THE DIRECT METHOD

Reform Movement
By the late 19th century, there was a general push for making strong changes to how language
was taught. There was a resurgence in linguistics and phonetics that serve as major influences
on language teaching. This post will share some of the major reform factors of this time period.

International Phonetic Association

In the 1880’s, the International Phonetic Association was founded. Not only did this organization
developed the International Phonetic Alphabet. They also laid down several influential principles
of language teaching. For example, the IPA believed that the focus of learning a language
should be on the spoken language. This is another indication of the shift away from reading and
writing.

The focus on spoken language also led to recommending the use of proper pronunciation and
the use of conversation in the classroom. There was still a prescriptive emphasis in developing
“proper” speaking skills as though there is one standard for how to talk. This emphasis on verbal
accuracy may have come from the stress of accuracy in the Grammar-Translation Method.

The IPA also encouraged the teaching of grammar inductively. This means to teach grammatical
concepts through the use of examples or applications of the rules. From these examples,
students would extract the rule for themselves. This is a much more engaging way to teach
details such as rules in comparison to the standard deductive approach in which the rule is
given followed by applications of it.

Other Reform Principles

There are several other significant reforms. One key idea was the need to teach language in a
matter that was simple to complex in design. One has to wonder how language could have been
taught with teaching from simple to more complex content. However, this principle may have
been simply stating something that had been taken for granted.

Another reform idea was a focus on reading the language before seeing it in writing. This is in
contrast to the focus on text by the Grammar-Translation method. Lastly, learning should
happen in context. A focus on context became a major topic of controversy in education in
general in the 20th century.
One last major reform that brought an end to the Grammar-Translation Method was the belief
that translation should be avoided. Translation was at the heart of language teaching up until
this point. Such a stance as this may have been highly shocking for its time as it was a pushing
against a tradition that dated back to the 16th century.
The reforms brought about in language teaching at the end of the 19th century were for the
purpose of improving language teaching. The primary desire was not to throw away what had
been done before. Rather, the goal was to further help in the improvement of language
teaching.

Much second language acquisition research in recent decades has assumed that a learner's
main purpose for learning a second language (L2) is to develop communicative competence.
Consequently, many studies have focused on investigating ways in which teachers and/or the
learning environment may support the development of such competence. In particular, it has
been argued that L2 learning is facilitated when learners interact, particularly in conversation
with native speakers. Further, natural settings in which the learner is in contact with native
speakers appear to lead to a higher level of L2 proficiency. Studies of learners of Arabic tend to
agree with this view. Native Arabic-speaking contexts are of course diglossic, with local and
standard varieties being used for different purposes. Research suggests that students believe it
is most useful to learn the local variety of Arabic – the colloquial variety – for the sake of
communication with native speakers. This article reports on a study of beliefs about learning L2
Arabic held by students of 61 nationalities at the Institute for the Teaching of Arabic to
Non-Arabs (ITANA), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Analysis of data from questionnaires and
interviews highlighted students' belief cluster, based on a perceived strong link between the
Arabic language and Islam, the religion of the participants. Other elements of the cluster
consisted of beliefs concerning the importance of grammar, memorization and accuracy, and
also the relative value of learning local and standard varieties of Arabic. It was found that in the
conservative educational culture of ITANA and the wider context of Riyadh and Saudi Arabia,
students' own purposes for learning, which were largely religious, led to beliefs about Arabic
learning that supported ‘traditional methods' of instruction and resisted attempts to introduce
ways of learning based on communicative approaches. The findings remind us that learning
context and learning purpose are powerful influences on beliefs about what is helpful for the
process of L2 learning, and that where communicative competence is not the goal of such
learning, beliefs may differ considerably from those reported in much of the contemporary
literature.

Reform stands for making a change, improvement, repairing or rectification and movement
means going opposite to or reaction against an established idea or rule due to its drawbacks or
monopolies. In the second half of 19th century, GTM was to face criticism due to its insufficient
techniques and outputs for second language development.
As a result, a “Reform Movement” was a must for language teaching and it happened and came
into being with certain principles. The principles of ‘Reform Movement’ have been playing a vital
role in the history of language teaching with a triumph march since its birth.

