Realities or farce of criticisms of grammar translation: The german experience in Nigeria

Abstract

Translation is a humanistic enterprise used in language pedagogy. However, applying translatorial action process in language teaching, otherwise known as grammar translation (GT) approach has come under serious criticisms ranging from methodological
lapses – abandonment of the primacy of oracy in language teaching to quasi- or nonactualization of the objectives of the language teaching and learning – acquisition of native-like language processing speed by the learner coupled with semantic dislocations
due to source- and target language mismatches arising from incomprehension of use variations of the two languages in contact. Using unobtrusive observation, interactions with the teachers and learners of German (in the only three Nigerian universities where students are graduated in B.A. German), documentations on foreign language teaching and the contrastivist’s viewpoint to evaluate the learning of German, one notices that there is avalanche of evidence in support of the effectiveness of GT approach for German
learning in Nigeria. Subsequently, through deductive argumentation, it is demonstrated that GT is evidently necessary for the development of cognitive strategy in the language learning and speaks for maximal development of linguistic competence and performance. Therefore, GT approach is represented as a viable approach to the foreign language teaching and learning in Nigeria.