The Grammar Translation Method

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Definition of grammar

1.        Based on Oxford dictionary:

a.     Grammar is the whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics.

b.    Grammar is the set of structural rules that governs the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics, and pragmatics. Linguists do not normally use the term to refer to orthographical rules, although usage books and style guides that call themselves grammars may also refer to spelling and punctuation.

2.        Based on Oxford dictionary Definition of translation :

a.     Something that is or has been translated, especially a written text.

b.    The act of translating or the state of being translated.

c.     A written communication in a second language having the same meaning as the written communication in a first language.

3.        Based on Oxford dictionary definition of method

a.    A means or manner of procedure, especially a regular and systematic way of accomplishing something

b.    A theory and technique of acting in which the actor attempts to experience the inner life of the character being portrayed.

c.    According to oxford dictionary that grammar is the rules in a language for changing the form of words and combining them into sentences.

4.        Based on Expert:

 According to Eugene J. Hill, grammar is a description of certain organizing aspects of particular language. It usually includes phonological (sounds), morphological (word composition) and syntactic (sentence composition) points.

According to Chomsky, the grammar of the language is, therefore, not the surface structures themselves, but the rules that enable the language user to generate the surface structures from the deep level of meaning.

According to Andreas, grammar is a finite set of rules which enumerates (or generates) an infinite number of grammatical (or well- formed) sentences of a language and no ungrammatical ones and assign sentence generated its proper structural description. Grammar also can be defined as a description of the way a language works. It explains many things. For example, it tells us the order in which sentence parts must be arranged. It helps us to state how we should use it. The process of turning an original or "source" text into a text in another language.

Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the way we and others use language. It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English. And it can help everyone--not only teachers of English, but teachers of anything, for all teaching are ultimately a matter of getting to grips with meaning.
(David Crystal, "In Word and Deed," TES Teacher, April 30, 2004)

It is necessary to know grammar, and it is better to write grammatically than not, but it is well to remember that grammar is common speech formulated. Usage is the only test (William Somerset Maugham, The Summing Up, 1938)

Different experts in translation propose different definitions. The definitions reflect the experts’ point of view on the nature of translation.

Nida and Taber (1982:12) say that translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalence of a source language message, firstly in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.

In addition, Wills (1982:112) says that translation is a procedure which leads from a written source language text to an optimally equivalent target language text and require the syntactic, semantic, stylistic, and text pragmatic comprehension by the translator of the original text.

Catford (1980:20) proposes that “translation is the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another language”.

Brislin (1976:1) states that translation is the general term referring to the transfer of thoughts and ideas from one language (source) to another (target), whether the languages are in written or oral form; whether the languages have established orthographies or do not have such standardization or whether one or both languages is based on signs, as with sign languages of the deaf.
           

Larson (1984:31) states that translation is basically a change of form.

Newmark (1981:7) give a definition to the term “translation as follows: “translation is a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and/or statement in one language by the same message and/or statement in another language.

What is a method?

Edward Anthony (1963) gives us a definition that has admirably withstood the test of time. Method was described as an overall plant for systematic presentation of language based upon a selected approach.

The Grammar Translation Method was developed for the study of “dead” languages and to facilitate access to those languages’ classical literature. That’s the way it should stay. English is certainly not a dead or dying language, so any teacher that takes “an approach for dead language study” into an English language classroom should perhaps think about taking up Math or Science instead. Rules, universals and memorized principles apply to those disciplines – pedagogy and communicative principles do not.

The definition the grammar translation method by presenter is method of teaching that emphases on student learns in grammatical rules and then apply those rules by translating sentences between the target language.

CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

A.    Definition

The grammar-translation method of foreign language teaching is one of the most traditional methods, dating back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was originally used to teach 'dead' languages (and literatures) such as Latin and Greek

B.     Characteristic

The grammar translation method has eight characteristic:

1.        Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language.

2.        Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.

3.        Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given.

4.        Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words.

5.        Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early.

6.        Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis.

7.        Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother tongue.

8.        Little or no attention is given to pronunciation.

C.    Techniques

The grammar translation method has nine Techniques:

1.        Translation of a Literary Passage (Translating target language to native language)

2.        Reading Comprehension Questions (Finding information in a passage, making inferences and relating to personal experience)

3.        Antonyms/Synonyms (Finding antonyms and synonyms for words or sets of words).

4.        Cognates (Learning spelling/sound patterns that correspond between L1 and the target language)

5.        Deductive Application of Rule (Understanding grammar rules and their exceptions, then applying them to new examples)

6.        Fill-in-the-blanks (Filling in gaps in sentences with new words or items of a particular grammar type).

7.        Memorization (Memorizing vocabulary lists, grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms)

8.        Use Words in Sentences (Students create sentences to illustrate they know the meaning and use of new words)

9.        Composition (Students write about a topic using the target language).

D.    Advantages

1.        The phraseology of the target language is quickly explained. Translation is the easiest way of explaining meanings or words and phrases from one language into another. Any other method of explaining vocabulary items in the second language is found time consuming. A lot of time is wasted if the meanings of lexical items are explained through definitions and illustrations in the second language. Further, learners acquire some short of accuracy in understanding synonyms in the source language and the target language.

