A Research has written by Mousa Hussein and Dilnaz Hardan which was Submitted to the council of English Language Department, College of Education-Akre, as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for obtaining B.A.degree in English Language.

1. Kurdistan Regional Government
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
University of Duhok
College of Education-Akre
English Language Department
The Constructive Study of the Grammar
Translation and Direct Methods of Teaching
A Research Submitted to the council of English Language
Department, College of Education-Akre, as a partial fulfillment of the
requirements for obtaining AB degree in English Language.
By the Students:
Mosa Hussein Mosa
Dilnaz Hardan Ahmad
Under Supervision of:
Mr. Nimat Majeed
1439 A.H 2018 A.D 2718 K

3. I
Dedication
We are dedicating those papers first of all to our families whom they
have been supporting us both financially and emotionally. To our great teachers
and friends whom they have always been motivating us to conquer difficulties.
And all those who are interested in teaching English language…

4. II
Acknowledgment
"My Lord, increase me in knowledge." (Holly Quran, 20:114).
Our soul is thankful to the almighty Allah, the creator of the universe for giving
us the capability to write down this paper. we would like to express our greatest
gratitude to our supervisor, (Mr. Nimat Majeed) who did his best and always
was helpful with us till we completed our research. Also, we would like to thank
our teachers and all colleagues in the department of English. Finally, great
thanks and appreciations are due to our families for their limitless support.

5. III
Abstract
Learning of any second language which once may have been for the sake of
pleasure or intellectual improvement but with the rapid scientific development a
large vistas of knowledge has dawned on the human mind. People of different
languages, different places and different lands have contributed to this scientific
development, therefore, learning of second languages has become a need and in
some cases an inevitability. Accordingly attempts have been made time to time
by the experts to propound the best method of learning the foreign language and
among them the grammar- translation and the direct methods are of the premium
value as all the other methods and techniques seem to have sprung from these
two. As the direct method is based on the principles quite contrary to the
grammar translation method, therefore, it can be rightly said that the later got its
emergence as the reaction to the former. Goal of the both these methods is the
same but the way of achieving that goal is quite contrary to each other and this
paper aims at highlighting the contrastive features of both.

6. IV
Table of Contents
Dedication …………………………………………...……………………..... I
Acknowledgment ……………….…………….………………………….….. II
Abstract ……………………...………………………………………………. III
Content …………………………...……………………………….…………. IV
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.Introduction ………………………………………………………………… 1
Chapter 2 Grammar-Translation Method
2.1History and Background ……………………………………………….….. 3
2.2Basic Principles …………………………………………………….…….. 5
2.3Reviowing Techniques …………………………………………………… 6
2.4Advantages ……………………………………………………………..… 9
2.5Disadvantages …………………………………………………………..… 10
Chapter 3 Direct Method
3.1History and Background ………………………………………….……….. 11
3.2Basic Principles ………………………………………...……………….. 14
3.3Reviowing Techniques …………………………………………….……. 16
3.4Advantages …………………..…………………………………………... 19
3.5Disadvantages ………………….………………………………………..... 20

7. V
Chapter 4 Conclusion
4.Conclusion …………………………….…………………………………… 21
References ……………………...………….……………..………………….. 22

8. 1
Chapter One
1.Introduction
Earning is the passion that is instinctive in every human being and it
begins spontaneously with the birth of a child. Mother tongue at the primary
stage is obtained instinctively and without any exertion or labor but the case is
different with the learning of any second language as some set of rules, some
sort of principles, and some orderly steps have to be followed in this regard. At
the early stage of the human history no urgency was felt for learning of any
second language as the life was so simple, needs were so limited and society
was so confined, but with the passage of time a rapid growth in needs and
demand, interaction between the speakers of different languages became a
necessity which resulted in urgency of learning and ultimately teaching of the
second languages.
Teachers and expertise have always been struggling to look for the best
means, the best ways and the best techniques to learn and teach any second
language, therefore, different theories have been propounded and different
practices have been in vogue at different times. English Language Learning and
Teaching has undergone a tremendous change over the period of time,
particularly during the twentieth century it has witnessed novelty in this field.
Perhaps more than any other, this discipline has been practiced in several
varieties all around the globe, whereas, the methodology of teaching other
subjects such as Math or Physics, has, to a greater or lesser extent, remained the
same. This paper is aimed at the detailed study of two of the most preferred and
practiced techniques and methods of teaching a second language i.e. the
grammar-translation method and the direct method as all the other techniques
have sprung from these two main techniques. As the grammar translation

9. 2
method has been practiced as the most popular one for the teaching of second
languages, therefore, we inaugurate our research with the discussion on this
method.

