On The Applicability Of Grammar Translation Method In Medical English Teaching

Language teaching has been around for many centuries, and over the centuries, it has changed. Various influences have affected language teaching. In foreign language teaching, there are many significant teaching methods, such as the Grammar Translation Method, the Audio-lingual Method, the communicative Method, and so on. However, in recent years, the voice for Communicative Approach and that against Grammar Translation Method has been on the rise. The dominant position of the latter in language teaching is greatly challenged. Yet Grammar Translation Method (shorted for GTM) does have benefits over others. Its connotations and features bear out its applicability in foreign language teaching in China.Obviously, as far as the teaching itself is concerned, it is quite necessary to support the idea of conducting the class in English for it is an effective way to improve the English levels and form a good thinking habit of the students. However, medical English course has its own features, which include large amounts of vocabulary and need a rather high level of analytical abilities. In most cases, it is rather hard to find an exact example or some specific words to illustrate a certain abstract concept or a complicated process. Hence, GTM is needed for the medical English course.From my own experience of teaching English for medical purpose as a tutor, I find that I benefit most from GTM. Especially when I use it to teach students majoring in medicine, they seem to understand the text more easily and better in this way. Grammar-translation Method of foreign language teaching is one of the most traditional methods. However, from the late 19th century, Grammar-translation Method has been condemned and criticized repeatedly. This present paper is an attempt to argue for the applicability of GTM in English teaching for medical purpose. It mainly presents the positive attitude towards this method, furthermore, empirical analyses of the Grammar Translation Method will be made.It also gives an overview of the historical role of GTM in the language teaching and the current situation of English teaching for medical purpose in order to give a clear picture of the applicability of this method. Through careful analyses, the applicable role of GTM has been positively revealed and the improvements and developing trend of GTM will also be discussed in this article.In the end, the paper explains that GTM can benefit both the English teaching and learning activities for medical purpose.