F ench Language Teaching
wi hin he Czech Educa ion Sys em 1870–1930:
school Sys em, O icial Teaching Me hods
and Tex books
Alena P oško á
ABSTRACT:
The aim o he p esen pape is o speci y he posi ion o F ench language eaching wi hin he
Czech educa ion sys em in he 1870s–1930s. The pe iod was ma ked by impo an educa ion e o ms
conce ning no only he school sys em and he gene al s uc u e o subjec s augh , bu also he
o icial me hods used in o eign-language eaching. The changes in socie y, cul u e and educa ion
led o wha is oday called he Golden Age o F ancophony in Bohemia, a ime when F ench language
domina ed as he language o diplomacy and o he cul u al and social eli e. I also ep esen ed
he second mos widely-s udied o eign language a Czech seconda y schools besides Ge man. The
s a us o F ench-language eaching is p esen ed om h ee di e en pe spec i es. Fi s ly, we ocus
on speci ic ypes o schools whe e F ench language had appea ed o he i s ime as a egula
subjec , hen on he mos impo an educa ion e o ms which had led o he de elopmen o hese
schools. Secondly, we analyze he o icial o o he wise in luen ial me hods o eaching mode n
languages used in he Czech educa ional en i onmen , and inally we b ie ly p esen he co pus
o pe iod F ench-language ex books which is cu en ly being analysed wi hin ou disse a ion
hesis esea ch. The con ibu ion is la gely based on p ima y-sou ce ex s: Me hodology o F ench and
Ge man Languages om 1916 and on Me hodology o F ench Language published in 1926 by p o esso
and me hodologis Ja osla O aka H uška, who was also he au ho o he so-called Media ion o
Analy ic-Syn he ic Me hod (me oda zp os ředko ací), as well as on selec ed wo ks on he his o y o
pedagogy and on analyses o he mos equen ly used pe iod ex books.
KEY WORDS:
Czech educa ion sys em, F ench language eaching, language eaching me hodology, pe iod lan-
guage ex books, school e o ms
1. INTRODUCTION
The s udied pe iod o 1870–1930 ep esen s only asho segmen in he his o y o
F ench language eaching, bu wi hin he Czech educa ion sys em i enables us o dem-
ons a e he de elopmen o all majo eaching me hods and app oaches ha had ex-
is ed in he Eu opean con ex o he ime conce ned. We use he no ion o Czech edu-
ca ion sys em as asys em o public s a e schools whe e Czech was used as he o icial
eaching language, so i may sligh ly di e om i s usual meaning. The o mal exis-
ence o he independen Czech educa ion sys em, as he sys em egula ed by he Czech
go e nmen , da es back as a as 1918 when he Bohemian kingdom o icially ans-
ALENA PROšKOVá 109
o med in o Czechoslo akia a e he dissolu ion o he Aus o-Hunga ian Empi e. The
de elopmen o he Czech educa ion sys em should be hus s udied wi h ega d o he
speci ic ea u es o he Aus ian sys em o educa ion. F ench language eaching in ou
educa ion en i onmen had been o ming unde e y in e es ing in luences comp is-
ing he he i age o J. A. Comenius, he adi ion o G amma -T ansla ion Me hod used
o eaching classical languages, in addi ion o i s modi ica ions applied o mode n lan-
guage eaching du ing he i s hal o he 18 h cen u y on he one hand, and he in lu-
ences b ough in o Bohemia by F ench eache s and p o essionals based on he e o m
pedagogy and he Di ec Me hod on he o he hand. The Czech educa ion en i onmen
en iched he exis ing eaching me hods wi h anew app oach based on he sea ch o
comp omise be ween he wo con adic o y me hods. The p esen pape aims o p esen
ade ailed iew o he ci cums ances unde which he Media ion Me hod was o med.
