Grammar Translation Method

Grammar-Translation Method (1840s and 1940s)

The Grammar Translation Method was the principal method in Europe in the 19th century. The goal
was to learn a language in order to read its literature or benefit from the intellectual development
that resulted from foreign language study.

Objectives of GTM

To be able to read literature written in the target language

To be able to translate from one language to another

To develop reading and writing skill

It was based on teaching grammar structures and vocabulary with direct translations. Latin language
(dead language) was successfully taught by using Grammar Translation Method. Little attention was
paid to interpersonal communication or pronunciation.

The principles of the Grammar Translation Method are:

It emphasizes the study and translation of the written language.

Successful learners are those who can translate the language, even though they cannot communicate
orally.

Reading and writing are the main language skills. Focus on reading and writing

Rote memorization of voc.

Teachers play an authoritarian role in the classroom and the class is very teacher centered.
Students must learn grammar rules overtly. Grammar is taught deductively, by presentation and
study of grammar rules, which are then practiced through translation exercises.

The students’ native language is the medium of instruction and is also used as comparison with the
language studied.

The structures of the foreign languages are best learnt when compared and contrast with those of
mother tongue

Accuracy was emphasized.

Little attention was paid to interpersonal communication or pronunciation.

This method used a structured approach to studying grammar.

Usually a grammar rule is presented, followed by a vocabulary list and translation exercises from
selected texts. Other activities which may be used are: - reading comprehension questions about the
text - vocabulary is selected from the text to be memorized - fill in the blank exercises - writing
sentences with the new vocabulary - writing compositions from a given topic

Advantages of GTM

An effective way for application of grammar and sentence structure

Few demands on teachers

Least stressful for students

Communication between the teacher and the learners does not cause linguistic problems. Even
teachers who are not fluent in English can teach English through this method.

Translation is the easiest way of explaining meanings or words and phrases from one language into
another. Any other method of explaining vocabulary items in the second language is found time
consuming. A lot of time is wasted if the meanings of lexical items are explained through definitions
and illustrations in the second language.

Disadvantage of GTM

Wrong idea of what language is

Less learners’ motivation

Create frustration for learners: the students left with a sense of frustration when they travel to
countries where the studied language is used (they can’t understand what people say and have to
struggle mightily to express themselves at the most basic level)

It is an unnatural method. The natural order of learning a language is listening, speaking, reading and
writing. That is the way how the child learns his mother tongue in natural surroundings. But in the
Grammar Translation Method the teaching of the second language starts with the teaching of
reading. Thus, the learning process is reversed. This poses problems.

Speech is neglected. The Grammar Translation Method lays emphasis on reading and writing. It
neglects speech. Thus, the students who are taught English through this method fail to express
themselves adequately in spoken English.

Exact translation is not possible. Translation is, indeed, a difficult task and exact translation from one
language to another is not always possible. A language is the result of various customs, traditions,
and modes of behaviour of a speech community and these traditions differ from community to
community. There are several lexical items in one language, which have no synonyms/equivalents in
another language. For instance, the meaning of the English word ‘table’ does not fit in such
expression as the ‘table of contents’, ‘table of figures’, ‘multiplication table’, ‘time table’ and ‘table
the resolution’, etc. English prepositions are also difficult to translate.

It does not give pattern practice. A person can learn a language only when he internalizes its patterns
to the extent that they form his habit. But the Grammar Translation Method does not provide any
such practice to the learner of a language. It rather attempts to teach language through rules and not
by use. Researchers in linguistics have proved that to speak any language, whether native or foreign
entirely by rule is quite impossible. Language learning means acquiring certain skills, which can be
learnt through practice and not by just memorizing rules. The persons who have learnt a foreign or
second language through this method find it difficult to give up the habit of first thinking in their
mother tongue and then translating their ideas into the second language. They, therefore, fail to get
proficiency in the second language approximating that in the first language. The method, therefore,
suffers from certain weaknesses for which there is no remedy

Typical grammar-translation lesson

A typical grammar-translation lesson begins with a short reading, often about some place or hero
from a country where the target language is spoken. This reading is followed by a list of vocabulary
words taken from the reading. Students spend a great deal of time memorizing the vocabulary.
There are often questions about the reading to be answered, usually in written form. The next part
of the lesson is a grammar point to be learned. Following the grammar explanation there are
exercises for students to practice the grammar points translating from the native language to the
target language and vice versa. The goal of the lesson is to develop the ability to translate between
the target language and the students’ primary language. During the lesson, the teacher and students
all speak in their primary language. The focus of grammar-translation lessons is almost entirely on
the written language. They are evaluated with tests of grammar and vocabulary as well as with
passages that they are required to translate.

