The Direct Method

INTRODUCTION

Since the Grammar - Translation Method was not very effective in preparing students to use the target language communicatively, the Direct Method became popular.
The Direct Method has one basic rule : No translation is allowed. In fact, the Direct Method receives its name from the fact that meaning is to be conveyed directly in the target language through the use of demonstration and visual aids, with no recourse to the students’ native language ( Diller 1978 ).

EXPERIENCE


THINKING ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE

1.Observation => The students read aloud a passage about United States geography.
Principle => Reading in the target language should be taught from the beginning of language instruction ; however the reading skill will be developed through practice with speaking. Language is primarily speech. Culture consists of more than the fine arts ( e.g. the students study geography and cultural attitudes ).

2.Observation => The teacher points to a part of the map after each sentence is read.
Principle => Objects ( e.g. realia or pictures ) present in the immediate classroom environment should be used to help students understand the meaning.

3.Observation => The teacher uses the target language to asks the students if they have a question. The students use the target language to ask their questions.
Principle => The native language should not be used in the classroom.

4.Observation => The teacher answers the students’ questions by drawing on the blackboard or giving examples.
Principle => The teacher should demonstrate not explain or translate. It is desirable that students make a direct association between the target language and meaning.

5.Observation => The teacher asks questions about the map in the target language, to which the students reply in a complete sentence in the target language.
Principle => Students should learn to think in the target language as soon as possible. Vocabulary is acquired more naturally if students use it in full sentences, rather than memorizing word lists.

6.Observation => Students ask questions about the map.
Principle => The purpose of language learning is communication ( therefore students need to learn how to ask questions as well as answer them ).

7.Observation => The teacher works with the students on the pronunciation of ‘Appalachian. ’
Principles => Pronunciation should be worked on right from the beginning of language instruction.

8.Observation => The teacher corrects a grammar error by asking the students to make a choice.
Principle => Self – correction facilitates language learning.

9.Observation => The teacher asks questions about the students ; students ask each other questions.
Principle => Lesson should contain some conversational activity – some opportunity for students to use language in real contexts. Students should be encouraged to speak as much as possible.

10.Observation => The students fill in blanks with prepositions practiced in the lesson.
Principle => Grammar should be taught inductively. There may never be an explicit grammar rule given.

11.Observation => The teacher dictates a paragraph about United States geography.
Principle => Writing is an important skill, to be developed from the beginning of language instruction.

12.Observation => All of the lesson of the week involve United States geography.
Principle => The syllabus is based on situation or topics, not usually on linguistic structures.

13.Observation => A proverb is used to discuss how people in the U.S. view punctuality.
Principle => Learning another language also involves learning how speakers of that language live.

REVIEWING THE PRINCIPLES

1.The goals of teachers who use the Direct Method are :
Intend that students learn how to communicate in the target language. In order to do this successfully, students should learn to think in the target language.

2.Although the teacher directs the class activities, the student role is less passive than in the Grammar – Translation Method. The teacher and the students are more like partners in the teaching / learning process.

3.Some characteristics of the teaching / learning process are :
Teachers who use the Direct Method believe students need to associate meaning and the target language directly. In order to do this, when the teacher introduces a new target language word or phrase, he demonstrates its meaning through the use of realia, pictures, pantomime; he never translates it into the students’ native language. Students speak in the target language a great deal and communicate as if they were in real situations. In fact, the syllabus used in the Direct Method is based upon situations ( for example, one unit would consist of language that people would use at a bank, another of the language that they use when going shopping ) or topics ( such as geography, money or the weather). Grammar is taught inductively, the students are presented with examples and they figure out the rule or generalization from the examples. An explicit grammar rule may never be given. Students practice vocabulary by using new words in complete sentence.

4.The initiation of the interaction goes both ways, from teacher to students and from students to teacher, although the latter is often teacher directed. Students converse with one another as well.

5.The feelings of the students dealt with by
There are no principles of the method which relate to this area.

6.Language is primarily spoken not written. Therefore, students study common, everyday speech in the target language . They also study culture consisting of the history of the people who speak the target language, the geography of the country or countries where the language is spoken, and information about the daily lives of the speakers of the language.

7.Vocabulary is emphasized over grammar. Although work on all four skills ( reading, writing, speaking, and listening ) occurs from the start, oral communication is seen as basic. Thus the reading and writing exercises are based upon what the students practice orally first. Pronunciation also receives attention right from the beginning of course.

8.The role of the students’ native language is
The students’ native language should not be used in the classroom.

9.Evaluation accomplished by :
In the Direct Method, students are asked to use the language, not to demonstrate their knowledge about the language. They are asked to do so using both oral and written skills. For example, the students might be interviewed orally by the teacher or might be asked to write a paragraph about something they have studied .

10.The teachers respond to students errors by
The teacher, employing various techniques, tries to get students to self – correct whenever possible.

REVIEWING THE TECHNIQUES

Reading aloud
Students take turns reading sections of a passage, play, or dialog out loud. At the end of each student’s turn, the teacher uses gestures, pictures, realia, examples, or other means to make the meaning of the section clear.

Question and answer exercise
This exercise is conducted only in the target language. Students are asked questions and answer in full sentences so that they practice new words and grammatical structures. They have the opportunity to ask questions as well as answer them.

Getting students to self-correct
The teacher of this class has the students self-correct by asking them to make a choice between what they said and an alternative answer he supplied. There are, however, other ways of getting students to self-correct . For example, a teacher might simply repeat what a student has just said, using a questioning voice to signal to the student that something was wrong with it. Another possibility is for the teacher to repeat what the student said, stopping just before the error. The student knows that the next word was wrong.

Conversation practice
The teacher asks students a number of questions in the target language, which the students have to understand to be able to answer correctly. In the class observed, the teacher asked individual students questions about themselves. The questions contained a particular grammar structure. Later, the students were able to ask each other their own questions using the same grammatical structure.

Fill-in-the-blank exercise
This technique has already been discussed in the Grammar-Translation Method, but differs in its application in the Direct Method. All the items are in the target language ; furthermore, no explicit grammar rule would be applied. The students would have induced the grammar rule they need to fill in the blanks from examples and practice with earlier parts of the lesson.

Dictation
The teacher reads the passage three times. The first time the teacher reads it at a normal speed, while the students just listen. The second time he reads the passage phrase by phrase, pausing long enough to allow students to write down what they have heard. The last time the teacher again reads at a normal speed, and students check their work.

Map drawing
The class included one example of a technique used to give students listening comprehension practice. The students were given a map with the geographical features unnamed. Then the teacher gave the students directions such as the following, ‘Find the mountain range in the West. Write the words “ Rocky Mountains” across the mountain range.’ He gave instructions for all the geographical features of the United States so that students would have a completely labeled map if they followed his instruction correctly. The students then instructed the teacher to do the same thing with a map he had drawn on the blackboard. Each student could have a turn giving the teacher instructions for finding and labeling one geographical feature.

Paragraph writing
The teacher in this class asked the students to write a paragraph in their own words on the major geographical features of the United States. They could have done this from memory, or they could have used the reading passage in the lesson as a model.