10. 3
Chapter Two
2.Grammar-Translation Method
2.1 History and Background
The Grammar-Translation Method is not new. It has had different names,
but it has been used by language teachers for many years. At one time it was
called the Classical Method since it was first used in the teaching of the classical
languages, Latin and Greek (Chastain, 1988).
The Grammar-Translation method is a method of teaching foreign
languages derived from the classical sometimes called Traditional method of
teaching Latin and Greek. In Grammar-Translation classes, students learn
grammatical rules and then apply those rules by translating sentences between
the target language and the native language. While studying the history of
teaching methods, we come to know that the Grammar-Translation method
originated from the practice of teaching Latin. In the early 1500s, Latin was the
most widely studied foreign language due to its prominence in government,
academia, and business. However, during the course of the century the use of
Latin dwindled, and it was gradually replaced by English, French, and Italian.
After the decline of Latin, the purpose of learning it in schools changed.
Whereas previously student had learned Latin for the purpose of
communication, it came to be learned as a purely academic subject. Throughout
Europe in the 18th
and 19th
centuries, the education system was formed primarily
around a concept called faculty psychology. At first it was believed that teaching
modern languages was not useful for the development of mental discipline and
those they were left out of the curriculum. When modern languages did begin to
appear in school curricula in the 19th
century, teachers taught them with the
same Grammar-Translation method as was used for classical Latin and Greek.

11. 4
As a result, textbooks were essentially copied for the modern language
classroom. In the United States of America, the basic foundations of this method
were used in most high school and college foreign language classroom (Sayeh,
2013).
Earlier in this century, this method was used for the purpose of helping
students read and appreciate foreign language literature. It was also hoped that,
through the study of the grammar of target language, students would become
more familiar with the grammar of their native language and that this
familiarity would help them speak and write their native language better. Finally
it was thought that foreign language learning would help students grow
intellectually; it was recognized that students would probably never use the
target language, but the mental exercise of learning it would be beneficial
anyway (Larsen, 2000).

12. 5
2.2 Basic Principles
According to Prator and Celce-Murcia (1991), the key features of the Grammar-
Translation Method are as follows:
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. No system
approach is usually made to vocabulary.
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 different classical texts is begun early.
6. Little attention is paid to the content of the text, which are treated as
exercises in grammatical analysis.
7. Often the only drills are exercised in translating disconnected sentences
from the target language into the mother tongue.
8. Little or no attention is given to pronunciation; so, no pronunciation practice
takes place.
9. Accuracy is emphasized.
10.The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language practice.

13. 6
2.3 Reviewing the Techniques
Grammar-Translation Method has some techniques from the review that
follows:
2.3.1Translation of a literary passage
Students translate a reading passage from the target language into their native
language. The reading passage then provides the focus for several classes:
vocabulary and grammatical structures in the passage are studied in subsequent
lessons. The passage may be excerpted from some work from the target
language literature, or a teacher my write a passage carefully designed to include
particular grammar rules and vocabulary. The translation may be written or
spoken or both. Student should not translate idioms and the like literally, but
rather in a way that shows that they understand their meaning (Larsen, 2000).
2.3.2Reading comprehension question
Students answer questions in the target language based on their understanding
of the reading passage. Often the questions are sequenced so that the first group
of questions asks for information contained within the reading passage. In order
to answer question about the passage even though the answers are not contained
in the passage itself. the third group of questions requires students to relate the
passage to their own experience (ibid).
2.3.3Antonyms/synonyms
Students are given one set of words and are asked to find antonyms in the
reading passage. A similar exercise could be done by asking students to find
synonyms for a particular set of words. Or students might be asked to define a
set of words based on their understanding of them as they occur in the reading

14. 7
passage. Other exercises that ask students to work with the vocabulary of the
passage are also possible (ibid).
2.3.4Cognates
Students are taught to recognize cognates by learning the spelling or sound
patterns that correspond between the languages. Students are also asked to
memorize words that look like cognates but have meaning in the target language
that are different from those in the native language. This technique, of course,
would only be useful in languages that share cognates (ibid).
2.3.5Deductive application of rule
Grammar rules are presented with examples. Exceptions to each rule are also
noted. Once students understand a rule, they are asked to apply it to some
different examples (ibid).
2.3.6Fill-in-the-blanks
Students are given a series of sentences with words missing. They fill in the
blanks with new vocabulary items or with items of a particular grammar type
such as prepositions or verbs with different tenses (ibid).
2.3.7Memorizing
Students are given list of target language vocabulary words and their native
language equivalents and are asked to memorize them. Students are also
required to memorize grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms such as
verb conjunction (ibid).

