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The Grammar-Translation Method

1.Definition

The Grammar-translation Method is a foreign or second language teaching, which uses translation and grammars study as the main teaching and learning activities. At one time it was called Classical Method since it was first used in the teaching of the classical languages of Latin and Greek.

2.Background

The history of the Grammar-translation Method is not fully and carefully documented.

(1)There is evidence that grammar analysis and translation began to be the basic procedures in foreign language teaching from the 16th century when modern languages such as

French, Italian and English gained in importance as a result of political changes in Europe. The modern languages provided one of the conditions for grammar analysis and the application of grammatical rules in translation exercises in teaching Latin.

(2)The second impetus for the procedures of grammar analysis and translation in teaching

Latin came from the social needs of European countries. The main purpose of learning Latin was it studies the classical culture, which was worshipped in the Renaissance. Grammar analysis and translation proved to be effective means in studying foreign culture through literary works.

(3)Some people believed that the mind of human beings could be trained by logical analysis of the classic language, extensive memorization of complicated rules and paradigms, and translation between languages.

Only in the late 18th century did the regular combination of grammar rules with translation into the target language become the principal practice technique. Therefore, it is accepted by most experts of foreign language teaching that the Grammar-Translation Method originated from the 18th century. In the 19th century, more experts of foreign language teaching adopted the strategy of combining grammar rules with translation and the Grammar-Translation Method became the principal method of teaching modern languages in schools.

3.Theory

1). Theory of language

(1). All languages originate from one language and are ruled by a common grammar.

(2). The written form of the language is superior to the spoken form.

The Grammar-Translation Method belongs to the school of traditional linguistics which believed that the written form and took words as their starting point. When discussing the rules of language, they emphasized such matters as correctness, the purity of a language and

literary excellence.

(3)The students ' first language is the reference system in the learning of the

t a nr g eutalge.

In foreign language teaching, the target language is primarily interpreted as a system of rules to be observed in texts and sentencesand to be related to the first language rules and

meaning. The students f'irst language is the reference system in the leaning of the target language.

2)Faculty Psychology

(1). The mind of human being has various faculties that can be trained separately.

(2). Understanding and memorization of complicated grammatical rules of language help to develop mentality.

(3). Latin grammar is the most logical and well-organized grammar.

(4).The language was a boy of knowledge to be learned, with an emphasis on intellectual rigor.

4.Teaching Procedures

The main procedures for a typical lesson with the Grammar-Translation Method can be

divided into three phases. The activities in each phase are described below:

1). Phase one

A.The teacher reads and explains the new words and expressions in the first language.

B.The teacher teaches the new grammar with deductive method.

2). Phase two

A. Students are asked to read a few sentences out aloud and translate them into

the first language.

B. The teacher analyses some difficult sentence and translates them into their native language first literally and then freely.

C.Students read the studied part of the passage silently and ask the teacher questions they cannot answer by themselves.

3). Phase three

A. Students are asked to write the answers to the questions about the reading passage.

B. Students are asked to do other written work that is meant to reinforce the new grammar items and vocabulary.

5.Teacher Roles in the Framework

The Grammar-Translation Method makes few demands on teachers although it often creates

frustration for students.

1).Controller The teacher control the pace so that activities run smoothly and efficiently.

2).Organizer The teacher is to design and organize tasks that students can perform in the class.

3). Assessor The teacher is to assessthe students work and correct their grammar mistakes .

4).Resource-provider The teacher is to provide the grammar rules for the students. 6.The Principle Characteristics

(1). Grammar is the core of language, and language materials are arranged according to the grammar system.

(2). The main teaching activities are analysis, explanation and translation.

(3). The major practice is translation from and into the target language.

(4)The teaching focus is reading and writing.

(5)First language is the main medium of instruction.

(6)The sentence is the basic unit of language teaching and learning.

(7)Language accuracy is emphasized.

The Direct Method

1.Definition

The direct method is a method of foreign or second language teaching , which emphasizes that a foreign language can be taught without translation or the use of the

learners”native language

if the meaning is to be conveyed directly in the target language through the use of demonstrations and visual aids , with no use of resource to the studen'tsnative language .

2.Background

Towards the end of the late 1800s, a revolution in language teaching philosophy took place that is seen by many as the dawn of modern foreign language teaching. Teachers, frustrated by the limits of the Grammar Translation Method in terms of its inability to create communicative competence in students, began to experiment with new ways of teaching language. Basically, teachersbegan attempting to teach foreign languages in a way that was more similar to first language acquisition. It incorporated techniques designed to address all the areas that the

Grammar Translation did not - namely oral communication, more spontaneoususe of the

language, and developing the ability to think in the target language. Perhaps in an almost reflexive action, the method also moved as far away as possible from various techniques typical of the Grammar Translation Method - for instance using L1 as the language of instruction, memorizing grammatical rules and lots of translation between L1 and the target language.