Typical Techniques

Translation of a Literary Passage: translating target language to native language

Reading Comprehension Questions: finding information in a passage, making inferences and relating
to personal experience

Antonyms/Synonyms: finding antonyms and synonyms for words or sets of words

Deductive Application of Rule

Fill-in-the-blanks: filling in gaps in sentences with new words or items of a particular grammar type

Memorization: memorizing vocabulary lists, grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms

Use words in sentences: students create sentences to illustrate they know the meaning and use of
new words.

Composition: Students write about a topic using the target language.

1.3. The Direct Method

The Direct Method (also known as the Natural Method) arose towards the end of the 19th century
when, reacting against what they considered to be the shortcomings of the Grammar Translation
Method. This method gets its name from the fact that students are encouraged to make direct
associations between objects or concepts and the corresponding words in the target language. It was
also a total immersion method in direct contrast to grammar translation in which all instruction was
in the students' L1.

The Direct Method is based on the idea that learning L2 must imitate the natural way humans learn
any language, that is, the child’s learning of L1, which takes place without the interference of any
other language. The primary goals of the method were for learners to communicate and to think
entirely in L2. This means that only the target language should be used without the need for direct
explanation of grammar points. The method emphasised oral interaction, spontaneous use of
language, no translation between first and second languages, and little or no analysis of grammar
rules.

Practitioners of this method use L2 exclusively and never use translation. Everyday vocabulary and
structures are taught, and grammar is learnt inductively by generalizing from examples. Oral
communication skills are taught by question and answer exchanges between teachers and learners,
with all new learning points being introduced orally.

Concrete vocabulary is introduced in context and taught through realia, pictures, pantomime and
demonstration. Abstract vocabulary is taught by association of ideas. Emphasis is placed on correct
pronunciation. Self-correction of errors is encouraged. The emphasis was placed on correct usage
and pronunciation.

The objective are speaking and listening comprehension, not translation. It attempted to give
students practice in spontaneous oral communication, and encouragement in thinking in the target
language.

A goal of the method is to get students to think in the target language. Direct method lessons are
organized around topics, such as body parts, food and clothing. As students become more proficient,
the topics include many of the cultural aspects of the countries where the target language is spoken.
Students learn about the geography, history and customs of the target culture. In this process
vocabulary is emphasized and grammar is only taught inductively. Teachers work on pronunciation
and standard grammatical form, but they help students to self-correct rather than correcting directly.
Even though speaking and listening skills are emphasized, reading and writing are taught from the
beginning. Teachers create situations in which students can communicate for real purposes.
Students are evaluated through actual use of the target language with activities such as oral
interviews and assigned written paragraphs.

Key Features:
(1) Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the target language.

(2) Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught.

(3) Grammar is taught inductively.

(4) Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration, realia, and pictures; abstract vocabulary is
taught by association of ideas.

(5) Both speech and listening comprehension are taught.

(6) Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.

Typical Techniques

v Reading aloud: students take turns reading sections of a passage, play, or whatever teaching
materials. The teacher uses gestures, pictures, realia, examples, or other means to make the
meaning of the section clear.

v Question and answer exercise: students ask and answer Qs in full sentences and practice new
words and grammatical rules.

v Self-correction: To make students self-corrected by asking them to make a choice between what
they said and an alternative answer he supplied; or the teacher may repeat a student said, using a
questioning tone or to repeat what the students said and stop before the error to signal

that something is wrong with students’ answers.

v Conversation exercise: for communication purpose, teaching contains conversational activities:

starting with questions in the target language which contained a certain grammar structure, then let
students ask Qs with each other with the same sentence patterns. Finally, let student have free talk.

v Fill-in-blank exercise
v Dictation: a normal speed – phrase by phrase, normal speed again.

v Map drawing: A map with unnamed geographical features. The teacher gives directions and
students label the map. Then change the roles.

v Paragraph writing: to write a paragraph in their own words by using the teaching materials a
model.

