Grammar Translation Method

Subject: Applied Linguistics       

Name of Scholar: Sher Ali            Class ID: ____________

What is Grammar Translation Method?

A grammar-translation method is a traditional approach to language instruction in which the primary focus is on teaching grammar and translating between the target language and the native language of the learner. In this method, the student learns grammar rules, memorizes vocabulary, and learns to translate passages from their native language into the target language. This method is sometimes referred to as the classical method and is most commonly used to teach Latin, ancient Greek, and other classical languages.

What is required?

1.        1. Think of a particular group of students you have recently taught or are currently teaching.

2.      2.  Choose a reading passage from a literary work or a textbook or write one yourself.

3.       3. Try translating it yourself as a test of its difficulty.

4.       4. Identify the vocabulary you would choose to work on.

5.       5. Plan vocabulary exercises you would use to help your students associate the new words with      their native language equivalents.

6.      6. Pick a grammatical point or two contained in the same passage.

7.       7. Provide the explicit grammar rule that relates to each one and give some examples.

8.     8. Design exercises that require your students to apply the rule to some different examples

Activities:

We opted for a class where the GTM is being used.  The class is a high-level Urdu class at a local university. There are 20 students in the class. Three-hour classes are conducted twice a week.

The Passage:

THE ALCHEMIST (AN EXCERPT)

 “Why do we have to listen to our hearts?” the boy asked when they had made camp that day.

“Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.”

“But my heart is agitated,” the boy said. “It has its dreams, it gets emotional, and it’s become passionate over a woman of the desert. It asks things of me, and it keeps me from sleeping many nights when I’m thinking about her.”

“Well, that’s good. Your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say.”

“My heart is a traitor,” the boy said to the alchemist when they had paused to rest the horses. “It doesn’t want me to go on.”

“That makes sense. Naturally, it’s afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you’ve won.”

“Well, then, why should I listen to my heart?”

“Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you’re thinking about life and about the world.”

“You mean I should listen, even if it’s treasonous?”

“Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you’ll know its dreams and wishes, and will know how to deal with them.

“My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”

“Every second of the search is an encounter with God,” the boy told his heart.

“Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him,” his heart said. “We, people’s hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them—the path to their destinies, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out indeed, to be a threatening place.

“So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won’t be heard: we don’t want people to suffer because they don’t follow their hearts.”

 

Urdu translation:

یہ پاؤلو کوئلہو کی ’دی الکیمسٹ‘ سے ایک اقتباس ہے۔

 

"ہمیں اپنے دل کی سننے کی کیا ضرورت ہے؟" لڑکے نے پوچھا، جب وہ اس دن کمیپ لگا چکے تھے۔

"کیونکہ، جہاں بھی آپ کا دل ہوگا، وہیں آپ کو اپنا خزانہ ملے گا۔"

’’لیکن میرا دل پریشان ہے،‘‘ لڑکے نے کہا۔ "اس کے اپنے خو ا ب   ہیں، یہ جذباتی ہو جاتا ہے، اور یہ صحرا       میں ررہنے والی عو ر ت پر فدا  ہے۔

 یہ مجھ سے          مطا  لبات  کر تا ہے ،  چیزیں پوچھتا ہے، اور جب میں اس کے بارے میں سوچتا ہوں تو یہ مجھے کئی راتوں کو سونے سے روکتا ہے۔"

"اچھا یہ اچھا ہے. آپ کا دل زندہ ہے۔ سنتے رہیں کہ اس کا کیا کہنا ہے۔"

’’میرا دل غدار ہے،‘‘ لڑکے نے الکیمسٹ سے کہا، جب وہ گھوڑوں کو آرام دینے کے لیے رکے تھے۔ "یہ نہیں چاہتا کہ میں آگے بڑھوں۔"

"یہ سمجھ میں آتا ہے۔ قدرتی طور پر یہ ڈر ہے ہو تا ہے  ، اپنے خواب کی تعاقب میں، آپ اپنی ہر  جیتی ہوئی چیز کو کھو دیں گے۔"

’’اچھا تو پھر میں اپنے دل کی کیوں سنوں؟‘‘

"کیونکہ آپ اسے دوبارہ کبھی خاموش نہیں رکھ پائیں گے۔ یہاں تک کہ اگر آپ اسے نا سنے کا  دکھاوا کرتے ہیں کہ یہ آپ کو کیا کہتا ہے، یہ آپ  میں ہمیشہ موجود رہے گا، دہرائے گا کہ آپ زندگی اور دنیا کے بارے میں کیا سوچ رہے ہیں۔"