2. CZECH EDUCATION SYSTEM (1870–1930): SCHOOL REFORMS
AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TYPES OF SCHOOLS
In he second hal o he 19 h cen u y (1872–1874) F ench language en e ed o he i s
ime he o icial school cu iculum as a egula obliga o y subjec wi hin he sys em
o s a e schools in Bohemia. Up o his ime knowledge o F ench had been solely e-
s ic ed o he nobili y, cul u al eli es and diploma s, al hough cul u al and poli ical e-
la ions be ween F ance and Bohemia had been es ablished mo e han 500 yea s ea lie .
The in oduc ion o mode n languages in o he school cu iculum is closely connec ed
o changes in he gene al app oach owa ds educa ion and ex ensi e school e o ms,
which had been unde way in he Aus o-Hunga ian Empi e since he second hal o he
19 h cen u y, and whose objec i e was o mode nize he exis ing sys em o elemen a y
and seconda y schools based on medie al models o ecclesias ical educa ion. The ollow-
ing pa o he s udy concen a es mainly on he de elopmen o seconda y educa ion
as he F ench language has ne e been obliga o y a elemen a y schools in Bohemia.
2.1 THE EXNER-BONITZ’SRE ORM O 1849 AND
THE ACT ON EQUALITY O NATIONAL LANGUAGES 1866
The o igins o he 19 h cen u y e o ms o Aus ian educa ion da e back o he eign o
Ma ia The esa in he 18 h cen u y bu he i s genuine s ep owa ds he mode n second-
a y educa ion sys em was he Exne -Boni z’s e o m o 1849, he yea a e he Minis y
o Educa ion and Cul u e had been es ablished. The i s minis e Le Thun1 assigned
he ask o he mode nisa ion o Aus ian seconda y educa ion o P ague P o esso o
Philosophy F anz Exne and Ge man classic philologis He mann Boni z. A e asho
1 The empe o Fe dinand Io Aus ia o iginally o e ed he pos o F an išek Palacký, who
a e asho e lec ion e used. E en ually i u ned ou o be he bes esul possible, e en
o he empe o himsel because when he Aus ian and Hunga ian popula ion o he Aus-
ian Mona chy lea ned abou he his o e o Palacký, he e we e immedia e and iolen
eac ions which o ced Fe dinand o empo a ily lee Vienna (Mo kes, 2002, pp. 6–8).
110 STUDIE ZAPLIKOVANÉ LINGVISTIKY
and in ensi e pe iod o wo k, hey published, on Sep embe 16 h 1849, En wu de O -
ganisa ion de Gymnasien und Realschulen in Ös e eich, adocumen which in luenced he
sys em o seconda y schools in he Aus ian Mona chy o he nex 100 yea s. I helped,
on he one hand, o s abilize he adi ional o m o seconda y educa ion, which was
ocused on classical languages and li e a u e needed o u he s udy a uni e si ies,
ep esen ed by Gymnasium. On he o he hand, i es ablished a ela i ely new ype o
seconda y school (which had o iginally belonged among highe elemen a y schools)
pu ing emphasis on ma hema ics, sciences and echnical subjec s needed o u u e
s udy a Poly echnics and echnological uni e si ies, he so-called Realschule. The ex-
is ence o wo con adic o y modules in seconda y educa ion also ep esen ed he spli
public opinion on educa ion in gene al. One pa o socie y could no imagine i wi hou
La in and G eek, which we e seen as ameans o a aining classical cul u e, philosophy
and mo al alues, he o he pa decla ed he need o mo e p ac ical educa ion based
on echnical subjec s and mode n languages co esponding o he as de eloping in-
dus y and sciences. Conce ning language educa ion, he mo he ongue (Czech o Ge -
man) as well as La in and G eek we e augh a Gymnasium while he mo he ongue