The following principles are seen in the guidelines for teaching oral language and are still followed in
contemporary Berlitz schools:

Never translate: demonstrate

Never jump around: follow your plan

Never explain: act

Never go too fast: keep the pace of the student

Never make a speech: ask questions

Never speak too slowly: speak normall

Advantages:

v It follows the natural order in which a child learns L1, that is, listening, speaking, reading, writing.
v It lays great emphasis on speaking, the most important skill for many learners.

v Students learn the correct pronunciation and better oral skills because no native language is used
and communication is main activity in the class.

v It avoids the unnatural block of translation in the communication process.

v Learners learn the language, not about the language.

v Learners have an active role.

v Lively classroom procedures motivate the learner.

v The learning is contextualized.

v The emphasis on speech makes it attractive for those who need real communication in L2.

v The teaching of vocabulary through realia brings authenticity into the classroom.

Disadvantages (as observed by its critics)

v Learning L2 is NOT like learning L1. The child learning L1 has no previous language-learning
experience, but the learner learning L2 does.

v There is little systematic structural practice.

v Learners run the risk of inducing incorrect rules.

v The method can be effectively used only by teachers who are native speakers.

v The learner is confronted with unstructured situations too soon.

v A great deal of teacher-energy is required.

v Students may be afraid of asking Qs.

v It’s hard to practice the methods in a class with more than 20 students. It needs a great amount of
teachers

v It’s hard to explain abstract words.

v It takes much time for teacher to explain the words that might be trivial.

The Audio-lingual Method

The Audiolingual/Audiovisual Method (also called Army Method; mim-mem method, Aural oral
approach.) is derived from "The Army Method," so called because it was developed through a U.S.
Army programme devised after World War II to produce speakers proficient in the languages of
friend and foes. It was the first scientific method since it has roots in both psychology and linguistics.
In this method, grounded in the habit formation model of behaviourist psychology and on a
Structural Linguistics theory of language, the emphasis was on memorization through pattern drills
and conversation practices rather than promoting communicative ability. The ALM has been
described as the product of a marriage of Stimulus-Response (B.F. Skinner) and behaviourism.

Behaviourism

Behaviourism is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things which organisms
do — including acting, thinking and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviours. It contends
that leaning occurs through associations, habit formation and reinforcement. When the learner
produces the desired behaviour and is reinforced positively, it is likely that behaviour be emitted
again. Behaviorist theory professes that certain traits of living things, and in this case humans, could
be trained through a system of reinforcement—correct use of a trait would receive positive feedback
while incorrect use of that trait would receive negative feedback.

The behaviourist view of learning emphasises the repetitive conditioning of learner responses.
Behaviourism is based on the proposition that behaviour can be researched scientifically. Learning is
an automatic process which does not involve any cognitive processes in the brain.
Pavlov’s “Respondent Conditioning” results from the association of two stimuli, such as causing dogs
to salivate at the sound of a tuning fork.

Skinner developed “Operant Conditioning” where the “Stimulus-Response” association is elicited

through selective reinforcement (rewards or punishments) to shape behaviour

Behaviourists argued that teachers could link together content involving lower level skills and create
a learning ‘chain’ to teach higher skills. Nevertheless, while circumstances and classroom practice
might still benefit from such an approach, the limitations of behaviourism are apparent as it lacks
recognition of problem solving and learning strategies.

Theory of language

Behaviourist Language Theory is based upon Structuralist Linguistics and is identified with the
Audiolingual/ Audiovisual method, - associated with the use of rote learning with repetitive drills.

