What are the drawbacks of the Bilingual Method?

The drawbacks of the Bilingual Method are as under:

  • In the bi-lingual method, the teacher while teaching English in English sometimes switches to the mother tongue. This creates a lot of confusion and a mixture of the two languages. In learning L2, a learner is in threat of even muddling up his L1, As a result, there is no proper and distinct outcome.
  • No two languages are alike. They differ in one or the other aspect. As such, a contrast between the features of two languages. Is likely to lead to confusion and errors and blunders in the long run.
  • The main drawback is that a teacher may be good in English but not in the mother – tongue or vice-versa. It may thus give rise to wrong interpretations and notions at times.
  • This method is useful at lower stages and is not useful at higher stages of education.
  • Some students may sometimes be more attentive to the sounds, words or contexts of the mother – tongue only and instead of progressing the pace to learn L2 through the use of Li, it may sometimes not only hinder the pace but not at all help in learning L2.