Hugo Language Courses (1890's - 2000's)
Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2019 5:07 pm
PART 1 of 2
HUGO EARLY PERIOD: 1890’s – 1970’s
POINT OF DEPARTURE
Late to the Party
A couple of years ago, I purchased the Hugo “Complete” German package containing this publisher’s “Three Months” and “Advanced” courses. Although I appreciated the obvious care with which the authors had prepared these materials, I did not really warm up to the approach to teaching. Still, having sampled a couple of these courses, the effect was curiously akin to what one experiences when eating Nachos or Jelly Beans; I had a mild craving for “just one more” and decided to add their “Business” course to my collection. My interest concerning the differences between the most recent editions and the previous generations, which date all the way back to the late 19th century, prompted me to add another item, and then another, and yet another, leaving me with a fairly comprehensive assortment of Hugo courses and supplemental materials for the study of German.
As there had been no extensive discussions of the Hugo language courses on the LLORG, and as those on the HTLAL tended to be limited to brief comments either extolling the virtues, or decrying the failings, of these courses, I decided to offer the reader my own appreciation. Having already completed the first draft, I came across Professor Arguelles’ excellent reviews on YouTube and it now appears that I have arrived “late to the party.” Undaunted and unashamed, I incorporated some of the professor’s comments into my own presentation and now offer this revised version to the more patient amongst you. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before …
Incomplete Information
Although the British publisher of self-instruction language courses, the “Hugo Languages Institute”, operated successfully for more than a century, there is surprisingly little information available on the internet covering its genesis, its publishing history, the changes to its ownership, or its apparent cessation of operations. The information that I have been able to put together was drawn from the catalogues of the major online booksellers (which continue to offer a few remnants of some of the Hugo courses dating back to the late 19th century), incomplete publishing histories, websites specializing in information concerning record labels, comments on the HTLAL and Amazon, and Professor Arguelle’s YouTube reviews.
Demarcation Line
In the mid-1980’s (I believe), the new owners to the rights of the Hugo materials, Dorling Kindersley (DK) Publishers Ltd, commissioned a major rewrite of the entire catalogue of Hugo language courses. While these new courses represented a significant departure from those of the previous generation, it would be not unreasonable to say that they retained many elements of the former’s approach to teaching. I have chosen this transition from the “old” to the “new” courses as a convenient demarcation line between what-I-have-labelled the “Early Period” which extended from the company’s inception circa 1890 through to the 1970’s and the similarly-labelled “Late Period” from the 1980’s through to the 2000’s.
Hugo Languages Institute Era: 1890’s – 1970’s
The “Hugo Languages Institute” was founded circa 1890, by one Charles Hugo, for the publication and sale of a series of self-instruction language courses covering a broad range of languages. In addition to these materials, which were designed for autonomous use, customers were encouraged to subscribe to a correspondence service which offered the support of qualified instructors, or to attend classes, or receiving private tutoring at the institute's offices in London. During the eight decades leading up to the middle-to-late 1970’s, this publisher focused its efforts on the marketing of their “Simplified Series” the major component of which was the “Three Months” language course.
PUBLICATIONS
Hugo Simplified Series
The “Hugo Simplified Series” was a collection of small printed manuals for the self-instruction of a broad range of languages having the “Hugo’s [Language] Self-Tuition Course in Three Months (Without a Master)” at its core. In reviewing the items listed below, it is reasonable to assume that those bearing similarities of content were either minor revisions or simply changes to the titles. Whereas the “Three Months” courses covered a broad range of languages, most of the supplemental materials were published for the frequently-studied languages only. It is also possible that, as new languages were introduced in the series, the elements which would have been otherwise included in the supplemental booklets were incorporated in the “Three Months” course manual. For example, a number of later editions of the “Three Months” courses were revised and expanded, integrating elements from the supplemental materials. The titles below were drawn from the major online booksellers’ websites (my collection includes most of the items below for the study of German).
