teaching of languages, and through the efforts of the National Phonograph Co. and the Interrational Correspondence Schools, as well as others, the use of the phonograph in that connection is no longer an experiment to be wondered at but an actual and accomplished fact. It seems, however, that our British cousins have not given this use of the talking machine the attention it deserves, but the recognition Of its value' is slowly though surely spreading, aided largely through the efforts of a number of enthusiasts among both the talking machine dealers and the teachers of languages. Early last month, for instance, Professor Savory, M. A., professor of French and Romance Philology at Queen's University at Belfast, Ireland, and an educator of note, delivered a most interesting lecture, under the auspices of the University Physical Society, upon "The Use of the Phonograph in the Teaching of Modern Languages." The lecture created a profound impression. He said: Of the many tempting problems for the consideration of those who are interested in the study and teaching of modern languages I have chosen one which up to now has not yet received the attention it deserves — the use that can and should be made in the teaching of modern languages by a talking machine such as the phonograph. The question that first confronts us is the place that should be reasonably accorded to the phonograph in modern language study and teaching. With regard to this, I wish to say most emphatically at the outset that it is my firm belief that the highest aim of modern language teaching in our secondary — as apart from technical and commercial— schools should always be the imparting of literary training and culture, that modern languages should become for this twentieth century a kind of new humanism not inferior in its refining and elevating powers to the great influence that was once exercised by the old humanities of the Renaissance. By the side of this most important literary training, that is mainly, although not exclusively, obtained by reading, by the study of the great classical writers of past and present times, the great importance of oral training must not be overlooked. aschinen 7- We cannot rest satisfied with the training possessed by a man who can perhaps easily read a monologue occurring in a play of Corneille or Victor Hugo, but who pronounces the names of the poets Corneil and Yoogo, and is unable to understand (or to answer) a single sentence addressed to him by a Parisian with whom he may have correspondence for years. The modern methods of language teaching aim at training the ear and the speech-organs no less than the eye, and there are now various devices, unknown 20 years ago, of improving the oral training of modern language scholars, students and teachers. One of these is the way of training the ear by recitations given by particularly eloquent actors. Several competent Frenchmen and Germans are now traveling in England and are giving, in schools and at evening lectures, highly appreciated recitations of select passages in their mother-tongue. This way of hearing foreign languages, as they are spoken by recognized masters of speech, is certainly as helpful as it is enjoyable. But these recitations will always be rare — they are expensive and not easy to procure. They can only take place at long intervals, and will consequently always be an extra— an occasional treat. They cannot form a regular part of school instruction, and it must also be borne in mind that such recitations by professional speakers cannot be heard over and over again, they cannot be repeated at the will of the student, above all they cannot be interrupted, analyzed and discussed. All this is, however, easily done in the case of some mechanical contrivance such as should before long be the property of every good secondary school, a modern talking machine like the gramophone or the phonograph. Both instruments are very similar in their use. After going into a description of the mechanical and scientific principles of talking machines, their construction and reproduction, Professor Savory continues: It cannot be doubted that the frequent hearing of passages of literary excellence, as spoken by a master of speech, if well reproduced by a good phonograph, must prove a valuable stimulus to learners. By the frequent repetition in exactly the same way of exactly the same words and sentences a steady training of the ear is secured such as cannot be obtained in any other less uniform way. Like a good book, the phonograph invites us to repeated study. It is heard to the greatest advantage in a small private room, a drawing-room or a study, and also in a small class room for about 25 to 30 pupils. But the instrument is really not calculated for a large lecture room such as this. Another inevitable drawback in a public lecture is that it always must take some time for the ears of the hearers to become fully accustomed to the room and to the machine. You ought really to hear each record several times, at least twice, to do it justice. This disadvantage, which is unavoidably connected with a lecture, does not exist in the study or the classroom. In the case of a phonograph we only hear, but we see nothing, or merely a sheet of printed paper with the recited text before us. The eloquent mouth, the expressive eye, the helping gesture of a good reciter are all absent. This is a decided loss, and gives to the phonograph a certain unpleasant coldness. Everyone knows how MR. 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