Introduction

It is important to highlight that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of the Republic of Uzbekistan places significant emphasis on developing learners' communicative abilities in foreign languages, recognizing their crucial role in shaping the country’s future and fostering its growth. In Decree №4947, titled "On Uzbekistan’s Development Strategy," adopted on February 7, 2017, the president emphasized the need for substantial improvements in general education, with a particular focus on enhancing foreign language proficiency, computer science, and other essential disciplines. Learning a foreign language in schools is a multifaceted process that involves developing communication skills through mastering grammar and vocabulary, which continuously interact with the existing framework of the native language.

Literature review

Grammar instruction in foreign language classrooms has always been a key topic of discussion among language educators. Each language possesses a unique grammatical structure, and native speakers naturally acquire their first language without explicit instruction on grammar rules. This leads to differing viewpoints on the best approaches to grammar teaching.
According to Thornbury (1999: 1), "Grammar is partly the study of what forms (or structures) are possible in a language, thus providing a description of the rules that govern sentence formation." Harmer (1987: 1) defines grammar as the structure of a language, including rules for word pluralization, negation, word order in questions, and combining clauses to form complex sentences.
Traditionally, grammar teaching was regarded as the core goal in foreign language education, focused on ensuring that students could produce grammatically correct sentences both in writing and speaking. This method, where learners first encountered grammar rules through textbooks, is known as deductive teaching and was predominantly used in the Grammar-Translation Method.

However, teaching approaches have shifted from deductive to inductive methods. In deductive teaching, students’ attention is drawn directly to grammar rules rather than fostering an understanding of language in context. Conversely, inductive teaching encourages learners to infer grammar rules from examples. Today, the inductive approach is more favored by language educators due to its student-centered nature. Though both methods aim to teach grammar, they differ significantly in their instructional strategies (Rutherford and Smith, 1988).

The Grammar-Translation Method was widely used in language classrooms from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. Initially introduced in Latin and ancient Greek classrooms, it replaced more communicative methods as Latin ceased to be a spoken language. With no need for oral communication in these classical languages, the Grammar-Translation Method shifted its focus to developing the ability to read and translate classical texts. By the mid-19th century, scholars like Karl Plötz and Johann Seidenstücker had adopted this method to teach modern languages, and it quickly spread across Europe and the United States. Despite its widespread use, the Grammar-Translation Method faced criticism from advocates of more interactive, speaking-focused methods. Critics argued that languages should be learned through speaking and listening, not merely through study. One critic even suggested that the Grammar-Translation Method focused more on "knowing everything about something rather than the thing itself" (Rouse, 1925; quoted in Kelly, 1969; 53).

Methodology

In this study, both theoretical and practical research methods were employed, including an analysis of published works, predictions based on findings, and validation through lesson planning. Additionally, a literature review and qualitative research were conducted.
The theoretical contribution of this research lies in its potential to serve as a comprehensive guide, as the topic is explored in depth, with numerous examples provided. This paper can serve as a valuable resource for lecturers teaching methodology in grammar instruction.
Initially, the teaching process was largely descriptive and traditional; however, the second approach is entirely experiential. In the traditional method, grammar is taught by translating into the students’ native language and comparing grammatical similarities and differences between the languages. Today, student-centered approaches are preferred as they have been found to be more effective, fostering active student engagement and improving the learning process.

Data collection and analysis

The traditional approaches to teaching grammar are problematic, as they require students to produce output immediately, as demonstrated in the following diagram:

Diagram 1. Traditional Practice in Grammar

While they do agree that production can help with fluency and accuracy, it is not the means by which the grammar develops in the internal system. Early production is problematic, they argue, because acquisition involves the creation of an implicit linguistic system, one that exists outside of awareness. This developing system is dependent upon input, and happens when learners receive and process a significant amount of input that is both comprehensible and meaningful. As opposed to traditional grammar teaching which emphasizes production, it is proposes as a new kind of grammar instruction called processing instruction that focuses on input and how learners process input.

In second diagram, learners are first given information about a particular linguistic structure or form. They are then provided with information about how a particular processing strategy might negatively affect their learning of the form or structure. Finally, learners are encouraged to process the form or structure using structured input activities. Only after this phase will learners be required to produce output.

There are two different overall methods for teaching grammar, called traditional and functional grammar. Traditional grammar focuses on explicitly teaching students about structuring sentences and the different parts of speech, whereas functional grammar has a strong focus on the context of a text.

Diagram 2. Processing-Oriented Grammar Instruction

Results

While it is true that the Grammar-Translation Method remains in use in many classrooms, it lacks proponents or theoretical foundations. This method is not backed by any substantial theory, nor is there literature that provides a rationale or seeks to connect it to broader linguistic, psychological, or educational concepts.

The primary characteristics of the Grammar-Translation Method are outlined as follows:

1. 1.Instruction is predominantly delivered in the learners' native language, with limited active engagement in the target language.
2. 2.Vocabulary is primarily introduced through lists of isolated words, which limits contextual learning.
3. 3.Detailed and lengthy explanations are provided on the complexities of grammar rules, often without practical application.
4. 4.Grammar is treated as a set of rules that govern word combinations, with an emphasis on word forms and inflections.
5. 5.Reading classical, often complex, texts begins early in the learning process, usually without sufficient linguistic context.
6. 6.Little attention is given to the content or meaning of texts, as they are primarily viewed as exercises for grammatical analysis.
7. 7.The exercises predominantly consist of translating isolated sentences between the target language and the mother tongue, rather than fostering communicative competence.
8. 8.Pronunciation is frequently neglected or not addressed, limiting learners' ability to speak the language fluently and accurately.

Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of GTM

Discussion and conclusion

Teaching grammar plays a crucial role in the language learning process, and it has traditionally been taught in a consistent manner, maintaining long-standing practices. One of the most commonly used traditional methods is the Grammar-Translation Method. This approach involves explicitly presenting the rules of grammar (typically in the student’s native language) along with example sentences in the target language. The Grammar-Translation Method originates from the classical method of teaching Ancient Greek and Latin. In these classes, students first learn grammatical rules and then apply them by translating sentences between their native language and the target language. Advanced learners may even be required to translate entire texts word-for-word.

This method serves two main objectives: enabling students to read and translate literature in the target language and fostering their general intellectual development. Initially, it was used to teach Latin, where the language was once learned for communication but eventually became an academic subject after it ceased to be spoken. When foreign languages began being taught in the 19th century, the same translation-based method used for Latin was adopted.

Despite its historical use, the Grammar-Translation Method has been widely criticized for its limitations. In this method:

• Students learn rules by studying example sentences.
• They translate sentences exemplifying these rules into their native language.
• They translate sentences from their native language into the target language.

The primary objectives of Grammar-Translation classes are to improve students' reading comprehension to the point where they can read literature in the target language and to develop their mental discipline. Teachers act more as guides since this method largely involves memorizing rules and manipulating the morphology and syntax of the foreign language. It requires minimal specialized skills from teachers, as the tests on grammar rules and translation are straightforward to create and can be scored objectively.