The Grammar – Translation Method

Introduction
The Grammar – Translation Method is one of method which is used by language teachers through the study of the grammar of the target language. It will be better if the teachers teach grammar for students in native language and this is more familiarity would help them speak and write their native language better.

REVIEWING THE PRINCIPLES

1. What are the goals of teachers who use the Grammar-Translation Method?
Students need to learn about the grammar rules and vocabulary of the target language.

2. What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?
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 to another, They also learn grammatical paradigms such as verb conjugations.

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 students initation and little student-student interaction.

5. How are the feelings of the students dealth 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 that students study. Culture is viewed as consisting of literatureand the fine arts.

7. What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?
Vocabulary and grammar are emphasized. Reading ans writing are primary skills that the students work on. There is much less attention given to speaking and listening.

8. What is the role of 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 to the target language or vice versa are often used.

10. How does the teacher respond to student error?
If students make errors or do not know an answer, the teacher supplies them with the correct answer.


REVIEWING THE TECHNIQUES

Translation of a literary passage

The reading passage then provides the focus for several classes: vocabulary and grammatical structures in the passage are studied in subsequent lessons.

Reading comprehension questions

Students answer questions in the target language based on their understanding of the reading passage.

Antonyms/synonyms

A similar exercise could be done by asking students to find synonyms for a particular set of words.

Cognates

Students are taught to recognize cognates by learning the spelling or sound patterns that correspond between the languages.

Deductive application of rule

Grammar rules are presented with examples.

Fill-in-the-blanks

Students are given a series of sentences with words missing.

Memorization

Students are given lists of target language vocabulary words and their native language equivalents and are asked to memorize them.

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

Instead of creating a composition, students are asked to prepare a precis of the reading passage.