Grammar Translation Method

→ The GT method is an old method which was originally used to teach dead languages which explains why it focuses mainly on the written form at the expense of the oral form. Reading and writing are the major focus; little or no systematic attention is paid to speaking or listening. 

→ Grammar Translation was first known in the United States as the Prussian Method, mentioned by B. Sears in a book published in 1845 entitled "The Ciceronian or the Prussian Method of Teaching the Elements of the Latin Language".

→ This traditional method was created for students, who were taught latin and greek languages in Europe.Then it was used to teach “modern” languages such as English, French and German, and it is still practiced in some countries today.

 Is the method appropriate for young children?why not?

This method is used to develop the reading and writing skills and the vocabulary of the target language. Maybe for young learners can be too difficult translate a whole paragraph, so is necessary to adapt the activities to the level of knowledge of the student.

Do you think it can be used? Why? Why not?

This old method may not be suitable for this time, were the object of teaching a second language is focused on developing the four skills of the foreign language. But this is still used as a complementary tool to facilitate to the student a quick approach to the vocabulary of the target language.

Criticism

The overall concept of grammar-translation has been criticized due to a lack of verifiable sources that supported the existence of such a method in the nineteenth century, or earlier.

What the method is good at is “teaching about the language”, not “teaching the language”.

Speaking or any kind of spontaneous creative output was missing from the curriculum.

Students lacked an active role in the classroom.

Very little attention is paid to communication.

Very little attention is paid to content.

Translation is sometimes misleading.

This resulted in the type of Grammar Translation courses remembered with distaste by thousands of school learners, for whom foreign language learning meant a tedious experience of memorizing endless lists of unusable grammar rules and vocabulary and attempting to produce perfect translations of stilted or literary prose. Although the Grammar-Translation Method often creates frustration for students, it makes few demands on teachers.

Tips

Translation is the easiest and shortest way of explaining meaning of words and phrases.

Learners have no difficulties to understand the lesson as it is carried out in the mother tongue.

It is a labor-saving method as the teacher carries out everything in the mother tongue.

Final Question

How would you put this method in practice?