Maximilian Berlitz
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Maximilian Berlitz | |
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Linguist |
Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz (or Maximilien Berlitz, born David Berlizheimer; April 14, 1852 – April 6, 1921) was a linguist and the founder of the Berlitz Language Schools, the first of which he established in 1878 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Life and career
Born David Berlizheimer to Jewish parents in Mühringen, Kingdom of Württemberg,[1][2] he and his sister were soon orphaned, and he grew up in a family of educators in the Black Forest.[citation needed] Berlitz was required by law to serve as an apprentice; he chose to work for a watchmaker for three years.[1] He later relocated to France[citation needed] and then to Providence, Rhode Island, United States in 1872. His first employment was as a teacher of French and German at Warner Polytechnic College, of which he assumed control in 1878 when the owner of the school, Mr. Warner, disappeared with all the prepaid tuition money.[citation needed] When Berlitz became ill, and was unable to teach a French class, he quickly hired Nicholas Joly to replace him and teach the class. Since he had always corresponded with Joly in French, he did not realize that Joly did not speak any English until after he had hired him. Joly taught the class entirely in French (with no translation) by using gestures, pointing to objects and using tone of voice and facial expressions to convey meaning. Berlitz returned to the class six weeks later to find that his students, who had spoken little to no French before Joly began teaching, were conversing semi-fluently in French.[3] Their pronunciation and grammar were also very good. Berlitz used this experience to develop the Berlitz Method, for which only the language to be taught is spoken from the first day of class. Students rely on the same techniques Joly used, rather than translation, to gather meaning and learn grammar and vocabulary.
After success, Berlitz opened a second
Mr. Berlitz's method of language learning is still used. Many books that were originally published during the early- to mid-1900s are still in print. There are also many schools that are still dedicated to continuing Berlitz's concepts regarding language learning.
The linguist and author
See also
- Berlitz International
References
- ^ a b Emily C., Rose (19 June 2012). "Maximilian D. Berlitz (1852-1921)". Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German American Business Biographies. German Historical Institute. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ Adolf J. Schmid: „D.“ und der Mythos der Delphine - Maximilian D. Berlitz = David Berlizheimer, in: „Schwäbische Heimat“, Jahrgang 2001/1, S. 44 ff., Stuttgart, Germany
- ^ a b Sellmer, Robert (24 February 1947), "Berlitz Schools", LIFE Magazine, p. 58, retrieved 29 September 2012
- ^ "Maximilian D. Berlitz". Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
External links
- Works by Maximilian Berlitz at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
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