heory
the humanistic importance of modern language study is the same for all
languages, it rises, in practice, proportionately with the cultural
level of the foreign nation--German and French obviously taking the
lead in this regard.

=Place of German in the college curriculum=

I am optimistic enough to assume it to be generally granted that the
study of a foreign language ought to be started early in life--say, at
the age of twelve. While hardly challenged in theory, this desirable
condition is far from being carried out in practice. Probably the time
will never come when colleges will be able to dispense with elementary
courses in modern foreign languages--not only for those who enter
without any linguistic preparation, but also, and perhaps
preeminently, for students who are taking up a second foreign language
in addition to the one (or two) started in the preparatory school.
Thus, the starting point of the modern language course in college is
easily fixed: it must begin at the very rudiments of the language. Nor
is it difficult to state, in general terms, the purpose of the most
advanced work of the undergraduate curriculum: it must consist in
adequate linguistic skill, literary knowledge and feeling, and
cultural understanding to such an extent that the college graduate who
has specialized in German may safely be intrusted with the teaching of
German in secondary schools. At least, this holds good for the
majority of institutions; a small number of colleges devote their
whole effort to cultural training, and some of the larger
institutions, particularly in the East, find it possible to postpone
most of the professional preparation to a period of graduate work. But
on the whole the average well-equipped college includes the training
of teachers as one end of its foreign-language work. Ordinarily, such
mastery of the subject as would prepare for teaching cannot be gained
within the four years' college course. Rather, it might be said to
require the average equivalent of something like six college years,
with the understanding that not much more than one fourth of the
student's time be devoted to German. This implies that only under
uncommonly favorable conditions should students be encouraged to
specialize in a foreign language that they begin on entering college.

=Organization of the German course=

Thus, the peculiar conditions of modern language instruction bring it
about that a discussion of its organizati