From the 1900s until the late 1940s, the Grammar-Translation method was the process of choice, despite how old the method is, the grammar-translation method is fading in language classrooms throughout Asia, Europe, and as well as in America.
It is easy to teach; it expects no more than the ability to memorise lists of separate vocabulary words, and it aims low in terms of oral communication and aural comprehension—no one teaching or learning a target language is expected to pronounce, speak, or even grasp the spoken language. Since the language is taught in the students’ local language, students can have studied it for years without being required to engage in basic conversation. The only real challenge facing students and teachers in the grammar-translation classroom is a test.
A regular one-hour class might open with ten minutes of coordinated verb studying. This might be followed by the teachers’ explanation of a distinct grammatical trait of the target language. The Teacher might then allocate students with a list of fill-in-the-blank exercises or sentence constructions that display the grammar point. Other characteristics of the grammar-translation class involve translations of literary readings from the target language into the native language, identifying antonyms and synonyms, memorising vocabulary lists, drilling vocabulary words, writing compositions in the target language, and writing pieces in the target language. Except for the drills, most of the above work is written.
One might wonder why this old-fashioned method is still used. Aside from being easy for both Teacher and student, some declare it is the most efficient way to begin literature in the target language. In learning how to read in the target language, students are opened to a mixture of grammatical structures and thousands of vocabulary words in context. They learn to translate beyond linguistic borders. It does not teach oral communicative abilities, but that is not necessarily the scope of a language class.
Most ESL instructors have observed the outcomes of the grammar-translation method in students who have studied English as a foreign language in their original countries. They can usually read and write English—sometimes better than native speakers—but they have had no history of listening to or speaking the language. ESL teachers face the hurdle of helping students master variations in pronunciation because grammar-translation students are used to doing fill-in-the-blank exercises, memorising lists of vocabulary words, etc. When they are opened to more original language instruction methods, they often find it challenging to carry out.
Fundamental points:
- Classes are taught in L1 (native language)
- Memorising lists of vocabulary
- In-depth grammar explanations
- Reading of difficult texts for translation
- Little or no emphasis on pronunciation
- Grammar rules for constructing sentences