Direct Method

ALESSANDRO BENATI

­Framing the Issue

The direct method (DM) was proposed as a reaction to the grammar translation
method (GTM) in terms of its approach to grammar teaching, vocabulary learning,
teachers’ and students’ attitudes, and an emphasis on linguistic skill. The Reform
Movement (Fotos, 2005) provided the impetus needed to deliver a blow to GTM.
Language teachers questioned whether first language (L1) acquisition is distinc-
tively different from second language (L2) acquisition. They criticized the deduc-
tive approach to grammar teaching, the emphasis on translation and the inauthentic
language materials used in GTM, where the primary skills to be improved are
reading and writing. In the direct method the main emphasis is on listening and
oral communication skills. The approach to grammar teaching is deductive in
GTM and inductive in DM. In the former, the role of the teacher is to translate
words and texts for students, and students need to be accurate in translating into
another language. In the latter, the roles of student and teacher are reversed: the
teacher becomes proactive in asking questions, engaging students in speaking
activities and encouraging self-correction. Students have to convey meaning
through the use of the t­ arget language. The emphasis is on how to use the language
to communicate.
The direct method was developed by Maximilian Berlitz (1887) in the late 19th
century, and its principles were based on the assumption that L2 learning is similar
to L1 learning. It was named “direct” because meaning should be connected to the
target language without translation into the native language. It was originally
known as the “oral” or “natural” method (Krause, 1916), and was seen as an alter-
native to the grammar translation method. In the direct method, language instruc-
tors have to provide learners with opportunities to convey meaning through the
use of the new language. L2 learners are expected to use the target language with-
out translating and without using their native language to communicate. In the
early 20th century, DM was introduced in France and Germany before becoming
popular in the United States. Known as the “Berlitz method,” it was taught in
private schools and colleges. Berlitz opened a language school in Rhode Island

The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, First Edition.

Edited by John I. Liontas (Project Editor: Margo DelliCarpini).
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0154

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 2 Direct Method

and published a textbook using his methodology. According to Howatt (1984,

p. 203) there were more than 200 Berlitz schools in the United States and Europe
by 1914.
The direct method was object of criticism in the 1920s, as the emphasis in
­second/foreign language teaching became the development of reading skills. The
direct method’s emphasis on developing speaking skills was considered imprac-
tical for two main reasons: the scarcity of time available for foreign language
teaching and the limited skills of language teachers. A number of constraints
made it hard for schools to integrate and use the methodology: budget, classroom
size, and time. The popularity of the direct method declined toward the begin-
ning of the 1930s, leading to the development of new methodologies in language
teaching such as the audiolingual method and the situational language teaching
method.

­Making the Case

The direct method aims at providing language learners with a practical and useful
knowledge of the target language so that they can use it for communication pur-
poses. It requires high student motivation. All lessons are in the target language
and there is a focus on everyday vocabulary. There is a systematic approach to
developing comprehension and oral expression in the language classroom.
Grammar is learnt inductively and the meanings of words and forms are taught
by means of objects or natural context. The emphasis is on establishing an associa-
tion between a word and its meaning. Richards and Rodgers (2001, p. 10) have
briefly summarized the features of this method: (1) an oral methodology is used,
with attention to pronunciation; (2) students listen to the target language before
reading or writing it; (3) vocabulary is presented in communicative contexts and
is not taught in isolated lists of terms; (4) grammar is presented inductively and
practiced in communicative contexts; (5) translation is avoided; and (6) the L1 is
used as little as possible. A fuller list of the method’s basic principles would
include:

1. Instruction is conducted exclusively in the target language. Teachers should

demonstrate, not explain or translate. Teachers and learners are more like part-
ners. Learners are given opportunities to interact with other learners. The
method is thus less teacher-centered. The target language is always used in the
classroom. Learners are continuously exposed to the target language and
teachers do not use the native language as a mean of instruction.
2. Basic vocabulary is introduced first. Students are encouraged to make associa-
tions between meaning and the target language. Vocabulary is taught through
known words, concrete objects, pictures, and mime. The emphasis is on ­spoken
language, and vocabulary is emphasized over grammar.
3. Instructors should approach the teaching of grammar inductively. This is on
the assumption that L2 learners should learn grammar by interpreting

