ELT Approaches & Methods

Grammar Translation Method

TESOL Kim Min-joeng & Jang So-jung

* Think about …
- the dominant language of education, commerce, religion, government, and so on
- your experiences related to teaching or learning grammar

* History
① the 16th ~ the 18th centuries
- model for foreign language study: study of classical Latin, analysis of its grammar and
rhetoric
- grammar school: Latin grammar, declensions/conjugations, practice in writing sample
sentences, translation, brutal punishment, etc.
- Latin = intellectual abilities, mental gymnastic, a basis for all form of higher education
② the 18th ~ the 19th centuries
- “modern” language in the curriculum of European schools
- the Classical Method: the same basic procedures that were used for teaching Latin
- to learn for the sake of being “scholarly” or gaining a reading proficiency, and
no relation to the language of real communication

* Major characteristics and principles

① goals of the Grammar Translation Method
- able to read literature written in the target language
- to learn about grammar rules and vocabulary
- foreign language learning = good mental exercise to develop students’ minds
② role of teacher and of students
- teacher: very traditional, to have authority
- students: to do as a teacher says, able to learn what a teacher knows
③ teaching/learning process
- to translation from one language into another
- to study grammar deductively
- to memorize native language equivalents for target language vocabulary words
④ student-teacher and student-student interaction
- most interaction in class: from teacher to students
- little student initiation and little student-student interaction
⑤ how to deal with students’ feelings
- no principles
⑥ views about language and culture
- literary language > spoken language
- culture: to consist of literature and the fine arts
⑦ emphasized areas of language and language skills
- vocabulary and grammar, reading and writing
- much less attention given to speaking and listening, pronunciation
 ⑧ students’ native language
- the medium of instruction
- maintained as the reference system in the acquisition of the target language
⑨ evaluation
- written tests: translation, questions about target cultures to apply grammar rules
⑩ how to respond to student errors
- focus on accuracy
- important to have students get the correct answer

* Techniques
- translation of a literary passage
- reading comprehension questions
- antonyms/synonyms
- cognates
- deductive application of rules
- fill-in-the-blanks-exercise
- memorization
- use words in sentences
- composition

* Example
- contemporary texts for the teaching of foreign languages at college level
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds11pqmv_5A
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REurISE4trI

* Benefits
- to require few specialized skills in the part of teachers
- successful in leading a student toward a reading knowledge of a target language
- easy to construct tests of grammar rules and of translations
- easy to objectively score students’ grades

* Criticism
- a tedious experience and little motivation
- to create frustration for students
- little need for a speaking knowledge
- no theory and no literature that offers a rationale or justification
⇒ to lead the Reform Movement in language teaching

* Discussion
- a fundamental reason for learning another language
- the importance to learn about the target language
- view about culture in foreign language learning
- how to teach grammar: deductively or inductively
- usefulness of the Grammar Translation Method in foreign language learning