AN EXPLORATORY STUDY IN TEACHING WORLD HISTORY IN GERMAN.

IN SUSSEX, WISCONSIN, AN EXPERIMENT INVOLVING THREE GROUPS, ONE EXPERIMENTAL AND TWO CONTROL, WAS UNDERTAKEN TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE COORDINATE STUDY OF GERMAN AND WORLD HISTORY CAN BE EFFECTIVE IN THE MORE RAPID MASTERY OF GERMAN. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP DEVOTED ONE HOUR TO THE EXPERIMENTAL WORLD HISTORY COURSE TAUGHT IN GERMAN AND ANOTHER HOUR TO THE REGULAR GERMAN II COURSE. THE FIRST CONTROL GROUP WAS ENROLLED IN SECOND YEAR GERMAN AND SERVED AS THE CONTROL IN LANGUAGE COMPETENCY AGAINST WHICH THE ACHIEVEMENT IN GERMAN OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS MEASURED. THE SECOND CONTROL GROUP PURSUED THE TRADITIONAL WORLD HISTORY COURSE AND SERVED AS THE CONTROL IN HISTORY. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP GAINED IN LANGUAGE COMPETENCY OVER THE FIRST CONTROL GROUP AND DID NOT MANIFEST ANY APPRECIABLE LOSS OF KNOWLEDGE OF HISTORICAL INFLUENCE IN RELATION TO THE SECOND CONTROL GROUP. INCLUDED ARE GRAPHS INDICATING THE COMPARATIVE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE THREE GROUPS AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE EXPERIMENT, TABLES OF CONCLUSIVE DATA, AND A SAMPLE OF CLASS REACTIONS TO THE EXPERIMENT. (AUTHOR)