and he second na ional language (Ge man o Czech) we e augh a Realschule. F ench
and o he mode n languages we e no obliga o y, bu s uden s usually chose F ench as
he second mode n o eign language. The ques ion o he o icial eaching language was
qui e complica ed because he majo i y o subjec s a seconda y schools in Bohemia
we e s ill augh in Ge man, o pa ly in Czech and pa ly in Ge man; hus we canno
conside Ge man as agenuine o eign language. The Czech popula ion was na u ally
bilingual. The si ua ion adically changed a e 1866 when he Empe o F anz Joseph
Ipassed alaw on he equali y o all cus oma y languages in school, o ice and public li e
which in 1867 became pa o he Aus o-Hunga ian cons i u ion. This mean he end
o so-called u aquis (mixed Czech and Ge man) eaching and he second coun y lan-
guage inally became an obliga o y subjec . Howe e , he Ge man speaking popula ion
o en e used o lea n Czech and many excep ions we e g an ed o Ge man seconda y
schools in Bohemia, enabling hem o each adi e en mode n language (in he ma-
jo i y o cases i was F ench, la e English) ins ead o Czech. In eac ion o his si ua-
ion, F ench p og essi ely made i s way in o Czech seconda y schools as well (Cach—
Valen a, 1990, pp. 35–44). The Table 1 shows he g owing numbe o weekly lessons o
F ench a di e en ypes o Realschulen.2
Yea Czech
Realschule in
Bohemia
1876–1898
Czech Realschule
in Mo a ia and
Ge man Realschule
in Bohemia
1876–1898
Czech Realschule
in Bohemia
1898–1919
Ge man Realschule
in Bohemia
a e 1899
I. 0 0 0 6
II. 0 5 0 5
III. 5 5 5 5
2 Ma oušek (1911, pp. 26–31).
ALENA PROšKOVá 111
Yea Czech
Realschule in
Bohemia
1876–1898
Czech Realschule
in Mo a ia and
Ge man Realschule
in Bohemia
1876–1898
Czech Realschule
in Bohemia
1898–1919
Ge man Realschule
in Bohemia
a e 1899
IV 3 3 4 3
V. 3 3 4 3
VI. 3 3 3 3
VII. 3 5 3 3
able 1: Numbe o weekly lessons o F ench a di e en ypes o Realschulen.
2.2 HASNER’SSCHOOL LAw O 1869: THE ESTABLISHMENT
O NEw TYPES O SCHOOLS: REALGYMNASIUM AND
HIGHER ELEMENTARY “TOwN SCHOOL”
The need o he de elopmen o indus y and echnologies in he Aus o-Hunga -
ian Mona chy a e he Aus o-P ussian wa o 1866 inc eased he demand o ad-
equa ely p epa ed p o essionals. Leopold Hasne , who wo ked as aminis e o edu-
ca ion in 1867–1870, passed anew school law in 1869 which e lec ed needs o socie y,
whe eby s udies a Realschule we e p olonged om six o se en yea s and inal ex-
ams, simila o hose a Gymnasium, we e in oduced. The p ac ically o ien ed ed-
uca ion a Realschule was becoming mo e and mo e popula . Howe e , he wo di -
e en ypes o seconda y schools s ill coexis ed, which o ced all pupils o decide a
a ela i ely young age (10–11 yea s) whe he o ocus hei s udies on classical lan-
guages o on echnical subjec s, na u al sciences and mode n languages. The i s
a emp s o c ea e acomp omise appea ed in Tábo (Sou h Bohemia) a ound 1860.
The ci izens o Tábo ied o es ablish agymnasium in hei own. A e se e al un-
success ul a emp s aF ench-language p o esso o he local Realschule, Emman-
uel K ejč, elabo a ed acou se s uc u e connec ing bo h ypes o seconda y schools,
whe e Ge man, Czech, F ench and classical languages we e augh and whe e s u-
den s could choose as la e as in hei hi d yea whe he o con inue in he s udy o
La in o whe he o ake up F ench ins ead o G eek, as is p esen ed in he cou se
s uc u e below. Anew ype o seconda y school, Realgymnasium, was es ablished
(Cach— Valen a, 1990, pp. 54–55).
