Perspectivia

Fischer_Michael

Surname

Фишер; Fischer

Name

Михаэль (Андреевич); Michael

Languages taught

French; German

Confession

Lutheran

Place of death, town (province)

Moscow

Date of death

1765

Career in Russia

Fischer started his career at the grammar school attached to Moscow University in 1757 as a French teacher . In July 1761, he was transferred to the German third class (the so-called „syntax“ class), to replace teacher Gottr. (?), who had been dismissed. In May 1762, Fischer asked to be dismissed, because he wanted to open his own private school. He realized his plan and even obtained the imperial privilege for his school. Fischer died in 1765.

Institutions in which the teacher has taught in Russia

Grammar school attached to Moscow University; own private school

Social status of teacher’s pupils

nobles; non-nobles

The grammar school at Moscow University, which was founded in 1755 on M.V. Lomonosov’s initiative in order to prepare students for Moscow University, was divided into two departments: one for noble students and one for non-nobles. Both departments consisted of four different sections (so-called “schools”): one for Latin, one for Russian, one for the European Languages (i.e. German and French) and one for the “foundations of science” (“Anfänge der Wissenschaften”). The school was attended by two different categories of students: those in receipt of a government scholarship and independent (self-funding) pupils. At the beginning, there were 50 scholarship students (among them nobles and non-nobles) in each section, but this number was increased quite quickly. The highest number of students was achieved in 1787, when the school counted 1010 pupils (Koch, 2002, p. 110).

Place of work in Russia, city (province)

Moscow

Dates of existence of the school / pedagogical activity

1757–1762 (possibly 1765)

Subjects and aspects of subjects taught by the teacher

French; German syntax

Methods of teaching

J. G. Reichel, lecturer in German language and literature at Moscow University from 1757 and professor from 1761, described the concrete circumstances of language teaching at the grammar school of Moscow University in his correspondence. The most common method of grammar teaching at the time was undoubtedly the presentation of rules, which had to be learned by heart by the students. It seems uncertain that the rules were explained sufficiently, so that students understood them and could apply them. As to this issue, Reichel wrote in December 1761: The teachers of the German class of ‘syntax’ “were not able to explain the rules by heart”, but they “dictated the rules and did not concern themselves with the explanation and application of the rules.” (Reichel, letter of the 27th of December in 1761, quoted from Lehmann, 1966, p. 141). In the same letter, Reichel complained about the poor results of language teaching in general: “Students have to spend more than one year on spelling, more than one year on declination and conjugation and two years on syntax. However, when they finally get to phrasing, they are not able to write three lines in one hour and they cannot read either.” (Reichel, quoted after Lehmann, 1966, p. 141).

Textbooks and other didactical literature used by the teacher

  • · [Gottsched, Johann Christoph], Grundlegung einer Deutschen Sprachkunst, Nach den Mustern der besten Schriftsteller des vorigen und jetzigen Jahrhunderts abgefasset von Johann Christoph Gottscheden, Leipzig, 1748, (4-ed. 1757).
  • · [Lange, Joachim], Colloquia Scholastica, Школьные разговоры, Schul-Gespräche, Dialogues, St Petersburg, 1738.
  • · [Шванович, Мартин], Немецкая грамматика, из разных авторов собрана и российской юности в пользу издана от учителя немецкого языка при Санкт-Петербургской гимназии, St Petersburg, Tipogr. AN, 3rd ed.,1745.
  • In the case of the grammar school attached to Moscow University and the university itself, the choice of books used for learning foreign languages was quite well documented. Initially, the school regulations , published at its foundation in 1755, prescribed the use of some standard works, like for example Joachim Lange’s “School dialogues” of 1738, which were used in the lower German classes (Регламент Московской Гимназии, in: Белявский, 1955, p. 298). In the following years, the professors’ conference, which was one of the administrating institutions of the university, chose and ordered the books to be used in classes. Minutes of the conferences and other documents such as book catalogues, book orders etc. were published by Пенчко (1960, 1962 and 1963).
  • In general, grammar books constituted the main basis for language instruction in the 18th century. The grammar covered all the important aspects of a language, not only the grammar rules themselves. Therefore, pupils used a grammar book for learning reading and writing too and even for learning the correct pronunciation. Typically, a grammar book was organized in four main parts: spelling, “etymology”, which meant morphology, syntax and prosody. There were two German grammars, which were used in the late 1750s and early 1760s at the grammar school. The school regulation of Mikhail Lomonosov of 1758 implemented J.Ch. Gottsched’s German grammar “Grundlegung einer Deutschen Sprachkunst“ for German classes (Ломоносов, 1955, p. 459). Before the school probably used M. Schwanwitz’ German grammar, which was printed at the Academic University in St Petersburg (fourth edition in 1745). Still in 1758, Moscow University ordered 40 copies for the grammar school pupils (Пенчко, 1960, p. 140).

Sources

  • Белявский М.Т., Ломоносов и основание Московского Университета. Moscow, 1955, p. 298; Ломоносов М.В., Полное собрание сочинений, Moscow, Leningrad, vol. 9, 1955, p. 459; Пенчко Н.А., Документы и материалы по истории Московского университета второй половины XVIII века, Moscow, 1960, vol. 1, pp. 140, 251, 379; Erik-Amburger-Datenbank. Ausländer im vorrevolutionären Russland [http://dokumente.ios-regensburg.de/amburger/index.php?id=53363&mode=1]; Lehmann U., Der Gottschedkreis und Russland. Deutsch-russische Literaturbeziehungen im Zeitalter der Aufklärung, Berlin, 1966, p. 141; Koch, Kristine, Deutsch als Fremdsprache im Russland des 18. Jahrhunderts. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Fremdsprachenlernens in Europa und zu den deutsch-russischen Beziehungen, Berlin, New York, 2002, S. 110, 199, 237.

Author of the article

Kristine Dahmen