The Pelman Languages Institute (1922 -1998): Nature Method Courses

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Speakeasy
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The Pelman Languages Institute (1922 -1998): Nature Method Courses

Postby Speakeasy » Mon Aug 19, 2019 9:55 pm

Rescued from the Dustbin
Recently, I came across an offer on eBay for a small collection course books for the study of German a few of which I easily recognized, one of which I did not, but which turned out to be a small treasure of sorts. The publisher was the Pelman Languages Institute.

The Pelman Languages Institute
Incorporated in 1922, the Pelman Languages Institute was a London, U.K. institute for the teaching of foreign languages and the publisher and of its own series of language courses under the banner “The Pelman Method of Language Instruction” for the classroom instruction of the frequently-studied languages: French, German, Italian, and Spanish. The company ceased operations in 1995 and was dissolved in 1998. Please note carefully that this institute bears no relation to the similarly-named: (1) The Pelman Institute, a former working men's club and multipurpose social venue in the Kemptown area of Brighton, part of the English coastal city of Brighton and Hove, or (2) The Pelman Institute for the Scientific Development of Mind, or to (3) Pelmanism (a system of mind training to improve the memory) a theory of the mind developed by the institute’s founder. REVISION: Please refer to lowsocks' compelling evidence, below, in favour of a strong, if not unbreakable, link between the Pelman Languages Institute and the Pelman Institute for the Scientific Development of Mind.

The Pelman Method of Language Instruction
Materials
I have a substantially complete set of the course books for the Pelman Method of Language Instruction of German. The course components appear to have been comprised of two sets of booklets, measuring 4-3/4 inches x 7-1/4 inches, of approximately 50 pages each. The books were divided into two groups, Parts I and II, with a separate guide to pronunciation and vocabulary. Although there are a couple of booklets missing from my set, I would estimate the printed materials totalled at least 800 pages. There is no evidence of audio recordings having been prepared to accompany these course books (recordings may have existed, but may have been available for use at the language institute only). The image below is of the front and back covers of one of the booklets. REVISION: Please refer to lowsocks' compelling evidence, below, in favour of the Nature Method and the use of these materials for home-study.
Pelman 1.JPG

Method
While I have not come across a description of the Pelman Method, my review of the course books leads me to believe that a combination of the Direct Method (the active involvement of the student in speaking and listening to the new language in realistic everyday situations coupled with a gradual acquisition of grammatical structure and vocabulary) and the Grammar-Translation Method (analysis of the written language using translation exercises, reading comprehension and written imitation of texts) were employed. The lessons were comprised of scripted dialogues, readings, and short exercise sets. The image below is drawn from one of the final lessons in the set German course booklets. Note that the texts are in the target language only.
Pelman 2.JPG

Classroom Instruction Only?
With the sole exception of the guide to pronunciation and vocabulary, the texts all of the course booklets were in the target language only. This feature of the materials, including a notice to the reader “The Textbooks of the Pelman Institute may not legitimately be made a matter of private or public sale or exchange”, coupled with the absence of any reference to audio recordings, lead me to believe that the lessons were offered in classrooms of the institute.

Appreciation: For Collectors Only
The texts evoke the (now) stilted language of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. That is, while the on-page presentation is attractive enough, the dialogues and readings are somewhat on a par with the Hugo Simplified courses of the same period. Despite the 800-odd pages of text, delivered in two Parts, there is a curiously slow progression which terminates at the equivalent of CEFR A2 or perhaps a tad shy of this level. The fact that the booklets are printed in the target language only and the apparent (planned) absence of audio recordings, render these materials of little use for home-study. These booklets are a curiosity best suited to the eclectic tastes of obsessive collectors of vintage materials.

Your Comments?
Has anyone else every come across, heard of, or studied with The Pelman Method of Language Instruction?

