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The Grammar-Translation Method

The grammar-translation method of foreign language teaching is one of the most traditional

methods, dating back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centurys. It was originally usedto teach 'dead' languages (and literatures) such as Latin and reek, and this may account for its

hea!y bias towards written work to the !irtual e"clusion of oral #roduction. $s %maggio

comments, this a##roach reflected &the !iew of faculty #sychologists that mental disci#line was

essential for strengthening the #owers of the mind.& (%maggio ) Indeed, the em#hasis onachie!ing 'correct' grammar with little regard for the free a##lication and #roduction of s#eech is

at once the greatest asset and greatest drawback to this a##roach.

What is the grammar translation method

. The grammar- translation method of foreign language teaching is one of the most tradition

method.*. It was original used to teach &dead& language (and literatures) such as Latin and reek,

in!ol!ing little or no s#oken communication or listening com#rehension.

The characteristics

.$ focus on learning the rules of grammar and their a##lication in translation #assage from one

language into the other.*. +ocabulary in the target language is learner through direct translation from the nati!e language

, it is taught in the form of isolated word lists.e.g. with !ocabulary tests such as

The house la caseThe mouse el raton

. +ary little teaching is done in the target language. Instead, readings in the target language are

translation directly and then discussed in the nati!e s#eaker. Little or no attention is gi!e

to #ronunciation.. rammar is taught with e"tensi!e e"#lanations in the nati!e s#eaker, and only later a##lied in

the #roduction of sentences through translation from one language to the other.

Principles

. Literary language is su#erior to the s#oken language.

*. Translating each language into each other is an im#ortant goal for learners. . The authority in the classroom is the teacher.

. To be able to communicate with target language's s#eaker is not among the goals.

/.The #rimary skills to be im#ro!ed are reading and writing.

0. Its focus is no accuracy and not fluency. 1. 2rror correction3 If a student's answer of a 4uestion is incorrect, the teacher selects a

different student to gi!e the correct answer or she5he re#lies himself5herself.

Key features

$ccording to 6rator and 7elce-8urcia in Teaching 2nglish as a 9econd :oreign Language

(13), the key features of the rammar Translation 8ethod are as follows3. 7lasses are taught in the mother tongue, with little acti!e use of the target language.

*. 8uch !ocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.

. Long elaborate e"#lanations of the intricacies of grammar are gi!en.. rammar #ro!ides the rules for #utting words together, and instruction often focuses on the

form and inflection of words.

/. ;eading of difficult classical te"ts is begun early.

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0. Little attention is #aid to the content of te"ts, which are treated as e"ercises in grammatical

analysis.

1. %ften the only drills are e"ercises in translating disconnected sentences from the targetlanguage into the mother tongue.

. Little or no attention is gi!en to #ronunciation.

Typical Techniquesed #rinci#les a##ly to those disci#lines ? #edagogy and

communicati!e #rinci#les do not.