The Grammar Translation Method for Saudi Arabian Students - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal of the Project: Which is more effective in learning vocabulary for Saudi Arabian - The grammar translation method (GTM) or the Communicative Language Teaching approach (CLT) 2. Aims This study aims to bring out the difference between the Grammar Translation Method and the Communicative Language Teaching approach and find out which one is more effective at the vocabulary level for Saudi Arabian students who study English as a second language in the first year at university/college. The paper will, therefore, explore the better way of enhancing the students' communicative competence and their ability to speak accurately and fluently in English. 3. Rationale There has not been enough research focusing on the methods of teaching vocabulary in Saudi context. Focusing on the methods of teaching the English language, vocabulary was disregarded and reduced, while grammar and pronunciation were given more emphasis (Al-Jabri, 2005). According to Harmer (2007), teachers are very unsure of how to determine a suitable method of teaching English because of the variety of different approaches and methods available. They can gradually, with experience, create their own method of teaching. This could be the most appropriate method they can use according to the context they teach in (Scrivener, 2005). Students usually choose a low-effort strategy when they are required to do a task (Krashen, 1987). They seem to prefer translation of new vocabulary rather than getting their meanings from the contexts or from doing pair-works (Prince, 1996). It is significant to shed light on the effectiveness of the English teaching methodologies in order to increase the awareness of English teachers to re-evaluate their teaching methods, considering the applicability of these methods on the social and cultural situations. Based on my teaching experience, therefore, I propose to investigate whether the Grammar- Translation method is more effective than CLT approach at the vocabulary level. 4. Literature Review: Much has been said and talked about the traditional ways of teaching. One of the ways is the Grammar Translation Method which dates back to the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries when foreign language learning was associated with the learning of Latin and Greek. In the process of teaching and learning English, translation is used in the Grammar Translation Method. According to Boey (1970) the student is first required to learn the vocabulary lists consisting of L2 words and its equivalent L1 words. L1 is used to teach the grammatical rules of L2. Thereafter, practice exercises are given to students where they have to translate the L1 sentences into L2 sentences by applying the grammatical rules to the vocabulary learnt. On the other hand, the main aim of the Communicative Language Approach (CLT) is to produce churn out students who are communicatively competent. In this method, the teacher first gives a presentation and thereafter, students are made to use the language through activities, such as games, role plays and problem solving tasks. (Larsen, 1987) According to Maleki (2005), the main purpose of these two languages - GTM and CLT was to promote the intellectual skills of its speakers. Therefore, it was extremely important to focus on sentence structure, grammatical rules, learning of vocabulary and translation of literary texts. The other method which is now more prevalent for teaching is the Communicative Language Approach. Wen Wu (2008) stated that Communicative Language Approach is mainly based on the idea that the primary function of language use is communication. According to Al-Shabbi (1994), due to its emphasis on fluency over accuracy approach, the Communicative Language Method has not paid much attention to spelling in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classroom. Even the great appeal of Communicative Language Teaching has not been able to overcome the psychological barriers which becomes a hindrance in the learning process. Though it's unfortunate, that CLT is quite in use, teachers usually get bored of it easily and therefore come back to teaching the grammar translation method. (Maleki, 2005) Cronell (as cited in Al-Shabbi 1994) writes that "misspelling marks the person as, at best, illiterate, if not out-right 'ignorant'". According to him, while in its initial years, CLT laid more emphasis on fluency, lately, there has been the need of accuracy as well. EFL students not only require to become fluent in English, but fluent in accurate English. A study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of translation method in teaching vocabulary to elementary level ESL learners. The translation method was used in the study because it used the Learners' L1 as the medium of instruction. The result of the study proved that there was a great impact on the recall and retention of the meaning of words they used. According to Rhalmi (2009), the easisest and shortest way of explaining words and phrases in GTM is translation. The best part is that students/learners have to face very less difficulty in understanding the language since it is taught with the help of the mother tongue. Therefore, it saves a lot of time too since everything is carried out in the mother tongue. While the CLT advocates the use of target language, studies have shown that the use of English alone may be just suitable for intermediate and advance level learners. For the elementary level students, who supposedly have limited proficiency in English however, the use of English alone may cause problems in understanding language. (Ramchandran 