Berlitz Apprenez les Langues Vivantes poster – c1890

Poster: Berlitz Apprenez les Langues Vivantes poster – c1890

Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz was a linguist and the founder of the Berlitz Language Schools.

 According to Wikipedia Belitz’s “first employment was as a teacher of French and German at Warner Polytechnic College, of which he assumed control in 1878. At some point, Berlitz became ill, and was unable to teach a French class. He quickly hired Nicholas Joly to replace him and teach the class. Since he had always corresponded with Joly in French, he did not realize that Joly did not speak any English until after he had hired him. Joly taught the class entirely in French (with no translation) by using gestures, pointing to objects and using tone of voice and facial expressions to convey meaning.

When Berlitz returned to the class six weeks later he found that his students, who had spoken little to no French before Joly began teaching, were now conversing semi-fluently in French. Their pronunciation and grammar were also very good.

Berlitz used this experience to develop the Berlitz Method, for which only the language to be taught is spoken from the first day of class. Students were to rely on the same techniques Joly used, ather than translation, to gather meaning and learn grammar and vocabulary.

The successful method of teaching enabled Berlitz to open a second language school in Boston in 1880, supplemented by others in New York and Washington, D. C. He went on to establish schools all over the U.S. and in many countries abroad.

This vintage poster shows the phenomenal coverage across the world that Belitz schools  had reached by the early 1900s. By the time of the start of World War I in 1914, there were over 200 Berlitz Schools worldwide.

Berlitz’s fame continued to spread as he received medals of honor from the King of Spain, the government of France, and from many international expositions. He remained active until his death, aged 68, in New York City. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.

Mr. Berlitz’s method of language learning is still used. Many books that were originally published during the early- to mid-1900s are still in print. There are also many schools that are still dedicated to continuing Berlitz’s concepts regarding language learning.

His first employment was as a teacher of French and German at Warner Polytechnic College, of which he assumed control in 1878 when the owner of the school, Mr. Warner, disappeared with all the prepaid tuition money.[citation needed] When Berlitz became ill, and was unable to teach a French class, he quickly hired Nicholas Joly to replace him and teach the class. Since he had always corresponded with Joly in French, he did not realize that Joly did not speak any English until after he had hired him. Joly taught the class entirely in French (with no translation) by using gestures, pointing to objects and using tone of voice and facial expressions to convey meaning. Berlitz returned to the class six weeks later to find that his students, who had spoken little to no French before Joly began teaching, were conversing semi-fluently in French.[3] Their pronunciation and grammar were also very good. Berlitz used this experience to develop the Berlitz Method, for which only the language to be taught is spoken from the first day of class. Students rely on the same techniques Joly used, rather than translation, to gather meaning and learn grammar and vocabulary.

After success, Berlitz opened a second language school in Boston in 1880, supplemented by others in New York and Washington, D. C. He went on to establish schools all over the U.S. and in many countries abroad. Between 1880 and 1900 he also began writing about his ideas, developing them into a systematic method, which he then presented in 1900 at the World’s Fair in Paris. After the end of the century, he began travelling extensively, making headlines by teaching German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II to speak English. Berlitz’s fame continued to spread as he received medals of honor from the King of Spain,[3] the government of France, and from many international expositions.[4] He remained active until his death, aged 68, in New York City. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.

Mr. Berlitz’s method of language learning is still used. Many books that were originally published during the early- to mid-1900s are still in print. There are also many schools that are still dedicated to continuing Berlitz’s concepts regarding language learning.

Berlitz opened his first school, which we would probably considered some kind of college today, in Providence, Rhode Island in 1878. The school mainly taught bookkeeping, shorthand, account management etc. One day he hit on the idea of teaching languages. His teaching methods were conceived by Berlitz and often unconventional.

Berlitz Sprachschulen, Paris um 1900

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Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as a fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.

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