Grammar-Translation Method

Grammar-Translation Method

1. SOME EXPONENTS

   • Johann Seidenstüker
   • Karl Plötz
   • H.S. Ollendorf
   • Johann Meidinger

2. CHARACTERISTICS

   • First known in the United states as the Prussian Method
   • The student's native language is the medium of instruction
   • It dominated european and foreign language teaching from the 1840s to the 1940s
   • Also known as the "Classical Method", is one of the oldest and traditional English teaching methods
   • In Europe, it was used in the teaching of Latin and Greek for several centuries
   • Accuracy is emphasized
   • The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language practice
   • It approaches the language firts through detiled analysis of its grammar rules
   • Reading and writing are the mayor focus
   • Little or no systematic attention is paid to speaking or listening
   • Grammar rules are practiced through translation exercises
   • Vocabulary selection is only based on the reading texts used
   • Words are taught through bilingual word lists, dictionary study and memorization
   • Classes are taught in the student's mother tongue
   • There is a little active use of the target language
   • Instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words
   • Texts are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis
   • Reading of difficult classical texts begins early
   • Little or no attention is given to pronunciation

3. WEAKNESSES

   • It's a method for which is there no theory
   • This method makes no provision for training in speech but lays stress on reading
   • It's based in two suppositions: grammar is the heart of language and language can be easy learnt by translation
   • It hasn't psychological bases
   • It can prevent the student from developing the confidence to communicate in English
   • It ignores aspects as: acoustic image, phonetics and pronunciation
   • It considers that tranlation is the only procedure for the learning of vocabulary
   • It considers that the structure of words and sentences depend only grammatical rules
   • It could be tedious for students, for its requirement to memorize grammar rules and vocabulary, and its mandatory accuracy
   • Students could find it frustrating as they have to memorize words and rules
   • It gives the impression of seeing language as a dead language, whose texts must be analyzed and deciphered

4. STRENGTHS

   • This method is useful in the class in which there are a large number of students
   • It's benefitial to use in a class where students have different English levels
   • Foreingn phraseology is best interpreted and assimilated through translation and the process of interpretation
   • Allows to compare and contrast the foreign language with the mother tongue, facilitating its teaching
   • It requires few specialized skills on the part of techers
   • It helps teacher to clear the meaning of a word or a sentence in an easy way, translating them into the mother tongue
   • It can provides students a basic vocabulary in which to build skills for the new language
   • It gives an important support of the development of fluency in writtien skill

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