Grammar Translation Method as an Indispensable Approach in Semi-Urban and Rural Areas as Teaching Method

Abstract

In this age of globalization when English has become an International language, we need to adopt a right methodology. At present also, The Grammar - Translation Method is one of the most effective methods in dealing with a foreign language like English. The act of translation involves the understanding of two distinct factors-a meaning, or reference to some slice of reality and the difference between the source language and the target language in referring to that reality. E.M. Forster points to the same process when he defines translation as transference of content of a text from one language into another, bearing in mind that we cannot always dissociate the content from the form. Grammar Translation Method owes its existence to the teaching of Latin as a dominant language of education in the Western world in fifteenth century. It focuses on the rigorous study of grammar and translation through the practice in bilingual texts and dialogues. This method prescribes learning of vocabulary through reading texts. This is facilitated further by teaching through bilingual word-list, dictionary use, and memorization. This method focuses on sentence as a unit of teaching/learning the foreign language. Concomitant to the principle mentioned above, another distinctive feature of Grammar-Translation Method is the use of learner's native tongue as a medium of instruction all new items of vocabulary are presented and explained through comparisons and equivalents. Accuracy, rather than fluency, is the point of focus in the present method. In Grammar-Translation Method, the native language of the speaker plays a vital and indispensable role.