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The Grammar Translation Method was originally developed for teaching Latin and Greek as dead languages. It focuses on learning grammar rules and translating texts word-for-word between the target language and native language. While it has disadvantages like not developing communicative skills, it still has value for certain goals and contexts. The method is based on theories of developing logical thinking and exposure to literature. It remains commonly used due to teacher skills required and ease of testing grammar knowledge through translation exercises. Overall, its appropriate use depends on the learning objectives and needs of the students.
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- 1. Answer: Humanistic Theory (Maslow) The focus of the humanistic perspective is on the self, which translates into "YOU", and "your" perception of "your" experiences. This veiw argues that you are free to choose your own behavior, rather than reacting to environmental stimuli and reinforcers. Issues dealing with self-esteem, self-fulfillment, and needs are paramount. The major focus is to facilitate personal development. Two major theorists associated with this view are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Carl Rogers feels that each person operates from a unique frame of reference in terms of buliding Self Regard or their self concept. Self Concept is one's own belief about themselves. These beliefs stem, in part, from the notion of Unconditional Postive Regard and Conditional Positive Regard. Unconditional positive regard occurs when individuals, especially parents, demonstrate unconditional love. Conditioned positive regard is when that love seems to only come when certain condtions are met. Rogers theory states that psychologically healthy people enjoy life to the fullest, hence, they are seen as fully functioning people. I found this information on http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d46/psy/dev/Fall98/Theories/humanistic.html and if you need more info try the answers.com searching results for further info too. Abraham Maslow feels that indivduals have certain needs that must be met in an hierarchical fashion, from the lowest to highest. These include basic needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, achievement needs, and ultimately, Self-Actualization. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the needs must be achieved in order. For instance, one would be unable to fulfill their safety needs if their physiological needs have not been met. The Grammar Translation Method Orrieux, C. (1989: 79) History of Ancient Civilizations “Latin and Ancient Greek are known as “dead languages”, based on the fact that people no longer speak them for the purpose of interactive communication. Yet they are still acknowledged as important languages to learn (especially Latin) for the purpose of gaining access to classical literature, and up until fairly recently, for the kinds of grammar training that led to the “mental dexterity” considered so important in any higher education study stream.” Morris, S. (1996: 12) Techniques in Latin Teaching “Latin has been studied for centuries, with the prime objectives of learning how to read classical Latin texts, understanding the fundamentals of grammar and translation, and gaining insights into some important foreign influences Latin has had on the development of other European languages. The method used to teach it overwhelmingly bore those
- 2. objectives in mind, and came to be known as the Classical Method. It is now more commonly known in Foreign Language Teaching circles as the Grammar Translation Method.” The Grammar Translation Method Howatt in his book, The Empirical Evidence for the Influence of L1 in Interlanguage (1984: 98) points out The Classical Method (Grammar translation Method) was originally associated with the teaching of Latin and – to a much lesser extent – ancient Greek. The aim of teaching Latin and Greek was (and is) obviously not so that learners would be able to speak them. The aims were/are rather to develop : • Logical thinking • Intellectual capacities to attain a generally educational and civilizing effect • An ability to read original texts in the languages concerned , at least in the better learners. Interestingly, Howatt (1984: 131) also states: “Grammar and Translation are actually not the distinctive features of GT, since they were already well-accepted as basic principles of language teaching. What was new was the use of invented, graded sentences rather than authentic literary texts in order to make language learning easier.” Key features According to Prator and Celce-Murcia in Teaching English as a Second Foreign Language (1979:3), the key features of the Grammar Translation Method are as follows: 1) Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language. 2) Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words. 3) Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given. 4) Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words. 5) Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early. 6) Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis. 7) Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother tongue.
