Grammar-Translation Method

  1- What were the purposes of using the Grammar-Translation Method in the early

20th century?

It was used (1) for the purpose of helping students read and appreciate foreign language

literature. (2) It was also hoped that, through the study of the grammar of the target

language, 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. (3) 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.

2- What is the rationale of using the Grammar-Translation Method?

(1) A fundamental purpose of learning a foreign language is to be able to read literature

written in the target language. (2) Students need to learn about the grammar rules and

vocabulary of the target language. (3) It is believed that studying a foreign language

provides students with good mental exercise which helps develop their minds.

3- State the main principles of the Grammar-Translation Method.

1) A fundamental purpose of learning a foreign language is to be able to read literature

written in it. Literary language is superior to spoken language.

2) An important goal is for students to be able to translate each language into the other.

3) The ability to communicate in the target language is not a goal of foreign language

instruction.

4) The primary skills to be developed are reading and writing. Little attention is given to

speaking and listening, and almost none to pronunciation.

5) The teacher is the authority in the classroom. It is very important that students get the

correct answer.

6) It is possible to find native language equivalents for all target language words.

7) Learning is facilitated through attention to similarities between the target language

and the native language.

8) Deductive application of an explicit grammar rule is a useful pedagogical technique.

9) Language learning provides good mental exercise.

10)Verb conjugations and other grammatical paradigms should be committed to memory.

4- What are the goals of teachers who use the Grammar-Translation Method?

(1) A fundamental purpose of learning a foreign language is to be able to read literature

written in the target language. (2) Students need to learn about the grammar rules and

vocabulary of the target language. (3) It is believed that studying a foreign language

provides students with good mental exercise which helps develop their minds.

5- 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 the teacher says so they

can learn what s/he knows.

6- What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?

(1) Students are taught to translate from one language to another. (2) 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. (3) They also

learn grammatical paradigms such as verb conjugations. (4) They memorize nativelanguage

equivalents for target-language vocabulary words.

7- What is the nature of student-teacher interaction? What is the nature of studentstudent

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.

8- How is the language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Literary language is considered superior to spoken language. Culture is viewed as consisting

of literature and the fine arts.

9- What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are

emphasized?

(1) Vocabulary and grammar are emphasized. (2) Reading and writing are the primary

skills that the students work on. (3) There is much less attention given to speaking and

listening. (4) Pronunciation receives little, if any, attention.

10- What is the role of the students' native language?

(1) The meaning of the target language is made clear by translating it into the students'

native language. (2) The language that is used in class is mostly the students’ native

language.

11- How is evaluation accomplished?

(1) Written tests in which students are asked to translate from their native language to the

target language or vice versa are often used. (2) Questions about the target culture or (3)

questions that ask students to apply grammar rules are also common.

12- How does the teacher respond to student errors?

(1) Having the students get the correct answer is considered very important. (2) If

students make errors or do not know an answer, the teacher supplies them with the

correct answer.

13- What are the main techniques associated with the Grammar-Translation

Method?

14-Discuss ……….. as a technique of the Grammar-Translation Method.

1) Translation of a literary passage

a) Students translate a reading passage from the target language into their native

language.

b) The reading passage then provides the focus for several classes: vocabulary and

grammatical structures in the passage are studied in subsequent lessons.

c) 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.

d) The translation may be written or spoken or both.

e) Students should not translate idioms and the like literally, but rather in a way that

shows that they understand their meaning.

2) Reading comprehension questions

a) Students answer questions in the target language based on their understanding of the

reading passage.

b) The questions are sequenced so that the first group of questions asks for information

contained within the reading passage.

c) The second group of questions requires students to make inferences based on their

understanding of the passage.

d) The third group of questions requires students to relate the passage to their own

experience.

3) Antonyms/synonyms

a) Students are given one set of words and are asked to find antonyms in the reading

passage.

b) Students could also be asked to find synonyms for a particular set of words.

c) Students might be asked to define a set of words based on their understanding of them

as they occur in the reading passage.

4) Cognates

a) Students are taught to recognize cognates by learning the spelling or sound patterns

that correspond between the languages.

b) 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.

5) Deductive application of rule

a) Grammar rules are presented with examples.

b) Exceptions to each rule are also noted. Once students understand a rule, they are

asked to apply it to some different examples.

6) Fill-in-the-blanks

a) 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.

7) Memorization

a) Students are given lists of target language vocabulary words and their native language

equivalents and are asked to memorize them.

b) Students are also required to memorize grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms

such as verb conjugations.

8) Use words in sentences

a) 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.

9) Composition

a) The teacher gives the students a topic to write about in the target language.

b) The topic is based upon some aspect of the reading passage of the lesson.

c) Sometimes, instead of creating a composition, students are asked to prepare a precis

of the reading passage.

15- Highlights of the Grammar-Translation Method

1) A fundamental reason for learning a foreign language is to be able to read the

literature written in the target language.

2) It is important to learn about the target language.

3) Culture is viewed as consisting of literature and the fine arts.

4) Translation is a valuable exercise.

5) Grammar should be presented deductively.

Sources: faculty.ksu.edu.sa/.../Chapter%20Two%20%20The%20Grammar-02.09.2012

D.N. Aloysius