Grammar-Translation Method

The history Grammar Translation Method originated from the practice of teaching Latin or Greek, for it was the dominant language of education, commerce, religion and government.  In the western world foreign language learning in schools was synonymous with the learning of Latin or Greek. In the sixteenth century, however, French, Italian, and English gained in importance as a result of political changes in Europe, and Latin gradually became displaced.

As the other languages began to be taught in educational institutions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the classical method was adopted as the chief means of teaching foreign languages.  At that time languages were not being taught primarily to learn oral or aural communication, but to learn for the sake of being “scholarly” or in some instances for gaining a reading proficiency in a foreign language. The study of classical Latin and an analysis of its grammar and rhetoric became the model for foreign language study from the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Children entering “grammar school” in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in England were initially given a rigorous introduction to Latin grammar, which was taught through rote learning of grammar, study of declension and conjugations, translations, and practice writing sample sentence, sometimes with the use of parallel bilingual texts and dialogue.

            As “modern” languages began to inter the curriculum of European schools in the eighteenth century, they were taught using the same basic procedures that were used for teaching Latin

·         Textbooks consisted of statement of abstract grammar rules

·         List of vocabulary and sentences for translation

·         Speaking the foreign language was not the goal

·         Oral practice was limited to student’s reading aloud the sentences they had translated

By nineteenth century, the approach based on the study of Latin had become the standard of studying foreign language in schools, this method has also known by The Classical Method

 The major characteristics of Grammar Translations

·         Classes are taught in mother tongue with little active use the target language

·         Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists  isolated words

·         Long elaborate explanation of the intricacies of grammar are given

·         Grammar provides the rule for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words

·         Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early

·         Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercise in grammatical analysis

·         Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother tongue

·         Little or no attention is given to pronunciation

Weakness

·         Language is seen as a collection of words which are isolated and independent

·         It does not require a teacher to speech a good English

·         It does virtually nothing to enhance a student’s communicative ability in the language

·         Memorizing is the important part

·         Test can be done just for understanding grammar rules, reading and translations

·         Little attention into communicative abilities

·         Learning process does not involve the target language

·         It seems that there was no need for student to master the other skills of English; listening and speaking

·         Many standardized tests of foreign languages still do not attempt to tap into communicative abilities, so students have little motivation to go beyond grammar analogies, translations and rote exercises

The Grammar Translation Method is still used in situations where understanding literary texts is the primary focus of foreign language study and there is little need for a speaking knowledge of the Language. On the other hand, Richards and Rodgers pointed out “It has no advocates. It is a method for which there is no theory. There is no literature that offers a rationale or justification for it or that attempts to relate it to issues in linguistics, psychology, or educational theory”.

Direct Method

Gouin had been one of the first of the nineteenth century reformers to attempt to build methodology around observation of child language learning. Other reformers toward the end of the century likewise turned their attention to naturalistic principles of language learning,                                            they assumed that second language learning should be more like the first language learning. Soon this method became referred to as the Natural Method.

Natural Method argued that

·         Lots of /intensive oral interaction

·         Spontaneous use of language

·         No translation between first and second language /without the use of the learner’s native language

·         Little or no analysis of grammatical rules

The Principles of Direct method

·         Classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the target language

·         Only everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught

·         Oral communication skills were built up in carefully graded progression organized around question and answer exchanges between students and teachers in small, intensive classes

·         Grammar was taught inductively

·         Concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures; abstract vocabulary was taught by association of ideas

·         Both speech and listening comprehension were taught

·         Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized.

Direct Method enjoyed considerable popularity at the beginning of the twentieth century and it was widely accepted in private language schools where students were highly motivated and native speaking teachers could be employed. Direct method did not take well in public education where the constrain of the budget, classroom size, time and teachers background make such a method difficult to use. This method is also known by The Berlitz Method.

 The principles used in Berlitz schools

·         Never translate: demonstrate

·         Never explain: act

·         Never make a speech: ask questions

·         Never imitate mistakes: correct

·         Never speak with single words; use sentences

·         Never speak too much: make students speak much

·         Never use the book: use your lesson plan

·         Never jump around: follow your plan

·         Never go too fast: keep the pace of The student

·         Never speak too slowly: speak normally

·         Never speak too quickly: speak naturally

·         Never speak too loudly: speak naturally

·         Never be impatient: take it easy

Direct Method was perceived to have several drawbacks

·         It required teachers who were native speakers or who had nativelike fluency in the foreign language

·         It was largely dependent on the teacher’s skill, rather than on a textbook, and not all teachers were proficient enough in the foreign language to adhere to the principles of the method

·         Critics pointed out that strict adherence to Direct Method principles were often counterproductive, since teachers were required to go to great lengths to avoid using the native language, when sometimes a sample, brief explanation in the student’s native language would have been a more efficient route to comprehension.

By the 1920s, use of the Direct Method in non commercial schools in Europe had consequently declined. In France and Germany it was gradually modified into versions that combined some Direct Method techniques with more controlled grammar-based activities.