6.3 The Grammar-Translation Method
It focuses on developing students’ appreciation of the target language’s literature as well
as teaching the language. Students are presented with the target language reading passages and
answer questions that follow. Grammar rules are learned deductively; students learn grammar
rules by rote, and then practice the rules by doing grammar drills and translating sentences to and
from the target language. More attention is paid to the form of the sentences being translated
than to their content. When students reach more advanced levels of achievement, they may
translate entire texts from the target language. Tests often consist of the translation of classical
texts.
There is not usually any listening or speaking practice, and very little attention is placed
on pronunciation or any communicative aspects of the language. The skill exercised is reading,
and then only in the context of translation.
The method is very much based on the written word and texts are widely in evidence. A
typical approach would be to present the rules of a particular item of grammar, illustrate its use
by including the item several times in a text, and practice using the item through writing
sentences and translating it into the mother tongue. The text is often accompanied by a
vocabulary list consisting of new lexical items used in the text together with the mother tongue
translation. Accurate use of language items is central to this approach.
Other activities include translating literary passages from one language into the other,
memorizing grammar rules and memorizing native-language equivalents of the target language
vocabulary. Class work is highly structured, with the teachers controlling all the activities.
Goals:
- to develop students' reading ability to a level where they can read literature in
the target language, - to develop students' general mental discipline,
- to develop mental acuity.
- Roles: Teacher has authority; students follow instructions to learn what the
teacher knows.
Teaching/Learning Process: - Students learn by translating from one language to another, often translating
reading passages in the target language to the native language; - Grammar is usually learned deductively, on the basis of grammar rules and