"آپ کا مطلب ہے کہ مجھے سننا چاہئے، چاہے یہ غدار ہی کیوں نہ ہو؟"

"غداری ایک دھچکا ہے جو غیر متوقع طور پر آتا ہے۔ اگر آپ اپنے دل کو اچھی طرح جانتے ہیں، تو وہ آپ کے ساتھ ایسا کبھی نہیں کر سکے گا۔ کیونکہ آپ اس کے خوابوں اور خواہشات کو جان لیں گے، اور جان لیں گے کہ ان سے کیسے نمٹا جائے۔

"میرا دل ڈر رہا ہے کہ اسے مجھے بھگتنا پڑے گا،" لڑکے نے ایک رات الکیمسٹ سے کہا جب وہ تا ر یک آسمان کی طرف دیکھ رہے تھے۔

"اپنے دل سے کہو کہ تکلیف کا خوف خود تکلیف سے بھی بدتر ہے۔ اور یہ کہ جب کوئی دل اپنے خوابوں کی تلاش میں نکلتا ہے تو کبھی دکھی نہیں ہوا، کیونکہ تلاش کا ہر لمحہ خدا اور ابدیت کے ساتھ ایک لمحہ  کی ملاقات ہے۔

لڑکے نے اپنے دل سے کہا، "تلاش کا ہر لمحہ خدا سے ملاقات ہے۔

"زمین پر ہر ایک کے پاس ایک خزانہ ہے جو اس کا انتظار کر رہا ہے،" اس کے دل نے کہا۔ "ہم، لوگوں کے دل، شاذ و نادر ہی بہت کچھ ان خزانوں کے بارے میں کہتے ہیں، کیونکہ لوگ اب ان کی تلاش میں نہیں جانا چاہتے۔ ہم ان کے بارے میں صرف بچوں سے بات کرتے ہیں۔ بعد میں، ہم صرف زندگی کو اس کی اپنی سمت میں، اپنی قسمت کی طرف بڑھنے دیتے ہیں۔

لیکن، بدقسمتی سے، بہت کم لوگ اس راستے کی پیروی کرتے ہیں جو ان کے لیے بنا  ٰ ئی گئی ہے - ان کی منزل اور خوشی کا راستہ۔ زیادہ تر لوگ دنیا کو ایک خطر نا ک  جگہ کے طور پر دیکھتے ہیں، اور، کیونکہ وہ ایسا سو چتے  ہیں، دنیا واقعی ایک خطرناک جگہ بن جاتی ہے۔

"لہذا، ہم، ان کے دل، زیادہ سے زیادہ نرمی سے بولتے ہیں۔ ہم کبھی بھی بولنا بند نہیں کرتے، لیکن ہم امید کرنا شروع کر دیتے ہیں کہ ہمارے الفاظ نہیں سنے جائیں گے: ہم نہیں چاہتے کہ لوگوں کو تکلیف ہو کیونکہ وہ اپنے دلوں کی پیروی نہیں کرتے۔

 

Words Meaning:

S.No.	Words	Meaning
1.	treasure	خزانہ
2.	agitated	پریشان
3.	passionate	جذباتی
4.	traitor	غدار
5.	pursuance	تعقب،تلاش
6.	fate	قسمت
7.	destinies	مقدر
8.	treasonous	غداری
9.	unexpected	غیر متوقع
10.	suffer	تکلیف جھیلنا

 

Words Synonyms:

S.No.	Words	Synonyms	الفاظ	مترادف
1.	treasure	wealth	خزانہ	دولت
2.	agitated	restless	پریشان	دُکھی
3.	passionate	zealous	جذباتی	پُر جوش
4.	traitor	conspirator	غدار	بے ایمان
5.	pursuance	achievement	تعقب	تلاش
6.	fate	fortune	قسمت	تقدیر
7.	destiny	fate	مقدر	قسمت
8.	treasonous	disloyalty	غداری	بے ایمانی
9.	unexpected	unanticipated	غیر متوقع	غیر یقینی
10.	suffer	agonize	تکلیف جھیلنا	دُکھ جھیلنا

 

Words Antonyms:

 

Phrasal Verbs:

S.No.	Phrasal Verbs	Meaning and sentence
1.	Deal with	Take action: When we are by ourselves we have to deal with the issues we are faced with.
2.	Lookup	Search for something: The boy looked up to see if the moon was still visible.
3.	layout	Spread something out: The path to the truth is laid out for those who sincerely wish to reach it.

