Direct Method

Towards the end of the late 1800s, a revolution in English

language teaching philosophy took place that is seen by many
as the 'dawn' of modern foreign language teaching. Teachers,
frustrated by the limits of the Grammar Translation Method in
terms of its inability to create 'communicative' competence in
students, began to experiment with new ways of teaching
language. Basically, teachers began attempting to teach foreign
languages in a way that was more similar to first language
acquisition. Direct Method incorporated techniques designed
to address all the areas that the Grammar Translation did not -
namely oral communication, more spontaneous use of the
language, and developing the ability to think in the target
language. The appearance of the Direct Method (DM) thus
coincided with new school of thinking that dictated that all
foreign language teaching should occur in the target language
only, with no translation and an emphasis on linking meaning to
the language being learned. The method became very popular
during the first quarter of the 20th century, especially in private
language schools in Europe where highly motivated students
could study new languages and not need to travel far in order
to try them out and apply them communicatively.
Gouin's theory 'L'art d'enseigner les langues' (1880) is a good
example of fundamental reform in theory. Henry Sweet's 'The
Practical Study of Languages (1899) illustrates the criticisms and
radicalism of contemporary reform movements. The proposed
reforms went under a variety of names: 'reform method',
'natural method', psychological method', 'phonetic method',
etc.; but the most persistent term is 'Direct Method' (Stern,
1983:457). This method was partly attributed to practical
language learning in a new world of industry and international
trade and travel. It was partly also stimulated by linguistic
scholarship, linguistic theory, philology, and phonetics.
Historically, the development of the Direct Method is closely
linked with the introduction of phonetics into language
pedagogy (ibid.). Both phonetics and the Direct Method
emphasized the use of the spoken language.
One of the most famous advocates of the direct method was
Charles Berlitz, whose schools and 'Berlitz Method' are now
world - renowned. In 19th century, L. Sauveur, (1826 - 1907)
used intensive oral interaction in the target language employing
questions as a way of presenting and eliciting language. His
method was known as 'natural method' (Richards and Rodgers,
2001:11). Sauveur and other believers of natural method
argued that a foreign language could be taught without
translation or the use of the learner's native language if
meaning was conveyed directly through demonstration and
action.
 German scholar F. Franke (1884) wrote on the psychological
principles of direct association between forms and meanings in
the target language and provided a theoretical justification for
a monolingual approach to teaching. According to Franke,
language could best be taught by using it actively in the
classroom. In the U.S.A. 'Cleveland Plan' (1919) consisted
principally of a carefully devised scheme of graded instruction
of French and other languages over a period of years in
elementary and high schools. An essential feature of the plan
was the use of the second language as a medium of instruction
in the language class and the avoidance of translation as a
technique of teaching.
In Britain, also, this method had great impact on language
teaching. The language teachers adopted it and its techniques.
They gave emphasis on spoken language, but not translation
and grammatical explanation in the first language. Collins, the
author of one of the most widely used French coursed, also
advocated this approach; he coined the slogan to teach French
an 'Frechly as possible' (Collins, 1934 in Stern,1983). In several
European educational systems the translation of texts was
totally replaced by the direct study of oral and printed texts, re
- narration, and writing of composition; based on pictures
episodes told by the teacher.
 By the late 1920s, the method was starting to go into its
decline and there was even a return to the grammar
Translation method; which guaranteed more in the way of
'scholastic' language learning oriented around reading and
grammar skills. But the Direct Method continues to enjoy a
popular following in private language school circles, and it was
one of the foundations upon which the well- known 'Audio-
lingual Method' expanded from starting half way through the
20th century.
Principles of the Direct Method
According to Richards and Rodgers (1986) and Larsen Freeman
(2004), the principles of Direct method are as follows.
1 Classroom instruction should be exclusively in the target
language.
2 Everyday vocabulary and sentences should be taught.
3 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.
4 Objects present in the classroom environment should be used
to help students understand the meaning.
5 The native language should not be used in the classroom.
6 The teacher should demonstrate not explain or translate. It is
desirable that students make a direct association between the
target language and meaning.
7 Students should learn to think in the target language as soon
as possible.
8 The purpose of language learning is communication.
9 Pronunciation should be worked on right from the beginning
of language instruction.
10 Self correction facilitates language learning.
11 Lesson should contain some conversational activity.
12 Grammar should be taught inductively.
13 Writing is an important skill to be developed from the
beginning of language instruction.
14 The syllabus is based on situations or topics not usually on
linguistic structures.
15 Learning another language also involves learning how
speakers of that language live.
16 New teaching points should be introduced orally.
17 Concrete vocabularies should be taught through
demonstration, objects and pictures. Abstract vocabulary
should be taught by association of ideas.
18 Both speech and listening comprehension should be
focused.
Techniques or Classroom Procedures
There are some useful techniques under the Direct Method
given by Freeman Larsen (2008) which are as follows:

1 Reading aloud
When the students are instructed by the teachers, Students
take turns reading sections of a passage, play, or dialogue 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.
2 Question and Answer Exercise
This exercise is conducted only in the target language.
Students are asked questions and answer infull sentences so
that they practice new words and grammatical structures. 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
alternative answer the teacher 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 then knows that the next word waswrong.
4 Conversation Practice
The teacher asks a number of questions in the target language
based on the lesson mostly and out of the lesson partially.
Students answer those questions. He questions contain a
particular grammar structure. Later, the students also ask each
other their own questions using the same grammatical
structure.
5 Fill-in-the-blanks 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.
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 phrase by phrase,
pausing long enough to allow students to write downwhat
they have heard. The last time the teacher again reads at a
normal speed, and students check their work.
7 Map drawing
This is one of the crucial techniques used under the Direct
Method. Here, the teacher gives instruction about a map very
clearly. The students listen the instructions carefully given by
the teachers and draw that map accordingly. Sometimes,
students give the information about a particular map and it’s
the teacher who is to draw the map. Likewise, the same activity
can be conducted among the students as well.
8 Paragraph writing
In this technique, the teacher gives students a topic and asks
them to write a paragraph on the same. They write paragraph
in their own words. They can do this from memory or they can
use the reading passage as a model.
Assessment
It is the fact thing that Direct Method was, of course, better
than Grammar Translation Method. It tried its best to teach the
target language to the learners by creating the target language
environment. It mainly tried to avoid the drawbacks of GT
Method and helped the learners to use the target language as
much as possible in real life situation. But it is not also perfect
in itself. It has own advantages and disadvantages which are as
follows;
Advantages of Direct Method
1 It emphasizes on language use.
2 Lively classroom procedures are followed.
3 It focuses on communicative proficiency of the learners.
4 The learners get ample opportunity to practice target
language.
5 Correct pronunciation, practical grammar and adequate
vocabulary knowledge are emphasized.
6 Adequate use of the target language helps in language
learning.
7 Students become very active in the classroom which helps
them to learn more.
8 Practical knowledge and skills of the language can be
achieved.
9 Teaching speech before writing is focused.
10 It focuses on learning through doing.
11 It focuses on every day language use.
Disadvantages of Direct Method
1 It neglects systematic structural practice.
2 It is not applicable in lower classes.
3 It doesn't give much emphasis on writing skill.
4 There is absence of rule learning.
5 It is difficult in teaching abstract vocabulary item.
6 It is very difficult to create the real environment of target
language in the classroom.
7 Monolingual technique will not be suitable in all types of
classroom.
8 Untrained teachers can't teach the target language.
9 The teachers must have well command over target language.
10 The weak students may remain silent in the classroom.
11 The teacher may have difficult in clarifying the abstract
things.