I tried to learn Italian through http://web.uvic.ca/hispanital/italian/italian100/prelim/ page. Here I could find useful exercises for beginners, as the topic of greeting is designed in a didactic way. The basic greetings are accompanied by images that clarify the explanation and then there are some examples of the greeting in a conversation.
In this page it is possible to find grammar translation in examples like:
• ciao: hi, hello, bye (informal)
• buon giorno: good morning, good afternoon
The use of grammar translation is seen sometimes as something to avoid at the moment to learn a new language because it is expected to learn it in context, but the truth is that sometimes the best way to understand something is by linking the new language with the mother tongue. Something similar to what happen with cognates in English.
On the other hand behaviorism is the complement of grammar translation, especially in speaking and the performance of the speech. Grammar is mainly important because is the base of a language, but it is necessary to get to put it into practice. Whenever learning a new language you cannot just be focus on certain strategies of the language.
It is important to know about theory, but if there is not applied it can be easily forgotten. That is why both methods need to work in a collaborative way, in order to achieve good results in all the skills.
