The Grammar Translation Method (GTM)

Hi everyone! Welcome to my first topic-related entry. Today I will share my insights on the Grammar Translation Method.

As we discussed in class, this method is born due to a huge necessity back in time (1850), which was to make people aligned with power. Since not everyone used to know the languages of the expanding empires throughout time, they needed people to understand so they used the GTM as a way to convey messages. The most commonly translated pieces were literature, bible passages, poetry, and music, which are all forms of art, but also laws were spread through this method.

Some characteristics of the Grammar Translation Method are that classes were taught using the mother tongue, which means that even teachers who were not very proficient orally could teach with this method. There was special attention to writing and reading, in fact, those were the 2 dominant skills that students developed, and of course, as it is stated in the name, grammar was its core, and was taught deductively (straight to the point, like a list of rules you have to learn by heart)

As I see it, this method was helpful for the existing needs back in time. The good part is that students were outstanding in grammar and writing, and I bet that reading was a habit for them. But besides that, classes could turn boring, since there was not a space for student-student interaction, and natural oral communication didn't happen that much. It is good to know that later there came more methods to mix them and take the good aspects of each one. :D

It was nice to have you reading my entry. see ya around!

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