Hugo’s [Language] Self-Tuition Course in Three Months (Without a Master)
Hugo’s [Language] Simplified: An easy and rapid self-instructor
Hugo’s [Language] Conversation Simplified
Hugo’s A Complete Guide to [Language] Pronunciation
Hugo’s [Language] Idioms Simplified
Hugo’s A Collection of Practical Sentences Gradually Introducing the Most Important Idioms of Hugo’s [Language]
Hugo’s A Simple But Complete Grammar of [Language]
Hugo’s [Language] Grammar Simplified
Hugo’s Key to the Standard Edition of [Language] Grammar Simplified
Hugo’s Key to the Exercises in Grammar of [Language]
Hugo’s [Language] Genders Simplified
Hugo’s [Language] Verbs Simplified
Hugo’s [Language] Reading Simplified
Hugo’s [Language] Commercial Correspondent
Other Publications
The first item listed below was part of the “U.G.O. Series”, an abbreviation that I have not been able to identify. The phrase books covered a startlingly-broad range of languages as did the publisher’s dictionaries. The last item below was likely unique in its genre.
Hugo’s How to get all you want when travelling in [Country]: A really practical phrase-book indispensable to tourists, with the imitated pronunciation of every word
Hugo's [Language] Phrase-Book for Tourists
Hugo's Pocket Dictionary: [Language-Language / Language-Language]
Hugo’s How to Avoid Incorrect English
Hugo’s [Language] Self-Tuition Course in Three Months (Without a Master)
The Hugo Language Institute’s “Three Months” self-instruction language courses were first introduced around 1890 as “Hugo’s [Language] Self-Tuition Course in Three Months (Without a Master)” and remained in continuous production up until the company ceased operations more than a hundred years later. As demonstrated by the company’s longevity and by the broad range of languages which were covered in the series, public response was apparently quite positive. Whereas Professor Arguelles, in his video review, offered his opinion that Hugo’s catalogue included a rather limited selection of languages, my searches reveal that the courses from this period covered at least the following: Arabic, Catalan, Chinese (Mandarin), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hindustani, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish (Latin American), Spanish (European), Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Welsh, and perhaps others. In addition, courses covering the frequently-studied languages were offered in several language bases other than English.
Editions versus Generations
I have copies of the Hugo Three Months German courses (under slightly different titles) from this period from 1890, circa 1920, circa 1930, circa 1950, 1969, and 1979. For all practical purposes, the contents and the presentation of the course manuals are identical. While the edition from 1969 shows a slight rearranging of the texts, I would say that it is substantially the same as all of the previous editions. Although the edition from 1979 contains very minor updates to the texts to that from 1969, it is essentially the same course manual, differences in print aside. Even Charles himself Hugo might have been surprised to discover that his approach to teaching, including the essential contents of the course manuals, was unchanged from 1890 through 1979 (which was reprinted up to at least 1990). That is, there was only one generation throughout the entire period!
AUDIO RECORDINGS
Hugophone “ancillary” recordings: 1920’s – 1970’s
This publisher, like many of its competitors at the time, quickly adopted the newly-developed audio recording technology of the late 19th and earlier 20th centuries under their own “Hugophone” record label, but did so in a manner that differed significantly from that of most other publishers. From the 1920’s through to the 1970’s, the Hugo Languages Institute did not include, nor offer for separate purchase, audio recordings which were directly-linked to the contents of their “Three Months” course manuals. Rather, prospective customers were encouraged to purchase a set of ancillary “Hugophone” records and manuals for practicing their aural/oral skills (see ancillary* below). Course manuals of the period included a voucher which accorded the purchaser a small discount on the price of the record sets. There were two generations of these recordings.
Hugophone 1920’s – 1950’s
The first generation of Hugophone recordings appeared in the early 1920’s as sets of three (3) x 12-inch x 78 rpm shellac gramophone records accompanied by two pamphlets, one containing the L2 transcriptions and the other the English script (I have a copy of the latter). Total duration would have been approximately 20 minutes. Whereas the Three Month course manuals covered a broad range of languages (refer to the list above), the ancillary recordings were available only in a narrow selection of languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian. The record labels were imprinted “Hugophone System (Two Voices)” as an indication that the recordings were of two individuals discussing a variety of subjects related their visit to the L2 region: Travelling, The Hotel, Excursion in a Motor Car, A Stroll in Town, Shopping, Paying a Call. The dialogues, which had been translated from the English script to the target languages, did not progress in difficulty and maintained a steady level of CEFR A1 throughout. In comparison to the popular literature, magazines and newspapers, theatre and cinema, or archived speeches and public debates of the period, the language used in the dialogues was surprisingly affected and mannered.
