THE PHONOGRAPH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 199, 20 February 1912, Page 8

THE PHONOGRAPH.

ITS LATEST USE.

TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES.

INTERESTING DEMONSTRATION AT THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL.

Writing of the Englishman foreign con« temporaries have more than once remarked that one of his idiosyncracieu is that he too often takes things for granted. Electricity comes, with the wonders of wireless telegraphy in its train, and countless other inventions arrive on the scene, but mankind seldom stops to investigate beyond a superficial inquiry, even when the opportunity presents itself. It is perhaps in some measure on this account that there was sucS a meagre attendance, wholly incommensurate with the worth of the, subject, al the demonstration given at the New Plymouth Technical School last night by Mr. F. P. Corkill on one of th* latest wonders of man's ingenuity in the shape of the I.C.S. (or phonetic) method of teaching languages. This new "linguistic professor," if it may be so called, which. was handselled last night in' New Plymouth, is an American discovery of bub three years ago. Its moving spirit is the Edison phonograph, and its purpose is to revolutionise the teaching of languages by substituting the speech of cultured linguists for the "rule of thumb* methods of, the grammar book. It follows on the lines of Rosenthal's and Gouir's contention that it is all wrong the way in which we try' to teach, languages. Rosenthal held that the oral method was the only method, and that a language should be taught in the same way as a child gathers its first rudiments of speech. The I.C.S. method is a step in the direction of applying this system, if not to one's mother tongue, at least to the teaching of foreign languages. The i idiea is to get the correct pronunciation "spoken" in the first place to a phonoi graph, and then retail it by means of phonographic records to all and sundry, j In his demonstration last 'flight Mr. Corkill placed one of these records on an ; ordinary phonograph. Dealing with the i Spanish language the record told the audience the correct way to convert the English Sentence, "What language does your friend speak?" into "Qui idioma nabla su amigo." It alsp gave other examples, and the pronunciation was in each case quite • audible and clear. The French language was similarly explained. The phonograph gives only the foreign version, the student having both foreign and English translations seit before him in a text book, which is supplied by the I.C.S. Proprietary in conjunction with the phonographic outfit; The advantages of the new method are obvious, and they should appeal more to the genuine linguist than to a student who is "swatI ting" for an examination. Pronunciation , in many foreign languages, in French for | instance, is the stumbling-block of many I who have succeeded in mastering the I more theoretrical part. And it is here that the phonetic system comes to the rescue.

The demonstration was given by Mr. Corkill on behalf of tie Technical School Advisory Committee, of which, body he is chairman. His interest was aroused in the new method some time ago, and ha wrdte to America, with the result that the proprietary supplied him with an outfit on trial. His aim is .to get it introduced into the local school, so as to apply it to the teaching of foreign languages. In America the system haa been adopted by many schools and colleges, and it is claimed that sooner or later it will be adopted by education boards throughout the whole world. In this connection it is interesting to note that according to Australian files there is serious /talk of introducing it in some of the States for the purpose of teaching children to drop "slangisms" and' talk good cultured English. One can forsee many possibilities ahead of the method, especially in addition to ordinary speech, songs and recitative matter are reproduced from foreign languages, by means of the phonograph, for the benefit of those linguists desiring an all round knowledge of other languages.