'Language teaching must

start afresh!'
A P. R. Howatt

This article is a centenary tribute to the work of Wilhelm Vietor (1850-

1918), whose rousingly polemical pamphlet Der Sprachunterricht muss
umkehren I (Language teaching must start afresh I), published a hundred
years ago this year, marked the start of modern methods of language
teaching in Europe.

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Our sister-decade in the nineteenth century was one of the most active and
continuously creative periods in the history of language teaching. Each
year witnessed the publication of a new work on language teaching
methodology, the establishment of a new journal or the foundation of an
association of language teachers dedicated to the principles of die self-
styled Reform Movement which exploded onto the public scene widi the
appearance of Wilhelm Victor's pamphlet Der Sprachunterricht muss
umkehren! in 1882. It had, of course, been a long time coming. Interest on
the scale diat Der Sprachunterricht provoked does not happen without years
of privately expressed concern and publicly visible straws in the wind. But it
was the Vietor pamphlet that made things happen when diey did. The
exclamation mark at die end of his title makes it quite clear what he
intended to do, and perhaps die use of a pseudonym, Quousque Tandem,
for the first edition, expresses his apprehension diat he might possibly be
all too successful.
The Reform Movement itself (which should not be confused widi die
Direct Mediod, diough diey share some common features) was a remark-
able display of professional outrage at traditional language teaching
mediods in secondary schools. It was sustained over a long period of time
and attracted adherents from all over Europe, representing every aspect of
language teaching. Among die leaders were Vietor himself in Germany,
Henry Sweet in Britain, Otto Jespersen and Johann Storm in Scandinavia,
and Paul Passy in France. Perhaps die fact diat most of diese men (Vietor,
Jespersen, Passy) started out as school teachers helps to explain die active
and energetic support die Movement received from die classroom teachers,
of whom die most significant was die undeservedly litde-known Hermann
Klinghardt. Widiout Klinghardt's dedication, and widiout his courage in
putting die reputation of die Movement on trial by experimenting widi it in
die mid 1880s at his school in Silesia, it might have become too heavily
dominated by academic phoneticians and have lost its appeal for ordinary
teachers. As it was, however, the Movement remained astonishingly
cohesive and single-minded for more dian twenty years.
Vietor himself started his career as a language teacher in various
Realschulen in Germany in die 1870s. However, as we shall see, he had very
broad interests, including historical philology, English literature (especi-
ally die plays of Shakespeare) and, above all, die new science of phonetics.
He was one of the founding fadiers of diis science, and one of die most
passionate advocates of its use in die classroom, both in die teaching of

ELTJournal Volume 36/4 July 1982 263

 pronunciation and in the preparation of specially transcribed texts for class
study. He also believed that phonetics had a central role to play in the
training and education of teachers. In the early 1870s he spent two years
teaching German in England (18724), and in 1882 he returned to take up
a tutorship in German at University College, Liverpool. It was while he was
working at Liverpool that he composed Der Sprachuntenicht. . . during a
short touring holiday in North Wales. It was published in Heilbronn in the
same year. One of the first to give it wider circulation was Henry Sweet,
who referred to it approvingly in his important and badly neglected paper
The practical study of language', delivered to the Philological Society in
May 1884. (By 1899 Sweet had developed this paper into the much better-
known Practical Study of Languages.) In diis paper Sweet gave the pamphlet
its English title Language teaching must start afresh! There is, as yet, no English
translation of die text (a gap diat with the help of my former colleague at
Edinburgh, Professor David Abercrombie, I hope soon to rectify,1 and we

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shall follow Sweet's example). In modern eyes it is a curious document:
part polemic, part academic paper. It would probably not find a publisher
today, being too propagandist for die respectable specialist journal and too
serious for die general press. Quoted out of context it can sound exag-
gerated and even at times intemperate, but it had an important and contro-
versial social and educational context, which it is necessary to understand
at die outset. Language teaching mediodology does not change because
individuals have bright ideas (history is full of casualties), but because the
ideas are needed and someone comes along widi die right tone of voice for
die time.
Vifitor's sub-tide 'Ein Beitrag zur Oberburdungsfrage' ('On die question
of overworking pupils') gives die clue to its educational purpose. The
question of overwork causing stress and ill-healdi in schools (all of which is
implied in die term 'Uberbflrdungsfrage') had been under intense discus-
sion for many years in Germany widi its ferociously academic system of
Gymnasien (grammar schools), which were copied by the 'lower level'
Realschulen where Vietor himself had worked. His central point in the
pamphlet was a telling one, particularly in die Prussian context:
'Uberburdung' was not only morally wrong (an issue diat can always be
argued bodi ways, usually widiout being resolved), but was inefficient and
stupidly unnecessary as well. If modern, scientific mediods of language
instruction were introduced, die same results, or better, could be achieved
in a fraction of die time at a fraction of die cost in stress and strain. Vietor
shifted die argument from die children, and whedier diey could be
expected to tolerate die amount of work imposed on diem, to die sense-
lessness of most of die work itself. Parents and others will go along widi
heavy workloads on dieir children but only if die work makes sense and
shows results. Vietor argued widi conviction and from experience diat it
did neidier.
The mediodology Vietor attacked, known to us as die Grammar-
Translation Mediod, originated in Germany at die end of die eighteendi
century and flourished in die academic hot-house of die Gymnasium
system. The Reformers did not aim dieir appeal at die Gymnasium teachers
so much as at die teachers in die Realschulen, who were living, as it were, in
die shadow of'big brodier'. The Gymnasium, as expected, paid litde heed,
but die Realschulen responded to die ideas of die Movement widi bodi
relief and endiusiasm. The characteristics of die Grammar-Translation
Mediod itself are probably too well known to need further rehearsal from