Hugophone 1960’s – 1970’s
The second generation of Hugophone recordings appeared in the early 1960’s as sets of one (1) x 12-inch x 33-1/3 vinyl record accompanied by two laminated sheets measuring 8” x 10”, one containing the L2 transcriptions and the other the English script (I have a copy of the Hugophone German album). Total duration was approximately 28 minutes, which is rather unusual for an LP record. As before, whereas the Three Month course manuals covered a broad range of languages, the ancillary recordings were available only in a narrow selection of languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian. While the format of two individuals discussing a variety of subjects related their visit to the L2 region was retained, as were the themes, the dialogues were completely re-written and re-recorded, maintaining a steady level of CEFR A1 throughout. Although language used was ‘correct’ for the period, it was unusually contrived. The dialogues are recorded once at a leisurely pace, followed by a second recording which sounds unnatural and which I believe was artificially sped up. The effect of the stilted speech, the doubled recordings, and the total duration of barely 28 minutes on a 12-inch LP record cause me to believe that these LPs were, in fact, reproductions of the 1920's recordings.
*Ancillary: The jackets of the 1960’s era Hugophone record albums contained the following promotional statement: “Hugophone is not a language course – it is an advanced aid to pronunciation ancillary to ‘Hugo’s [Language] in Three Months Without a Master’. It is, if you like, the ‘finishing school’ and because it is able, orally, to illustrate the subtle inflections, rhythms, and tonal qualities of a foreign language to our ears, it is of great value to the tourist, the perfectionist and the serious student. The most important function of the Hugophone [recordings] is to break through the ‘sound barrier’ – that unconscious resistance to perfect pronunciation which often arises from lack of self-confidence – a reluctance to take the first bold steps towards words, phrases and sounds with a true [Language] accent. What makes Hugophone so superior is that it is not stilted in any way – there is no trace of the average textbook approach, but instead it presents actual everyday conversations (with a written transcript for the eyes to follow) of ordinary people speaking those ordinary things you will want to say when you are abroad. Hugophone does not teach you what to say, but rather how to speak with faultless pronunciation. To this end, great care has been taken with the preparation and production of this recording, so that as your sound guide you have only the clearest, truly authentic voices, accurate to the last inflection.” I commented on Hugo's promotional statements in the "REVIEW" section below.
Hugo Cassette & Record Language Courses: 1977 – 1985
At some time around 1977, Hugo Languages Ltd finally adopted the practice of many of its competitors by offering language courses comprised of their “Three Months” course manuals and audio recordings which were directly-linked to the contents of the former, as either (a) 4 x 12” x 33-1/3 vinyl LP records, or (b) 4 x C60 audio cassettes. These packages were available for the self-instruction of only a small portion of the publisher’s catalogue: Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. I have a copy of the publisher’s German course, with the recordings, from 1979. The images below depict the 1977 edition and the 1979 edition, respectively.
REVIEWS
Professor Arguelles, in his YouTube reviews (appended to Part 2 of this thread), confirms that the Grammar-Translation Method was used in the Hugo courses from this period. Whereas he acknowledges that the course books provide an excellent overview of a given language, he finds the presentation of the material uninspiring. While it is surely a matter of personal taste, when compared to the courses by Assimil, Cortina, Linguaphone, and many others of the period, I find myself agreeing with the professor. Professor Arguelles reminds the viewer that the publisher’s use of “Three Months” in the series title was not a promise that the student would be able to master the L2 within three months. Rather, it was merely the expression of an opinion to the effect that a daily regimen of one-hour’s study over a three-month period would provide the user with a foundation in the target language but that this would this not lead to a level of skill approaching fluency. As to the relevance of these courses from this period, the professor suggests that they would be best used as supplements to a study programme based on other materials such as Assimil and the like. The few comments on the HTLAL which touch upon these first generation courses tend to support the professor’s point of view.