Yea I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. In o al
Gymnasium module – G G/R G/R G/R G/R G/R G G/R
Realschule module – R
Religious educa ion 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 16/14
La in 6 6 6 6/– 5/– 6/– 6/– 6 46/18
G eek – – 4/– 4/– 4/– 5/– 4/– 5 26/–
Czech 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 17/14
Ge man 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 4 30/26
F ench – – – –/3 –/2 –/2 –/2 – –/9
112 STUDIE ZAPLIKOVANÉ LINGVISTIKY
Yea I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. In o al
His o y and Geog aphy 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 2 24/223
Ma hema ics 3 3 3 4 4 4 2-Ap 1 24/25
Physics – – 1 3 – –/4 4 4 12-Dec
Biology 2 2 – – 3 2 – – 9-Sep
Chemis y – – 1 –/3 –/2 2 –/3 – 3-No
Desc ip . geome y 5 3 2 –/2 –/4 –/2 –/4 – Oc -22
D awing – 4 –/4 –/4 –/4 –/4 –/2 – Ap -22
Handw i ing 2 1 –/2 – – – – – 3-May
Philosophic p opaedeu ics – – – – – – 2/– 2/– 4/–
able 2: Realgymnasium cou se s uc u e3 ( he numbe s ep esen weekly lessons).
Al hough Realgymnasien o e ed asolu ion o he p oblem o sepa a ed classical and
p ac ically o ien ed seconda y educa ion, hey emained a e ill 1908 pa ly due o
he eluc ance o he Aus ian Minis y o Educa ion which was s ill in a ou o clas-
sical seconda y educa ion based on La in.
The mos in luen ial pa o Hasne ’sschool law conce ned he e o m o elemen-
a y educa ion. The exis ing sys em o elemen a y schools copied, as in he case o sec-
onda y schools be o e 1848, he model o medie al ecclesias ical schools. The e we e
basically wo ypes o elemen a y schools in Bohemia: Gene al Elemen a y Schools
(obecné školy) which p o ided educa ion o he lowes classes o he popula ion and
he so-called Town Schools (měšťanské školy) which exis ed in la ge owns and which
soon acqui ed he s a us o highe elemen a y schools because only hey en i led pu-
pils o con inue wi h hei s udies a seconda y schools. Hasne ’ssys em o elemen a y
school educa ion was based on eigh yea long obliga o y a endance whe e pupils aged
6–14 could choose be ween an eigh -yea Gene al Elemen a y School, i e-yea Gen-
e al Elemen a y School plus h ee yea s a Town School, o om eigh yea s a Town
School. A he age o 10, child en could also con inue hei s udies a aseconda y school.
All elemen a y schools we e o iginally adminis a ed by he Ca holic Chu ch (mainly
Jesui s). Hasne ’slaw educed he in luence o he Chu ch on educa ion by cha ging
owns and egions o adminis a e hem. Conce ning languages augh a elemen a y
schools, he si ua ion was simila o seconda y schools. Ge man a Czech schools and
Czech a Ge man schools we e no obliga o y bu a e 1866 F ench s a ed o be augh
a Ge man Town schools as an op ional subjec ins ead o Czech and la e i en e ed he
Czech Town schools as well (Rýdl— Váňo á— Valen a, 1992, pp. 6–16).
