Mary Brebner (31 December 1858-6 May 1933) was a British teacher. She was one of the first women teaching German in Britain, and one of the first women lecturers at

Aberystwyth University , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

, where she taught modern and ancient languages, and ran the languages department during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She has been described as one of the "most influential women in the teaching of modern foreign languages in Britain."

Life and career

Mary Brebner was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in December 1858 to William Brebner and Jane Brebner (née Rodger McSwein). She read for her undergraduate degree at University College Wales, matriculating in 1881 at the Ladies College and passing her first set of exams with a first-class mark in 1883. She received her BA in 1885, and read for two master's degrees at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

in 1893 and 1895 in

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and French and German. She trained at the Cambridge Teachers Training College under

Elizabeth Phillips Hughes Elizabeth Phillips Hughes MBE (12 July 1851 – 19 December 1925) was a Welsh scholar, teacher, and promoter of women's education, first principal of the Cambridge Training College for Women. Early life Hughes was born in Carmarthen, Carma ...

and gained the Gilchrist Travelling Scholarship. Her report from the scholarship was published as a multi-edition volume on the teaching of modern language in Germany, which has been described as "very influential," and which has been reprinted multiple times. Brebner was a "reformer" in language teaching, arguing for teaching through use of the language rather than teaching about the language. She taught in high schools and lectured on modern languages to pupil teachers under the London School Board. In 1897 Brebner was awarded funds by the Soames Trust to encourage the use of phonetics in language teaching in English and Welsh schools. In 1898 she was appointed assistant lecturer at

, where she taught Modern Languages (primarily French and German) and was to assist in teaching

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and English language. In 1914 when the

broke out she was promoted to Lecturer in the absence of the previous professor of German at Aberystwyth, and she ran the department successfully during the course of the war. She retired in 1919, and died in 1933.

Publications

*Brebner, M. (1899) ''The method of teaching modern languages in Germany: being the report presented to the trustees of the Gilchrist Educational Trust on a visit to Germany in 1897, as Gilchrist Travelling Scholar'' (London)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brebner, Mary 1858 births 1933 deaths Scottish scholars and academics Alumni of Aberystwyth University Scottish women educators Academics from Aberdeen Women classical scholars