• Language is composed of structural building blocks (sounds, syllables, morphemes, words,

sentences, phrases)

• particular parts of speech occupy particular slots in sentences; in order to create new sentences,
students learn which part of speech can go into which slot

• Language forms do not occur by themselves; they occur in context

• native language and target language have separate systems; they should be kept apart so that
students’ native language interferes as little as possible with target language

• Speech is more basic than writing

• The “natural order” (i.e. the order in which children learn) is listening, speaking, reading, writing

• Each language has a finite number of patterns; pattern practice helps students to form habits which
enable them to use the patterns.
• Language cannot be separated from culture

Theory of learning

Learning is a process of forming habits; the teacher controls the learning environment and learners
are empty vessels into which the teacher pours knowledge.

• Language learning is a process of habit formation; the more often an item is repeated, the stronger
the habit formation and the greater the learning

• It is important to prevent learners from making errors; errors lead to bad habits, and should be
immediately corrected by the teacher

• Positive reinforcement helps the students todevelop correct habits

• Students should “overlearn,” i.e. learn to answer automatically with no analysis

• The major objective of language teaching should be the acquisition of structural patterns; students
will learn vocabulary afterward.

• The learning of a FL should be the same as the acquisition of the native language; we do not need
to memorize rules in order to use our native language; the rules necessary for target language use
will be figured out or learned through induction

• Contrastive analysis will reveal those areas where native language habits need to be replaced by
target language habits.

Structuralism

The structural view to language is the view behind the audio-lingual method. This approach focused
on examining how the elements of language related to each other in the present, that is,
‘synchronically‘ rather than ‘diachronically‘. It was also argued that linguistic signs were composed of
two parts, a signifier (thesound pattern of a word) and a signified (the concept or meaning of the
word). The study of language aims at describing the performance ,the“parole” as it is the only
observable part of languageStructuralism

Features of ALM

New material is presented in the form of a dialogue.

Based on the principle that language learning is habit formation, the method fosters dependence on
mimicry, memorization of set phrases and over-learning

• Successful responses are reinforced.

• There is great effort to get students to produce error-free utterances.

• Structures are sequenced and taught one at a time.

• Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills.

• Little or no grammatical explanations are provided;

• grammar is taught inductively.

• Skills are sequenced: Listening, speaking, reading and writing are developed in order.

• Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context.

• Teaching points are determined by contrastive analysis between L1 and L2.

• There is abundant use of language laboratories, tapes and visual aids.

• There is an extended pre-reading period at the beginning of the course.

• Great importance is given to precise native-like pronunciation.

• Very little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted, but discouraged among and by
the students.

• Successful responses are reinforced; great care is taken to prevent learner errors.

• There is a tendency to focus on manipulation of the target language and to disregard content and
meaning.

Hints for Using Audio-lingual Drills in L2

Hints for Using Audio-lingual Drills in L2 Teaching

1. The teacher must be careful to insure that all of the utterances which students will make are
actually within the practiced pattern. For example, the use of the AUX verb have should not suddenly
switch to have as a main verb.

2. Drills should be conducted as rapidly as possible so as to insure automaticity and to establish a

system.

3. Ignore all but gross errors of pronunciation when drilling for grammar practice.

4. Use of shortcuts to keep the pace o drills at a maximum. Use hand motions, signal cards, notes,
etc. to cue response. The teacher is a choir director.

5. Use normal English stress, intonation, and juncture patterns conscientiously.

6. Drill material should always be meaningful. If the content words are not known, teach their
meanings.
7. Intersperse short periods of drill (about 10 minutes) with very brief alternative activities to avoid
fatigue and boredom.

8. Introduce the drill in this way:

a. Focus (by writing on the board, for example)

b. Exemplify (by speaking model sentences)

c. Explain (if a simple grammatical explanation is needed)

d. Drill

9. Don’t stand in one place; move about the room standing next to as many different students as
possible to spot check their production. Thus you will know who to give more practice to during
individual drilling.

10. Use the "backward buildup" technique for long and/or difficult patterns.

--tomorrow

--in the cafeteria tomorrow

--will be eating in the cafeteria tomorrow

--Those boys will be eating in the cafeteria tomorrow.

11. Arrange to present drills in the order of increasing complexity of student response. The question
is: How much internal organization or decision making must the student do in order to make a
response in this drill. Thus: imitation first, single-slot substitution next, then free response last.