2.3 MARCHET’SRE ORM O 1908
The las in luen ial Minis e o Educa ion in he Aus o-Hunga ian Mona chy was Gus-
a Ma che who led he minis y in 1906–1908. His e o m ollowed i id discussions
among eaching p o essionals conce ning he ole o languages in mode n second-
a y educa ion. The Czech idea o Realgymnasium was e i ed and wo new ypes o
3 Valen a and Cach (1990, p. 55).

ALENA PROšKOVá 113
his seconda y school (Realgymnasium and Re o m Realgymnasium) wi h obliga o y
La in and F ench bu wi hou G eek en iched he exis ing sys em o Gymnasien and
Realschulen. The s udy a Gymnasium, Realgymnasium and Re o m Realgymnasium
las ed eigh yea s, a Realschule i was se en yea s. The g adua es o all ou ypes o
seconda y schools we e au ho ized o con inue hei s udies a di e en uni e si ies a -
e ha ing passed hei inal exams, al hough in some cases addi ional exams om La in
o desc ip i e geome y we e needed. The s a is ics show ha he new p ac ically o i-
en ed ypes o seconda y schools soon gained popula i y: acco ding o Cach and Valen a
(1990, pp. 57) he e we e 83 seconda y schools in Bohemia, Mo a ia and Silesia be o e
1908, ou o which he e we e 33 Realschulen and 8 Czech Realgymnasien. In 1913 he e
we e 127 Czech, Mo a ian and Silesian seconda y schools, ou o which he e we e 46
Realschulen and 35 Realgymnasien. The ollowing cou se s uc u e shows he o al num-
be o weekly lessons a an eigh -yea Realgymnasium a e Ma che ’s e o m. This sys-
em emained p ac ically unchanged un il 1918 when he educa ion sys em had o eac
o poli ical and social changes a e he es ablishmen o independen Czechoslo akia.
Subjec To al numbe o weekly lessons / 8 yea s
Religious educa ion 16
Czech 26
La in 45
F ench 21
His o y 18
Geog aphy 11
Ma hema ics 23
Desc ip i e geome y 4
Biology and Geology 12
Chemis y 4
Physics 12
Philosophical p opaedeu ics 3
D awing 10
Handw i ing 1
Physical educa ion 16
Op ional Ge man 26
able 3: Realgymnasium cou se s uc u e a e 1908.4
2.4 CZECHOSLOVAKIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM A TER 1918—
BYDŽOVSKÝ’SAND DÉRER’SRE ORMS O SECONDARY EDUCATION
The i s impo an ask o he newly es ablished Czechoslo akian Minis y o Edu-
ca ion was o emodel and uni y he sys em o seconda y schools whe e all subjec s
would be augh in na ional languages— Czech and Slo ak— and o p epa e anew
4 Cach and Valen a (1990, p. 67).
114 STUDIE ZAPLIKOVANÉ LINGVISTIKY
school law. P ima ily Slo akian educa ion needed p o ound changes as, unlike he
Czech sys em, i had ollowed he Hunga ian and no he Aus ian model. Ge man
language a all Czech schools was de ini ely mo ed om he posi ion o he o icial
eaching language o he posi ion o a egula subjec al hough he numbe o Ge -
man schools in Bohemia was s ill high. The e we e 128 Ge man seconda y schools in
he school yea 1913/1914, 123 in 1920/1921 and only 98 in 1933/1934 compa ing o 162
Czechoslo akian seconda y schools in 1913/1914, 249 in 1920/1921 and 273 in 1933/1934.5
Owing o he impo ance o F ench diplomacy in es ablishing independen
Czechoslo akia, F ench language was becoming mo e and mo e popula bu in Ge -
man schools in Bohemia i was o en eplaced by English. Despi e many a emp s,
e o m p oposals and discussions, he eal e o m o Czechoslo akian educa ion
came as la e as in he la e 1920s. Du ing he i s wen y yea s o he exis ence o
Czechoslo akia he e we e mo e han 18 di e en go e nmen s, 9 p ime minis e s
and 15 minis e s o educa ion.6 I is logical ha unde such uns able condi ions
he a emp s a educa ional e o m had o make concessions o mo e impo an
issues, e.g. pos -wa es o a ion o he economy, indus y and in as uc u e. How-
e e , in 1927 all cou se s uc u es o seconda y schools we e e ised and adjus ed
so he e we e only wo sys ems o lowe seconda y educa ion (yea I.— yea IV.).
