| User | Thread poster: Raf Uzar Is Grammar Translation any good? |
Raf Uzar Poland Local time: 00:27 Polish to English | |
Tatty Spain Spanish to English + ... |
I don't know how people can translate without knowing the grammar of both the source and target language. I didn't learn English grammar until I became an EFL teacher, and it has been invaluable for me. Translation was taught as part of my degree course for the purpose of learning the foreign language and I thought it was good. I learnt translation proper at a private school after my degree. I do love a bit of grammar me, without it communication just isn't effective, all sorts of misunderstandings can creep in. | | | |
Raf Uzar Poland Local time: 00:27 Polish to English TOPIC STARTER |
Tatty,
So why all the fuss about the 'evils' of grammar-translation, do you think? | | | |
Tatty Spain Spanish to English + ... | | 2 different contexts | Oct 12 |
I think the article talks about grammar-translation in 2 contexts: learning a foreign language, and translator training.
In the past people just learnt the rules of grammar of a foreign language, as a result they did not speak the language or understand it when spoken to. Clearly this method had its shortcomings. I do however think that it is best to get the boring stuff out of the way at school.
In relation to the second context, as I said above, grammar-translation is a useful starting technique, at least in my experience. | | | |
Raf Uzar Poland Local time: 00:27 Polish to English TOPIC STARTER |
Interesting that you think we should get the boring stuff out of the way at school. I believe the boring stuff should come after and school should be illuminating and always interesting (or at least most of the time). | | | |