Show STUDENTS SOCIETY I German IVigrlit at thc lnttciany Suint College I was German night at the regular session ses-sion of the Students society held Friday evening The exercises were conducted by the German instructor E T Haag of the Latterday Saints College The opening songs were sung by the German classes assisted hY members of the German choir An essay on the Gorman Gor-man government by Heber K Aldons was tne first on the programme Mien Ado han Horsley thein tavored the society with a German solo LnebesMtte from A Heichardt This was followed by 1 lec ture on The Study of German by Instructor In-structor It T Hag Its preference aims and methods in schools were dwelt upon Mr Haag said in pat The supreme importance of languagestudy is acknowledged acknowl-edged in every school or academy There may be various reasons based upon in dividual taste preference and the use to be made of a language that determine which of the leading modern languages should be selected for study but he who has no prescribed plan should understand why the Getraan is elman language to b pre ferred before all others FirstBecause of the kinship exiSting between the languages and the people This kinship is original and fundamental not secondary or derived de-rived Both i origin and form the whole groundwork of the English language Is Germanic in origin Second Because of Us literature I is asserted by the best critics Oi today that German literature In all department of prose and poetry is the only one entitled to be nnmeu alongside nme aonglde of the English with any show of successful success-ful rivalry Third Because of its commercial com-mercial and social worth In this respect J we need only to refer to 1 few statistics to convince of its first claim to attention among foreign languages The last census shows that there have been 4600323 Germans Ger-mans who emigrated to the United States and it is calculated that over five million lion descendants from these are now living liv-ing in this country It must be interesting interest-ing to note hero that there are not less than 53S German newspapers in the United States 32 of which are dailies with a circulation cir-culation ranging from a few hundred to 60000 The others are weeklies or semiweekly semi-weekly papers with a total number of subscribers of 3270000 No other foreign tongue can compare with such a representation tlton The aim in the study of German 5s of course to know German to learn to Epeak read and write it some will say just as we have learned our ow mother tongue Yes indeed but have we not been fourteen years learning to speak read and write English and are we still not being taught Us proper and correct use Under the least considerations therefore I would be impossible to learn a foreign language In three or four years as well as you know your mother tongue and under the present system of class Instruction I appears a hopeless undertaking hour h-our whole system of modern language instruction in-struction therefore needs overhauling lo admitted by all who have had practical experience Etymology language history etc except for occasional help should be vholly omitted The grammar also should be for the reading and speaking not the reading and speaking for the grammar I The student should be taught systematically I systemati-cally from the beginning and the teacher I ned not trouble himself about mental discipline I dis-cipline That will come of itself Ihe question which the world puts to the l e r student is not whether the methods by which he learned German TV a productive of mental discipline but whether he Knows 6erman The reform we are seeking must undoubtedly un-doubtedly be found in an extension of the b time of recitation allotted to this study Only so soon as it will be understood that nothing less than two or thrpd hours daily at school and a many hours at homefor at least two years must be spent can we hope to language foreign we on one c hop look for better results In modem language study 8 to Lastly it should be understood that LutIJ speak a foreign language Is a matter more foreig langage 1 of practice than of intellectual discipline But education deals with the getting of new Ideas with the enlargement of the mental horizon we must therefore nm at literary a well a linguistic scholar hip Swiss dia fcThen a trio was rendered in three ladies who responded with lect bv lares respnded ancore A recitation In German was an reciatIn Last by Miss Julia Howe also given came anecdotes of Bismarck by John I Sharp and in closing the chdic sang Das I Torelei i |