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{{Short description|Proposed method for teaching foreign languages,}}{{Expand Esperanto}}
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The '''Paderborn Method for language teaching''', also known as '''Paderborn Method''' or '''Paderborn Modelmethod''' is a proposed method for teaching a foreign languages, ideatedoriginally conceived for children's education. It consists inof first teaching a student a simple language (usually [[Esperanto]]), andfor 2two years, laterthen teaching thethem a second language. Manyfor studiesseveral confirmedyears after that,. havingThe learnedtime aspent completestudying andEsperanto easyhelps propedeuticalthe student acquire the second language more quickly, helpssuch inthat learningthey aend up more difficultproficient onein withthe nosecond lostlanguage time,than indeedif withthey gainhad ofspent the first two years studying it instead of Esperanto.
 
The most comprehensive experiment on the Paderborn method was done by Prof. [[Helmar Frank]], of the [[University of Paderborn]]'s Institute of Pedagogic Cybernetics, from which the method gets its name.
The effectiveness of this method was empirically noticed in different studies of the last century,<ref name = bollettinoUfficiale>[http://jespako.blogspot.com/2011/11/repost-international-language-known-as.html Italian OFFICIAL BULLETIN of MINISTRY for PUBLIC EDUCATION YEAR 122°, ROME, MAY 25th - JUNE 1st 1995, N. 21-22]. Contains high number of studies and experiments ([http://parracomumangi.altervista.org/BollettinoUfficiale.pdf original in Italian])</ref> anyway the scientific proof was given by Professor [[Helmar Frank]] at Institute of Pedagogic Cybernetics in the [[University of Paderborn]] (Germany), and this study gave the name to this method.
 
==History of the method==
The idea that Esperanto might prove helpful in acquiring foreign languages was posited in a 1922 report to the League of Nations. It was given as a potential reason for children to study Esperanto, but the only study that had been conducted at the time, an experiment in the Girls' Secondary School at Bishop Auckland, was inconclusive.<ref>{{cite book |title=Esperanto as an international auxiliary language |date=1922 |publisher=General secretariat of the League of Nations |pages=51–53 |url=https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Esperanto_as_an_international_auxiliary_language._Report_of_the_general_Secretariat_of_the_League_of_nations_adopted_by_the_third_Assembly,_1922_(IA_esperantoasinter00leagrich).pdf |access-date=2022-05-12}}</ref>
Many adults who learnt Esperanto noticed that they could understand better grammar of their own mother tongue and foreign languages, thanks to this simple language with transparent [[Esperanto grammar|grammar]]. So they started to think if such language could have a propedeutical value in language teaching.
 