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 Direct Method 3

contextual and situational cues rather than receiving long explanations. Rules
of grammar are not given, and students need to figure them out.
4. Although the development of the four language skills (listening, speaking,
reading, writing) is desirable, the emphasis in on developing speaking skills
to communicate. Communication is paramount, and the main purpose of
language learning is to enable students to communicate in the target
language.
5. Self-correction is encouraged. A number of techniques (see “Pedagogical
Implications” below) are employed to get students to self-correct whenever
possible.
6. The curriculum is based on real-life situations (at the bar, at the shop, at the
police station) or topics (e.g., sports, hobbies, weather).
The main advantage of this method is that it makes the learning of languages
interesting and lively. It facilitates learners’ participation and understanding of the
target language and fosters their development of fluency of speech and expres-
sion. Learning is contextualized, and learners learn the language, not about the
language. It follows the natural order of first language acquisition: listening,
speaking, reading, writing.
One disadvantage is that the method does not pay enough attention to reading
and writing skills. Because of the inductive approach to grammar teaching,
­learners run the risk of internalizing incorrect rules. An additional drawback is
that, since the aim is to teach exclusively in the target language, teachers have to
be fluent in that language, preferably native speakers. When the method was first
introduced this was an unrealistic goal, as the competence of most language
­teachers in those days was normally far from native.

­Pedagogical Implications

Based on the principles outlined in the previous section, a variety of techniques

(Larsen-Freeman, 2000) were developed to help learners practice the new language
in the language classroom. The typical techniques used by teachers in the direct
method are:
●● Read texts aloud. Teachers use linguistic examples and non-linguistic
means  (pictures, gestures) to clarify and exemplify the meaning of the
­passage read.
●● Question and answer. Learners have the opportunity to use the language by ask-
ing and answering questions and by practicing new words and the grammati-
cal properties of the target language.
●● Fill in the blanks. Items are presented in the target language and learners are
asked to fill the gaps with the correct grammatical items learned during the
lesson.
●● Conversation practice. Learners are asked to take part in conversation with the
teacher and with each other to develop oral skills: questions are asked and

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 4 Direct Method

answers are given using the target language and specific grammatical features
are practiced.
●● Dictation. The teacher reads a passage several times (at normal speed and then
more slowly) and learners are asked to write down what they hear.
●● Self-correction. Learners self-correct as they speak. The teacher can repeat a sen-
tence containing an error by using a questioning tone of voice to signal the
error, or the teacher can signal to the student that something is wrong by repeat-
ing what they have said, stopping just before the error.
●● Paragraph writing. Students are asked to write a short passage in their own words.
Richards and Rodgers (2001, p. 8) offer the following principles as guidelines for
teaching oral language skills.
●● Never translate: demonstrate.
●● Never explain: act.
●● Never make a speech: ask questions.
●● Never imitate mistakes: correct.
●● Never speak with single words: use sentences.
●● Never speak too much: make students speak a lot.
●● Never use the book: use your lesson plan.
●● Never jump around: follow your plan.
●● Never go too fast: keep to the pace of the student.
●● Never speak too slowly: speak normally.
●● Never speak too quickly: speak naturally.
●● Never speak too loudly: speak naturally.
●● Never be impatient: take it easy.
The direct method encourages the use of the target language in second language
instruction to teach students how to communicate. Teachers are encouraged to
teach by using familiar situations from people’s everyday lives.

SEE ALSO: Deductive Versus Inductive Teaching; Grammar-Translation Method

References

Berlitz, M. (1887). Méthode Berlitz. New York, NY: Berlitz.

Fotos, S. (2005). Traditional and grammar translation methods for second language teaching.
In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 653–70).
New York, NY: Routledge.
Howatt, A. (1984). A history of English language teaching. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press.
Krause, C. (1916). The direct method in modern languages. New York, NY: Charles Scribner.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and principles in language teaching (2nd ed.). New York,
NY: Oxford University Press.
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching:
A description and analysis. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

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 Direct Method 5

Suggested Readings

Brown, H. D. (2006). Principles of language learning and teaching (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ:
Pearson ESL.
Hinkel, E. (Eds.). (2005). Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning.
New York, NY: Routledge.
Long, M., & Doughty, C. (2009). The handbook of language teaching. Oxford, England:
Wiley-Blackwell.

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