EDITED:
Typos, formatting.
Revision to the TITLE to include "Nature Method"
REVISION, subsequent to lowsock's discoveries (I'll get him for this!) :)
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Last edited by Speakeasy on Sat Aug 31, 2019 3:21 am, edited 3 times in total.
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lowsocks
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Re: The Pelman Languages Institute: 1922 to 1998

Postby lowsocks » Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:01 am

Thank you very much for this, Speakeasy. However, I am not sure about some of your statements:

1) Regarding the Pelman Languages Institute, "...this institute bears no relation to the similarly-named..." But there is this site:

http://www.ennever.com/histories/history386p.php

...that seems to say that the language courses were part of the "self-improvement" courses offered by the Pelman Institute. Or perhaps I am misunderstanding you.

2) I find the language course advertisements on the above page too small to read. But here is an advertisement from the Strand magazine, from 1933. Part of what it says:
This wonderful new method enables you to learn French in French, Spanish in Spanish, German in German and Italian in Italian.
It enables you to learn a language as a Spaniard, Italian, Frenchman or German learns it. There is no translation from one language into another.
It enables you to think in the particular language in question.
It thus enables you to speak without that hesitation which arises from the habit of mentally translating English phrases into their foreign equivalents.
There are no vocabularies to be memorised. You learn the words you need by using them and so that they stay in your mind without effort.

No Grammatical Difficulties.
Grammatical complexities are eliminated. You pick up the grammar almost unconsciously as you go along.
This makes the new method extremely interesting. The usual boredom of learning a Foreign Language is entirely eliminated.
There are no classes to attend. The whole of the instruction is given through the post.

So, it appears to have been intended for self-study, with no classes, and with no formal grammar book. In fact, the method used seems to be very similar to that of the Arthur Jensen and the Nature Method Institute, or the Lingua Latina of Hans Orberg. That is, it uses "contextual induction", whereby you learn the vocabulary and grammar of a language solely by reading texts in the target language, with no translations (except some pictures to help you), and deducing everything from the context of the story being told. So it appears that your books may predate the Nature Institute's use of this method! :)
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One need not hope in order to undertake, nor succeed in order to persevere.

Speakeasy
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Re: The Pelman Languages Institute: 1922 to 1998

Postby Speakeasy » Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:58 am

@lowsocks, thank you very much for taking an interest in this thread and for your comments. I, too, came across the website to which you provided a link, as well as several others, but came to a different conclusion.

Given that: (a) the course manuals that I now have in my collection are in the L2 only, (b) the publisher expressly advised the holder that these were not for commercial sale, and (c) there is no reference in these manuals of the presence of audio recordings, I found it difficult to believe that these materials would have been suitable for home-study and concluded that these were two different publishers (hence my separating them above).

However, both your argument in favour of the Nature Method and the evidence that you provided in the form of an advertisement from Strand magazine, which provides the publisher’s address, are very compelling. Furthermore, it is difficult to refute the images posted under the "Pelmans Language Institute" tab on the website as these are exactly those of the Pelman German course that I purchased ...
Pelman Method 0.JPG

Bravo! I will make revisions to my initial post on this subject.

Still, you do realize, don't you, that this public humiliation means war between us? ;)
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lowsocks
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Location: Southern Ontario, Canada
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Re: The Pelman Languages Institute: 1922 to 1998

Postby lowsocks » Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:57 am

These books appear to be rather rare and difficult to find. Used book sites or ebay have, at best, a few booklets of a given course available, making at most a very incomplete course, even if you went to the trouble and expense of buying everything you could find. The only fairly complete source I could find is here, at the British Library.

This isn't surprising, as there is some sort of legal requirement that a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom and Ireland must be deposited with the library. So they do have copies of the Pelman language courses dating back to the 1920's. (The U.S. Library of Congress also has copies of some of these courses.)

My interest is piqued because I wonder if these Pelman courses might serve as a substitute, or at least partial substitute, for some of the Nature Method courses. I believe copies of the Nature Method courses for English, French, and Italian, are floating around online. But German and Spanish remain elusive (if they were ever made). The Pelman courses might serve in their place.

