The Direct Method

INTRODUCED
BY
MOHAMMED A AL-JABR 
 The Direct Method
When did the Direct method )1
?become popular

Since the Grammar-translation *

method was not very effective in
preparing students to use the target
.Language communicatively
What is basic the rule that the )2
?Direct method has
Methods of Teaching
How does the Driect method )3
?receive its name

It takes its name from the fact that*

meaning is to be conveyed directly in
the target language through the use of
demonstration and visual aids, without
resort to the native language of the
.student
?Who did apply its principles )4
Methods of Teaching
EXPERIENCE
What are the main principles     -1
?of the Direct Method
    )1Reading in the target language should be
taught from the beginning.  The reading skill will be
developed through practice with speaking. Language
is primarily speech. Culture consists of more than
.the fine arts
)2objects (e.g. realia or picture) present in the 
immediate class room environment should be used
to help students understand the meaning
    )3The native language should not be used in the 
.classroom
    )4The teacher should demonstrate, not explain 
or translate. Students should make a direct
association between the target language and
.meaning
    )5The purpose of language learning is
.communication
Students should learn to think in the target )6
What are the main principles     -1
?of the Direct Method
    )7Pronunciation should be worked on right from 
.the beginning of language instruction
    )8.Self-correction facilitates language learning
    )9Lessons should contain some conversational
activity. Students should use language in real contexts.
Students should be encouraged to speak as much as
.possible
    )10 .Grammar should be taught inductively
    )11Writing is an important skill, to be developed
.from the beginning of language instruction
The syllabus is based on situations or topics, not )12
.usually on linguistic structures
Learning another language also involves learning (13 
. how speakers of that language live
What are the goals of     -2
teachers who use the Direct
?Method
Teachers who use the Direct Method  )1(
intend that students learn how to
.communicate in the target language
Students should learn to think in the  )2(
.target language
teacher? What is the role of
?the students

The teacher and the students

are more like partners in the
.teaching/learning process
What are some characteristics     -7
?of the teaching/learning process

Teachers who use the Direct Method believe  )1(

students need to associ­ate meaning and the
.target language directly
When the teacher introduces a new target  )2(
language word or phrase, he demonstrates its
meaning through the use of realia, pictures, or
pan­tomime; he never translates it into the
.students' native language
Students speak in the target language a  )3(
great deal and communicate as if they were in
.real situations
The syllabus used in the Direct Method is  )4(
based upon situations (language that people
would use at a bank or when going shopping) or
topics (such as geography, money, or the
.(weather
What is the nature of student-     -8
teacher interaction? What is the
nature of student-student
?interaction

The initiation of the interaction

goes both ways, from teacher to
stu­dents and from student to
teacher, although the latter is
often teacher-directed. Students
converse with one another as
.well
How is language     -9
viewed? How is culture
?viewed
Language is primarily spoken,  )1(
.not written
Students study common,  )2(
everyday speech in the target
.language
They also study cul­ture  )3(
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
What areas of language are-10
emphasized? What language skills
?are emphasized
Vocabulary is emphasized over  )1(
.grammar
Work on all four skills (reading,  )2(
writing, speaking, and listening) occurs
.from the start
.Oral communication is seen as basic  )3(
The reading and writing exercises are  )4(
based upon what the students practice
.orally first
Pronunciation also receives attention  )5(
.right from the beginning of a course
What is the role of-11
the students’ native
?language
The students' native language
should not be used in the
.classroom
How is evaluation-12
?accomplished
Students are asked to use the  )1(
language, not to demonstrate their
.knowledge about the lan­guage
They are asked to do so using  )2(
both oral and written skills. For
example, (a) the students might be
interviewed orally by the teacher or
(b) might be asked to write a
paragraph about something they
How does the teacher-13
respond to student
?errors
The teacher tries to get
students to self-correct
.whenever possible
 What are the main*
techniques of the Direct
?Method
Discuss …………. as a technique of*
.the Direct Method
Reading aloud )1
a) Students take turns reading sections of
.a passage, play, or dialog out loud
b) 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
Discuss …………. as a technique of*
.the Direct Method
Question and answer exercise )2
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 )3

a) The teacher may have students self-correct by asking them to
make a choice between what they said and an alternative answer he
.sup-plied
b) The 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
c) 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
Discuss …………. as a technique of*
.the Direct Method

Conversation practice )4

a)The teacher asks students a number of questions in the target

.language
b) .The questions contained a particular grammar structure
c) Later, the students would be able to ask each other their own
.questions using the same grammatical structure

Fill-in-the-blank exercise )5
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
.
Discuss …………. as a technique of*
.the Direct Method
Dictation )6
The teacher reads the passage three times. (a) The first time the
teacher reads it at a normal speed, while the students just listen. (b) The
second time he reads the passage phrase by phrase, pausing long
enough to allow stu-dents to write down what they have heard. (c) The
last time the teacher again reads at a normal speed, and students check
.their work
Map drawing )7
a) The aim is to give students lis-tening comprehension practice. The
students are given a map with the geographical features unnamed.
.Then the teacher gives the students direc-tions
b) The students then instruct the teacher to do the same thing with a
.map he had drawn on the blackboard
c) Each student could have a turn giving the teacher instructions for
.finding and labeling one geographical feature
Discuss …………. as a technique of*
.the Direct Method

Paragraph writing )8

a) The teacher may ask the students to write

a paragraph in their own words based on the
.reading materials
b) Students could do this from memory, or
they could use the reading passage in the
.lesson as a model
Highlights of the Direct Method *

The goal of target language instruction should -1

be to teach students how to communicate in the
.target language
The students' native language should not be -2
.used to give meaning to the target language
The culture that is taught should be about -3
.people's daily lives in addition to the fine arts
.Should students be encouraged to self-correct -4
.Dictation is a worthwhile activity -5
Paragraph writing is a useful thing to ask -6
.students to do
.Grammar be should presented inductively -7
Activities
.A check your understanding of the Direct Method

in the pervious chapter on the Grammar-Translation Method, we learned that

,grammar was treated deductively. In the Direct Method
.grammar is treated inductively
So the difference between deductive and inductive treatments of the grammar
: is
Deductive grammar teaching is based on facts and statements, it is also based
on prior logic. Therefore the learners are told the grammatical rule and will work
.from that
inductive grammar teaching is based on trial and error, experiments. The
learners learn from trying different things, seeing what works and what does
.not. through experimenting they figure out the grammatical rules
What are some of the characteristics of the Direct Method that make it so -2
?distinctive from the Grammar –Translation Method
It has been said that it may be advantageous to a teacher using the Direct -3
?Method not to know his student`s native language. Do you agree? Why
. B- Apply what you understood about the Direct Method

choose a particular situation ( such as at the bank , at the -1

railroad station , or at the doctor's office) or a particular topic
(such as articles of clothing, holidays, or the weather) and write
a short passage or a dialog on the theme you have chosen .
Now think about how you will convey its meaning to student
. without using their native language

Select a grammar point from the passage . Plan how you will -2
get students to practice the grammar point . What examples can
you provide them with so that they can induce the rule
?themselves
Practice writing and giving a dictation as it is described in this -3
.chapter
:References

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/The_differen
ce_between_deductive_and_inductive_
grammar_teaching