264 A. P. R. HowaU
me; however, it is worth mentioning that they were more extreme and
more excessive at die end of the nineteendi century than they had been
earlier, or than they have been more recendy. Teaching was obsessed widi
die written language to die exclusion of speech, and concentrated all its
attention on die rote-learning of grammatical rules and their application
to isolated and often incredibly silly sentences. Later, diere might be some
drearily wordiy texts. There were endless lists to memorize, giving new
words, exceptions by die score, fussy minor rules, etc., etc. It was, of
course, a popular mediod widi many teachers because it was easy (for
diem). The children had to do all die work, memorizing, preparing texts at
home, doing dieir sentences and translations, and so on. All die teacher
had to do was test and criticize. He did not even have to pronounce die
language properly. To Victor and die odiers in die Reform Movement diis
was outrageous.

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The heart of die Reform Movement's philosophy was die supremacy of
die spoken language. The children should hear die new language first,
spoken properly by die teacher in die classroom, before seeing it in its
written form. Moreover, when they did come to read die texts, diey should
not be misled by die use of die phonetically irregular and inconsistent
traditional orthography, but should see die words in specially prepared,
phonetically transcribed form first. Secondly, diey claimed diat die use of
isolated sentences was absurd and should be replaced by connected texts of
some intrinsic value. The class should concentrate on oral question-and-
answer work widi die teacher, and should never learn die grammar until
after diey had seen it in operation in die texts diemselves. Translation of
passages into die foreign language was poindessly difficult for most pupils
and should be replaced by oral, and later written, 're-tells' of die contents
of die texts. Mediods of diis kind would effectively abolish die practice of
homework altogedier and appreciably reduce die amount of unnecessary
work imposed on die children. The only form of homework Vigtor
encouraged was die learning of short poems and odier 'party pieces', which
he diought would be motivating. He included a large number of diem in
his textbook Englisches Lesebuch ('English Reader' 1887b), written in
collaboration widi Franz D6rr. Sweet (1899) quotes a number of Vietor's
examples, but he was not entirely happy widi die policy.
As can be seen from die extract from Der Sprachunterricht. . . quoted
below (my translation), neidier grammar nor translation was 'banned' in
die Reform Movement. Grammar was redefined and should be taught
'inductively' (a term coined later by Sweet). Text-translation was rejected,
but die use of the modier-tongue in order to gloss new words or ensure
comprehension was retained. It was die later American Direct Mediod diat
had 'draconian' views on translation, particularly in die Berlitz version of
it.
The extract comes from die closing pages of die pamphlet and describes
the typical Reformed Classroom very well:
The pupils should not be required to do any preparatory homework. In
die class die teacher should read a short text aloud to die pupils slowly,
clearly, and as often as required. The pupils should listen widi dieir
books closed. The teacher should gloss any new words which cannot be
made clear from die context, but let die class suggest a complete trans-
lation under his guidance. Only dien should the pupils open dieir
books. The text should be read aloud again, eidier by die teacher or by

A centenary tribute to Wilhebn Victor 265

 one of the better pupils. The odiersand diere will be great eagerness to
take partshould also have a chance of reading and translating later.
Once he has made sure that the pupils understand the individual words,
the teacher should ask questions about the content of the text. These
questions may have to be put in German first and then in the foreign
language, but diey should always be answered in the foreign language in
complete sentences. Afterwards, the pupils should close dieir books
again, and try to re-tell the story in die foreign language. The teacher
should choose die more self-confident pupils first, but later on
encourage the less confident as well.
Next die class should do some writing. This should consist of die
answers to die questions which were done earlier in die lesson. They
should be written on the blackboard and copied into die pupils' exercise
books. The text should be revised in die next lesson. There should be a