- 3. 8) Little or no attention is given to pronunciation. Typical Techniques Diane Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:13) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with the Grammar Translation Method. The listing here is in summary form only. 1) Translation of a Literary Passage (Translating target language to native language) 2) Reading Comprehension Questions (Finding information in a passage, making inferences and relating to personal experience) 3) Antonyms/Synonyms (Finding antonyms and synonyms for words or sets of words). 4) Cognates (Learning spelling/sound patterns that correspond between L1 and the target language) 5) Deductive Application of Rule (Understanding grammar rules and their exceptions, then applying them to new examples) 6) Fill-in-the-blanks (Filling in gaps in sentences with new words or items of a particular grammar type). 7) Memorization (Memorizing vocabulary lists, grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms) 8) Use Words in Sentences (Students create sentences to illustrate they know the meaning and use of new words) 9) Composition (Students write about a topic using the target language)
- 4. Disadvantages The Grammar Translation Method may make the language learning experience uninspiring and boring. The Grammar Translation Method may also left the students 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) This method neither approaches nor encourages the students’ communicative competence. Reasons why it still used The Grammar Translation Method is still common in many countries – even popular. Brown in his book Incremental Speech Language (1994) attempts to explain why the method is still employed by stating: “This method requires few specialized skills on the part of teachers.” “Grammar rules and Translation Tests are easy to construct and can be objectively scored.” “Many standardized tests of foreign languages still do not attempt to test communicative abilities, so students have little motivation to go beyond grammar analogies, translations and other written exercises.” Conclusions The Grammar Translation Method was developed for the study of “dead” languages and to facilitate access to those languages’ classical literature. That’s the way it should stay. English is certainly not a dead or dying language, so any teacher that takes “an approach for dead language study” into an English language classroom should perhaps think about taking up Math or Science instead. Rules, universals and memorized principles apply to those disciplines – pedagogy and communicative principles do not. }------------------------- Methodology: the grammar translation method By Jonathan Marks
- 5. Level: Starter/beginner, Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, Upper intermediate, Advanced Print Email Share Comment Rate A discussion on the use of the grammar translation method in English teaching. There are many books mentioned that grammar translation is a out of date teaching method and there isn't any theory behind it. Personally, I know that it still be used in some fields, such as engineering. Is it true that there isn't any theory behind it? If not, what is the theory that grammar translation belong to? Whenisbetterto use grammartranslationapproach? Introduction Grammar translation (hereafter GT) was originally associated with the teaching of Latin and – to a much lesser extent - ancient Greek. Interestingly, as Howatt (1984:131) points out, 'grammar' and 'translation' are actually not the distinctive features of GT, since they were already well-accepted as basic principles of language teaching. What was new was the use of invented, graded sentences rather than authentic(!) literary texts in order to make language learning easier. The aim of teaching Latin and Greek was (and is) obviously not so that learners would be able to speak them. The aims were/are rather: to develop logical thinking to develop intellectual capacities and to have a generally educational and civilizing effect to develop, at least in the better learners, an ability to read original texts in the languages concerned to improve the standard of learners' L1 (This last point is certainly true for English. There's a long tradition of setting Latin up as a model for English, and trying to squeeze English into the framework of Latin grammar, even among those professionally engaged in working with languages - as recently as a few years ago, one correspondent seriously suggested in a letter to The Linguist (“the official journal of the Institute of Linguists”) that a thorough knowledge of Latin is an essential requisite for being able to use English properly! And in the introduction to one Latin primer I've got, the author writes that pupils who drop Latin after one or two years “will not have wasted their time, for they will have spent many lessons in learning how their own language works.”) There have been various criticisms of the use of GT for the teaching of modern languages, and particularly English. Let's have a look at some of these objections and see if they really justify consigning GT to the dustbin of history.
