In Support of Fairy Tales for Language Instruction

I told the children of Friedrich's progress. I complimented them on their assistance as language teachers, for Friedrich's success with the English language was partially due to their efforts. After all, I saw Friedrich only twice a week. They were with him every day of the week. Their conversation with him in English had helped. The children listened quietly to my remarks. After I concluded, I waved my hand and said, Auf Wiedersehen! The children repeated, Auf Wiedersehen! Something in the mood of the class held my attention. I lingered. I looked at the solemn little faces. They looked at me, silently. Then one little hand was raised, very hesitantly. I nodded. The child stood up. You taught Friedrich English. Why can't you teach us German? It was a simple question. For a language teacher it was a beautiful question. I swallowed hard. With surprise and pleasure I looked toward the teacher. I noticed that the question had made an impression upon her also. There was a moment of silence and then she said, Il ask the principal. The outcome was enthusiastic approval. And so, every Monday and Thursday afternoon German was taught to Friedrich's classmates for a session of thirty minutes. The framework for the lesson was the Hansel und Gretel fairy tale (see Appendix). It was chosen because the story was familiar to everyone and because the retelling encouraged the use of basic vocabulary and basic expressions. One could introduce the children to German music, especially selections from the Humperdinck opera. One could also introduce the children to simple folk dances. I reduced the fairy tale to a one-page script. The entire class became familiar with the total script, orally. Only after correct pronunciation was assured did the pupils see the script. Our happy efforts were to culminate in a presentation of Hansel und Gretel for the school in mid-February. On the first Thursday afternoon in February, I arrived and was greeted at the door by the classroom teacher. We have to give the play today, she said. I looked surprised. One of the parents had miscalculated the