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glossary (widi a phonedc transcription) at die back of die textbook, so
diat die children can revise die new words at home. They should not
have to prepare texts at home or learn word-lists by heart. However,
once die children are confident diat diey 'can do it', diey might be
encouraged to leam a short poem or an appropriate piece of prose by
heart, so diat diey can perform it in front of Modier or one of dieir
sisters. There should be no written homework at a l l . . .
. . . Translation into die foreign language is an art which is inappro-
priate for die school classroom. Gradually the teacher will have to
develop a freer approach to die handling of texts in class, but he should
never lose sight of die two basic aims: comprehension and text-
reproduction. Aldiough die latter should become increasingly free and
spontaneous as die pupil's vocabulary and powers of expression
increase, it should be allowed to take its time. Where, dien, is the
grammar? It is embedded in die reading texts diemselves. At some
point, which should not be too distant, die teacher should revise die
reading texts widi a specific grammar-point in mind, and present the
results of diis study in a systematic way so diat die grammar builds up
over die course of time. Also, it goes widiout saying diat die foreign
language should always be spoken in die classroom.
(From Der Sprachunterricht muss umkehren! pp 30-1)

Many of diese improvements came about in die German Realschulen

from die 1880s onwards. An American visitor on a tour of German schools
in 1888 was gready impressed by an English lesson he attended in a school
in Krefeld in die Rhineland. The lesson followed Victor's oudine very
closely but what impressed the visitor most was, in his own italics, 'except
where new rules had to be formulated, English was the medium of instruction
throughout' (Klemrn 1903: 96).
By die time Vietor came to prepare his second edition of Der Sprach-
unterricht. . . in 1886, he had become Professor of English Philology at
Marburg University. If die pseudonym was intended to protect his career
prospects, it was no longer needed, and most people already knew who die
audior was anyway. So die 1886 ediuon (textually die same as die 1882
original, and die one used for die above translation) carried Vigtor's real
name in brackets under die by-now famous Quousque Tandem.
Informally translated, quousque tandem means 'how long is all this going to
go on for, dien?'. It is die opening challenge of Cicero's address to die
Senate on die Cataline conspiracy. The similarity of die challenge was
noted by Vietor's contemporaries.

266 A. P. R. Hawaii
 Victor did not publish anything like Der Sprackunterricht. .. again,
though he continued to take a dose interest in die progress of die Reform
Movement. In die same year as he took up die Chair at Marburg, he pub-
lished die first version of his Elemente der PhonetUt (1884) later revised under
a slighdy different tide (1893), which, widi Sweet's Handbook of Phonetics
(1877), was one of die founding classics of modern phonetics. Later, he ran
a series of summer schools on modern mediods of language teaching at
Marburg, and his lectures were published under die tide Die Methodik des
Neusprachlichen Unterrichts (The Mediodology of Modern Language
Teaching' 1902), widi die sub-tide 'ein geschichdidier Oberblick' ('an
historical survey'). His historical interests were also evident in an article on
die first textbook for die teaching of English as a foreign language to
speakers of German, A Double Grammar for Germans to Learn English and for
Englishmen to Learn the German Tongue (1687) written by Henry Offelen, a

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self-styled 'professor of seven languages' (Vietor 1887a). Vietor was also a
Shakespearean scholar of repute widi a number of publications in die field,
notably a two-volume study of Shakespearean pronunciation (Vietor 1906).
His continuing interest in teaching is also dear from his acceptance of
die Presidency of die newly-formed Phonetic Teachers' Association in
Paris. The founder, die much-loved and respected Paul Passy, stepped
down from a role which was not entirely congenial to his temperament and
Vietor took it on in 1888. The following year die Assodation re-named
itself die Phonetic Association (adding die adjective International in 1897)
and started Le Maitre Phonetique, die most influential of all die Reform
Movement publications.
Vietor died, in Marburg, shortly before die end of die First World War
on 22 September 1918. He was 67 years of age. There were many people
who worked togedier to ensure die success of die Reform Movement, but it
was Wilhelm Vietor who possessed die judgement correcdy to assess die
temper of die time and die resolution to express it.
Following Vietor's lead, die Reform Movement succeeded in establish-
ing a credible alternative mediodology to die Grammar-Translation
Mediod diat won widespread and continuing support"among secondary
school teachers. Looked at from die vantage point of a century or so later,
it could be described as a middle-of-die-road compromise between die
extreme bilingualism of die traditional approach and die extreme mono-
lingualism of die Direct Mediod. The latter presupposed relatively small
classes of adult learners taught by a native-speaking teacher, whereas die
Vietor-Sweet reforms were intended to work widi non-native teachers, pro-
perly trained in phonetics, working widi fairly large secondary school
classes. The academic function of die secondary school had to be pre-
served and 'natural mediods', as die Direct Mediod was commonly
referred to at die time, meant emphasizing die more 'trivial' aspects of
language and language-use. 'Natural mediods' also implied a significant
change in die sodal relationships between teacher and pupils, a move
towards egalitarian 'madness', that neidier die teachers nor die pupils
would have accepted. This leads to one final point which, it seems to me, is
of some contemporary relevance.
The Reform Movement was die last major initiative towards progress in
language teaching mediods to have originated in die secondary schools. It
is a curious fact, but I diink true nonedieless, diat few of die recent pro-
posals for change have come from the secondary sector in spite of die fact
diat most of die language teaching in die world takes place diere. They

