Dr.
Ait Abdeslam/TEFL/3rd Year
Course 2: The Direct Method
The aim of this lecture is to explain the shift in the teaching methods
and how the Direct Method comes to replace the Grammar Translation
Method: the reasons and the aims
Outline
Background
Principle
Techniques
Conclusion
Objective: By the end of the course the students will be able to :
Identify the main characteristics of direct method and compare it to the
Grammar translation method
To learn about the techniques used in this method of teaching to use them later
on in their future teaching practices
1. Background
The direct method is a method of teaching that comes as a reaction to the weaknesses
of the Grammar translation method and its failure to produce learners who can
communicate effectively in the target language outside classroom setting.
The premise of the Direct Methods goes back to the late nineteen century. In 1880,
François Gouin, a French teacher of Latin and one of the first nineteen- century
reformers, attempted to build a morphology around the observation of a child language
learning ( Richards and Rodgers, 1986, p. 8). Gouin in his book , The Art of Learning
and Studying Foreign Languages (1880) helped set the stage for the development of
the teaching methods. (Brown, 2001). His daunting experience in learning German in
the mid- life using the Grammar Translation method, led him to think for a more
effective way to learn a foreign language. Gouin noticed that his three years nephew
has acquired this mother tongue and was able to speak without problems. Then, he
Dr. Ait Abdeslam/TEFL/3rd Year
started to observe his nephew and other children on how they learn their first language.
These observations led him to conclude that after listing, children conceptualize
meaning and develop a capacity of thinking and speaking in that language (McLaren et
al. / TEFL in Secondary Education. University of Granada). Simulating the “ Natural “ way
in which children learn their first language did not take hold immediately , it was that
at a turn that of a century that the Direct Method became widely used and practiced (
Brown,2001, p. 21).
Although François Gouin has contributed to the foundation of the modern teaching
methods, his influence was overshadowed by that of Charles Berlitz, the popular
founder of the Direct Method (Brown 2001)
According to According to Larsen–Freeman and Anderson (2011), the direct method is
a system of instructing a foreign language using only the language and without a focus
on only grammar. It is called direct because meaning should be directly connected to
the target language without translation to the mother tongue
2. Principles of Direct Method
The premise of the Direct Method is that the second language learning is similar to the
first language learning. The direct method holds the view that learning a foreign
language starts by listening to that language. Much exposure to the target language
enables the learner to internalize the language system of the target language to enable
him to speak later on. Following the natural order of learning a mother tongue, the
Direct Method prioritizes listening and speaking over reading and writing.
Richard and Rodgers ( 1986, pp. 9-10) summarized the major principles of the Direct
Methods:
Classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the target language
Only every day vocabulary and sentences were taught.
Oral communication skill were built up in a carefully traded progression
organized around question-and – answer exchanges between the teacher and the
students in small intensive classes
Grammar was taught inductively
New teaching points were taught through modeling and practice
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Concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects and pictures;
abstract vocabulary was taught through association of ideas.
Both speech and listening comprehension were taught .
Concrete pronunciation and grammar were emphasized.
1. The Techniques of the Direct Method
Larsen–Freeman and Anderson (2011) summarize the main techniques used in the
Direct Method. Notice that some techniques are used in other methods of teaching as
well, but are used differently in a way that they concord with the principles of their
methods.
1- Reading Aloud
In the reading section, students read passages and play dialogue aloud. to make
meaning understood to the students, The teacher used gesture, picture, realia
2. Question and Answer Exercise
Students ask and answer question in the target language to practice the grammar
structures.
3. Getting Students to Self-correct
The correction of the student errors is made though self correction in which the
teacher ask the students to make choice between what they said and an
alternative answered supplied . The teacher can also use a questioning voice to
signal the student’s mistake
4. Conversation Practice
The conversation practice is made up through a number of questions that the
teacher asks. The questions contain a particular grammar structure that The
students have to use to ask and answer questions.
5. Fill-in-the-blanks Exercise
The fill the blanks exercise is a technique that is used in GTM; however, it is
used differently in the Direct Method. In Direct Method, students induce the
grammar rule to fill in the blanks from the example and practice in the lesson.
6. 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
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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.
7. Map Drawing
The Map Drawing activity starts by the listening comprehension practice. The teacher
gives the students a map with geographical features unnamed, and then asks them to
name the places on the map. The students listen first to the teacher who gives
directions and complete a map.
8. Paragraph Writing
The teacher in this class asked the students to write a paragraph in their own words
from memory, or they could have used the reading passage in the lesson as a model.
Conclusion:
The Direct Method gained popularity in the early twenties century; however, this
method of teaching was not used in public schools where the constraints of budget,
classroom size, and the teacher background find it difficult to use. Moreover, the direct
method was criticized for its weak theoretical foundation as opposition of the Audio-
lingual method that will be tackled in the next lecture
Dr. Ait Abdeslam/TEFL/3rd Year