THE TEACHING OF GERMAN IN OUR SCHOOLS. LTo THE EDITOR
or THE " SPECTATOR.")
SIR.—In many of our schools there has been a tendency to eliminate German from the list of subjects taught. Is not this a mistake? It may be that our children will visit Germany in the future base than we did. But to say that this is a reason for their not learning German appears to me to give undue prominence to a very secondary reason for the study of any foreign language. Apart from utilitarian motives—German has become to a very large extent the language of music, and it is one of the two modern languages which are most nearly akin to, and most necessary for the proper understanding of, our own. Surely, assuming that French comes first, the second should be German. To substitute a second Latin language, such as Italian, is quite wrong, especially where Latin itself is also taught.—I am, Sir, &c., R. I. Seiler. 11 King's Bench Walk, Temple, B.C. 4.
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