Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1894-12-15

in speaking good German with an
intelligent German, but If one is
barely able to make himself under
stood, the German Is always able to
do mt least that In English, and
much prefers doing 80 to hearing
his own language murdered. In
French aud Italian the uselessness
of any such narrowly practical
knowledge is still more evident.
Nevertheless think there are
strong reasons for emphasizing the
practical or oral side of language
study. A language which student
can speak, however haltingly, is to
him a living language, and what
ever knowledge he may have of it
is living knowledge; he has within
himself an opportunity for con-
slant practice to protect him against
the danger of forgetting what he
has learned, his practice in acquir-
ing command of II foreign Ian
guagc aids him in acquiring COM
mand of his own, and his apprecia-
ton of the beauties of foreign liter
aturc is incomparably more lively.
But this is anticipating the ques.
tons of educational and literary
benefit. About the only purely
practical benefit is the advantage
one has in travelling abroad or in
associating with distinguished for
eigncrs visiting America. To be
sure. most students studying for
eign language have no apparent
prospect of using il for either OF
these purposes. But conditions in
America change rapidly and il il
general principle of our education
to train a pupil for the broadcast
sphere into which he may possibly
enter, not merely for the one which
is directly before him. If we are to
give students no training for which
there is no need in the narrow lives
they have heretofore led, we might
as well give up at once our progress
sivc American system of education
and adopt the European. plan OF
giving each class of pupils what
they need to fit them for usefulness
in the sphere into which they were
born.
If, however, the chance of practi-
cal utility in n remote contingency
were the oi.ly or the chief reason
for studying modern languages, the
present widespread interest in them
would be impossible of justifica-
ton. 1t is II recognition OF its edit
cational value that gives language
study its place in educational work.
Educational value has the two sides
of mental discipline-'the strength
cning of the mental faculties by
appropriate exercise and mental
growth-thc supplying OF the mind
with new material or new ability to
nssimilatc old material.
The mental discipline of Ian
guagc work has been recognized
from time imnemorial by the re-
qiiircncnt of Greek and Latin as
the foundation of all liberal cduca-
ton. Even in these iconoclastic
DAYS the value of the classics for
mental discipline is not inpt ached,
but rather the idea of mental disci-
pine itself, or land this more JUSTLY
the claim of the classics TO II mo-
nopoly of this discipline. Nearly
the same discipline can be got from
German, when il is taught with that
in view, as from Latin. This is true
in lesser degree of other modern
languages but of none so much as
German, the very language in which
there is the loudest demand for
practical" teaching. No human
faculty is more precious or more
worthy of training than the Ian
guage faculty. 1t is fashionable in
some quarters TO talk of studying
things, not words but even those
who raise this cry cannot be igno-
rant that this word and sentence
making faculty is the very one
which most enthusiastically dis
tinguis hes us from the boutcs; If il
is not in a sense identical with rca-
son itself il ia at least inseparable
from it. Nothing is 30 well adapted
to give this faculty strengthening
and appropriate exercise as the
study of foreign languages, espe-
cially modern ones. Greek and
Latin are too far removed structur-
ally from our own language TO give
our language instinct free play;
they are severe and strengthening
discipline, but for spontaneous de-
velopmcnt the more closely related
and living modern languages are
the better adapted. The main use
of the language faculty is in our
own language. The chief results
of training it are seen in improved
English, but the training itself can
best be got in foreign tongues. 1t
is common observation that few
students really know English gram
mar unless they learned il out of
the Latin grammar. No more i'm
portant benefit can be derived from
foreign language study than an i'm
proved knowledge aud command of
English.
Few studies occasion a greater
broadening of the mental horizon.