The Direct Method

A. Brief History

The natural method, also known as the direct method is often associated with Stephen Krashen and the late Tracy Terrell, but in fact had its beginnings over a hundred years ago in Europe where it began as a response to the grammar translation method. It represents are critical reaction to the teaching methods of the ancient Grammar Translation Method which produced knowledge about language rather than knowledge of language. The general goal of the Direct Method is to provide learners with a practically useful knowledge of language. They should learn to speak and understand the target language in everyday situations.The core feature is its emphasis on the spoken language. Other characteristic features include:

• ü Teaching vocabulary through pantomiming, realia and other visuals
• ü Teaching grammar through an inductive approach
• ü Focusing on question-answer patterns
• ü Stressing teacher-centeredness 

If we view the word natural in its most generic form, certainly speaking and listening would qualify as natural activities more than reading and writing. All people (excepting those with certain disabilities) naturally acquire speaking and listening skills, while reading and writing have to be taught. Conveying meaning through total physical response, such as hand gestures and other body language, is also, arguably, a naturally occurring communicative feature. Assimilating grammar rules through exposure to language is also a naturally occurring phenomenon for native learners, and all languages, of course, have some form of question-answer pattern as filling in information gaps is a primary purpose of language. Teacher centeredness may be the only feature that could be classified as artificial when placed in a language learning model.



B. The principles of the Direct Method

• The goal of teacher

The Direct Method has one very basic rule: no translation is allowed. In fact, the Direct Method receives its name from the fact that meaning is to be connected directly with the target language, without going through the process of translation into the student’s native language. The goals of teachers in using the Direct Method are teachers intend that students learn how to communicate in the target language. In order to do this successfully, students should learn o think in the target language.

• The role of teacher and students

In the Direct Method the teacher direct the class activities and the student role is less passive. The teacher and the students are more like partners in teaching and learning process.

• Characteristics of the teaching or learning process

There some characteristics of the teaching and learning process include teachers who use 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 relia, pictures or pantomime: he never translates into students’ native language. Students speak in the target language a great deal and communicate as if they were in real situation. In fact, the syllabus used in the Direct Method is based upon situation (for example, one unit would consist of language that people would use at the bank, another of the language that they use when going shopping) or topics (such as geography, money or weather). Grammar is taught inductively; that is the students are presented with example and they figure out the rule or generalization from the examples. An explicit grammar rule may never be given. Students practice the vocabulary by using new words in complete sentences.

• Interaction

In the Direct Method, the nature of students-teacher interaction and student-student 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.

• View of language and culture

Dealing with the language and culture viewed is that language is primarily spoken, not written. Therefore, students study common everyday speech in he target language. They also study culture consisting of the history of the people who speak the target language is spoken, and information about the daily lives of the speakers of the language.

• Emphasis

The language skills that are emphasized are vocabulary over grammar. There was a marked change in teaching contents, however. The emphasis was now on knowledge of words and phrases useful for everyday life, and of factual knowledge about the target language country, its geography, major cities, industry, etc. In contrast to that the reading of great literary texts by the greatest authors, which is typical of the Grammar Translation Method, was given no priority. Note, however, that the still strong and influential faction of grammar school teachers considered this a debasing of the high principles of good education, and eventually many reformers were willing or forced to compromise when they fought for recognition of the new type of Oberrealschule as institutions entitled to issue school living certificates that granted access to university studies and were equal in status to grammar school diplomas. It is important to note this because for many years to come classroom reality was characterized by a mixture of methods and goals of teaching that had their origin no less in ancient grammar translation methods than in the reformist concepts of the Direct Method.

• Student’s native language

The teaching methods recommended by the new reform movement followed logically from the emphasis on providing a useful knowledge of target knowledge, because that can only be developed by the direct use of the target language in class. Rather than forcing learners to accumulate abstract knowledge about rules of grammar, declensions and conjugations, with translations as a test of knowledge, reformers proposed that the target language should be learnt like children learn their first language that is by using it in class. The students’ native language should not be used in the classroom.

• Evaluation

The evaluation is used in this method is students are asked to use the language, not 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.

• Error correction

When the teachers face students’ error, they employ various techniques; try to get students self-correct whenever possible.

C. The Techniques of the Direct Method



1) Reading Aloud

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



2) Question and Answer Exercise

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



3) 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 alternate answer the supplied. In other ways, for example, a teacher might simply repeat what a student has 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.



4) 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. For example, the teacher asked individual students questions about themselves. The questions contain a particular grammar structure. Then, the students were able to ask each other their own question using the same grammatical structure.



5) Fill in the blank Exercise

All the items of the exercises in this method 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 the blanks from examples and practice with earlier parts of the lesson.



6) Dictation

The teacher read the passage three times. The first time the teacher it at 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 he teacher again reads at a normal speed, and students check their work.



7) Map Drawing

The students were given a map with the geographical features unnamed. Then the teacher gave the students instructions for all the geographical features of the map so that students would have a completely labeled map if they followed the instructions correctly. The students then instructed the teacher to do he 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.



8) 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 map. They could have done this from their memory, or they could have used the reading passage in the lesson as a model.

References

Larsen-Freeman, Diane. 1986. Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford University Press, Inc

Schackne, Steve. 2004.. The Common Sense Approach: How One Teacher Organized a Speaking Course for 200 Chinese Graduate Students at www.DevelopingTeachers.Com.

www.uni-wuppertal.de\4_direct_method.htm