The only element which truly surprised me was Hugo’s decision not to offer audio recordings directly-related to the contents of their language courses right up to 1977 and, in their place, to offer sets of “ancillary” recordings. By way of comparison, during the same period, the publishers of the Assimil, Berlitz, Cortina, Linguaphone, and many other self-instructional language courses, either included large sets of audio recordings with their course packages (the dialogues and exercises of which were directly-related to the contents of their course manuals) or offered these for separate purchase. I find Hugo’s statements on this matter difficult to accept (see “ancillary” above). First, in contrast to this publisher’s claim that the recordings contained “no trace of the average textbook approach” and that they presented “actual everyday conversations of ordinary people”, I found both generations of the recorded dialogues unnatural and out-of-sync with everyday speech. Second, not only did the publisher attempt to justify a demonstrably “inferior” practice but, in an exemplary demonstration of “double-speak”, they compounded the sham by declaring their practice to be “superior” to that of their competitors. The only thing “superior” here was Hugo’s chutzpah! Finally, given the ease of access to recording facilities, the low costs associated with record production, and the long-established and more accessible practice their competitors, I consider Hugo’s position vis-à-vis audio recordings a failure of imagination.
Although the “Simplified Series” had the potential of bringing the independent-learner into the CEFR A1+ range of competence, aural/oral skills would have required additional development through means beyond those provided by the ancillary audio recordings. This aspect was corrected only as of 1977 when the publisher began offering packages containing the Three Months course books and associated audio recordings. I view Hugo’s product line from 1890 through the late 1970’s as curiosities of primary interest to collectors of vintage language-learning materials.
COMMENTS?
The presentation above is bound to be incomplete and it is likely to contain a number of errors of fact. Should anyone wish to correct or augment any of this information, or otherwise comment on it, I would be pleased to hear from you.
EDITED:
Attachments, typos.
HUGO EARLY PERIOD: 1890’s – 1970’s
POINT OF DEPARTURE
Late to the Party
A couple of years ago, I purchased the Hugo “Complete” German package containing this publisher’s “Three Months” and “Advanced” courses. Although I appreciated the obvious care with which the authors had prepared these materials, I did not really warm up to the approach to teaching. Still, having sampled a couple of these courses, the effect was curiously akin to what one experiences when eating Nachos or Jelly Beans; I had a mild craving for “just one more” and decided to add their “Business” course to my collection. My interest concerning the differences between the most recent editions and the previous generations, which date all the way back to the late 19th century, prompted me to add another item, and then another, and yet another, leaving me with a fairly comprehensive assortment of Hugo courses and supplemental materials for the study of German.
As there had been no extensive discussions of the Hugo language courses on the LLORG, and as those on the HTLAL tended to be limited to brief comments either extolling the virtues, or decrying the failings, of these courses, I decided to offer the reader my own appreciation. Having already completed the first draft, I came across Professor Arguelles’ excellent reviews on YouTube and it now appears that I have arrived “late to the party.” Undaunted and unashamed, I incorporated some of the professor’s comments into my own presentation and now offer this revised version to the more patient amongst you. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before …
Incomplete Information
Although the British publisher of self-instruction language courses, the “Hugo Languages Institute”, operated successfully for more than a century, there is surprisingly little information available on the internet covering its genesis, its publishing history, the changes to its ownership, or its apparent cessation of operations. The information that I have been able to put together was drawn from the catalogues of the major online booksellers (which continue to offer a few remnants of some of the Hugo courses dating back to the late 19th century), incomplete publishing histories, websites specializing in information concerning record labels, comments on the HTLAL and Amazon, and Professor Arguelle’s YouTube reviews.
