GRAMMAR TRANSLATION METHOD
brajesh kumar
This methos was in fact first known in the Unitied
States as the Prussian
method.As the names of some of its leading exponents
suggest,Grammar translation
was the offspring of German scholarship,the object of
which,according to one of
its less charitable critics was "to know every thing
of something rather than
the thing itself."
The characteristics of grammar translation method
1.It is a way of studying a language that approaches
the language first through
detailed analysis of its grammar rules,followed by
application of this
knowledge to the task of translating sentences and
texts into and out of the
target language.
The first language is maintained as the reference
system in the acquistion of
the second language.
The goal of foreign language is to learn a language
in order to read its
literature or in order to benifit from the mentala
discipline and intellectual
development that result from foreign language study.
2.Reading and writing are major focus;little or no
systematic attention is
paid to speaking or listening.
3. Words are taught through bilingual word
lists,dictionary study, and
memorization.
4.The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and
language practice.
5.Accuracy is emphasized.The students are expected to
attain high standards in
translation.
6.Grammar is taught deductively- that is,
presentation and study of grammar
rules,which are then practised through translation
exercises.
d
7.The students native language is the medium of
instruction.It is used tp
explain new items and to enable comparisions to be
made between the foreign
language and the student's native language.
Grammar translation dominated European and foreign
language teaching from the
1840s to the 1940s,and in the modified form it
continues to be widely used in
some parts of the world today.
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