对语法翻译法的再认识

本文格式为Word版，下载可任意编辑——对语法翻译法的再认识Abstract：GrammarTranslationMethodwasawidelyusedapproachinEnglishLanguageTeachingfrommiddle19thcenturytomiddle20thcentury.Itsexistencehasbeendebatedduringtheseyears.Asatraditionalteachingapproach,grammartranslationhasreceivedagreatdealofcriticism,someofwhichisnotjustified.Thispaperreexaminesgrammartranslationmethodintermsofitsoriginalmotivation,featuresandthereasonsofitsprosperityanddeclineatthattime,sheddinglightonitspracticalityinforeignlanguageteaching.

Keywords：grammartranslationmethod;oreignlanguageteachingreexamination

1.Background

Grammar-TranslationMethod(GTM)wasoriginatedinGermanyinthelateeighteenthcenturyandwasremaineduntilnowbecauseitsfundamentalstructurewasfamiliaramongthestudentsandteachers.ThemainpurposeofGTMwastosimplifylanguageteaching,emphasizetheaccuracyofsentencesincludingavarietyofsentencetranslationpractices.Onthecontrary,becauseofthecontrolofeducationsystembythegovernmentinGermany,theywouldliketoacceptthereformmovementandsetupteachingmonolinguallyduringtheearlydaysandtoacquireareadingknowledgeofforeignlanguagebystudyingagrammarandapplyingthisknowledgetotheinterpretationoftextsthroughtheuseofadictionary.Whenpeoplestillfocusedtheirattentiononteachingchildrenwithtextbooks,AhnandOllendorfftooksomemeasurestoreformwithpracticalmeaningwhichweresuitableforadultlearning.Fromcertainaspects,theytookanintermediatemethod.

2.SomeReasonsofGTM’sGloriousHistory

GTMisoneofthelongestandwidelyusedmethodsinforeignlanguageteaching,whichhasdominatedEuropeforseveralhundredyearsandreacheditspeakinthenineteenthcentury.Firstly,GTMconcentratesongrammar,whichcouldhelpstudentslayasolidgrammaticalfoundationandcontributetolearners’accuracyinexpression.Thephraseologyofthetargetlanguageisquicklyexplainedthroughsourcelanguage.Translationistheeasiestwayofexplainingmeaningsorwordsandphrasesfromonelanguageintoanother.Secondly,Teacher’slaborissaved.Teacherstakefulladvantageoftheirnativelanguageinteachingprocess,whichhelpthemsavemoretimeandbecauseoftheapplicationofnativelanguageandthestresstoteachersandstudentsisrelativelyless.

3.SomeReasonsofGTM’sDecline

Withthedevelopmentandimprovementofsocietyandtheory,traditionalGTMhasbeencriticizedfiercelythatitcouldn’tmeetthedemandssometimesbecausetherearesomeinadequaciesinitself.Thefirstreasonisthatitoveremphasizesgrammaticalrulesandstructures,butneglectsspeakingandlisteningandpayslittleattentiontostudents’soundandintonation,whichimpedesthecultivationofstudents’communicationabilities.ThesecondreasonisthatGTMtakesadvantageoftheinterpretationbetweensourcelanguageandtargetlanguagetoteach,whichwillleadtotheresultthatlearnersareover-dependentontheirmothertongue.Translationis,indeed,adifficulttaskandexacttranslationfromonelanguagetoanotherisnotalwayspossible.Alanguageistheresultofvariouscustoms,traditions,andmodesofbehaviorofaspeechcommunityandthesetraditionsdifferfromcommunitytocommunity.

4.Conclusion

TheGTMwasfeasibleaccordingtoitsbackgroundanddemandatthattime,whichhadtakentheplaceofthetraditionalteachingmaterialsthroughsomesentencesandphrases.What’smore,GTMfitsinwithChineseeducationformfromsomeanglesasthereareonetotwonewgrammarpointsandrules,alistofwordsandphrases,andsomepracticestotranslateinatext.However,thisissimilartothecourseofEnglishmajorduringcollegewhichiscalledintensivereading.Theyhavethesameprocedureandteachingprocess.Itisundoubtfulthatitisthefundamentaldemandtograspgrammaticalrules.Therefore,GTMisrequiredtolearnfromotherteachingmethods"strongpointstooffsetitsweaknesses.Undoubtedly,GTMcouldmakeuseofsomeadvantagesofSituationalMethod,AudiolingualMethodandCommunicativeMethod,combinewithmodernteachingequipments,createmoreopportunitiestocommunicatewithEnglishsothatlearners’communicativeabilitieswillbepromoted,thenitwillcontributetotheirbalancedandall-rounddevelopment,eventheprogressoftheeducationsysteminthewholesociety.

Bibliography

[1][Brown,H.D.1994.PrinciplesofLanguageLearningandTeaching.NJ:PrenticeHall.

[2]Chastain,Kenneth.TheDevelopmentofModernLanguageSkills:TheorytoPractice.Philadelphia:Cent