- 6. Objectionone GT emphasizes the written language at the expense of the spoken. But being able to speak, and to understand the spoken language, are higher priorities than reading and writing for most learners. Even if we strive to provide plenty of speaking practice, it's probably a good idea to include time for writing as a regular thread in lessons. Writing gives learners time to be reflective, to experiment and see the results of their attempts, to stop and consider “Is this OK?”, “Is this really what I want to say?”, “Is there a better way of expressing this?” - and to consult dictionaries, grammar books, other learners and the teacher to help them answer their questions and doubts. Sometimes we might specify the content of writing exercises precisely, and on other occasions we can give a more open-ended instruction such as: “Write some of the sentences that we've been practising (orally) in this lesson” or “Write a paragraph using some vocabulary that was new for you in this lesson.” Objectiontwo GT uses a graded grammatical syllabus, and assumes that learners will progress towards mastery of the language by gradually accumulating an accurate command of each item in the syllabus. But most learners, and especially adults, want/need to start using the language straight away; they haven't got time to learn it first and only then start using it. We can adopt a two-track approach, where some activities are geared towards promoting fluency in the use of whatever English the learners have acquired, and other activities focus on particular items of grammar, providing clarification and practice. We should not expect these items to become acquired immediately and used accurately ever after; they will need to be recycled, focused on again, and used repeatedly in various contexts and in combination with other parts of the grammar. Objectionthree GT treats language as a stock of potential sentences: abstract grammatical frames with slots that can be filled by any vocabulary, in principle. But more recent views emphasize language as a set of tools and materials for constructing discourse, in which the sentence plays a subordinate role or in which – especially in spoken language – it isn't possible to identify sentences, as such. Recent views of language also highlight the importance of lexical 'chunks' of various kinds. Nevertheless, the sentence is an important and useful unit of language. There's a lot to learn about the construction of sentences; of course it's also important to know how to combine them. And yes, learners need to build up a repertoire of lexical chunks, but note that these range from fixed expressions like “Long time no see”, which doesn't relate to any standard
- 7. grammar structure, to open-ended items like “It 's/was the best/most interesting/most frightening book/film/place I've ever read/seen/been to”, which looks suspiciously like a grammatical frame with lexical slots to fill! And apart from that, although fixed and semi- fixed lexical expressions will successfully see us through quite a lot of situations, there are other times when we want to express more original ideas – or express old ideas in a more original way – and then we need to be able to construct what we say from scratch, out of the basic building blocks. Objectionfour In GT, the prime importance attached to illustrating grammar can lead course- writers to include sentences which are unnatural, stilted, unlikely, remote from reality and so on. But recent decades have seen a rising expectation that language presented to learners should be 'authentic' and/or immediately usable for communicative purposes. Let's not forget that the purpose of being in a language classroom isn't primarily to communicate; it's to learn the language. Here's a sentence for translation from one of my Russian textbooks: The astronaut gives a model of the sputnik to the student. Well, this probably isn't an event that happens – or has happened - very often, and it's particularly unlikely that you'd need to report it in the present tense. But that doesn't mean it's useless. If you try to translate it, perhaps get it wrong, try again, and get it right, it can actually help you to pay attention to, and understand, a couple of pretty fundamental things about Russian grammar. Apart from that, the absurdity of it can help to make it memorable. Here's another example: The English engineer asks the captain to hand this important letter to the Commander of the Fleet. The fact that it's so decontextualized and fraught with mystery invites you to visualize your own context, and to endow the sentence with your own personal authenticity. What's in the letter? Did the engineer write it, or did someone else give him it? Does he know what's in it? What will the consequences be when the Commander reads it? Why are we told that the engineer is English? Does it mean that the captain and the Commander aren't English? Maybe they're Russian? So what's the English engineer doing there? And so on. On the other hand, of course, it's also quite possible to illustrate the same grammar in sentences which are more obviously useful: The architect showed a model of the new premises to the staff this morning. The English visitor asked me to hand you this letter – he says it's important. Objectionfive