15. 8
2.3.8Use words in sentences
In order to show that students understand the meaning and use of a new
vocabulary item, they make up sentences in which they use the new words
(ibid).
2.3.9Composition
The teacher gives students a topic to write about in the target language. The
topic is based upon some aspect of the reading passage of the lesson.
Sometimes, instead of creating a composition, students are asked to prepare a
précis of the reading passage (ibid).

16. 9
2.4 Advantages
The Grammar translation method has been practiced so widely and has survived
so long for its main advantages:
1- As many schools still have classes with large number of student, Grammar-
Translation Method with its focus of teacher centeredness is cost-effective
and appropriate.
2- Its main technique, translation onto the learner's first-language, along with
some sort of accuracy in understanding synonyms helps meaning to be
clarified and the possibility of any misinterpretation or misunderstanding
removed.
3- This method saves a lot of time because via translation from one language
into another the meaning, words and phrases of the target language would
quickly be explained. So, even teachers who are not fluent in second-
language can teach through this method.
4- Teachers are less challenging because the student understand, and will not
have any problems in responding the comprehension question asked in the
first language. This helps teaches to understand whether the student have
learned what they were taught or not (Jaleh and Mehri, 2014).

17. 10
2.5 Disadvantages
The objectives of Grammar-Translation Method by definition are very limited.
As stated, its main objectives are developing reading and translation along with
their components, grammar and passive vocabulary. In other words, listening,
speaking, pronunciation and even systematic writing were missing from the
curriculum, which resulted in graduates who knew about second-language, but
did not know how to use. Because of its limited objectives cited above, language
professionals found more of disadvantages in this method than advantages.
1- It neglects the natural order of learning (listening, speaking, reading,
writing), so it is thought to be an unnatural method.
2- It neglects communicative skills, so student fail to learn how to
communicate in real life even after completing the program with all its
tedious requirement.
3- Its emphasis for word for word translation disregards the fact that exact
translation is not always possible or correct.
4- Interaction is teacher initiated rather than of student to student type.
5- Students strictly follow the textbook and have no active role in the
classroom.
6- Students' feeling receive little attention in this method (Jaleh and Mehri,
2014).

18. 11
Chapter Three
3.Direct Method
3.1 History and Background
Even before the emergency of the name Direct Method, this was the
method of teaching foreign language. It was believed that "picking up" a
language naturally is more effective than learning it from books and in classes.
This view towards language learning was especially popular for learning
European language when traveling many sources. One such support came from
Gouin who after traveling to Germany decided to test the usefulness of
Grammar-Translation Method in learning Germany language. He showed his
disappointment with this method by explaining how he despite all his
"harrowing" experiences of following Grammar-Translation Method 's
suggestions failed to learn Germany and had to return to France without
knowing how to communicate in German. Living in Hamburg, Guin memorized
German Grammar book as well as list of irregular verbs and their German roots.
In addition he learned German dictionary by heart, read German literature and
translated their classic books such as Goethe and Schiller. However, none of
these techniques helped him communicate with the native speakers. On his
return to France he found out that his 3 years old nephew who could not speak
when he had left is now able to speak like a chatterbox. Being curious about
what had happened in his nephew he first perceived things through his sense and
then understood and recalled them. Accordingly, he hypothesized that the key to
learning a language was changing perceptions into conceptions, and then
representing these conceptions trough language. This became the basis of his
teaching method called Series Method. In this method, a series of connected and
picturable sentences (such as: I stretch out my arm. I take hold of the handle. I