My hope is that someday these library collections will all be digitized, and available to all. (I'm assuming that the copies from the 1920's would probably be out of copyright.) But that will probably take decades, if not longer. Most of us will probably be long gone by then.

It is tempting, though, to ask: If anyone lives near the British Library, and has enough time (and patience!), scanning in some of these courses would be much appreciated :) (Though as these are old books, and this is a national library meant in part for preservation, this might not be allowed. The library's policies might only allow you to consult a book at a reading table, and do no more with it. Still, one can hope :) )
1 x
One need not hope in order to undertake, nor succeed in order to persevere.

Speakeasy
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Re: The Pelman Languages Institute: 1922 to 1998

Postby Speakeasy » Wed Aug 28, 2019 1:46 am

Nature Method
lowsocks wrote: … My interest is piqued because I wonder if these Pelman courses might serve as a substitute, or at least partial substitute, for some of the Nature Method courses. I believe copies of the Nature Method courses for English, French, and Italian, are floating around online. But German and Spanish remain elusive (if they were ever made). The Pelman courses might serve in their place…
If you are looking for a vintage German course based on the Nature Method, you might consider:
(a) The Conversation Method For Speaking, Reading, And Writing German Intended For Self Study Or Use In Schools With A System Of Pronunclation Based On Websterian Equivalents, by Edmond Gastineau, or
(b) German Self-Taught. a New System Founded on the Most Simple Principles for Universal Self-Tuition with Complete English Pronunciation of Every Word, by Franz Thimm.
Copies (reprinted on demand) are available via AbeBooks et al.

Copyright Issues
lowsocks wrote: … My hope is that someday these library collections will all be digitized, and available to all. (I'm assuming that the copies from the 1920's would probably be out of copyright.) But that will probably take decades, if not longer. Most of us will probably be long gone by then…
My understanding is that copyrights are valid for a period of 70 years following the demise of the author. Nevertheless, a legal opinion in favour of “fair use” of the Pelman Language courses would be much appreciated.

Like what you see? You can’t have it. Then again, you just might!
lowsocks wrote: … It is tempting, though, to ask: If anyone lives near the British Library, and has enough time (and patience!), scanning in some of these courses would be much appreciated …

Gaining Permission for Publication (hosting on a website)
What I am offering
I have prepared a PDF copy of all of the Pelman German pamphlets that I have in my collection. Provided that the issues surrounding the copyrights to these materials can be successfully resolved, I am willing to surrender either these digitized versions, or the original pamphlets, to support their free availability to the public. This could be effected by hosting them on the Yojik website, on the Hathi Trust website, or on the website of a university or that of a similar public institution. You may wish to start by simply asking Eric Streit if he is prepared to accept the PDFs for hosting on his Yojik website. Bear in mind that you will have to convince him of the legality of this project, not me.

What I am not offering
I am not offering to share the PDF versions of the Pelman German pamphlets privately.

What I am asking for
I am requesting the assistance of anyone who might like to see these materials made freely available to the public to get involved. This would mean either (a) gaining permission to publish the materials by hosting them on a website, or (b) obtaining a bona fide opinion supporting “fair use” in support of such hosting. Other alternatives would be gaining acceptance from the Hathi Trust, or from some other institution, for the free-to-the-public hosting of the materials.

The Little Red Hen
Should anyone be tempted to contact me privately in the hope of obtaining a copy of the PDF versions of the Pelman German pamphlets, I suggest that they familiarize themselves, beforehand, with the tale of the Little Red Hen and, having done so, that they refer back to the “What I’m asking for” section.

EDITED:
Formatting.
Tinkering.
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-Harry-
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Re: The Pelman Languages Institute (1922 -1998): Nature Method Courses

Postby -Harry- » Sat Oct 09, 2021 12:55 pm

I once used the French course to improve my French. I really felt like I was thinking in French, although I have since regressed a little. If any one knows, I would love to know where to get other courses. I possess the French and Spanish ones in almost their entirety, but would like to collect the others, maybe with a view to updating and republishing them. Not sure whether free or for a small fee.
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