Role of teacher
• provides correct model of native language for mimicry

• reinforces good habits; punishes bad habits

Typical lesson

A typical lesson would be as follows: (1) Students first hear a dialogue containing the key structures
of the lesson. They repeat and memorize them. The teacher pays attention to pronunciation and
fluency. Correction is immediate. (2) The dialogue is adapted to the students’ interests or situation.
(3) Certain key structures are selected and used as the basis for repetition and pattern drills. These
are first practiced in chorus and then individually. (4) Students may refer to their textbook to do
follow-up reading, writing or vocabulary activities.

Techniques/strategies

ALM makes much use of drilling (see the handout on drilling)

Summary

Contrastive analysis:

Errors should be avoided and corrected right away.

Teacher can anticipate the learning of difficulties (Sheep, ship)

Behaviorism

S-R chain a process of habit formation

Positive reinforcement

Mimicry Drills (repetition Drill )

T: I am going to school.

Ss: I am going to school.

Other features

Depending on context.

-Overlearning: students learn to answer automatically without stopping to think.

-Mother tongue by teacher is permitted.

-Language cannot be separated from culture.

New material is presented in dialogue form

Dependence on imitation & memorization of set phrases & overlearning.

Vocabulary & structures are learned thorough imitation & are presented in dialogue patterns.

Little/no grammatical explanation. Grammar is taught by inductive analogy rather than by deductive
explanation.

Pronunciation is strictly required.

Tape/language labs/visual aids is needed.

Errors lead to the formation of bad habits

Errors are to be avoided at all costs.

Advantages

Students learn to use or think in target language at first.

- Oral efficiency.

- Stress the teaching of culture.

- Students can deal with everyday situations in target language

Disadvantages

Unable to transfer skills to real communication outside the classroom.

- Did not consider the variety of learning styles and preferences of students.

What is CLT?

The “communicative approach to the teaching of foreign languages” — also known as

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) or the “communicative approach” — emphasizes learning a
language through genuine communication.

Learning a new language is easier and more enjoyable when it is truly meaningful. Communicative
language teaching (CLT) is an approach to the teaching of second and foreign languages that
emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language. It is also
referred to as “communicative approach to the teaching of foreign languages” or simply the
“communicative approach”.

Communicative language teaching (CLT), or the communicative approach, is an approavh to language

teaching that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of study. Language
learners in environments utilizing CLT techniques learn and practice the target language through
interaction with one another and the instructor, study of "authentic texts" (those written in the
target language for purposes other than language learning), and use of the language in class
combined with use of the language outside of class..

An effective knowledge of a language is more than merely knowing vocabulary and rules of
grammar and pronunciation. Learners need to be able to use the language appropriately in any social
[Link] agree that meaningful communication supports language learning and that
classroom activities must focus on the learner’s authentic needs to communicate information and
ideas.

Grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary are, of course, necessary parts of effective communication.
With the communicative method, two primary approaches may be taken:

1-Some teachers prefer to teach a rule, then follow it with practice.

2-Most, though, feel grammar will be naturally discovered through meaningful communicative
interaction.

Communicative Language Teaching

The term "Communicative Language Teaching" (CLT) means different things to different teachers. To
some teachers, it simply means a greater emphasis on the use of the target language in the
classroom, and in particular, a greater emphasis on orality. To other teachers, communication entails
the exchange of unknown information between interlocutors. And finally, some teachers understand
communication in the most global, anthropological terms, that is, as a cultural-bond system for
making meaning. Despite their various definitions of CLT, all the module instructors seem to
advocate for a communicative approach.

Principles of The Communicative Approach:

Language learning is learning to communicate using the target language.

The language used to communicate must be appropriate to the situation, the roles of the speakers,
the setting and the register. The learner needs to differentiate between a formal and an informal
style.

Communicative activities are essential. Activities should be presented in a situation or context and
have a communicative purpose. Typical activities of this approach are: games, problem-solving tasks,
and role-play. There should be information gap, choice and feedback involved in the activities.

Learners must have constant interaction with and exposure to the target language.

Development of the four macroskills — speaking, listening, reading and writing — is integrated from
the beginning, since communication integrates the different skills.