The ollowing Tables 4–7 show he numbe o language lessons a di e en ypes o
Czech seconda y schools a e he “small seconda y school e o m” o 1927 (Kádne ,
1931, pp. 96–99).
1. Gymnasium
Yea I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. In o al
Czech 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 4 29
Ge man 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 26
La in 6 6 6 6 4 4 4 5 41
G eek – – – – 6 6 6 6 24
F ench – – – – – – – – –
2. Realschule
Yea I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. In o al
Czech 6 4 4 3 4 3 4 28
Ge man 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 21
La in – – – – – – – –
G eek – – – – – – – –
F ench – 4 4 4 3 3 3 21
5 Váňo á, Rýdl and Valen a (1992, pp. 178–179). The nube s o seconda y schools in his case
comp ised Gymnasien, Realgymnasien, Re o m Realgymnasien, Reaschulen, seconda y
schools o u u e eache s and gi ls’ Lycea.
6 Mo kes (2002, p. 24).
ALENA PROšKOVá 115
3. Realgymnasium
Yea I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. In o al
Czech 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 4 29
Ge man 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 26
La in 6 6 6 6 4 4 4 5 41
G eek – – – – – – – – –
F ench/ English – – – – 6 6 4 4 20
4. Re o m Realgymnasium
Yea I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. In o al
Czech 6 4 4 3 3 3 3 4 30
Ge man 5 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 24
La in – – – – 5 4 4 4 17
English/I alian
o aSla ic lang. ––––––44 8
F ench/English – 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 26
ables 4–7: The numbe o language lessons a di e en ypes o Czech seconda y schools a e he
“small seconda y school e o m” o 1927.
The Czechoslo akian educa ion sys em s ill ollowed he Aus ian model bu unde
he in luence o he educa ional e o m mo emen , mo e and mo e p o essionals
(Bydžo ský, Příhoda, Chlup, S ejskal and o he s) c i icised he exis ing sys em. The
demand o democ a ic, mo e e ec i e, paedocen ic and p ac ically o ien ed educa-
ion culmina ed in he 1930s du ing he enu e o he minis e I an Dé e .
Dé e es ablished wo e o m commi ees, one o elemen a y educa ion led by
V. Příhoda and he second o seconda y schools led by B. Bydžo ský. Bo h commi -
ees s a ed wo king on anew school cu iculum, hey e ised he s uc u e and
con en s o all subjec s augh , and inally hey discussed in dep h he objec i es
o bo h classical and mode n-language educa ion. The new goal o language each-
ing in pos -wa Czechoslo akia was o aise young people in he sense o Eu o-
pean oge he ness and o each hem abou he mu ual bases o Eu opean cul u e
(Váňo á— Rýdl— Valen a, 1992, pp. 213–225). The o mal goal o he seconda y
educa ion e o ms in he 1920s and 1930s was o educe he exis ing ou ypes o
schools o wo basic ypes o Gymnasium (La in and F ench/G eek) and Realschule
(mode n languages and echnical subjec s) bu Wo ld Wa II came be o e he e-
o ms could ha e been ully applied.
3. METHODS OF FRENCH LANGUAGE TEACHING
AND PERIOD TEXTBOOKS (1870–1930)
Al hough we canno go back o he pas o obse e he ac ual ways and me hods o
eaching o eign languages, we can lea n abou hem om pe iod a icles on language
116 STUDIE ZAPLIKOVANÉ LINGVISTIKY
eaching me hodology and mainly om he analyses o pe iod ex books. In he ol-
lowing pa o he s udy, we p esen cha ac e is ics o he me hods which we e ei-
he used wi hin he Czech educa ion sys em as o icial eaching me hods, o which
had in luenced he way mode n languages we e augh in he pe iod conce ned
(1870–1930). E en hough F ench language as a egula subjec en e ed he cu ic-
ulum o Czech schools as la e as he 1870s, i had se ed as amodel o he eaching
o o he o eign languages ac oss Eu ope. This was caused mainly by he ac ha
F ench, among o he mode n languages, had he iches li e a u e on language each-
ing me hodology by he end o he 18 h cen u y (H uška, 1911–1912, p. 94).