2.       Teacher’s labor is saved. Since the textbooks are taught through the medium of the mother tongue, the teacher may ask comprehension questions on the text taught in the mother tongue. Pupils will not have much difficulty in responding to questions on the mother tongue. So, the teacher can easily assess whether the students have learnt what he has taught them. Communication between the teacher and the learners does not cause linguistic problems. Even teachers who are not fluent in English can teach English through this method. That is perhaps the reason why this method has been practiced so widely and has survived so long

E.     Disadvantages

1.        It is an unnatural method. The natural order of learning a language is listening, speaking, reading and writing. That is the way how the child learns his mother tongue in natural surroundings. But in the Grammar Translation Method the teaching of the second language starts with the teaching of reading. Thus, the learning process is reversed. This poses problems.

2.        Speech is neglected. The Grammar Translation Method lays emphasis on reading and writing. It neglects speech. Thus, the students who are taught English through this method fail to express themselves adequately in spoken English. Even at the undergraduate stage they feel shy of communicating through English. It has been observed that in a class, which is taught English through this method, learners listen to the mother tongue more than that to the second/foreign language. Since language learning involves habit formation such students fail to acquire habit of speaking English. Thus, they have to pay a heavy price for being taught through this method.

3.        Exact translation is not possible. Translation is, indeed, a difficult task and exact translation from one language to another is not always possible. A language is the result of various customs, traditions, and modes of behavior of a speech community and these traditions differ from community to community. There are several lexical items in one language, which have no synonyms/equivalents in another language. For instance, the meaning of the English word ‘table’ does not fit in such expression as the ‘table of contents’, ‘table of figures’, ‘multiplication table’, ‘time table’ and ‘table the resolution’, etc. English prepositions are also difficult to translate. Consider sentences such as ‘We see with our eyes’, ‘Bombay is far from Delhi’, ‘He died of cholera’, He succeeded through hard work’. In these sentences ‘with’, ‘from’, ‘of’, ‘through’ can be translated into the Hindi preposition ‘se’ and vice versa. Each language has its own structure, idiom and usage, which do not have their exact counterparts in another language. Thus, translation should be considered an index of one’s proficiency in a language.

4.        It does not give pattern practice. A person can learn a language only when he internalizes its patterns to the extent that they form his habit. But the Grammar Translation Method does not provide any such practice to the learner of a language. It rather attempts to teach language through rules and not by use. Researchers in linguistics have proved that to speak any language, whether native or foreign entirely by rule is quite impossible. Language learning means acquiring certain skills, which can be learnt through practice and not by just memorizing rules. The persons who have learnt a foreign or second language through this method find it difficult to give up the habit of first thinking in their mother tongue and than translating their ideas into the second language. They, therefore, fail to get proficiency in the second language approximating that in the first language. The method, therefore, suffers from certain weaknesses for which there is no remedy

CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION

The Grammar Translation Method was developed for the study of “dead” languages and to facilitate access to those languages’ classical literature. That’s the way it should stay. English is certainly not a dead or dying language, so any teacher that takes “an approach for dead language study” into an English language classroom should perhaps think about taking up Math or Science instead. Rules, universals and memorized principles apply to those disciplines – pedagogy and communicative principles do not.

REFERENCES

Larsen-Freeman, Diane. (1986) Techniques and Principles of Language Teaching, Oxford University Press.

Billah,MD.M. “Teaching English through English Medium”. The New Nation.Online. 20 Nov 2005.

2. Brown, D.H. Teaching by Principles:An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. Longman: New York, 2001.

Dr. Shahidullah, M., Islam. J., Majid , I. A. N. and Haque,M.S. English For Today for Classes 11-12.Dhaka.NCTB, 2001.

Dr. Shahidullah,M.,Islam,J., Majid, I. A.N. and Haque,M.S. Teacher’s Guide for English For Today For Casses 11-12.Dhaka.ELTIP, 2001.

David Crystal, "In Word and Deed," TES Teacher, April 30, 2004

William Somerset Maugham, the Summing Up, 1938