The Spanish Teacher

My system of acquiring a living language is founded on the principle, that each question contains in itself nearly the answer which should be made to it. The slight difference between the question and the answer is always explained before the question; so that the learner does not find it in the least difficult, either to answer it, or to make similar questions for himself. Again, the question being the same as the answer, as soon as pronounced by the teacher, it strikes the ear of the pupil, and is therefore easily reproduced by his vocal organs. This principle is so evident, that it is impossible to open the book without being struck by it.

Neither the professor nor his pupils lose an instant of their time. When the professor reads the lesson, the pupil answers; when he examines the lesson written by the pupil, he speaks again, and the pupil answers; also when he examines the exercise which the pupil has translated, he speaks and the pupil answers: thus both are, as it were, continually kept in exercise.

The phrases are so arranged that, from the beginning to the end, the pupils curiosity is excited by the want of a word or an expression: this word or expression is always given in the following lesson, but in such a manner as to create a desire for others that would render the phrase more complete. Hence, the pupils attention is continually kept alive, till at last he has acquired a thorough knowledge of the language he is studying. – (Extract from Ollendorff.)