The Direct Method

Introduction
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 conveyed directly in the target language through the use of demonstration and visual aids, with no recourse to the students native language ( Diller 1978 ).
We will now try to come to an understanding of the Direct Method by observing an English teacher using it in a scuola media ( lower secondary school ) class in Italy. The class we observe is at the end of its first year of English language instruction in a Scuola media.

Experience
The teacher is calling the class to order as we find seats toward the back of the room. He has placed a big map of the United States in the front of the classroom. The teacher points to the part of the map the sentence describes after each has read his sentence. The passage begins:
We are looking at a map of the United States. Canada is the country to the north of the United States, and Mexico is the country to the south of the United States. Between Canada and the United States are the Great Lakes. Between Mexico and United States is the Rio Grande River. On the East Coast is the Atlantic Ocean, and on the West Coast is the Pacific Ocean. In the East is a mountain range called the Appalachian Mountains. In the West are the Rocky Mountains.
A students ask what a mountain range is. The teacher turns to the blackboard and draws a series of inverted cones to illustrate a mountain range. The student nods and says, ‘ I understand ‘. Another student asks what another ‘ between ‘ means. The teacher replies, ‘ you are sitting between Maria Pia and Giovanni. Paolo is sitting between Gabriella and Cettina. Now do you understand the meaning of ‘ between ‘? The student answers, ‘ yes, i understand ‘.


The question and answer session continues for a few more minutes. Finally, the teacher invites the students to ask question. Hands go up, and the teacher calls on students to pose questions one at a time to which the class replies. Later another student asks, ‘ what is the ocean in the West Coast? ‘. The teacher again interrupts before the clas ha a chance to reply, saying, ‘ What is the Ocean in the West Coast?..or on the West Coast? ‘. The student hesitates, then says, ‘ On the West Coast ‘.
‘ Correct ‘, says the teacher. ‘ Now repeat your question ‘.
‘ What is the ocean on the West Coast? ‘
The class replies in chorus, ‘ The ocean on the West Coast is the Pacific ‘.
After the students have asked about ten questions, the teacher begins asking questions and making statements again. The teacher next instructs the students to turn to an exercise in the lesson which asks them to fill in the blank. They read a sentence out loud and supply the missing word as they are reading. Finally, the teacher asks the students to take out their notebooks, and he gives them a dictation. The passage he dictates is one paragraph long and is about the geography of the United States.
During the remaining two classes this week, the class will :
1. Review the features of United States geography
2. Following the teacher’s directions, label blank maps with these geographical features. After this, the students will give directions to the teacher, who will complete a map on the blackboard
3. Practice the pronunciation of ‘ river ‘, paying particular attention to the / I / in the first syllable ( and contrasting it with / iy / ) and to the pronunciation of /r /
4. Write a paragraph about the major geographical features of the United States.
5. Discuss the proverb ‘ time is money ‘. Students will talk about this is in order to understand that people in the United States value punctuality. They will compare this attitude with their own view of time.

Thinking about the experience
Let us make some observations on our experience. These will be in the column on the left. The principles of the Direct Method that can be inferred from our observations will be listed in column on the right.

Observations Principles
1. The student read aloud a passage about United States geography. 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. Culture consists of more than the fine arts.
2. The teacher points to a part of the map after each sentence is read. Objects present in the immediate classroom environment should be used to help students understand the meaning.
3. The teacher uses the target language to ask the students if they have a question. The native language should not be used in the classroom.
4. The teacher answers the students questions by drawing on the blackboard or giving examples. The teacher should demonstrate, not explain or translate. It is desirable that students make a direct association between the target language and meaning.
5. The teacher asks questions about the map in the target language, to which the students reply in a complete sentence in the target language. Students should learn to think in the target language as soon as possible. Vocabulary is acquired more naturally if students use it in full sentence, rather than memorizing word lists.
6. Students ask questions about the map. The purpose of language learning is communication
7. The teacher works with the students on the pronunciation of ‘ Appalachian ‘. Pronunciation should be worked on right from the beginning of language instruction.
8. The teacher corrects a grammar error by asking the students to make a choice. Self-correction facilitates language learning.
9. The tacher asks questions about the students; students ask each other questions. Lesson should contain some conversational activity-some opportunity for students to use language in real contexts.
10. The students fill in blanks with prepositions practiced in the lesson. Grammar should be taught inductively. There may never be an explicit grammar rule given.
11. The teacher dictates a paragraph about United States geography. Writing is an important skill, to be developed from the beginning of language instruction.
12. All of the lessons of the week involve United States geography. The syllabus is based on situations or topics, not usually on linguistic structures.
13. A proverb is used to discuss how people in the U. S view punctually. Learning another language also involves learning how speakers of that language live.


Reviewing the principles
Now let us consider the principles of the Direct Method as they are arranged in answer to the ten question posed earlier:
1. What are the goals of teachers who use the Direct Method?
Teachers who use the Direct Method intend that students learn how to communicate in the target language.
2. What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?
Although the teacher directs the class activities the student role is less passive than in the Grammar-Translation Method. The teacher and the students are more like partners in the teaching/learning process.
3. What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?
Teachers who use the Direct Method believe students need to associate meaning and the target language directly. In fact, the syllabus used in the Direct Method is based upon situations or topics. Grammar is taught inductively, that is, the students are presented with examples and they figure out the rule or generalization from the examples. An explicit grammar rule may never be given. Students practice vocabulary by using new words in complete sentences.
4. What is the nature of student-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.
5. How are the feelings of the students dealt with?
There are no principles of the method which relate to this area.
6. How is language viewed? How is culture viewed?
Language is primarily spoken, not written. They also study culture consisting of the history of the people who speak the target language.


7. What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?
Vocabulary is emphasized over grammar. Thus the reading and writing exercises are based upon what the students practice orally first. Pronunciation also receives attention right from the beginning of a course.
8. What is the role of the student native language?
The students’ native language should not be used in the classroom.
9. How is evaluation accomplished?
In the Direct Method, students are asked to use the language, not to demonstrate their knowledge about the language. They are asked to do so using both oral and written skills.
10. How does the teacher respond to student errors?
The teacher, employing various techniques, tries to get students to self-correct whenever possible.

Reviewing the techniques
are there answers to the ten questions with which you agreed? Then the following techniques may also be useful. Of course, even if you did not agree with all the answers, there may be some techniques of the Direct Method you can adapt to your own approach to teaching.
Reading aloud
Students take turns reading sections of passage, play, or dialog out loud. At the end of each student’s turn, teacher uses gestures, pictures, realia, examples, or other means to make the meaning of the section clear.
Question and answer exercise
This exercise is conducted only in the target language. Students are asked questions and answer in full sentences so that they practice new words and grammatical structures.
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 supplied. 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.
Fill-in-the-blank exercise
This technique has already been discussed in the Grammar-Translation Method, but differs in its application in the Direct Method. 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.
Dictation
The teacher reads the passage tree times. The first time the teacher reads it t normal speed, while the students just listen. The second time he reads the passage phrase by pharase, 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.
Map drawing
The class included one example of a technique used to give listening comprehension practice. The students were given a map with the geographical features unnamed. The student then instructed the teacher to do the 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.
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 United States. They could have done this from memory, or they could have used the reading passage in the lesson as a model.

Conclusion
Now that you have considered the principles and the techniques of the Direct Method somewhat, see what you can find of use for your own teaching situation.



Aulia latifa
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