The educational benefits of Esperanto for children were subsequently studied by researchers at Columbia University,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Eaton |first1=Helen |title=Experiments in language learning |journal=The Modern Language Journal |date=Oct 1934 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=1–4 |doi=10.2307/315418|jstor=315418 }}</ref> the University of Sheffield,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Halloran |first1=J. H. |title=A four year experiment in Esperanto as an introduction to French |journal=The British Journal of Educational Psychology |date=Sep 1952 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=200–204 |doi=10.1111/j.2044-8279.1952.tb02826.x}}</ref> and the Egerton Park Country Secondary School.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Norman |title=A language teaching experiment |journal=The Canadian Modern Language Review |date=Dec 1965 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=26–28 |doi=10.3138/cmlr.22.1.26 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_canadian-modern-language-review_1965-10_22_1/page/n5/mode/2up |access-date=2022-05-12}}</ref> Many of these experiments' findings were compromised by unclear objectives, brief or anecdotal reporting, and a lack of methodological rigor. However, they consistently suggested that the study of Esperanto provides advantages to primary-age children that the study of natural languages does not.<ref name="springboardtolanguages">{{cite book |last1=Tellier |first1=Angela |title=Esperanto as a starter language for child second-language learners in the primary school |date=2013 |publisher=Esperanto UK |___location=Great Britain |isbn=978-0-902756-35-9 |edition=second}}</ref>{{rp|11–12}}
=== Other experiments===
Basing on this consideration, many independent experiments were done in different countries (example, Hungary and Great Britain). Following, some of the most important:
*'''1918-1921''' - Female middle school in Bishop Auckland (GB). Esperanto taught as propedeutical language for French and German<ref>Alexandra FISCHER, Languages by way of Esperanto; Eksperimento farita en Bishop Auckland (GB) en la jaroj 1918-1921 in "Internacia Pedagogia Revuo", 1931.</ref>
*'''1934-1935''' - Public Highschool in [[New York]]<ref>Helen S. EATON, An Experiment in Language Learning, in The Modern Language Journal Volume 19, Issue 1, pages 1–4, October 1934</ref>
*''' 1947-1951''' - Provincial Grammar School in Sheffield (GB),<ref>J. H. HALLORAN (teacher of pedagogy at University of Sheffield), A four year experiment in Esperanto as an introduction to French. In "British Journal of Educational Psychology", vol.22, n. 3, 1952 (nov.), pp. 200-204.</ref> focalized on help received by less intelligent students
*'''1948-1965''' - Egerton Park School, Denton (Manchester, GB).<ref>Report: Norman WILLIAMS (didactical director) ''Report on the teaching of Esperanto from 1948 to 1965.'' - It concluded that a child can learn as much Esperanto in 6 months as in about 3-4 years of study of French. So, if all children would learn Esperanto during the first 6-12 months in a 4-5 year course of French, they would gain a lot of time without losing anything.</ref>
*'''1958-1963''' - Somero (Finland), Esperanto used as propedeutical language for German<ref>J. VILKKI, V. SETÄLÄ, La eksperimenta instruado de Esperanto en la geknaba mezgrada lernejo de Somero (Suomio); V. SETÄLÄ, Vizito al la eksperimenta lernejo en Somero, Finnlando.</ref>
*'''1971-1974,<ref>Marta KOVÁCS, Internacia Didaktika Eksperimento Kvinlanda; Johano INGUSZ, Instruspertoj en esperantfakaj klasoj (en Hungario)</ref> 1975-1977<ref>Helmut SONNABEND, Esperanto, lerneja eksperimento</ref>''' - The [[International League of Esperanto Teachers]] (ILEI), encouraged by previous studies, coordinated international studies, the first in Hungary, and the second in different countries (Belgium, France, Greece. West Germany, Netherlands). In 1977 the students met in an educational week, where they learn about various topics in Esperanto.
*'''Second half of 70s, first half of 80s''' - Paderborn experiment (more details below). This time, the experiment consisted in observing two different groups of students and focused on the differences in learning of the two groups.<ref name = paderborn>
Prof. Dr. Helmar Frank, "Das Paderborner Experiment zum Sprachenorientierungsunterricht" in the publication of the Hanns-Seidel Stiftung eV, Verbindungsstelle Brussel/Bruxelles
''and''
Günter LOBIN, Der propedeutische Wert von Plansprachen für den Fremdsprachenunterricht, (tesi di laurea), Universität Paderborn, Institut für Kybernetik, Wartbürgerstrasse 100, D4790 Paderborn
</ref>
 
===Experiment inat the University of Paderborn===
*'''1983-1988''' - After Paderborn, other experiments used two different groups of students to be compared. For example in the primary school "Rocca", in San Salvatore di Cogorno (Italy) with similar results.<ref>Report: Elisabetta FORMAGGIO (Chiavari, Italia), Lerneja eksperimento pri lernfacileco kaj transfero en la fremdlingvoinstruado</ref>
Under the supervision of [[Helmar Frank]], a professor at the Institute of Cybernetics of Paderborn, two groups of pupils (A and B), both with German as mother tongue, were created in a primary school.<ref name = paderbornFrank>Prof. Dr. Helmar Frank, ''Das Paderborner Experiment zum Sprachenorientierungsunterricht'' in the publication of the Hanns-Seidel Stiftung eV, Verbindungsstelle Brussel/Bruxelles</ref><ref name = paderbornLobin>Günter LOBIN, ''Der propedeutische Wert von Plansprachen für den Fremdsprachenunterricht'', Universität Paderborn, Institut für Kybernetik.</ref> The aim was to prove the propaedeutical value of Esperanto for learning English (and in general, any other foreign language).
 