Demarcation Line
In the mid-1980’s (I believe), the new owners to the rights of the Hugo materials, Dorling Kindersley (DK) Publishers Ltd, commissioned a major rewrite of the entire catalogue of Hugo language courses. While these new courses represented a significant departure from those of the previous generation, it would be not unreasonable to say that they retained many elements of the former’s approach to teaching. I have chosen this transition from the “old” to the “new” courses as a convenient demarcation line between what-I-have-labelled the “Early Period” which extended from the company’s inception circa 1890 through to the 1970’s and the similarly-labelled “Late Period” from the 1980’s through to the 2000’s.
Hugo Languages Institute Era: 1890’s – 1970’s
The “Hugo Languages Institute” was founded circa 1890, by one Charles Hugo, for the publication and sale of a series of self-instruction language courses covering a broad range of languages. In addition to these materials, which were designed for autonomous use, customers were encouraged to subscribe to a correspondence service which offered the support of qualified instructors, or to attend classes, or receiving private tutoring at the institute's offices in London. During the eight decades leading up to the middle-to-late 1970’s, this publisher focused its efforts on the marketing of their “Simplified Series” the major component of which was the “Three Months” language course.
PUBLICATIONS
Hugo Simplified Series
The “Hugo Simplified Series” was a collection of small printed manuals for the self-instruction of a broad range of languages having the “Hugo’s [Language] Self-Tuition Course in Three Months (Without a Master)” at its core. In reviewing the items listed below, it is reasonable to assume that those bearing similarities of content were either minor revisions or simply changes to the titles. Whereas the “Three Months” courses covered a broad range of languages, most of the supplemental materials were published for the frequently-studied languages only. It is also possible that, as new languages were introduced in the series, the elements which would have been otherwise included in the supplemental booklets were incorporated in the “Three Months” course manual. For example, a number of later editions of the “Three Months” courses were revised and expanded, integrating elements from the supplemental materials. The titles below were drawn from the major online booksellers’ websites (my collection includes most of the items below for the study of German).
Hugo’s [Language] Self-Tuition Course in Three Months (Without a Master)
Hugo’s [Language] Simplified: An easy and rapid self-instructor
Hugo’s [Language] Conversation Simplified
Hugo’s A Complete Guide to [Language] Pronunciation
Hugo’s [Language] Idioms Simplified
Hugo’s A Collection of Practical Sentences Gradually Introducing the Most Important Idioms of Hugo’s [Language]
Hugo’s A Simple But Complete Grammar of [Language]
Hugo’s [Language] Grammar Simplified
Hugo’s Key to the Standard Edition of [Language] Grammar Simplified
Hugo’s Key to the Exercises in Grammar of [Language]
Hugo’s [Language] Genders Simplified
Hugo’s [Language] Verbs Simplified
Hugo’s [Language] Reading Simplified
Hugo’s [Language] Commercial Correspondent
Other Publications
The first item listed below was part of the “U.G.O. Series”, an abbreviation that I have not been able to identify. The phrase books covered a startlingly-broad range of languages as did the publisher’s dictionaries. The last item below was likely unique in its genre.
Hugo’s How to get all you want when travelling in [Country]: A really practical phrase-book indispensable to tourists, with the imitated pronunciation of every word
Hugo's [Language] Phrase-Book for Tourists
Hugo's Pocket Dictionary: [Language-Language / Language-Language]
Hugo’s How to Avoid Incorrect English
Hugo’s [Language] Self-Tuition Course in Three Months (Without a Master)
The Hugo Language Institute’s “Three Months” self-instruction language courses were first introduced around 1890 as “Hugo’s [Language] Self-Tuition Course in Three Months (Without a Master)” and remained in continuous production up until the company ceased operations more than a hundred years later. As demonstrated by the company’s longevity and by the broad range of languages which were covered in the series, public response was apparently quite positive. Whereas Professor Arguelles, in his video review, offered his opinion that Hugo’s catalogue included a rather limited selection of languages, my searches reveal that the courses from this period covered at least the following: Arabic, Catalan, Chinese (Mandarin), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hindustani, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish (Latin American), Spanish (European), Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Welsh, and perhaps others. In addition, courses covering the frequently-studied languages were offered in several language bases other than English.