The roles of Reform Movement focusing on its principles

Some leading linguists such as philologist, phonetician and grammarian Henry Sweet of
England, German illustrious linguist Wilhelm Vietor and founder of IPA (International Phonetic
Association) Paul Passy of France came forward for ‘Reform Movement’. They have also
provided some principles which have brought about a revolutionary or dramatic change in
language teaching.

Speaking and asking teaching procedure

Prior to “Reform Movement”, the language teaching procedures consisted on reading and
writing excluding speaking and asking. In such teaching process, the pupils never got real world
communicative competence. But the change started and has been perpetual because of
principles of ‘Reform Movement’ which are “emphasis on spoken language over written
language and target language-based classroom discourse”. So, speaking and asking teaching
procedure is the first and foremost product of ‘Reform Movement’.

IPA based language teaching

International Phonetic Alphabet based language teaching is the second most significant change
in the history of language teaching owing to the “phonetics and modern linguistic studies”
principle of ‘Reform Movement’. According to Wilhelm Vietor, rote learning teaching was not only
not moral but also useless as the students did not get any result for international communication
without having proper phonetics.

Inductive grammar teaching

Inductive grammar teaching means that the students are to figure out the grammatical rules
themselves. According to sundry principles of ‘Reform Movement’, grammar would be taught
after having learnt how to speak and in a sensible way when needed. One of such principles is
“Grammar should be taught inductively”. Thus, ‘Reform Movement’ in language teaching is a
blessing for students.
Oral discussion language teaching
Replacement of translation-based language teaching by oral discussion language teaching has
been possible by the influential principles of ‘Reform Movement’. Translation of long text was
tedious and useless and had to be replaced by oral discussions about those text in class. This
language teaching has come into being because of the principles of “Avoidance of translation”
and “Inclusion of everyday vocabulary and phrases”.

Thus, “Reform Movement” has changed whole scenario of language teaching techniques
fulfilling choices of students and given forth a huge number of effective “Target Language”
teaching methods such as DM, ALM, CLT and so on.
Reform Movement - Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching
THE REFORM MOVEMENT

From the 1880s, linguists like Henry Sweet in England, Wilhelm Vietor in Germany and Paul
Passy in France.

They promote a more pragmatic and communicative approach with phonetics as the most
important aspect. Phonetics was established and the International Phonetic Association was
founded in 1886, and its International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) was

designed. The aim of the association was to improve the teaching of modern languages
through:

⚫ the study of the spoken language • phonetic training in order to establish good pronunciation
habits

⚫ the use of conversation texts and dialogues to introduce conversational

⚫
phrases and idioms
an inductive approach to the teaching of grammar

Language for communication is the most important aspect

Henry Sweet suggested that language should be taught in terms of the four skills:
listening, speaking, reading and writing and grading materials from simple to complex.
In 1890, Vietor and modern language teachers changed the teaching of foreign
languages in the direction of language for "communication".
THE INFLUENCE OF PHONETICS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING
Vietor, Sweet and other reformers in the late 19th century criticized the Grammar Translation
Method. In general terms they believed:

1. the spoken language is primary, it should be reflected in an oralflbased methodology

2. the findings of phonetics should be applied to teaching and teacher training
3. learners should hear the language first, before seeing it in written form
4. Words should be presented in sentences and sentences should be practiced in meaningful
contexts and not to be taught as isolated or disconnected elements.
5. the rules of grammar should be taught only after the students have practiced the grammar
points in context, that is, grammar should be taught inductively
6. translation should be avoided, although the mother tongue could be used in
order to explain new words or to check comprehension (Richards and Rodgers 1986) These
tenets reflected the beginning of the discipline of Applied linguisticsfl that branch of language
study concerned with the scientific study of Second and Foreign Language Teaching and
Learning.
The direct method of teaching, which is sometimes called the natural method, and is often (but
not exclusively) used in teaching foreign languages, refrains from using the learners' native
language and uses only the target language. It was established in England around 1900 and
contrasts with the grammar–translation method and other traditional approaches, as well as with
C.J. Dodson's bilingual method. It was adopted by key international language schools such as
Berlitz, Alliance Française and Inlingua in the 1970s and many of the language departments of
the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. State Department in 2012.[1]
In general, teaching focuses on the development of oral skills.[2] Characteristic features of
the direct method are:

● teaching concepts and vocabulary through pantomiming, real-life objects and other
visual materials
● teaching grammar by using an inductive approach (i.e. having learners find out rules
through the presentation of adequate linguistic forms in the target language)
● the centrality of spoken language (including a native-like pronunciation)
● focus on question–answer patterns

The direct method in teaching a language is directly establishing an immediate and audiovisual
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.[3]
Direct method of teaching languages aims to build a direct way into the world of the target
language making a relation between experience and language, word and idea, thought and
expression rule and performance.
This method intends for students to learn how to communicate in the target language
This method is based on the assumption that the learner should experience the new language
in the same way as he/she experienced his/her mother tongue without considering the
existence of his/her mother tongue.
Concepts are taught by means of objects or by natural contexts through the mental and physical
skills of the teacher only.
Oral training helps in reading and writing listening and speaking simultaneously.
Grammar is taught indirectly through the implication of the situation creation.[5]
Techniques
Question/answer exercise – the teacher asks questions of any type and the student answers.
Dictation – the teacher chooses a grade-appropriate passage and reads it aloud.
Reading aloud – the students take turns reading sections of a passage, play or a dialogue
aloud.
Student self-correction – when a student makes a mistake the teacher offers him/her a second
chance by giving a choice.
Conversation practice – the students are given an opportunity to ask their own questions to the
other students or to the teacher. This enables both a teacher-learner interaction as well as a
learner-learner interaction.
Paragraph writing – the students are asked to write a passage in their own words.[4]
Nature
The direct method is also known as the natural method. It was developed as a reaction to the
grammar-translation method and is designed to take the learner into the domain of the target
language in the most natural manner.
The main objective is to impart a perfect command of a foreign language. The main focus is to
make the learner think in the targeted language in the same manner as the learning of his/her
mother tongue in the most natural way.
In traditional language-learning, pupil participation was found to be diminished as the teaching is
perceived to belong and monotonous.[5]
Merits
1. The focus is on Oral Practice. Therefore, the pronunciation improves.
2. In teaching vocabulary such as words, idioms, this method is good.
3. As there is direct relation between thought and expression, it helps the learners in having
good fluency. Using direct method, a teacher helps students having good command over
English.
4. In this method, the teacher proceeds from particular to general and from concrete to abstract.
5. It makes teaching English easier and more pleasant. A teacher uses various images/ pictures
to illustrate his/her point.
6. This method creates the suitable environment for learning English Language.
7. As the unit of speech in Direct Method is a sentence, students learn to speak complete
sentences without any hesitation. So they get confidence with command over good English.

● Facilitates understanding of language – understanding of the target language becomes

easier due to the inhibition of the linguistic interferences from the mother tongue, it
establishes a direct bond between contexts and helps in understanding directly what is
heard and read
● Improves fluency of speech – fluency of speech results in easier writing, it tends to
improve expression, expression in writing, and it is a quick way of learning and
expanding vocabulary
● Aids reading – reading becomes easier and more pleasant, and it also promotes a habit
of critical studying
● Improves the development of language sense
● Full of activities, which make it interesting and exciting
● Emphasizes the target language by helping the pupil express their thoughts and feelings
directly in target language without using their mother tongue
● Develops listening, speaking, reading.
● Increased employment opportunities
● Helps in bringing words from passive vocabulary into active vocabulary
● Helps in proceeding the English language from particular to general, it bridges the gap
between practice and theory
● Makes use of audio-visual aids and also facilitates reading and writing
● Facilitates alertness and participation of students[4][3]
● Clearly the Direct Method is a shift away from the Grammar Translation Method. One of
its positive points is that it promises to teach the language and Not about the language.
More advantages can be listed as follows:
● It is a natural method which teaches language the same way the mother tongue is
acquired. Only the target language is used and the learning is contextualized.
● Its emphasis on speech made it more attractive for those who have needs of real
communication in the target language.
● It was one of the first methods to introduce the teaching of vocabulary through realia
●
Demerits
1. Ignores systematic written work and reading activities
2. May not hold well in higher-level classes where the translation method may be more
suitable
 3. Supports only limited vocabulary – it restricts the scope of vocabulary as not all words
can be directly associated with their meanings
4. Needs skilled teachers; e.g., less effective if teachers have a poor command of English
5. Ignores reading and writing aspects of language learning
6. Does not teach grammar systematically
7. Time-consuming in creating real-life situations
8. Less suitable for slow learners, who struggle with this method[4][3]
9. Owing to over-emphasis on oral practice, the other skills namely reading and writing are
ignored to a great extent.
10. Average and below average students, especially from rural background, find difficulty to
grasp the things taught via this method.
11. This is an expensive method as the teacher is to use some aids for teaching.
12. For this method, competent teachers must be there. But there is the dearth of good
English teachers in the country. Incompetent teachers can't use this method
successfully.
13. In the early stage of learning, this method is completely unsuccessful.
14. The background at home must also be foreign language friendly for this method. The
students whose parents can speak English well get more benefit from this method.
15. Despite its shortcomings, this method is good. But the teacher must be able to modify it
for the benefit of the whole class.
In spite of its achievements, the direct method fell short of fulfilling the needs of educational
systems. One of its major shortcomings is that it was hard for public schools to integrate it. As
Brown (1994:56) points out, the Direct Method

