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Grammar-Translation Method Reading

The Grammar-Translation Method is a traditional approach to language teaching that emphasizes reading and writing through the translation of literary texts and the study of grammar rules. The teacher plays a central role as the authority, while students primarily engage in translating and memorizing vocabulary and grammar. This method is characterized by a focus on literary language, with little attention to speaking and listening skills, and evaluation often involves written tests on translation and grammar application.

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23 views5 pages

Grammar-Translation Method Reading

The Grammar-Translation Method is a traditional approach to language teaching that emphasizes reading and writing through the translation of literary texts and the study of grammar rules. The teacher plays a central role as the authority, while students primarily engage in translating and memorizing vocabulary and grammar. This method is characterized by a focus on literary language, with little attention to speaking and listening skills, and evaluation often involves written tests on translation and grammar application.

Uploaded by

Mónica
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Grammar-Translation Method

Introduction
The Grammar-Translation Method is not new. It has had different names, but it has
been used by language teachers for many years. At one time it was called the
Classical Method since it was first used in the teaching of the classical languages,
Latin and Greek. Earlier in the 20th century, this method was used for the purpose of
helping students to read and appreciate foreign language literature. It was also hoped
that through the study of the grammar of the target language1 students would become
more familiar with the grammar of their native language and that this familiarity
would help them speak and write their native language better. Finally, it was thought
that foreign language learning would help students grow intellectually; it was
recognized that students would probably never use the target language, but the mental
exercise of learning it would be beneficial anyway.
Let us try to understand the Grammar-Translation Method by observing a class
where the teacher is using it. The class is a high-intermediate level English class at a
university in Colombia. There are 42 students in the class. Two-hour classes are
conducted three times a week.
Reviewing the Principles
The principles of the Grammar-Translation Method are organized below by answering
the 10 questions posed in Chapter 1. Not all the questions are addressed by the
Grammar-Translation Method; we will list all the questions, however, so that a
comparison among the methods we study will be easier for you to make.

1 What are the goals of teachers who use the Grammar-Translation


Method?
According to the teachers who use the Grammar-Translation Method, a
fundamental purpose of learning a language is to be able to read literature written in
the target language. To do this, students need to learn about the grammar rules and
vocabulary of the target language. In addition, it is believed that studying another
language provides students with good mental exercise, which helps develop their
minds.

2 What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?
The roles are very traditional. The teacher is the authority in the classroom. The
students do as she says so they can learn what she knows.

3 What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?


Students are taught to translate from one language into another. Often what they
translate are readings in the target language about some aspect of the culture of the
target language community. Students study grammar deductively; that is, they are
given the grammar rules and examples, are told to memorize them, and then are
asked to apply the rules to other examples. They also learn grammatical paradigms
such as verb conjugations. They memorize native language equivalents for target
language vocabulary words.

4 What is the nature of student–teacher interaction? What is the


nature of student–student interaction?
Most of the interaction in the classroom is from the teacher to the students. There is
little student initiation and little student–student interaction.

5 How are the feelings of the students dealt with?


There are no principles of the method which relate to this area.

6 How is the language viewed? How is culture viewed?


Literary language is considered superior to spoken language and is therefore the
language the students study. Culture is viewed as consisting of literature and the
fine arts.

7 What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are


emphasized?
Vocabulary and grammar are emphasized. Reading and writing are the primary
skills that the students work on. There is much less attention given to speaking and
listening. Pronunciation receives little, if any, attention.

8 What is the role of the students’ native language?


The meaning of the target language is made clear by translating it into the students’
native language. The language that is used in class is mostly the students’ native
language.

9 How is evaluation accomplished?


Written tests in which students are asked to translate from their native language into
the target language or vice versa are often used. Questions about the target culture
or questions that ask students to apply grammar rules are also common.

10 How does the teacher respond to student errors?


Having the students get the correct answer is considered very important. If students
make errors or do not know an answer, the teacher supplies them with the correct
answer.
Reviewing the Techniques
Ask yourself if any of the answers to the above questions make sense to you. If so,
you may choose to try some of the techniques of the Grammar-Translation Method
from the review that follows. On the other hand, you may find that you agree very
little with the answers to these questions, but that there are still some techniques from
the Grammar-Translation Method that you can usefully adapt. Below is an expanded
description of some of these techniques.

• Translation of a Literary Passage


Students translate a reading passage from the target language into their native
language. The reading passage then provides the focus for several classes:
vocabulary and grammatical structures in the passage are studied in subsequent
lessons. The passage may be excerpted from some work from the target language
literature, or a teacher may write a passage carefully designed to include particular
grammar rules and vocabulary. The translation may be written or spoken or both.
Students should not translate idioms and the like literally, but rather in a way that
shows that they understand their meaning.

• Reading Comprehension Questions


Students answer questions in the target language based on their understanding of
the reading passage. Often the questions are sequenced so that the first group of
questions asks for information contained within the reading passage. In order to
answer the second group of questions, students will have to make inferences based
on their understanding of the passage. This means they will have to answer
questions about the passage even though the answers are not contained in the
passage itself. The third group of questions requires students to relate the passage to
their own experience.

• Antonyms/Synonyms
Students are given one set of words and are asked to find antonyms in the reading
passage. A similar exercise could be done by asking students to find synonyms for
a particular set of words. Or students might be asked to define a set of words based
on their understanding of them as they occur in the reading passage. Other
exercises that ask students to work with the vocabulary of the passage are also
possible.

• Cognates
Students are taught to recognize cognates by learning the spelling or sound patterns
that correspond between the languages. Students are also asked to memorize words
that look like cognates but have meanings in the target language that are different
from those in the native language. This technique, of course, would only be useful
in languages that share cognates.

• Deductive Application of Rules


Grammar rules are presented with examples. Exceptions to each rule are also noted.
Once students understand a rule, they are asked to apply it to some different
examples.

• Fill-in-the-blanks Exercise
Students are given a series of sentences with words missing. They fill in the blanks
with new vocabulary items or with items of a particular grammar type, such as
prepositions or verbs with different tenses.

• Memorization
Students are given lists of target language vocabulary words and their native
language equivalents and are asked to memorize them. Students are also required to
memorize grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms such as verb conjugations.

• Use Words in Sentences


In order to show that students understand the meaning and use of a new vocabulary
item, they make up sentences in which they use the new words.

• Composition
The teacher gives the students a topic to write about in the target language. The
topic is based upon some aspect of the reading passage of the lesson. Sometimes,
instead of creating a composition, students are asked to prepare a précis of the
reading passage.

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