19. 12
turn the handle. I open the door. I pull the door) were presented to the learners,
and they through frequent exposure to the sentences could acquire them exactly
the way children do (Brown, 1994). However, as Guin was not influential
enough to publicize his method, so it was forgotten and archived for almost a
hundred years until Charles Berlitz revived it under the name Direct Method.
Like series method, Direct Method, too based its teaching on natural way
children acquire their mother tongue. In fact, the Berlitz Method is the first
recognized method which is based on an imitation of the natural process by
which a child learns its mother tongue (Howatt, 2009).
It emphasis on the similarity of L2 learning to child first language
acquisition underscored the importance of oral interaction, and natural language
use in classroom and discouraged translation and deductive explanations of
grammatical rules. It should be noted that through it was not Berlitz who
invented Direct Method, it was Berlitz who introduction the methodology and
started schools which follow the principles of Direct Method in their teaching
methodology. Berlitz provided schools with clear objectives and easy to follow
principles and procedures for teaching oral language which are still used in
Berlitz' schools (Richards & Rodgers, 2001)
 Never translate: demonstrate
 Never explain: act
 Never make a speech: ask questions
 Never imitate mistakes: correct
 Never speak with single words: use sentences
 Never speak too much: make students speak much
 Never use the book: use your lesson plan
 Never jump around: follow your plan

20. 13
 Never go too fast: keep the pace of the student
 Never speak too slowly: speak normally
 Never speak too quickly: speak naturally
 Never speak too loudly: speak naturally
 Never be impatient: take it easy
Besides, students who attended such classes were not the elite few
anymore, but ordinary many who started to believe that it was possible for them,
too, to learn a foreign language. "In a Berlitz class they could at least make a
practical start with some useful words and phrases" (Howatt, 2009).

21. 14
3.2 Basic Principles
Direct method which is also known as natural Method underscores the similarity
between first-language acquisition and second-language learning. For this
reason, it stresses the natural use of language through oral interaction and
discourages any sort of translation or grammatical explanation and analysis. To
be more exact, this method is famous for its following principles:
1. No first-language is used in the classroom.
2. Vocabulary and sentences taught are of ordinary forms which are used
daily. Concrete vocabularies are taught through pictures and real objects,
but abstract ones are presented via association of ideas.
3. Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully graded progression
organized around question-and -answer exchanges between teachers and
students in small, intensive class.
4. Grammar is taught inductively.
5. Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.
6. Demonstration is preferred to explanation and translation. Meaning
should be taught in the first instance by demonstration to establish the
meaning and then be defined and used in context to encourage thinking in
the target language.
7. Every teaching point introduced orally first and only after it is orally
mastered, reading and writing will be dealt with.
8. Conversation is taught through imitation and practice. For this reason
either native or native like teachers should be employed by these schools.
9. Pronunciation receives primary attention – focus on form. Correct
pronunciation and grammar were emphasizes.
10.Immediate correction is suggested: Self correction is preferred to teacher's
correction.

22. 15
11.Its syllabus is topical, not structural.
12.Due to its emphasis on naturalness, Direct Method does not allow
students to prepare homework in advance (Jaleh and Mehri, 2014).
13.Culture is part of language, so the two should be taught together. In fact
learning a language should be like visiting the country where it is spoken,
only more effective because "the language has been methodically and
systematically arranged" (Howatt, 2009).

23. 16
3.3 Reviewing the Techniques
Direct Method has some techniques from the review that follows:
3.3.1Reading aloud
Students take turns reading section of a passage, play or a dialog out loud. At the
end of each student‟s turn, the teacher uses gestures, pictures, realia, examples,
or other means to make the meaning of the section clear (Larsen, 2000).
3.3.2Question and answer exercise
The exercise is conducted only in the target language. Sometimes are asked
question and answer in full sentences so that they practice new words and
grammatical structures. They have the opportunity to ask questions as well as
answer them (ibid).
3.3.3Getting students to self-correct
The teacher of this class has the students self-correct by asking them to make a
choice between what they said and an alternative answer he supplied. There are,
however, other ways of getting students to self-correct. For example, a teacher
might simply repeat what students has just said, using questioning voice to
signal to the student that something was wrong with it. Another possibility is for
the teacher to repeat what the student said, stopping just before the error. The
student knows that the next word was wrong (ibid).
3.3.4Conversation practice
The teacher asks students a number of question in the target language, which the
students have to understand to be able to answer correctly. In the class observed,
the teacher asked individual students questions about themselves. The questions