 

Cognates:

S.No.	English	Equivalent Urdu
1.	Scrap	سکریپ
2.	Second	سیکنڈ
3.	Alchemist	الکیمسٹ

 

Fill in the blanks:

S.No.	Sentences
1.	“Why do we have to_____to our hearts?” a.      See b.      Look c.       Listen
2.	“My heart is a_____,” the boy said to the alchemist. a.       Traitor b.      Universe c.       Coward
3.	“Treason is a ______that comes unexpectedly. a.       Flow b.      Glow c.       Blow
4.	“Every second of the search is an encounter with_______,” a.       Nature b.      Man c.       God
5.	“Everyone on earth has a __________that awaits him,” his heart said. a.       House b.      Tree c.       Treasure

 

Words and sentences:

S.No.	Words	Sentences
1.	treasure	Always follow your heart because that is where you will find your treasure.
2.	agitated	You should not be agitated by the problems of the world because they are temporary.
3.	passionate	His passionate lecture on the Native American Language made me study the Native American language and culture.

 

Tenses used in the passage: (Deductive application grammar rules):

Present indefinite tense is a verb tense used to indicate an action that is happening now, or that is a regular or habitual occurrence. It is also sometimes referred to as the simple present tense.

The structure of the tense is as under:

 

Subject+first form of the verb+helping verb (do does)+object.

Examples of present indefinite tense in the ibid passage are:

1.       So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly.

2.       It asks things of me and it keeps me from sleeping many nights.

3.      It has its dreams, it gets emotional and it becomes passionate over a woman of the desert.

 

The present continuous tense is used to describe actions that are happening in the present moment. It is formed with the helping verb "to be" and the present participle (verb + ing).

 

Examples in the given passage:

1.       In pursuing your dreams, you might lose everything you have won.

2.       We never stop speaking out.

3.      Your heart is alive, keep listening to what it has to say.

 

Paragraph Comprehension: (Questions taken from the ibid passage).

Read the ibid paragraph carefully and answer the following questions in your own words.

1.      Who is the Alchemist?

Ans: The alchemist is a mysterious character who transforms the life of the boy, Santiago.

2.      What did the boy ask the Alchemist?

Ans: The boy asked the Alchemist that we people have to follow our hearts.

3.      What did the Alchemist tell the boy?

Ans: The Alchemist replied that wherever his heart is, that is where he will find his treasure.”

4.      Why should we listen to our hearts?

Ans:  We should listen to our hearts because no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity.

Criticism: (Improvement in the Method is crucial due to the following reasons):

The Grammar Translation Method is not a good method for teaching a language because it focuses too heavily on grammar rules and memorization of vocabulary, and does not provide enough opportunities for students to practice speaking and listening. It also does not provide any context for the language, so students are unable to understand. After a threadbare perusal of the method the following flaws in the Grammar Translation Method are observed:

 1. It does not focus on developing speaking and listening skills.

2. It does not promote the use of the target language in a communicative context.

3. It does not encourage students to think in the target language.

4. It does not promote the use of authentic materials

What improvements in the Grammar Translation Method are required?

In order for the method to work effectively, the following improvements are needed:

Increase the use of authentic materials: The Grammar Translation Method relies heavily on the use of textbooks and other written materials. To make the method more effective, teachers should incorporate more authentic materials such as newspapers, magazines, and audio recordings into their lessons.

Increase the use of communicative activities: The Grammar Translation Method is focused on the memorization of grammar rules and vocabulary. To make the method more effective, teachers should incorporate more communicative activities such as role-plays, debates, and discussions into their lessons.

Increase the use of the target language: The Grammar Translation Method relies heavily on the use of the native language. To make the method more effective, teachers should increase the use of the target language in their lessons.

Increase the use of technology: The Grammar Translation Method does not make use of technology. To make the method more effective, teachers should incorporate technology such as online quizzes, videos, and interactive activities into their lessons.

Increase the use of real-world applications: The Grammar Translation Method is focused on the memorization of grammar rules and vocabulary. To make the method more effective, teachers should incorporate more real-world applications into their lessons. This could include activities such as writing emails, creating presentations, and giving presentations.

Sher Ali, MPhil Scholar (Linguistics)

Twitter Handle:

https://twitter.com/eatabook1987

The End.