- 8. In GT, language is learned by conscious memorization of grammar rules and vocabulary. But nowadays memorization isn't highly regarded; internalization through exposure, experience and use is preferred. People have different learning styles; some people like memorizing words, phrases, sentences, patterns and rules, and find that they can draw productively on memorized material, at least in situations where they have time to stop and reflect before speaking or – especially – writing. Objectionsix In GT, language is practised by manipulating grammar and vocabulary to write correct sentences with prescribed content – often through translation. But more recent approaches attach more value to oral practice and the expression of personal meanings. See point 1 above about the value of writing – not instead of, but as well as, speaking. And there's no reason why writing can't be personalized, even translation – for example, imagine the sentence below is in your learners' L1. Their exercise is to translate it into English, and fill the gaps with whatever's true for them: My favourite kind of music's .....and I'm quite keen on ..... too, but I really can't stand ..... Objectionseven In GT, the teacher and the learners speak mainly in the L1. But nowadays it's widely recommended that L2 use should be maximized. Maximized, maybe, but that doesn't mean used all the time, at whatever cost. Why bother giving instructions for a complicated activity in English that an elementary class have no hope of understanding? Or if you think the instructions won't be too far above their level, how about giving them as a kind of oral parallel text – each step first in L1, then in English? And when the class want to talk about English, they'll be able to do this in a much more sophisticated way in their L1, unless their English is really advanced. Of course, you have to teach entirely in English if the members of your class don't speak the same language. A multilingual class can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Objectioneight In GT the teacher explains, translates, conducts practice, and corrects mistakes, and learners interact with the teacher, not with each other. But nowadays it's widely recommended that the teacher should play a less prominent role, guiding learners to make their own discoveries, eliciting language and explanations from them,
- 9. encouraging them to co-operate, help and correct each other, and generally fostering learner independence. These two contrasting teacher modes are actually two ends of a spectrum, and one of the most important skills of a teacher is to be able to act anywhere along that spectrum, depending on what's appropriate – being as prominent as necessary, but not more so. Objectionnine In GT, translation is a basic technique. But nowadays it's widely believed that translation as a mental process interferes with learning - it's better to think in English – and that translation as an overt activity is only relevant for specialists who wish to work as translators or interpreters. For one thing, translation isn't only a job done by specialists. Imagine A and B on holiday, or on business, in a country where A knows the language but B doesn't. B is quite likely to ask for translations from A: “Ask them if we can have breakfast a bit earlier tomorrow”, “What does that sign on the door say?”, “How do you say 'I'm a vegetarian'?” etc. More fundamentally, a lot of learners translate mentally as an inherent part of the process of language learning, making comparisons and contrasts between the language they're learning and their L1. They know intuitively that their L1 is one of the most vital resources they've got, and not merely an impediment. So why not help them to do it more efficiently, more correctly, more insightfully, and to notice what's similar and what's different in the two languages? For a lot of people, thinking in English is a distant prospect, rather than something that can be expected from the start. One learner, in a taped dialogue journal (quoted by Ho 2003) says: “My high school teacher often said that we should learn to think in English. I just don't understand how. Would you please teach us how to think in English?” Howwouldyouanswerthisrequest? Objection ten GT insists on accuracy from the start. But observation of language learning suggests that accuracy actually comes last - if ever! Still, accuracy might come faster if teachers try to nudge learners towards it, without expecting them to be consistently accurate. If you're learning English in an English- speaking country, you might always ask the time by saying “What time it is?”. People will understand you, answer you and probably not correct you, and you might never notice that they say “What time is it?” But in a classroom, if a teacher corrects you sometimes – not by saying “Why can't you remember this? I've told you so many times!”, but simply by pointing out that there's something not quite right – you will notice the
