The document summarizes the Grammar Translation Method (GTM), an early method for teaching foreign languages. Key points: - GTM originated as a way to teach Latin and Greek and focused on translating texts and learning grammar rules. It ignores speaking skills. - Under GTM, language is viewed as isolated words, vocabulary is taught through translation, and the students' native language is used for instruction. - Techniques include translating passages, answering reading questions, learning grammar rules and applying them through translation exercises. - Advantages are quick vocabulary explanations through translation and less difficulty for teachers not fluent in the target language. Disadvantages are it is unnatural and ignores the natural order of language acquisition

1. GRAMMAR TRANSLATION METHOD (GTM)
written by:
Anif Tri Setianingsih (11321150)
Niken Nabella (11321158)
Siti Purwaningsih (11321159)
ENGLISH TEACHING DEPARTEMENT
IKIP PGRI MADIUN
2012 / 2013

2. TABLE OF CONTENS
Title................................................................................................................................... 1
Table of Contens............................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 3
CHAPTER II MAIN DISCUSSION
A. Definition....................................................................................... 4
B. Assumptions About Language And Language Learning…..... 4
C. Principles of Grammar Translation Method………….......…… 4
D. Characteristic................................................................................. 4
E. Techniques..................................................................................... 5
F. Teaching Prosedures...................................................................... 5
G. Advantages. ................................................................................... 6
H. Disadvantages................................................................................ 6
CHAPTER III CONCLUSION..................................................................................... 8
Reference........................................................................................................................... 9
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3. CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF GRAMMAR TRANSLATION METHOD
The first concern with language teaching method had to do with the teaching of Latin
and Greek grammars. The method used at that time were mostly designed to enable people to
speak, read and write Latin. All of the method were related to the method which was
popularly known as the Grammar Translation Method. With the invention of printing of
reproduction of Greek and Latin classics became easy, and, therefore the method was no
longer effective to teach the languages. There were a number of attempts to improve the
teaching of the languages. One attempt was suggested by meidenger (1783), who advocated
translation into the target language through the application of rules of grammar. Karl Plotz
(1819-1881) also improved the teaching method; his method was divided into two parts:
1. rules and paradigms
2. sentences from translation into and out of the target language
This method also included rote learning of grammar rules, learning to put grammatical
labels on words, and learning to apply the rules by translating sentences. This way of teaching
was finally called the Grammar Translation Method (GTM).
Since Latin was learned based on written language of classical literature. The GTM
ignores authentic spoken communication and social contexts of the language. It was also
hoped that, through the study of the grammar of the target language, the student would
become familiar with the grammar of their native language (Larsen-Freeman, 2000:11). The
fundamental purpose people learned a foreign language was to be able to read literature that
was written in the foreign language so that the students were provided with exercises to read
and write in the foreign language. The GTM was widely used in the USA in 1890's. It was
also called the Classical Method since it was first used in teaching of classical languages,
Latin and Greek.
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4. CHAPTER II
MAIN 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. Assumptions About Language And Language Learning
1. Through the GTM language is believed to consist of written words and of words
which exist in isolation. Vocabulary in the target language is learned through direct
translation from the mother tongue.
2. In language teaching what should be taught is not the language itself but the faculty of
logical thought and provided valuable mental discipline.
3. The medium of instruction is the mother tongue, which is used to explain conceptual
problems and to discuss the use of particular grammatical structure.
4. Learning of a foreign language needs feeling secure and this condition may take place
whenever language learners know how to say in the target language.
C. Principles of Grammar Translation Method
1. Grammar rules are presented and studied explicitly.
2. The primary skills to be developed are reading and writing.
3. Hardly any attention is paid to speaking and listening skills.
4. Teacher correction is the only way to make students produce the right forms of the
foreign language.
5. The goal of foreign language learning is the ability to understand the texts written in
foreign language.
6. Mastering the grammar of the foreign language is essential in order for students to
understand the written target language.
7. Vocabulary is learnt from bilingual words lists.
8. The mother tongue is used as the medium of instruction.
9. A paramount use of translation exercises is given.
10. Literary language is superior to the spoken language.
11. The authority in the classroom is the teacher.
D. Characteristic
The grammar translation method has eihgt caracteristics namely:
1. Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language.
The teacher explain using native language.
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5. 2. Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words. It is consedered to
be affective learning bbecause much vocabulary will improve the students
understanding.
3. Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given. It will help
them on applying the rule.
4. Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses
on the form and inflection of words. By studying grammar,the students will use it
correctly on sentences.
5. Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early. They read the text first. Then, they
will translate the text in their native language.
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. Pronunciation is considered as the
out of the discussion in teaching learning process.
E. 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).
F. Teaching Procedures
Grammar Translation methodhas priciples that are distinguihed from other
method. There are some prosedures ing grammar translation method, those are:
a. The students read the reading passage.
b. The students translate the passage into their native language.
c. The teacher uses native language to ask the students if they have a questions.
d. The teacherdetermines that the answer is correct or not.
e. The students translate the new vocabulary in their native language.
f. The students are given a grammar rule.
g. The students apply the grammar rule to make a sentences as the example they have
already understood.
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6. h. The students memorize the vocabulary.
i. The teacher corrects the grammar.
G. Advantages
a. 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.
b. Teacher’s labour 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.
H. Disadvantages
a. 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.
b. 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.
c. 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
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7. 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.
d. 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.
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8. CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
The Grammar Translation Method (GTM) was developed for the study of “dead”
languages and to facilitate access to those languages’ classical literature.It is an old or a
traditional methods which is still used until now. It is still common in many countries. I think
GTM is an effective learning in Indonesia, so it suit for learning of foreign language. By
GTM, the students will easy to learn vocabularies (especially for beginners) and grammar
rules, so they can apply the rules to make or create correctly sentences.
Although Grammar translation method is an old method, but it can be developed and
modified by the teacher, so the GTM will be interest learning process for the students. By the
interest learning process, the students will get big spirit and motivation to study hard.
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9. REFERENCES
Ningsih, N. A., & Styati, E. W. (2012). Teaching English as Foreign Language. Magetan:
Javas Gravika.
Larsen-Freeman, Diane. (1986) Techniques and Principles of Language
Teaching, OxfordUniversity Press.
Billah,MD.M. “Teaching English through English Medium”. The New Nation.Online. 20
Nov 2005.
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. Teacher’s Guide for English For
Today For Casses 11-12.Dhaka.ELTIP, 2001.
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