Grammar Translation
From TEFL World Wiki
The Grammar-Translation method (or GTM) was the most popular teaching method for over 100 years and it continues to be used even today despite many years of criticism.
Essentially the GTM involves simply translating English into the MT of the students. Grammatical rules and paradigms are learned by rote.
It is most often used when dealing with written texts and the listening and speaking aspects are somewhat neglected.
A Word of Advice
Be careful about using the students’ MT in the classroom. This is really something you should try and avoid as far as possible.
Here’s a brief summary of the major arguments against it:
- Referring the student’s MT is simply not necessary. Using examples, pictures and other non-verbal means of communication allow you to negotiate meaning without slipping back into the MT.
- The more exposure the students have to the TL, the better. The more they are obliged to communicate in the TL, the better. (The input should be one small step above the comprehensible level – it’s still understandable. But it makes them mentally stretch a bit.)
- Using the MT in class is philosophically contradictory. You’re encouraging them to use the new language as much as possible, but you yourself slip back into their MT?
- And simply put, researchers and teachers discovered that translating into the MT as a teaching method simply does not produce the kinds of results our students need. There is rarely any advantage that can be demonstrated by doing so.