The groupGroup A startsstarted to learn English sincefrom the 3rdthird year of study, while the group B in the same year startsstarted to learn Esperanto (160 hours); the group B will start also started to learn English after 2two years (5thi.e., in the fifth year of study). Anyway, even if theAlthough group B studied English two years less than group A did, onby the 7thseventh year the two groups reachreached the same level in English, while onin the 8theighth year of school the English level of group B iswas bettermore advanced than that of group A.
===Experiment in University of Paderborn===
Under supervision of [[Helmar Frank]] professor at Institute of Cybernetics of Paderborn, two groups of pupils (A and B) were created in a primary school.<ref name = paderborn/> The mother tongue is German, so the aim is to prove the propedeutical value of Esperanto for learning English (and in general, any other foreign language).
 
The following table resumessummarizes the Paderborn experiment:
The group A starts to learn English since the 3rd year of study, while the group B in the same year starts to learn Esperanto(160 hours); the group B will start also to learn English after 2 years(5th year of study). Anyway, even if the group B studied English two years less than group A, on 7th year the two groups reach the same level in English, while on the 8th year the level of group B is better than group A.
 
The following table resumes the Paderborn experiment:
{| class="wikitable"
| Year of study
Line 37 ⟶ 23:
 
|-
| 3°
| ENGLISH
| ESPERANTO
Line 43 ⟶ 29:
 
|-
| 4°
| ENGLISH
| ESPERANTO
Line 49 ⟶ 35:
 
|-
| 5°
| ENGLISH
| ENGLISH
Line 55 ⟶ 41:
 
|-
| 6°
| ENGLISH
| ENGLISH
| '''A''' continues to learn English, while '''B''' quickly improves in it
 
|-
| 7°
| ENGLISH
| ENGLISH
Line 67 ⟶ 53:
 
|-
| 8°
| ENGLISH
| ENGLISH
| '''B''' excellesexceeds '''A''' in English skills, even if '''B''' learnt it for 2 years less
|}
 
The study demonstrated that not only thethat group B gained a lot in linguistic skills with English language, but it also that group members could use two languages instead of only one. Because all the pupils had a Germanic language (German) as their mother tongue, the help they got from Esperanto was not a result of its greater similarity to English than to German. In addition to cultural gains, the saving of time and resources resulted in an educational saving as well.
Also to be noticed is that pupils had a Germanic language (German) as mother tongue, so they didn't get a help from Esperanto because the latter is more similar to English than their mother tongue.
 
===Experiments at the University of Essex===
One can easily understand that, in addition to cultural gain, the saving of time and resources causes an economical saving in education.
Between 2006 and 2011, the Paderborn method was employed in the Springboard to Languages program, which operated at various primary schools in England. Through the program, primary school students studied Esperanto and French. The goal of the program was to boost the students' metalinguistic awareness and improve their attitudes toward language learning.<ref name="springboardtolanguages"></ref>{{rp|23}}
 
Angela Tellier and Karen Roehr-Brackin used the Springboard to Languages program to evaluate the effectiveness of the Paderborn method. They also performed three similar studies between 2013 and 2017, investigating whether learning Esperanto facilitates the development of children's metalinguistic awareness and language learning aptitude. The results showed that Esperanto was easier to learn than French for the studied children, but did not show a significant difference in the metalinguistic awareness or proficiency in subsequent language learning between students who had studied Esperanto and students who had studied other languages. However, the experiments did consistently show that the students in the Esperanto group had more uniform scores on tests of metalinguistic awareness, suggesting that studying Esperanto has a levelling effect.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tellier |first1=Angela |last2=Roehr-Brackin |first2=Karen |title=Esperanto as a tool in classroom foreign language learning in England |journal=Language Problems and Language Planning |date=2018 |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=89–111 |doi=10.1075/lplp.00013.roe |url=http://repository.essex.ac.uk/24243/ |access-date=2022-05-12}}</ref>
==Hypotheses==
 
==Mechanism==
{{see also|Psychopedagogy|Esperanto grammar}}
There could be many reasons why this method works, notice also that in the following only Esperanto is mentioned, because this method uses it Esperanto, but it is likely that another very easy [[planned language]] with similar features could be employed instead.
 
Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain how the Paderborn method works. It is generally accepted that the learning of any language makes the learning of all subsequent languages easier.<ref name="charters">{{cite journal |last1=Charters |first1=Duncan |title=The teaching and learning of Esperanto |journal=Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems |date=2015 |volume=13 |issue=2 |page=295 |doi=10.7906/indecs.13.2.7 |url=http://indecs.eu/2015/indecs2015-pp288-298.pdf |access-date=2022-05-01}}</ref> Norman Williams argues that Esperanto provides this benefit to a greater degree than natural languages because of its simplicity and its familiarity to [[English language|English]] speakers, stating that Esperanto is six times easier to learn than [[French language|French]] or [[German language|German]], and that 89% of Esperanto roots are recognizably related to words in English.<ref name="egertonpark">{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Norman |title=A language teaching experiment |journal=Canadian Modern Language Review |date=December 1965 |volume=22 |issue=1 |page=26|doi=10.3138/cmlr.22.1.26 }}</ref>
#Esperanto is extremely regular<ref>example, to make the plural form of a word the ending -j is used, and this rule has no exceptions as, example, the English tooth-teeth, the Italian ''ginocchio-ginocchia''</ref> and transparent.<ref>verbs, adverbs, nouns, adjectives are marked by a particular ending</ref> I. e. all adjectives finish by -a and all nouns finish by -o. So the difference between those two parts of speech are passively learned by the student; when he will learn another language, will be easier to explain him what is an adjective and what is a noun. In addition, Esperanto is an [[agglutinative language]], and this involves the student in active use of the lexicon.
#Teaching this language, that is the '''whole''' grammar of a language in a short time, one give the possibility to students to make a comparison between their mother tongue and Esperanto. This comparison can be used consciously or unconsciously when learning a more complex language. This can be compared to observing a model engine for a students who needs to learn how a complex engine works (and in addition, Esperanto is a completely working language, not just a simplified language model).
#The grammar is minimal, so that children can start to use it actively (speaking and writing) pretty soon, and this allows them to keep their initial enthusiasm that is usually lost after the first impact with a foreign language that needs to be studied for many years before to be able to express non basic sentences. This would give self-confidence and when a new language study is started, it is seen as something easily achievable as it was for Esperanto.
#On the other side, a failure in learning a foreign language or the difficulties experienced during the first impact with it (as any other subject) can cause a small shock that reduces the self-confidence on the student's language skills. It is possible to create simple sentences since the first lessons of Esperanto, avoiding this shock.
#The sooner one can use the language, the sooner the language can be used in meeting foreign people and this stimulates the interest of the student in other cultures and of course languages.
 
Helen Eaton argues that some of Esperanto's benefit comes from the vocabulary and grammar that it shares with the target language. Lexical analyses have found that 80% of Esperanto roots are similar to the corresponding [[Latin language|Latin]] root, 20% to the corresponding German,<ref name="eaton27">{{cite journal |last1=Eaton |first1=Helen S. |title=The educational value of an artificial language |journal=The Modern Language Journal |date=November 1927 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=90,91 |doi=10.2307/314175 |jstor=314175 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/314175|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and 66% to the corresponding [[Italian language|Italian]].<ref name="smideliusz">{{cite book |last1=Smidéliusz |first1=Katalin |title=Analisi comparativa del lessico italiano esperanto ed ungherese a fini didattici |date=1997 |publisher=COEDES |___location=Milano |isbn=88-85872-09-3 |pages=47,48}}</ref> Eaton also notes that Esperanto grammar has [[Agreement (linguistics)|noun-adjective agreement]] and an [[accusative case]], which are also found in the grammars of French, German, and Latin.<ref name="eaton27"></ref>
Other hypothesis are discussed by [[Claude Piron]] in some of his articles.<ref>I. e. ''[http://claudepiron.free.fr/articlesenitalien/psicopedagogico.htm L'esperanto dal punto di vista psicopedagogico]'', Esperanto from the psychopedagogical point of view</ref>
 