The topics are selected and graded regarding age, needs, level, and students’ interest.

Motivation is central. Teachers should raise students’ interest from the beginning of the lesson.

The role of the teacher is that of a guide, a facilitator or an instructor.

Trial and error is considered part of the learning process.

Evaluation concerns not only the learners’ accuracy but also their fluency.

Its basic characteristics:

1. learning to communicate through interaction .

2. The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.

3. learners focus on language and the learning process itself.

4. An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences.

5. linking classroom language learning with language activities.

 The communicative approach is concerned with the unique individual needs of each learner. By
making the language relevant to the world rather than the classroom, learners acquire the desired
skills rapidly and agreeably.

CLT is the most effective way to teach second and foreign languages. However, audio-lingual
methodology is still prevalent in many text books and teaching materials.

Using the Method

The most common educational model applied in the context of the Communicative Method is the
Functional-Notional approach, which emphasizes the organization of the syllabus.

This breaks down the use of language into 5 functional categories that can be more easily
analyzed: personal (feelings, etc.), interpersonal (social and working relationships), directive
(influencing others), referential (reporting about things, events, people or language itself), and
imaginative (creativity and artistic expression).

These 5 broad functions are then delivered by the teacher in the classroom using the ‘3 Ps’ teaching
model, which stand for Presentation, Practice and Production.

Main Features and Techniques:

Meaning is paramount.

Dialogues, if used, enter around communicative functions and are not normally memorized.

Contextualization is a basic premise. (Meaning cannot be understood out of context. Teachers using
this approach will present a grammar topic in a meaningful context. Example: If the new topic to
teach is Present Continuous, the teacher will not mime the action of ‘walking’ and ask: What am I
doing? I am walking. Instead, the teacher will show, say, pictures of her last trip and tell the students
something like: I have pictures of my vacation. Look, in this picture I am with my friends. We are
having lunch at a very expensive restaurant. In this other picture, we are swimming at the beach.

Language learning is learning to communicate and effective communication is sought. (When

learners are involved in real communication, their natural strategies for language acquisition will be
used, and this will allow them to learn to use the language.)

Drilling may occur, but peripherally.

Comprehensible pronunciation is sought.

Translation may be used where students need or benefit from it.

Reading and writing can start from the first day.

Communicative competence is the desired goal (i.e., the ability to use the linguistic system effectively
and appropriately).

Teachers help learners in any way that motivates them to work with the language.

Students are expected to interact with other people, either in the flesh, through pair and group work,
or in their writings.

The role of the teacher

The role of the teacher is to be facilitator of his students‟ learning. He suggests that language
teachers need to assist learners by providing them with frameworks, patterns and rules to develop
their communicative language skills.

The Demerits:

Teacher must be a very knowledgeable person.

Students and teacher must understand each other.

.Inadequate use of authentic materials can damage the course. Theoretical knowledge of teacher
needs to be very good in practice. The monitoring ability of the teacher must be very good Grammar.
Teaching Practices make application of this approach difficult.
CLT approach focuses on fluency but not accuracy.

The weaker learners who struggle and cannot use the target language continue to make mistakes
and eventually give up.

During pair and group work activities teacher focus on accuracy through error correction because
learners need to understand their mistakes.

The CLT approach is great for Intermediate and Advanced learners, but for Beginners some
controlled practice is needed.

The adoption of a communicative approach raises important issues for; Teacher training, Materials
development, Testing. Evaluation. So, it is not suitable for every teacher and every class.

Eclectic Approach

1. Eclectic approach is a method of language learning/teaching that combines various approaches

and methodologies to teach language depending on the aims of the lesson and the abilities of the
learners. In this approach teacher has more flexibility & adaptability to choose best elements
according to the need & aim of the students. Different teaching methods are borrowed and adapted
to suit the requirement of the learners. It breaks the monotony of the class. There are varied
approaches and methods used for language teaching.

2. In eclectic approach, the teacher can choose from these different methods and approaches:

3. Grammar Translation Method Direct Method Structural Situational Approach Audio-lingual/Audio

visual Method Bilingual Method Communicative Language Teaching Total Physical Response The
Silent Way