Original Theme Research Articles

COMPARATIVELY few articles appearing in contemporary educational periodicals are devoid of some mention of the far-reaching effect of the economic conditions upon scholastic endeavor and attainment. An exceptional hardship befalls the prospective teachers of modern languages since they feel the urge to spend at least one summer in study and travel in the country which is their base of supplies. By harsh irony of fate some students of German encounter an added handicap in that they find themselves out of sympathy with the present political program in Germany. Again, others who at considerable sacrifice have made the trip to Germany have found upon arrival at their intended place of study that the advertised Ferienkurse have been unexpectedly cancelled. Many now are unable even to attend the very excellent modern language summer schools in this country and are seeking to acquire sufficient facility in the spoken language by intensive study in the courses for and conversation where and if such may be offered in their German departments. Occasionally, Juniors who have taken the regular course have filed a request for a similar alternate course to afford them opportunity to continue such study for a second year. Usually not more than two, at most four, hours per week can be given over to such a course in advanced composition, and the dearth of genuinely suitable textbooks increases the instructor's problem. Ideally such a course should be in charge of a native teacher whose teaching load can be so adjusted as to provide hours for conferences with the individual students for the correcting of their original themes and for tutorial advice in general. For the average department this is a prohibitive luxury. As a passable substitute the writer has used the following method. After the preliminary four weeks' review of the most important principles of grammar and syntax there are regular assignments of set composition in a standard textbook or in mimeographed material.' Practice in original (oral) is given by means of individual book reviews which are assigned to each member of the class. These assignments are made two or three weeks in advance of the date on which the respective reports are due and