A centenary tribute to Wilhelm Viitor 267

 derive either from the primary sector (activity methods, groupwork, role
plays, etc.) or from the problems of teaching languages to adults (the
Threshold Level, specific-purpose teaching, study skills, etc.). The second-
ary schools have responded to change but diey have not initiated it, though
diere are signs of movement in the current development of 'graded objec-
tives'. The Reform Movement succeeded, in part anyway, because it pre-
served die Socratic principle in the secondary school classroom. The
Grammar-Translation Approach grew strong because the use of isolated
sentences permitted plenty of practice examples to be shared out 'round
die class' (die same goes for structuralist pattern practice). The Reformers
maintained diis principle but replaced die sentences-for-translation by
comprehension questions. Most modern communicative mediods imply a
radical restructuring of die teacher-pupil relationship and offer no alter-
native 'round-die-class' technique comparable to die comprehension
question. While many teachers might want to say 'good riddance' to the

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'old ways', diere is a real need for die security and control that round-die-
class work provides bodi for teachers, especially non-native speakers, and
for pupils, particularly in diose areas of die world where instant anti-
tradidonalist attitudes are less popular dian diey are in nordiern Europe. If
die new concern for communication could come up widi a simple tech-
nique diat would replace die comprehension question widi a better idea,
i.e. one diat would allow learner-initiated language-use on a round-die-
class basis, it could be more effective dian many of die elaborate inter-
active techniques which die new ideas seem to favour, but which in prac-
dce rarely permit die individual teacher-learner feedback diat die much-
maligned round-die-dass comprehension quesdon provided.
ReceivedJanuary 1982

Note Vietor, Wilhelm, with Franz Dorr. 1887b. Englisches

1 An English translation of Vigtor's text will be Lesebuch. Leipzig: Teubner.
included in A. P. R. Howatt's forthcoming History of Vietor, Wilhelm. 1893. Elemente der Phonetik des
English Language Teaching, to be published by Oxford Deutschen, Englischen, und FranzSsischen. Leipzig,
University Press in 1983. Reisland. (3rd, improved edition of Vietor 1884.)
Vietor, Wilhelm. 1902. Die Methodik des Neusprach-
Bibliography lichen Unterrichts. Leipzig: Teubner.
Klemm, L. R. 1903. European Schools. New York: D. Vietor, Wilhelm. 1906. Shakespeare's Pronunciation.
Appleton. 2 vols. Marburg.
Sweet, Henry. 1877. A Handbook of Phonetics. Oxford:
Clarendon Press. The author
Sweet, Henry. 1884. The practical study of language' After leaving university, Tony Howatt taught EFL for a
in Transactions of the Philological Society, 1882-84: number of years in Spain, Germany, and Sweden.
577-99. Since 1965 he has been a lecturer in applied linguistics
Sweet, Henry. 1899. The Practical Study of Languages. at the University of Edinburgh and was a contributor
London: Dent. to the series The Edinburgh Course in Applied Linguistics.
Victor, Wilhelm. 1882. Der Sprachunterricht muss He was closely involved with the Adult Literacy
umkehren! Heilbronn: Henniger. Campaign in Scotland and a member of the manage-
Vietor, Wilhelm. 1884. Elemente der Phonetik und ment committee of the Scottish Adult Literacy Agency.
Orthoepit des Deutschen, Englischen, und FranzBsischen. More recent activities include serving on the con-
Heilbronn: Henniger. (See Vietor 1893.) sultancy team for the UMESPP project in Malaysia,
Vietor, Wilhelm. 1887a. 'Die Slteste deutsch-englische and the preparation of a forthcoming History ofELT, to
und englisch-deutsche Grammauk (1686-7)'. be published by Oxford University Press in 1983. He
EngUsche Studien, Vol. X: 361-66. is a founder member of the Scottish Association
SATEFL.

268 A. P. R. Howatt