The grammar-translation method is part of English pedagogy and will help on your journey to learn, write, and speak English. Here, classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active target language use.

Here are the proven ways to learn translation rules. You can practice with translation exercises that can improve your score.

What is the Grammar-Translation method?

The grammar-translation method has different names, such as

• Oldest method
• Classical method
• Traditional method
• Prussian method (in the US)

Popular at the primary stage, in this method, the word is framed in sentences.

Anything taught to students in the classroom; the teacher tries to teach them in their mother tongue to make learning easy and approachable.

Teachers read every sentence and translate it into their mother tongue to make learning understandable. Here a teacher explains every word in their mother tongue.

Major focus 

The major focus of this grammar-translation method is reading and writing, and not speaking and listening. Students are considered passive learners in this method.

Direction

The direction in the grammar-translation method defines how to use the method. 

Its path or direction of use is

• Known to unknown – means that students emphasise or promote new things which they don’t know but with the help of what they know.

Way of understanding

By the grammar-translation method, students are supposed to learn grammar through rules and deductively. 

• Here, deductively means step by step. If you want to teach students the topic Noun, you should first explain the definition of the noun, then rules and examples.

Method of instruction

The method of instruction for understanding the grammar-translation method is the language in which we deliver our speech to understand students better. Since, as decided, it should be a regional language.

As their regional language is their mother tongue, it makes understanding easier.

Focus

The focus of the grammar-translation method is the rules of grammar. Here grammar teaching is based on rules.

Merits and demerits of the grammar-translation method.

Merits

• Economical
• Convenient
• Time-saving
• Clarity
• Fewer chances of vagueness
• Vocab builder
• Appreciative theory – learning is to connect both old and new ideas
• Correct knowledge
• Shortest way and for every situation
• Art of translation

Demerits

• Getting obsolete – As seen in private schools, there is only one language to get privileges, that is English. It is diminishing the impact of another language usage.
• No focus on speaking, intonation, and pronunciation – There is less focus on speaking, intonation and pronunciation in the grammar-translation method. It can have harmful effects on students.

• Loss of correct effect – If you focus on a single language and translate it every time, you may lose the correct effect of another language.

For instance, some idioms that belong to English, when translated, lose their effect.

• Can’t explain and translate everything – Teachers can’t explain and translate everything.
• Unorthodox method

Some important translation rules 

A tense in translation rule may be defined as that form of a verb that indicates the time and the state of an action or event.

Translation rules are different for all tenses and different translation exercises.

Three tenses construct the base of translation rules.

• Present tense
• Past tense
• Future tense

These tenses have further divisions but foremost, understand tense and their translation rule.

Present tense

Its translation rules depend on four further divisions of it. Translation exercises are also mentioned below.

• The present indefinite tense

Subject + verb (1st form)

If the subject is third-person singular, then s/es is added to the verb.

वह मुझे जानता है । He knows me.

तुम्हारी बहन खेलती है। Your sister plays.

• Present continuous

Subject + is/am/are + verb (ing) + object

हमलोग खेल रहे हैं । We are playing.

वह दौड़ रहा है । He is running.

• Present perfect tense

Subject + Has/have + Verb(third form) + object

वह स्कूल गया है । He has gone to school.

वे लोग जा चुके हैं । They have gone.

• Present perfect continuous

Subject + has/have + been + verb(ing) + since/for + time + object

वह कहता रहा है । He has been saying.

मैं खाता रहा हूं । I have been eating.

• Third-person singular includes He/She/It/Ram(any name)

Past tense

Translation rules 

• Past indefinite

Subject + verb + object

तुमने खेला । I went.

वे लोग आए । They came.

• Past continuous tense

Subject + was/were + Verb(ing) + object

मैं खा रहा था । I was eating.

हमलोग पढ़ रहे थे । We were reading.

• Past perfect tense

Subject + had + Verb(third form) + object

राम सो चुका था । Ram had slept.

तुम खा चुके थे । You had eaten.

• Past perfect continuous

Subject + had + been + verb(ing) + object + since/for +object

मैं पढ़ता रहा था। I had been reading.

वे काम करते रहे थे । They had been working.

Future tense

Translation rules

• Future indefinite

Subject + shall/will + verb(first form) + object

वे लोग आएंगे। 

मैं कल जाऊंगा।

• Future continuous

Subject + will be + Verb(ing) + object

• Future perfect

Subject + will/shall + have + verb(third form) + object

• Future perfect continuous

Subject + will/shall + since/for + time + object

Conclusion:

Here you have learned about grammatical translation methods and their implication in school. You also learnt about the merits and demerits of grammatical translation methods.

It promotes the students to learn in their mother tongue to develop an understanding. It leads to enhancing their basic skills that are necessary for all aspects. From the beginning, there are several translation rules and also translation exercises.