3.1 THE IRST TEXTBOOKS OR TEACHING MODERN LANGUAGES
IN BOHEMIA AND THE LEGACY O J. A. COMENIUS
Al hough we a e ocusing on he pe iod o 1870–1930, when speaking abou language
eaching we canno o ge o men ion he omnip esen in luence o J. A. Comenius
(1592–1670). His Didac ica Magna (1657), Ianua Lingua um Rese a a (1631), Me hodus
Lingua um No issima (1644–1647) and inally O bis Pic us (1658) laid he ounda ions
o language eaching as we know i oday. The enligh ened school e o ms o Ma ia
The esa b ough his wo ks back o he cen e o a en ion o he pe iod pedagogy.
In 1777 he i s Book o Me hods7 was published o p o ide eache s wi h ins uc ion
on eaching Ge man a elemen a y schools in Aus ia. I was w i en in Ge man and
Czech bu i soon appea ed e y di icul o apply he me hod o eaching Ge man o
Czech-speaking pupils who we e o ced o s a s udying he language jus asho
ime a e hey we e in oduced o w i ing and eading in hei mo he ongue. The
solu ion came in he o m o he small publica ion Einige Hil smi el published in 1779
which was s ongly inspi ed by O bis Pic us. Ge man was augh acco ding o he
na u al way child en acqui ed hei mo he ongue du ing he i s wo yea s o he
s udy. They imi a ed he p onuncia ion o hei eache ; comp ehension was assu ed
by using pic u es o eal objec s. The eache s also used echniques o wha we could
compa e wi h he con empo a y TPR (To al Physical Response) Me hod when chil-
d en had o ca y ou di e en physical ac i i ies acco ding o eache ’sins uc ions
in he a ge language. G amma , w i ing and eading s a ed o be augh in he hi d
yea o s udy and in he ou h yea he pupils we e able o ollow he lesson solely in
Ge man. They wo ked wi h sho ex s, usually s o ies o ables which we e used o
eading, memo iza ion, e elling and d ama iza ion (H uška, 1911–1912, p. 99). The
in luence o Comenius’ app oach owa ds language eaching is ob ious. Se e al o
he i s mode n language ex books published in he Aus ian Mona chy we e di -
e en language e sions o O bis Pic us e.g. he 1779 e sion in he Czech language,
1817 F ench-Ge man e sion, o J. Chmela’s1833 mul ilingual e sion w i en in La in,
Ge man, Czech, Polish and F ench. Un o una ely, i was applied only o eaching
child en a elemen a y schools and he o iginal o m o O bis Pic us was equen ly
simpli ied by he omission o pic u es.
7 Me hodenbuch ü Leh e de deu schen Schulen in den k. k. E blände n. Kniha me hodní p o uči-
ele českých škol c. k. zemích (1777). P aha: Nákladem c. k. P a idelné školské kněho iská ny.
ALENA PROšKOVá 123
e s o mixed Czech-F ench eams who ook in o conside a ion no only he p ac ical
needs o s uden s and eache s bu also e lec ed asensible choice and s uc u ing
o language con en (especially g amma ) which was undoub edly in luenced by he
o ming o he P ague School o S uc u al and Func ional Linguis ics. The 1920s–
1930s also ep esen he peak o he Czech e o m mo emen in pedagogy led by Vá-
cla Příhoda (1889–1979) who b ough he heo ies o Dewey and Tho ndike close o
he Czech p o essional public. All hese ac o s: he solid heo e ical bases (linguis-
ic, pedagogic and psychological), he a ou able social and poli ical si ua ion and
changes in he educa ion sys em con ibu ed o he high quali y o pe iod F ench-
language ex books.