Editions versus Generations
I have copies of the Hugo Three Months German courses (under slightly different titles) from this period from 1890, circa 1920, circa 1930, circa 1950, 1969, and 1979. For all practical purposes, the contents and the presentation of the course manuals are identical. While the edition from 1969 shows a slight rearranging of the texts, I would say that it is substantially the same as all of the previous editions. Although the edition from 1979 contains very minor updates to the texts to that from 1969, it is essentially the same course manual, differences in print aside. Even Charles himself Hugo might have been surprised to discover that his approach to teaching, including the essential contents of the course manuals, was unchanged from 1890 through 1979 (which was reprinted up to at least 1990). That is, there was only one generation throughout the entire period!
AUDIO RECORDINGS
Hugophone “ancillary” recordings: 1920’s – 1970’s
This publisher, like many of its competitors at the time, quickly adopted the newly-developed audio recording technology of the late 19th and earlier 20th centuries under their own “Hugophone” record label, but did so in a manner that differed significantly from that of most other publishers. From the 1920’s through to the 1970’s, the Hugo Languages Institute did not include, nor offer for separate purchase, audio recordings which were directly-linked to the contents of their “Three Months” course manuals. Rather, prospective customers were encouraged to purchase a set of ancillary “Hugophone” records and manuals for practicing their aural/oral skills (see ancillary* below). Course manuals of the period included a voucher which accorded the purchaser a small discount on the price of the record sets. There were two generations of these recordings.
Hugophone 1920’s – 1950’s
The first generation of Hugophone recordings appeared in the early 1920’s as sets of three (3) x 12-inch x 78 rpm shellac gramophone records accompanied by two pamphlets, one containing the L2 transcriptions and the other the English script (I have a copy of the latter). Total duration would have been approximately 20 minutes. Whereas the Three Month course manuals covered a broad range of languages (refer to the list above), the ancillary recordings were available only in a narrow selection of languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian. The record labels were imprinted “Hugophone System (Two Voices)” as an indication that the recordings were of two individuals discussing a variety of subjects related their visit to the L2 region: Travelling, The Hotel, Excursion in a Motor Car, A Stroll in Town, Shopping, Paying a Call. The dialogues, which had been translated from the English script to the target languages, did not progress in difficulty and maintained a steady level of CEFR A1 throughout. In comparison to the popular literature, magazines and newspapers, theatre and cinema, or archived speeches and public debates of the period, the language used in the dialogues was surprisingly affected and mannered.
Hugophone 1960’s – 1970’s
The second generation of Hugophone recordings appeared in the early 1960’s as sets of one (1) x 12-inch x 33-1/3 vinyl record accompanied by two laminated sheets measuring 8” x 10”, one containing the L2 transcriptions and the other the English script (I have a copy of the Hugophone German album). Total duration was approximately 28 minutes, which is rather unusual for an LP record. As before, whereas the Three Month course manuals covered a broad range of languages, the ancillary recordings were available only in a narrow selection of languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian. While the format of two individuals discussing a variety of subjects related their visit to the L2 region was retained, as were the themes, the dialogues were completely re-written and re-recorded, maintaining a steady level of CEFR A1 throughout. Although language used was ‘correct’ for the period, it was unusually contrived. The dialogues are recorded once at a leisurely pace, followed by a second recording which sounds unnatural and which I believe was artificially sped up. The effect of the stilted speech, the doubled recordings, and the total duration of barely 28 minutes on a 12-inch LP record cause me to believe that these LPs were, in fact, reproductions of the 1920's recordings.
