The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-11-22

HOW TO Study ABRO
A Scholar of Modern LIZ
guages Tells His Elk
periences and Gives
Sound Advice.
BOARDING HOUSE LIFE THE BEST
Where the Mother Tongue is Not
Heard-Learning to Read
French in Two
Weeks.
HOUSE LIFE THE BEST

Americans who go to Europe for pur-
poses of study may be separated roughly
into two classes. In one there are those
VIII ose main object is professional work Of
one form or another, to whom the study
of a language, as of anything else, is lit
tie more than the means to an end. Stu
dents of this class do not differ much in
their methods. Their choice OF location
is governed largely by the specialties
which interest them, and their plans Of
study are dependent in great measure
upon the universities or schools which
they enter.
1ne second class consists of all who
have nothing more serious in view Than
such students, those VINO study
abroad in order to become teach
ers after their return to this
country need not be considered here.
They belong more properly to the first
class, for they are professional students!
aud it is to De taken for granted that as
sucn, they are sufficiently in earnest
about their work to man it out with care.
Eliminating these, however, and all b
go abroad with unlimited time at their
disposal. there are many in Europe every
year with nothing except study i'll view.
Liz nCCESSlbN Vi d oiNOAGO II
ences of every kind, which interfere with
-tnoroughness of work. is self-eyident-
The most important of these has been
mentioned in a former article, and it is
the set back given to ones work by Eng
lish and American surroundings. III three
months there is time TO learn how 10 read
easily either German or French, and to
talk with considerable smoothness and
grammatical To accomplish
this, however, requires self-Sacriics aud
restraint. Colonies OF Epglish-speaking
psople are common to most large cities
AMI to every fashionable resort in Europe.
These places must be avoided. lG takes
years and not months to make Roadway if
one is not cut off from the use of his own
language. Progress is best assured by
complete isolation. From this purpose,
then. ones friends must be got rid of aud
no new ones -made-except among people
who cannot speak English. In no other
way can a language be learned rapidly.
In making a choice OF location 1t is we'll
to remember that a small city is a safer
place than TO be In a large city; ard a
village is prefer able to a city of any Kind.
a pure accent, and Intelligent people to
live among; these are necessary things.
But outside of them there is nothing one
cannon do without.
FAMILY LIFE THE BEST.
The first step is straight into some pri-
waite family. Hotels must never be pat
Iouiged; one is left too much by ones self,
and an unsocial life is fatal to success,
Not ouly is it important to live in a
family, but the friendship and society of
the members of the families must be
cultivated. You should meet every
body hall way, and, if necessary, you
should go considerably out of your
a if by SO doing you may make
HI acquaintance or ind a friend;
The danger of stiffness is likely to be all
Oh your side: and IL you are by nature
r~eticent and not given to conversation,
this is a real obstacle, and iG must in some
way be removed. The art of learning in
a practical manner and in a short space
of time a modern language depends more
on the constant use of the tongue than on
any one thing. A quiet, bashful, retiring
disposition must learn to be talkative.
This is an essential element of success.
LANGUAGE LESSONS.
One of the fist things to be don is to
arrange with some one, if possible with a
member of the family, for two or three
hours of solid instruction every day. OF
course a great deal is learned unconsci-
ousIy, by a kind of naturaL Absorption.
Herein lies pre-eminently the advantage
of studying a language in the country
where it is spoken. But daily lessons are
a great help to accuracy In conversation
and In writing.
These lessons should consist Of four
parts, of nearly equal length The first
is devoted to an exercise in reading, the
teacher correcting every word which is
pronounced badly. AS this is merely for
practice in pronunciation, it is not essen
tial that the meaning of the words be eX-
planned. Afterward the teacher dictates,
either extempore or by reading slowly
from a book, the student writing as well
as he can by the sound of the words This
dictation is examined and the mistakes
are corrected Then follows criticism by
- Oh 49, L.
been prepared beforehand: and last Of all
there is an exercise in learning the names
of objects. For instance, the different OBJ
jectS in the room can be pointed out and
named. The teacher then walks about
the room, pointing to one thing after an
other. while his pupil tries to give to each
object its correct name. This is an excel
lent exercise and it can be repeated day
after day until the names of things are
fixed firmly Ia the memoir When the
furniture and bric-a-brac in the room are
thoroughly exhausted, a good substitute
for this part of the lesson Is a long tramp
with someone who enjoys talking and
who will not object If two CT three hun
bred Vie hetsSt das's or QU' eSt-ce que
c'est que cetd's are thrown at him in the
course of a morning.
IDIoMs NOT GRAMMAR.
1t will be noticed that no place is given
in these lessons to the study of grammar
by itself. The omission is Intentional,
aud, L think, intelligent, Nothing is
more confusing or. harmful to a persoa
who is studying by this method han an
attempt TO say, for example. Je UoLs lie
dome and Je le Int dome. We need no
grammar to tell Us that this is correct, be-
cause it sounds right. 1T is more practical
to know a thing intuitively in this way
than to remember it by some rule of
grammar. 1t is time enough to look up
tne rules which govern the position of
pronouns in French after we have learned
TO talk huentiy. No one can talk easily
aud Automatically in Il language if he is
trying all the time to recall tie laws and
exceptions which he mas learned whole
sale from some book. No macninist
would ever think of using emery on a
piece of metal until it had been fist