- 10. difference between the target form and what you said, and you'll be more likely to move towards the target form. I once observed a lesson where one learner repeatedly said “Let's go to swimming/skiing/cycling” etc. and was repeatedly corrected to no apparent effect until he eventually said “Let's go to swimming ..... no, let's go swimming without 'to'!” So although there's certainly some substance in all these objections, I don't think there's any reason to condemn GT utterly. On a personal note, I learned two foreign languages at school through a methodology that was basically GT, and always got high marks, and passed exams, and read literature in those languages, and so on. When I first went to countries where the languages are spoken, I found that: 1. it was hard to understand what people were saying. 2. it was hard to marshal my knowledge and to formulate what I wanted to say at a reasonable speed. 3. there were lots of essential everyday words and expressions that I simply didn't know. But I soon began to be able to tune in to what I heard, and at the same time draw on my school knowledge, and to speak more and more fluently and accurately. So my conclusion would be that what I learned at school didn't score very highly as regards having immediate 'surrender value', but it was a great long-term investment. It would have been ideal if it had been supplemented – not replaced - by other things, like listening practice, more speaking, everyday situational language, etc. GT is a 'pre-theoretical' approach, in that it developed before the age of theory-formation in the linguistics, psychology and pedagogy which have informed later approaches such as audio-lingualism, the communicative approach, suggestopedia and so on. But this is no reason to discredit it. After all, there's more to language teaching than applying theory. One of the pioneers of modern English language teaching (Palmer 1922) looks forward to a time when scientific progress will have led us the most effective way of teaching. Well, it hasn't happened yet, and there's not much sign of it happening. Suggestopedia, community language learning and total physical response are all based on principles that can make at least some claim to be scientific, but they could hardly be more different from each other. People have been learning foreign languages, more or less successfully, ever since the Tower of Babel, using all sorts of methods and techniques, with and without teachers, books and so on. Perhaps it's useful to think in terms of methods to the extent that some of them will be better suited than others to particular learning styles, or particular cultural and educational traditions, but at the same time it's vital to remember that there are much more fundamental factors that determine success in language learning. What are they? Well, here's my shopping list. I think you need: 1. motivation
- 11. 2. data (samples of the language, plus - maybe - information about the language) 3. opportunities to experiment with the data 4. feedback – to confirm that you're heading in the right direction, or to re-direct you if you aren't GT can fulfil these requirements to different extents for different people. The best thing, as always, is to shop around. Or, if you prefer, don't put all your eggs in one basket. I also think that people who start off being taught through any well-defined method tend to (need to, in fact) outgrow that method, to rely more on their own resources and, in fact, to develop their own private methodology. If you look at ten or twenty people in a GT class, or any other kind of class, you might get the impression that they're all doing more or less the same thing. But if you could look inside their heads you'd probably find all sorts of very different things going on. And in particular, whatever the apparent methodology of the class, I bet you'd always find a large number of learners trying to understand the grammar, and translating to themselves. References Ho Y. (2003) 'Audiotaped dialogue journals: an alternative form of speaking practice' in ELT Journal 57/3 Howatt A.P.R. (1984) A History of English Language Teaching (OUP) Palmer H.E. (1922) The Principles of Language-Study (OUP) Back to Ask the experts | Methodology in Ask the experts Ratethisresource 1 starout of 5 2 starsout of 5 3 starsout of 5 4 starsout of 5 5 starsout of 5 You must be signed in to rate. Share
- 12. inShare0 Haveyoursay You must sign in to make a comment Print Email Share Comment Rate Popular Commented Emailed Grammar: differences between could and can Firstday: firstlessongames Weekly news lesson 355: 12th September 2013: Male bosses’ bonuses double those of female colleagues Differences in American and British English grammar - article Teaching approaches: the grammar-translation method 5 reasonsto subscribe Access our entire database of over 8,000 high-quality resources. Find new materials added every week. Benefit from a wide range of resources, whether you teach Business English, Young Learners, Exams or CLIL. Save time: organize resources and plan your lessons with our exclusive Learning Calendar. Don’t stress: let our articles and tips solve all your teaching dilemmas. Subscribe now SearchDictionary
- 13. Macmillan Practice Online The easy way to offer your students all the benefits of online learning, with free teacher access. Disadvantages of the Grammar Translation Method? Answer The grammar translation method is a method of teaching a foreign language where the rules of grammar in the foreign language is taught along with the vocabulary of that language. Little time is spent dealing with the spoken form of the language. One of the major disadvantages of this method of teaching is that it leaves students frustrated and bored. It also does not allow for the relationship between languages to be understood. To the students the language merely becomes a bunch of vocabulary words that are strung together. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCH0gAJ7MYw