*Ancillary: The jackets of the 1960’s era Hugophone record albums contained the following promotional statement: “Hugophone is not a language course – it is an advanced aid to pronunciation ancillary to ‘Hugo’s [Language] in Three Months Without a Master’. It is, if you like, the ‘finishing school’ and because it is able, orally, to illustrate the subtle inflections, rhythms, and tonal qualities of a foreign language to our ears, it is of great value to the tourist, the perfectionist and the serious student. The most important function of the Hugophone [recordings] is to break through the ‘sound barrier’ – that unconscious resistance to perfect pronunciation which often arises from lack of self-confidence – a reluctance to take the first bold steps towards words, phrases and sounds with a true [Language] accent. What makes Hugophone so superior is that it is not stilted in any way – there is no trace of the average textbook approach, but instead it presents actual everyday conversations (with a written transcript for the eyes to follow) of ordinary people speaking those ordinary things you will want to say when you are abroad. Hugophone does not teach you what to say, but rather how to speak with faultless pronunciation. To this end, great care has been taken with the preparation and production of this recording, so that as your sound guide you have only the clearest, truly authentic voices, accurate to the last inflection.” I commented on Hugo's promotional statements in the "REVIEW" section below.
Hugo Cassette & Record Language Courses: 1977 – 1985
At some time around 1977, Hugo Languages Ltd finally adopted the practice of many of its competitors by offering language courses comprised of their “Three Months” course manuals and audio recordings which were directly-linked to the contents of the former, as either (a) 4 x 12” x 33-1/3 vinyl LP records, or (b) 4 x C60 audio cassettes. These packages were available for the self-instruction of only a small portion of the publisher’s catalogue: Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. I have a copy of the publisher’s German course, with the recordings, from 1979. The images below depict the 1977 edition and the 1979 edition, respectively.
REVIEWS
Professor Arguelles, in his YouTube reviews (appended to Part 2 of this thread), confirms that the Grammar-Translation Method was used in the Hugo courses from this period. Whereas he acknowledges that the course books provide an excellent overview of a given language, he finds the presentation of the material uninspiring. While it is surely a matter of personal taste, when compared to the courses by Assimil, Cortina, Linguaphone, and many others of the period, I find myself agreeing with the professor. Professor Arguelles reminds the viewer that the publisher’s use of “Three Months” in the series title was not a promise that the student would be able to master the L2 within three months. Rather, it was merely the expression of an opinion to the effect that a daily regimen of one-hour’s study over a three-month period would provide the user with a foundation in the target language but that this would this not lead to a level of skill approaching fluency. As to the relevance of these courses from this period, the professor suggests that they would be best used as supplements to a study programme based on other materials such as Assimil and the like. The few comments on the HTLAL which touch upon these first generation courses tend to support the professor’s point of view.
The only element which truly surprised me was Hugo’s decision not to offer audio recordings directly-related to the contents of their language courses right up to 1977 and, in their place, to offer sets of “ancillary” recordings. By way of comparison, during the same period, the publishers of the Assimil, Berlitz, Cortina, Linguaphone, and many other self-instructional language courses, either included large sets of audio recordings with their course packages (the dialogues and exercises of which were directly-related to the contents of their course manuals) or offered these for separate purchase. I find Hugo’s statements on this matter difficult to accept (see “ancillary” above). First, in contrast to this publisher’s claim that the recordings contained “no trace of the average textbook approach” and that they presented “actual everyday conversations of ordinary people”, I found both generations of the recorded dialogues unnatural and out-of-sync with everyday speech. Second, not only did the publisher attempt to justify a demonstrably “inferior” practice but, in an exemplary demonstration of “double-speak”, they compounded the sham by declaring their practice to be “superior” to that of their competitors. The only thing “superior” here was Hugo’s chutzpah! Finally, given the ease of access to recording facilities, the low costs associated with record production, and the long-established and more accessible practice their competitors, I consider Hugo’s position vis-à-vis audio recordings a failure of imagination.
Although the “Simplified Series” had the potential of bringing the independent-learner into the CEFR A1+ range of competence, aural/oral skills would have required additional development through means beyond those provided by the ancillary audio recordings. This aspect was corrected only as of 1977 when the publisher began offering packages containing the Three Months course books and associated audio recordings. I view Hugo’s product line from 1890 through the late 1970’s as curiosities of primary interest to collectors of vintage language-learning materials.
COMMENTS?
The presentation above is bound to be incomplete and it is likely to contain a number of errors of fact. Should anyone wish to correct or augment any of this information, or otherwise comment on it, I would be pleased to hear from you.
EDITED:
Attachments, typos.