Angela Tellier argues that a key factor is the positive attitude toward language learning that Esperanto provides students. Experiments consistently suggest that a student of Esperanto can reach proficiency faster than a student of a natural language.<ref name="maxwell">{{cite journal |last1=Maxwell |first1=Dan |title=On the acquisition of Esperanto |journal=Studies in Second Language Acquisition |date=February 1988 |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=59 |doi=10.1017/S0272263100006951 |jstor=44487440 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44487440 |access-date=2022-05-01|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This rapid progress reinforces the student's self-confidence as a language learner<ref name="springboard">{{cite book |last1=Tellier |first1=Angela |title=Esperanto as a starter language for child second-language learners in the primary school |date=2013 |publisher=Esperanto UK |___location=Great Britain |isbn=978-0-902756-35-9 |pages=11,12 |edition=second}}</ref> and their enthusiasm for language learning,<ref name="eaton27"></ref> both of which encourage them to persevere in their future language learning endeavors.
 
==See also==
{{Portal|education|esperantoConstructed languages}}
*[[Esperanto]]
*[[Esperanto grammar]]
*[[Propaedeutic value of Esperanto]]
*[[Education]]
*[[Psychopedagogy]]
 
==References==
<references />
 
==Bibliography==
*Günter LOBIN, ''Der propedeutische Wert von Plansprachen für den Fremdsprachenunterricht,'', Universität Paderborn, Institut für Kybernetik, Wartbürgerstrasse 100, D4790 Paderborn.
*J. H. HALLORAN, ''A four year experiment in Esperanto as an introduction to French''. In "British Journal of Educational Psychology", vol.22, n. 3, 1952 (nov.), pp.&nbsp;200–204.
*R. Selten: "The Costs of European Linguistic (non)Communication.", ed. Esperanto Radikala Asocio, 1997
*Raif MARKARIAN, ''The educational Value of Esperanto Teaching in the Schools'', In: R. Schultz & V. Schultz (compilers) ''"The solution to our language problems"'' pp.&nbsp;362–386, Bailieboro, Ontario, Esperanto Press, Canada, 1964.
*Judit BALOGH, Rule of Esperanto as bridge language for foreign language teaching, (in Ungarian). PhD thesis in General linguistics at University of Eötvös Lorand, Budapest, 1979, 182 p.
*Wilhelm SANKE, ''Linguistische und sprachdidaktische Aspekte eines Sprachorientierungsunterrichts - Thesen und Fragen am Beispiel einer Plansprache''. In: I. Meyer (Red.): "5. Werkstattgesprach- Interlinguistik in Wissenschaft und Bildung, Arbeitspapier n. 62", IfKyP. Paderborn: FEoLL GmbH, 1981, pp.&nbsp;18–206.
*Lian O'CUIRE, ''An Cas do Esperanto'', Esperanto-Asocio de Irlando, Dublin 1984, 5 p.
*Ludovik PREBIL, ''Internacia pedagogia eksperimento en 5 landoj (1-a regiono)'', nella rivista "Esperanto", 1972, n. 121, luglio-agosto.
*W. PERRENOUD, ''Conférence International sur l'enseignement de l'espéranto dans les écoles, au secrétariat de la Société des Natios, du 18 au 20 avril 1920. Compte rendu sommaire en français''. Genève.
*[[Antoni Grabowski]], ''Esperanto kiel preparo al la lernado de lingvoj'', in "Pola Esperantisto" 1908, n. 1, p.&nbsp;48.
 
==External links==
*[http://www.nitobe.it/2010/10/orientamento-linguistico-in-esperanto-con-il-metodo-di-paderborn/ Orientamento linguistico in esperanto con il metodo di Paderborn] (in Italian)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080907165016/http://www.europe-citizen.net/documents_symposium/neighbour.html New Educational Instruction-method Guaranteeing Heterogeneity (and) Bilinguism (while) Observing Universal Rules] - Proposal for a pilot-project (language experiment) in the framework of the Socrates-Program.
 
[[Category:Language-teaching methodology]]