Grammar Translation Method in a Bilingual Classroom

January 24, 2011 6:49am CST
Grammar Translation Method works after all! I was able to confirm that just lately after earning more positive and more enthusiastic responses from my pupils when I coaxed them into translating some English sentences into our mother-tongue and vice-versa; we were having a cumulative review of the different tenses we had previously taken up. With GTM, my class was able to see better the concept of tenses and the notion that a shift in tense could modify entirely the sentence idea. I believe that GTM makes the second-language more relatable to the pupils. Think of the method as a bridge between what the pupils presently know with their mother-tongue and what they can know about the second-language USING the former. When English sentences contrasted by tenses are translated into the pupils' mother-tongue, pupils get a clear picture of what those sentences mean and convey. The class therefore reacts to the second language with more understanding of its dynamics and structure.
1 response
@marguicha (216342)
• Chile
24 Jan 11
Word only have meaning in context. So it is really in a real sentence that you can fully grasp not only the meaning of a word but also of how a verb is used. I am not sure that learning the names of the different tenses can be of a real help, except for scholars. My English is not so bad (even if it is not my native tongue) but once a friend of mine asked me to help her with some homework for a class where she was learning English and I had to pass. I always remember that we all learn to speak before we know that there are tenses.