2004; Rahim 2004) Using English for only elementary level learners, it has been argued that the CLT needs to be given an assessment. The major drawback of the CLT approach as cited by Amenyodor (2009) is that it does not dwell on drilling. "Instead it covers the various ways of communication with contextualization, translation and speaking skills. During the study period, various role play and group projects may be used but if the student does not and cannot speak up then the approach may be considered to be unfruitful." Thompson (as cited in Raghdah 2009) has mentioned the misconceptions in the CLT approach. It revolves around teaching grammar which is impossible to learn since the knowledge which the learner needs to use in the language is quite complex. It does not undermine the significance of teaching grammar, instead it only facilitates students to learn grammar rather than teaching it himself/herself. 4. The research design Research questions - The research will focus on the following questions: 1- Is the Grammar Translation Method more effective than Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) for grammar & vocabulary learning for Saudi Arabian students in the first year of college 2- Do Saudi students find it difficult to learn English vocabulary when their teacher uses a CLT approach in the classroom 3- Does the English curriculum for the first year of the university/college test the students' communicative competence Hypotheses: There is a high positive impact on the Saudi students' performance in learning vocabulary when their teacher uses the Grammar- Translation method. a. Research Design: There will be two groups of participants in this study. The first group will be 10 male English teachers and lecturers aged between 28 and 44 years. They teach at one of the Saudi universities in Makkah city and are Saudi nationals. Their native language is Arabic and their qualifications are Master's and PhD degrees in TESOL and Applied Linguistics. The second group will be a sample population of 50 male Saudi first year university/college level students aged between 18 and 20 years. Their mother tongue is Arabic. Since we are trying to find out which method of teaching - GTM or CLT - is better, we will use the qualitative method to carry out the research. A questionnaire will be prepared for the students who will answer which style of teaching is more effective and easy to learn for them. A similar questionnaire will be put across the lecturers also, who will answer which method of teaching to they prefer and why. How is one of them better than the other The students will also undergo a test where they will have to translate words/sentences given to them in their mother language to English through both the methods - both GTM and CLT. The test will check the accuracy and fluency. The results will be analyzed to find out which method is more effective, easier and beneficial for them. This research design will be adopted to bring out the clear picture of whether the GTM is more effective than the CLT approach or not and which method should be used in college/university to improve the communication competence of students with English as the second language. 5. Limitations of the research: Since a qualitative research method is applied to carry out the study, it would be difficult to have a huge number of respondents. Also, the students will be at the vocabulary level, so the answers given by them in the test might not be very reliable. References: Al-Jabri, S. S. (2005). The effects of semantic and thematic clustering on learning English vocabulary by Saudi students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania. Al-Shabbi (1994). A Communicative Approach to Spelling for Arab Students of English. Available from http://digital.library.ksu.edu.sa/V6M93R2336.pdf Amenyedor, M. K. (2009).Advantages and Disadvantages of Visual Approach and Communicative Teaching Approach. Retrieved May 18, 2010, fromhttp://ezinearticles.com/Advantages- and- Disadvantages- of- Visual- Approach- and- Communicative- Teaching- Approach&id=2178587 Boey, L (1970). The Use of the First Language in Second Language Learning and Teaching. RELC Journal Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th edition). London: Longman. Krashen, S. (1987). Principles and Practices in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Prentice-Hall. Larsen-Freeman, D. (1987). Recent Innovations in Language Teaching Methodology. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Maleki, A. (2005). A New Approach to Teaching English as a Foreign Language: The Bottom-Up Approach. Asian EFL Journal. Available from http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/pta_april_05_am.php Prince, P. (1996). Second language vocabulary learning: the role of context versus translations as a function of proficiency. Modern Language Journal, 80, 478-493 Raghdah, 2009. What is Communicative Language Teaching and its Misconceptions. Available from: http://raghdah.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/what-is-communicative-langauge-teaching-clt-its-misconceptions/ Ramchandran& Rahim (2004). The Impact of the Translation Method on Elementary Level Learners' Vocabulary Learning. RELC Journal: Available from http://academia-research.com/files/instr/440950_clt2.pdf Rhalmi, M. (2009). Grammar Translation Method. My English Pages: Available from http://myenglishpages.com/blog/grammar-translation-method Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning Teaching. Oxford: United Kingdom, Macmillan Education. Wu, W. (2008). Misunderstandings of Communicative Language Teaching. Available from http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/viewFile/509/491 Read More