Grammar

Translation
Context and background:
GT was the method used to teach Latin and Greek, where the goal of
learning the language was not to be able to communicate using the target
language, but to be able to read its literature. Language learning was viewed
as a means of developing intellectually, rather than as the acquisition of a
practical skill. However, when developments in transport and world trade
made it necessary for people to learn modern languages, they were initially
taught in the way languages had always been taught, through grammar-
translation.
 Theory of Language:
Language was seen as a subject, as a body of knowledge to be understood
and learned, not as a skill to be practised and developed. Literary language
and therefore the written form were regarded as the superior and purest form
of the language. Correctness was therefore highly valued, especially
grammatical correctness, meaning grammar was the main pillar of the
syllabus and seen as 'the building blocks' of the language.

Theory of learning:
In grammar-translation, learning firstly meant a conscious understanding of
how the language is formed, with meaning taking a back seat. This was then
combined with the memorisation of word for word translations of vocabulary
items as well as grammatical forms such as verb conjugations and noun
declensions. This body of knowledge was to be passed from the teacher to
the student.

Techniques
Literary texts were read aloud and translated sentence by sentence. The
texts were sometimes preceded by lists of new vocabulary items, along with
their L1 equivalents. In a typical grammar-translation class, the teacher would
choose a student, who had to read a sentence in the text and translate it. The
teacher corrected any mistakes and chose a new student for the next
sentence until the text was done. Correction techniques varied from simple
correction, to asking another student to make the correction, to eliciting self
correction.

Explanations of mistakes were all done in the students' L1. Following the
reading, there was often a set of comprehension questions, written and
answered in the students' L1. L1 was also used for explaining new grammar
using an example from the text and students were then referred to the text to
find other examples. New language was then 'practised' in the form of
grammar exercises and fill-the-gap exercises for new vocabulary. Homework
often involved memorisation of the new language which was formally tested
in the next lesson. For vocabulary tests, this often involved the teacher
reading a list of words in the students L1, for which the students had to write
down the L2 equivalents.

Criticism:
From today's perspective, where people learn languages for practical
purposes, many aspects of grammar-translation are not suitable.
 Firstly students these days usually need to learn everyday conversational
language rather than literary language. For modern students, language
knowledge is just a part of the more important goal of language skill, not
the final aim in itself.
In grammar-translation, language knowledge (a conscious understanding of
rules and a knowledge of L2 equivalents for L1 vocabulary items) was the
key to language production, which was a very conscious and considered
process. Our students today need to communicate more spontaneously
and freely. Different studies show that conscious knowledge and
understanding of form and meaning are not only unnecessary for speech
production, but sometimes even hinder it, thus reducing their importance in
modern language teaching.
There has also been development in our understanding of how students
best come to understand new language. In grammar-translation, the best
technique was thought to be clear explanation of rules followed by
exemplification a deductive approach. Nowadays, an inductive approach,
where students are given the examples and then helped to work out or
discover the rules for themselves is generally seen as more effective.
Theoretical considerations aside, there is one practical detail which makes
GT unsuitable for many foreign language classrooms the teacher must be
fluent in the students' L1.
 Grammar-translation today:
Although our teaching context and general approach are completely
different to grammar-translation, some aspects of the approach still
remain. GT had the present-practise shape which still dominates
language teaching. Some exercise types we use today come from GT, for
example, gap-fill exercises, mining texts for synonyms or antonyms of
given words and post-text comprehension questions. GT is still the
method of choice in many high school systems around the world.