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The Direct Method

Around the turn of the 19th century, a method arose that served to right the shortcomings of the grammar-translation method.

After reading “The Direct  Method”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my channel on YouTube.

When the grammar-translation method’s deficiencies became clear, the direct method addressed those competencies hardly touched by its predecessor.

This method of teaching a language directly establishes an immediate audio visual association between experience and expression, words and phrases, idioms and meanings, rules and performances through the teachers’ body and mental skills, without any help of the learners’ mother tongue.

It’s the teaching method that puts grammar—its rules, morphology, syntax—at the forefront. Language is taught by analyzing the different elements of language and explicitly prescribing correct ways of combining those elements.

There are no grammar exercises, no committing of rules to memory, no lessons on how to write the plural form of a noun or how to conjugate a verb. That’s why it’s also known as the “anti-grammatical method.”

The direct method uses only the target language. the direct method is also known as “the natural method” because it looks to the process of first language acquisition to set the context and techniques for second language acquisition. When we learned our mother tongue, we didn’t go through grammar lessons and translation drills. 

The Direct Method

The teacher won’t be telling students about rules and such. Instead, you’ll let your students figure out the rules for themselves. The teachers’ job is to give students materials to piece together so they can connect the dots and discover the parameters for themselves.

Just as we acquired our first language through repeated exposure, so should it be in class. We didn’t memorize anything for our mother tongue, we simply acquired it through repeated exposure.

Students learn best when the teacher teaches them things that are only slightly beyond their reach. And helping them “get there” by giving them simple inputs that they can actually use to figure things out.

Let’s say that in a German class the teacher wants to teach the word for the color blue—a vocabulary lesson. Instead of using direct translation and writing on the board, “BLUE = BLAU,” the teacher makes things more fascinating.

Bring several objects of the color—perhaps a blue house, a blue shirt, a blue cap, a rose and lipstick. Every time you point to the objects, say “Das ist blau. Blau.” (This is blue. Blue.) Go through the different objects and keep on repeating “blau.” With repeated exposure, your students will soon get the point. To check for comprehension, point to an object of different color, say a yellow pen, and ask, “Blau?” The class should asnwer “Nein!” (No!)

To teach grammar rules, like how to form the plural of nouns. The teacher might bring two sets of pictures. One depicting lone objects, the other, depicting a group. The teacher holds the pictures side by side, clearly enunciating, for example, “car” on your right and “cars” on your left. Repeat this process for several pairs of pictures, emphasizing the “s” sound each time. Students will eventually pick up on the clues and figure out the rules for themselves. 

The Direct Method

Around the turn of the 19th century, a method arose that served to right the shortcomings of the grammar-translation method.

When the grammar-translation method’s deficiencies became clear, the direct method addressed those competencies hardly touched by its predecessor.

This method of teaching a language directly establishes an immediate audio visual association between experience and expression, words and phrases, idioms and meanings, rules and performances through the teachers’ body and mental skills, without any help of the learners’ mother tongue.

It’s the teaching method that puts grammar—its rules, morphology, syntax—at the forefront. Language is taught by analyzing the different elements of language and explicitly prescribing correct ways of combining those elements.

There are no grammar exercises, no committing of rules to memory, no lessons on how to write the plural form of a noun or how to conjugate a verb. That’s why it’s also known as the “anti-grammatical method.”

The direct method uses only the target language. the direct method is also known as “the natural method” because it looks to the process of first language acquisition to set the context and techniques for second language acquisition. When we learned our mother tongue, we didn’t go through grammar lessons and translation drills. 

The teacher won’t be telling students about rules and such. Instead, you’ll let your students figure out the rules for themselves. The teachers’ job is to give students materials to piece together so they can connect the dots and discover the parameters for themselves.

Just as we acquired our first language through repeated exposure, so should it be in class. We didn’t memorize anything for our mother tongue, we simply acquired it through repeated exposure.

Students learn best when the teacher teaches them things that are only slightly beyond their reach. And helping them “get there” by giving them simple inputs that they can actually use to figure things out.

Let’s say that in a German class the teacher wants to teach the word for the color blue—a vocabulary lesson. Instead of using direct translation and writing on the board, “BLUE = BLAU,” the teacher makes things more fascinating.

Bring several objects of the color—perhaps a blue house, a blue shirt, a blue cap, a rose and lipstick. Every time you point to the objects, say “Das ist blau. Blau.” (This is blue. Blue.) Go through the different objects and keep on repeating “blau.” With repeated exposure, your students will soon get the point. To check for comprehension, point to an object of different color, say a yellow pen, and ask, “Blau?” The class should asnwer “Nein!” (No!)

To teach grammar rules, like how to form the plural of nouns. The teacher might bring two sets of pictures. One depicting lone objects, the other, depicting a group. The teacher holds the pictures side by side, clearly enunciating, for example, “car” on your right and “cars” on your left. Repeat this process for several pairs of pictures, emphasizing the “s” sound each time. Students will eventually pick up on the clues and figure out the rules for themselves.