The Grammar Translation Method 2
Overview
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.
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 objectives in mind, and came to be known
(appropriately!) as the Classical Method. It is now more commonly known in Foreign Language Teaching
circles as the Grammar Translation Method.
It is hard to decide which is more surprising - the fact that this method has survived right up until today
(alongside a host of more modern and more "enlightened" methods), or the fact that what was essentially
a method developed for the study of "dead" languages involving little or no spoken communication or
listening comprehension is still used for the study of languages that are very much alive and require
competence not only in terms of reading, writing and structure, but also speaking, listening and interactive
communication. How has such an archaic method, "remembered with distaste by thousands of school
learners “ perservered?
It is worth looking at the objectives, features and typical techniques commonly associated with the
Grammar Translation Method, in order to both understand how it works and why it has shown such
tenacity as an acceptable (even recommended or respected) language teaching philosophy in many
countries and institutions around the world.
Objectives
Most teachers who employ the Grammar Translation Method to teach English would probably tell you that
(for their students at least) the most fundamental reason for learning the language is give learners access
to English literature, develop their minds "mentally" through foreign language learning, and to build in
them the kinds of grammar, reading, vocabulary and translation skills necessary to pass any one of a
variety of mandatory written tests required at High School or Tertiary level.
Some teachers who use the method might also tell you that it is the most effective way to prepare
students for "global communication" by beginning with the key skills of reading and grammar. Others may
even say it is the "least stressful" for students because almost all the teaching occurs in L1 and students
are rarely called upon to speak the language in any communicative fashion.
More conservative teachers from more conservative countries are even likely to be put out by anyone
merely questioning the method, and a typical response could be "because that s the way it s always been
done - it s the way I learned and look, now I m a professor". The point being, the method is
institutionalized and considered fundamental. Such teachers are probably even unware that the method
has a name and can be compared alongside other methods.
المادة المعروضة اعلاه هي مدخل الى المحاضرة المرفوعة بواسطة استاذ(ة) المادة . وقد تبدو لك غير متكاملة . حيث يضع استاذ المادة في بعض الاحيان فقط الجزء الاول من المحاضرة من اجل الاطلاع على ما ستقوم بتحميله لاحقا . في نظام التعليم الالكتروني نوفر هذه الخدمة لكي نبقيك على اطلاع حول محتوى الملف الذي ستقوم بتحميله .
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