# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S514
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

5

jarently, the very low scores acted. as a powerful incentive to
ve this situation. Facilities for acquainting. the student with
-lay ‘affairs were provided, clubs have been formed, instruc-
fe. consciously introduced more ties with the present in their
work. This is indeed a splendid indication of the sensitiveness
10d’s. schools to weaknesses, once they are brought to their

4. German

= Pretheological students of the preparatory college are required to

ké 314 to 4 units of German in the high school division and two
sare (10-12 semester hours) in college. This is generally consid-
to be the equivalent of four years of College German.

The most charitable interpretation of the German tests would be to
signate the German instruction as unsatisfactory. ‘Three institu-.
ons performed somewhat below average, one is poor, and three are
xtremely poor. :

One cannot escape a feeling of deep chagrin that in a church body
“having its antecedents in the Lutheran Reformation, the training of .
tits ‘future clergy in reading German (note well: reading, not speak-
ving) should be so ineffective. Where is the trouble? What are
é Causes?

Not having had the opportunity to investigate the situation fully,
fe-can give only a tentative explanation. It is based, however, on a
number of observations.

ix, Since success in teaching a foreign language depends almost
entirely on the method of instruction, it may be assumed that
the institutions employ the wrong methods.
In some cases the choice of texts is not good.

In general, instruction on the high school level appears to be
better than in the college courses. At some schools the
tendency is to ‘overemphasize courses in Literature. The aim
becomes familiarity with the history of German Literature
rather than the continued progress in reading German.

. At several schools a good deal of time is wasted (used ad-
visedly) in declamations:and “Gestenlehre.” .
In the opinion of:the investigator, we have not yet rid ourselves
of the shackles of traditional procedures. Few entering students
have any appreciable knowledge of German, and the methods,
the Handbuch der Literatur and the Grammatik of a former day

appear unsuited to current students. .

The entire situation should be given comprehensive study by the
German section of the Professors’ Conference.

5. Latin

The 1942 Latin test consisted of the Co-operative Advanced Latin
Test, higher level. .