5. CONCLUSION
The p ima y basis o ou esea ch is he analysis o pe iod F ench language ex -
books whose objec i e is o cla i y he de elopmen o F ench language eaching
and i s posi ion wi hin he Czech educa ion sys em. The abo e p esen ed pape how-
e e ocuses a he on he ac o s which in luenced he de elopmen o hese ex -
books— namely he de elopmen o he Czech educa ion sys em and o icial each-
ing me hods. Language ex books a e equen ly analysed om he poin o iew o
hei unc ion wi hin he educa ion p ocess, ameasu e which canno be applied o
pe iod ex books as hey a e no longe being used. Ano he possibili y is o analyse
a ex book as asel -con ained p oduc and ocus only on i s s uc u e and con en .
This ca ego y o esea ch b ings o ligh aluable da a conce ning he cha ac e is ic
o ex s (e.g. hei complexi y, comp ehensibili y), and s uc u ing o di e en ex -
book componen s— bo h ex ual and ex a- ex ual. We belie e ha pe iod language
ex books ep esen a angible in e sec ion o h ee di e en bu in e ac ing le els o
ac o s which in luence he esul ing o m o language educa ion— espec i ely, he
educa ion en i onmen , he eaching me hod and he p e ailing heo y o language.
I is hus impossible o analyse hese ex books and hei de elopmen i espec i e
o he changes wi hin he school sys em and he de elopmen o heo ies in bo h lan-
guage eaching me hodology and linguis ics.
The s udied pe iod o he 1870s–1930s ep esen s only asho momen in he his-
o y o Czech-F ench ela ions bu i enables us o unde s and he ci cums ances o
he implemen a ion o F ench language in o he Czech school cu iculum and he
easons why his language became so popula a he ime when he educa ion sys em
o independen Czechoslo akia was s ill o ming. New ypes o p ac ically o ien ed
seconda y schools (Realschule and Realgymnasium) eme ged o sa is y he need o
Czech socie y o echnically educa ed g adua es. I was in he cu iculum o hese
schools whe e F ench language eplaced classical languages as a egula obliga o y
subjec . The changing gene al app oach o language educa ion in luenced by he e-
o m mo emen along wi h new indings in psychology, pedagogy and linguis ics en-
abled he eme gence and applica ion o mode n eaching me hods in he i s hal o
he 20 h cen u y. In eac ion o adi ional me hods based on acompa a i e app oach,
i.e. sys ema ic s udy o g amma and ansla ion, new di ec me hods pu emphasis

124 STUDIE ZAPLIKOVANÉ LINGVISTIKY
on spoken language and he induc i e app oach in eaching g amma . J. O.H uška,
he au ho o he o icial Media ion Me hod, ook in o accoun he cha ac e is ics
o Czech lea ne s and he condi ions and objec i es o he Czech educa ion sys em
which helped o consolida e he posi ion o F ench language eaching wi hin he
school cu iculum.
The g owing impo ance o F ench language in he i s hal o he 20 h cen u y is
appa en no only om he numbe o school ex books published and om he num-
be o s uden s who we e lea ning i a s a e schools bu also om he popula i y o
his language among Czech people in gene al. The e is anumbe o ex books, ead-
ing and con e sa ion books in ended o au odidac s, s uden s o p i a e language
schools, small child en o people who we e simply in e es ed in F ench cul u e and
who wan ed o lea n mo e abou i . We belie e ha he popula i y o F ench lan-
guage and cul u e in he Czech educa ion en i onmen was la gely in luenced by he
in e play o a ou able social and poli ical condi ions bu also by he high quali y o
language eaching and ex books.
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Alena P oško á | Depa men o English S udies, Facul y o Educa ion,
Uni e si y o Sou h Bohemia in České Budějo ice
<ap osko[email p o ec ed].cz>