The appearance of the "Direct Method" thus coincided with a new school of thinking that dictated that all foreign language teaching should occur in the target language only, with no translation and an emphasis on linking meaning to the language being learned. The method became very popular during the first quarter of the 20th century, especially in private language schools in Europe where highly motivated students could study new languages and not need to travel far in order to try them out and apply them communicatively. One of the most famous advocatesof the Direct Method was the German Charles Berlitz, whose schools and Berlitz

Method are now world-renowned.

Still, the Direct Method was not without its problems. As Brown (1994:56) points out, "(it) did not take well in public education where the constraints of budget, classroom

size , time , and teacher background made such a method difficult to use." By the late

1920s, the method was

starting to go into decline and there was even a return to the Grammar Translation Method,

which guaranteedmore in the way of scholastic language learning orientated around reading

and grammar skills. But the Direct Method continues to enjoy a popular following in private

language school circles, and it was one of the foundations upon which the well-known "Audio-lingual Method" expanded from starting half way through the 20th

century.

3. Teacher Roles in the Framework

1).Controlle r The teacher control the pace so that activities run smoothly and efficiently.

2).Organizer The teacher is to design and organize tasks that students can perform in the

class.

3). Assessor The teacher is to assess the students work and correct their grammar

mistakes .

4).Resource-provider The teacher is to provide the grammar rules for the

students.

5).

Facilitator

4. The Principle

Characteristics

Richards and Rodgers (1986:9-10) summarize the key features of the Direct Method

thus:

(1) Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the target

language.

(2) Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are

taught.

(3) Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully traded progression organized around

question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive

classes.

(4) Grammar is taught

inductively.

(5) New teaching points are taught through modeling and

practice.

(6) Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures; abstract vocabulary is taught by association of

ideas.

(7) Both speech and listening comprehension are

taught.

(8) Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.

The Audio-lingual Method

1.Definition

The Audio-lingual Method is a method of foreign language teaching which emphasizesthe teaching of listening and speaking before reading and writing. It uses dialogues as the main form of language presentation and drills as the main training techniques. Mother tongue is discouraged in the classroom.

2.Background

The Audio-lingual Method was developed in the U.S. during the Second World War. At that time, the U.S. government found it a great necessity to set up a special language-training program to supply the war with language personnel. Therefore, the government commissioned

American universities to develop foreign language program for military personnel. Thus the

Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) was established in 1942.The objectives of the army program were for students to attain conversational proficiency in a variety of foreign languages. The method used was known as the “ informant method” , since it used a native speakers of the language, the informant , and a linguist. The informant served as a source of language for imitation, and the linguist supervised the learning experience. The

intensive system adopted by the army achieved excellent results.

Linguists and applied linguists during this period were becoming increasingly involved in

the teaching of English as a foreign language. In 1941 the first English Language institute in the

U.S. was established to in the University of Michigan. The director of the institute was Charles

Fries, who applied the principles of structural linguists to language teaching. The result

is an approach which advocated aural training first, then pronunciation training, followed by speaking, reading and writing.

The emergence of the Audio-lingual Method resulted from the increased attention to foreign language teaching in the U.S. towards the end of the 1950s.The need for a radical change and rethinking of foreign language teaching methodology made language teaching specialists set about developing a method that was applicable to conditions in U.S. college and university classrooms. They drew on the earlier experience of the army programs and the

Aural-Oral or structural Approach developed by Fries and his colleagues, adding insights taken

from behaviorist psychology. This combination of structural linguistic theory, aural-oral procedures, and behaviorist psychology led to the Audio-lingual Method, which was widely adopted for teaching foreign languages in North American colleges and universities.

3.Theory

According to the audiolingualism, language is basically a process of mechanical habit -ormati on .It 'through a lot of p atter n drills that such mecha ni cal habits can be

formed .

1)Theory of language

(1). Elements in a language are produced in a rule-governed (structural) way.

(2).Language samples could be exhaustively described at any structural level of

description.

(3). Language is structural like a pyramid, that is, linguistic level is system within system.

(4). Language is speech, not writing.

(5).Languages are different.

2)Theory of learning

(1). Behaviorist psychology

(2). The three crucial elements in learning: a stimulus, a response and reinforcement.

(3)The application of this theory to language learning

(4)Language learning: a mechanical process of habit formation

4.Teaching Procedures

In a typical audio-lingual lesson the following procedures will be observed:

(1). Recognition : Students first hear a model dialogue (either read by the teacher

or on the tape) containing the key structures that are the focus of the lesson and try to understand the meaning of the dialogue with the help of the teacher and context

' s gestures, mi or situation established in advance.

(2). Imitation and repetition：The students repeat each line of the dialogue,

individually and in chorus. The students must imitate the right pronunciation, intonation

and fluency.

(3). Pattern drills：Certain key structures from the dialogue are selected and used

as the basis for pattern drills of different kinds.

(4). Follow-up activities ：The students now are allowed to look at their textbooks. They are usually asked to do some follow-up reading, writing or vocabulary activities. This

will guide their use of the language.