24. 17
contained a particular grammar structure. Later, the students were able to ask
each other their own questions using the same grammatical structure (ibid).
3.3.5Fill-in-the-blank exercise
This technique has already been discussed in the Grammar-Translation Method,
but differs in its applications in the Direct Method. All the items are in the target
language; furthermore, no explicit grammar rule would be applied. The students
would have induced the grammar rule they need to fill in the blanks from
examples and practice with earlier parts of the lesson (ibid).
3.3.6Dictation
The teacher reads the passage three times. The first time the teacher reads it at a
normal speed, while the students just listen. The second time he reads the
passage phrase by phrase, pausing long enough to allow students to write down
what they have heard. The last time the teacher again reads at a normal speed,
and students check their work (ibid).
3.3.7Map drawing
The class included one example of a technique used to give students listening
comprehension practice. The students were given a map with the geographical
features unnamed. then the teacher gave the students directions such as the
following, „Find the mountain range in the West. Write the words “Rocky
Mountains” across the mountain range.‟ He gave instructions for all the
geographical features of the United States so that the students would have a
completely labeled map if they followed his instructions correctly. The students
then instructed the teacher to do the same thing with a map he had drawn on the
blackboard. Each student could have a turn giving the teacher instructions for
finding and labeling one geographical feature (ibid).

25. 18
3.3.8Paragraph writing
The teacher in the class asked the students to write a paragraph in their own
words on the major geographical features of the United State. They could have
done this from memory, or they could have used the reading passage in the
lesson as a model (ibid).

26. 19
3.4 Advantages
The method as a shift away from the Grammar-Translation Method, focused on
teaching the language not about language. This reason alone made it very
successful in developing native like fluency in the students. In addition, there are
many other advantages which contributed to use the success of Direct Method:
1. Student of Direct Method develop fluency in spoken English and can use
this knowledge in communicating in second-language.
2. Understanding second-language takes place though second language. So
there is no need for translation and hence no division between active and
passive vocabularies.
3. The underlying principles of Direct Method match those suggested in
educational theories: progressing from examples to general, and from
concrete to abstract.
4. Its outcome or the ability to communicate in the target language is very
attractive to those who need to learn a language other than their mother
tongue.
5. Its use of realia for teaching vocabulary is a natural way for teaching
perception onto conception (Jaleh and Mehri, 2014).

27. 20
3.5 Disadvantages
By 1920, the popularity of Direct Method started to decline for a number of
reasons:
1. Not all age groups and not all educational contexts benefited equally from
Direct Method. it was more useful for adult language learners in private
language schools.
2. Its overemphasis on the similarities between second-language acquisition
and second-language learning disregard the fact that the condition under
which a child acquires his mother tongue is totally different from the
condition in which an adult learns a second-language. In fact the care,
time and opportunities.
3. Direct Method is not structured as a method. That is, its materials are not
properly graded and sequenced. So, at time it is very confusing for
learners who are bombarded with examples of living language.
4. Not all teachers are able to teach in this method. Direct Method teachers
have to have design their own course.
5. Its rejection of translation makes this method very time and energy
consuming. At times when it is difficult to convey meaning through
realia, explanation in first-language can be great asset in the hands of
teachers.
It does not build upon the reading skills the learners have already developed in
their second language and instead passes all the responsibilities on to the
teachers. So success in Direct Method because too much dependent on teacher's
skills rather than on methodology itself (Jaleh and Mehri, 2014).

28. 21
Chapter Four
4.Conclusion
The Grammar-Translation method was originally 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
principles – pedagogy and communicative principles do not. Grammar-
Translation method is focus on reading and writing rather than listening and
speaking and pronunciation. Language learners are passive in language learning
and teachers are regarded as an authority, i.e. it is a teacher-centered model
(Sayeh, 2013).
The Direct Method of teaching emerged as the reaction to the Grammar-
Translation method. It sought to immerse the learner in the same way as when a
first language is learnt. All teaching is done in the target language, grammar is
taught inductively, there is a focus on speaking and listening rather than reading
and writing, and only useful „everyday‟ language is taught. The weakness in the
Direct Method is its assumption that a second language can be learnt in exactly
the same way as a first, when in fact the conditions under which a second
language is learnt are very different. The teacher and the students are more like
parents in the teaching and learning process. The teacher is as the facilitator of
the language and the students is the active learners who are active in learning
and exploring the target language (ibid).

29. 22
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