Diane Larsen-Freeman

18 The Grammar- Translation Method
aspect of the culture of the ta rget langua ge community. Students stu dy
grammar deductively; that is, they arc given the grammar rules and
examples, are to ld co memorize them, and then arc asked to apply the
rules to oth er examples. They also learn grammatical paradi gms such
as verb conjugations. Th ey memorize native-langu age equivalents for
targ et-language voca bulary words.
4 What is the nature of stud ent-teacher interaction? What is the nature
of student-student interaction?
Most of the interaction in the classroom is from the teacher to the students.
There is little student init iation and little student-student interaction.
5 How are the feeLings of the students deaLtwith?
T here arc no principles of the method which relate to this area.
6 How is the langua ge viewed? How is cuLture viewed?
Litera ry language is considered superior to spoken language and is
therefore the language that students st udy. Culture is viewed as consisting
of lirernture and the fine arts.
7 What areas of language are emphasized? What langua ge skills are
emphasized ?
Vocabulary aod grammar are emphasized. Readin g and wr iting are the
prim ary skills that the students work on. T here is much less attention
given to speaking and listening. Pronunciat ion receives little, if any,
attention.
8 What is the role of the stud ents' native language?
The meaning of the tar get language is made clear by translating it into
the students' native language. The language that is used in class is
mostly the students' native language.
9 How is evaluation accomplished?
Written tests in which stu dents are asked co translate from their native
language to the target language or vice versa arc often used. Q uestion s
ubour the target cult ure or questions that ask students TO app ly grammar
rules are also common.
The Grammar-Translation Method 19
10 How does the teacher respond to student errors?
Having the students get the correct answer is considered very impo r­
ta nt. If students make errors or do not know an answer, the teacher
supplies them with the correct ans wer.
REVIEWING THE TECHN IQUES
Ask yourself if any of the answers to the above questions make sense to
you . Ifso, you may choose to try some of the techniques of the Grammar­
Translation Method from the review that follows . On the other hand,
you may find t hat you agree very little wit h the answers to these ques ­
tions, but that there arc still some useful techn iques associa ted with the
Grammar-Translation Me thod. Below is an expanded descr iption of
some of these techniques.
Translation of a literary passage
Students translate a reading passage from the target language inro their
native language. The reading passage then provides the focus for several
classes: vocabu lary and grammatical structures in the passage ar e studied
in subsequent lessons. The passage may he excerpted from some wo rk
from the targ et language literature, or a teac her may write a passage carefully
designed to include particular grammar rules and vocabulary. The
translation may he wr itten or spoken or both. Students shou ld not translate
idioms and the like literally, but rather in a way that shows that they
understand their mean ing.
Reading comprehension questions
Students answer questions in the target language based on their understanding
of the reading passage. O ften the questions arc sequenced so that
the first group of questions asks for information contained within the reading
passage. In order to answer the second group of questions, students wiII
have to make inferences based on their understanding of the passage. Th is
means they \....ill have TO answer qu estion s about the passage even though
the answers arc nor conta ined in the passage itself. The third gro up of
question s requires students to relare the passage co their own exper ience.
Antonyms/syn onym s
Students arc given one set of wor ds and arc asked to find antonyms in the
reading passage. A similar exercise could be done by asking STUdents TO