The communicative grammar translation method: a practical method to teach communication skills of

Table 3. The Materials 
The Grammar-
Translation Method 
1. Explanatory lecture-based, for teacher-fronted presentation
2. Dull, written-text, reading-based
3. Textual translation and written exercise 
4. Designed for single student work 
The Communicative 
Language Teaching 
1. Collaborative and student-centered discovery 
2. Interactive and communicative-based.
3. Functional tasks Dialogue, interviews, discussion, board 
games, and jigsaw game. 
4. Designed for pair or group work 
The table shows the differences between teaching materials of both methods in general. 
The alignment of the materials has formulated the following types of teaching materials in the 
purposed method, among other things: 

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Kaharuddin, The Communicative Grammar Translation Method… 
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1). Explanatory and collaborative materials for students’ language mastery 
This proposed method basically employs the basic principles of teaching materials 
presentation of GTM and CLT i.e. explanatory and collaborative presentations. In the classroom, 
the teachers are required to begin teaching the students with grammar explanation of a particular 
rule. The explanation must be carried out in the students’ mother tongue. This is done to avoid 
difficulties in understanding the grammar presentation. A text that contains high frequently used 
vocabularies and the grammar rule application is then given to the students as an exercise. The 
text is provided in the students’ mother tongue which must be translated into the target language 
appropriately and correctly. The translated text is then discussed collaboratively between the 
students. The collaborative discussion is intended to give the students opportunity to practice and 
finally to master the learnt rule and vocabularies which they can use for future communication.