” did not take well in public education where the constraints of budget, classroom size, time, and
teacher background made such a method difficult to use.”
After a short popularity in the beginning of the 20th century, it soon began to lose its appeal
because of these constraints. It then paved the way to the Audiolingual Method.

Principles
1. Direct relation between thought and words - Using this method, a learner things and speaks
using the same medium.
2. Oral ( Speaking ) Practice - This method emphasizes on oral practice for everyone.
3. Functional Grammar - This method doesn't put emphasis on theoretical grammar. The main
stress is on functional grammar.
4. No use of Mother Tongue - There is the complete prohibition on the use of mother tongue.
Therefore, learners' main focus is on learning the Foreign language.
5. Limited Vocabulary - This method advocates the use of limited vocabulary, daily-use words.
The words must be from requirement or needs of the learners.
6. Sentence as the unit of speech - Here, the unit of speech is a sentence. There is the
emphasis on speaking the complete sentences.
Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the target language.
Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught during the initial phase; grammar, reading,
and writing are introduced in the intermediate phase.
Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully graded progression organized around
question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes.
Grammar is taught inductively.
New teaching points are introduced orally.
Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures; abstract vocabulary
is taught by association of ideas.
Both speech and listening comprehension is taught.
Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.
Students should be speaking approximately 80% of the time during the lesson.
Students are taught from inception to ask questions as well as answer them.

Language is learned inductively

As mentioned before, grammar isn’t explicitly taught in the direct method. You won’t be telling
students about rules and such. Instead, you’ll let your students figure out the rules for
themselves. Your job is to give them plenty of 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. So, how do you teach grammar when you aren’t supposed to point out any linguistic
rule?
It’s actually easier than you think. And, as a fulfilling bonus, you get to witness your students
slowly figure things out for themselves.
Students learn best when you teach them things that are only slightly beyond their reach. And
you help 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 you want to teach the word for the color red—a vocabulary
lesson. Instead of using direct translation and writing on the board, “RED = ROT,” you make
things more interesting and more fun. Bring several objects of the color—perhaps a red truck, a
red ball, a red cap, a rose and lipstick. Every time you point to the objects, say “Das ist rot. Rot.”
(This is red. Red.) Go through the different objects and keep on repeating “rot.” With repeated
exposure, your students will soon get the point. To check for comprehension, point to an object
of different color, say a blue pen, and ask, “Rot?” The class should give a resounding “Nein!”
(No!)
Let’s say that in an ESL class you want to teach some grammar rule, like how to form the plural
of nouns. You might want to bring two sets of pictures. One depicting lone objects, the other,
depicting a group. You hold 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.
Your students will pick up on the clues and figure out the rules for themselves. Now you have to
trust them on this. They may not get it right away, they may not get all of it, but you have to let
those light bulbs work by themselves because this is the kind of learning that really stays with
the students.
We’ll have more to say about specific techniques and strategies of the direct method in the next
section.
Only the target language is used
This is a biggie: “Only use the target language.” That’s the first thing you read in any direct
method lesson plan.
While some do prefer to have some room to throw a little mother tongue here and there, like in
teaching vocabulary, direct method purists would never utter a single sound outside the target
language.
Even in the first few sessions of the course when members of the class will be absolute
beginners and all the words that are coming out of your mouth will sound like Greek to them
(even if you’re not teaching Greek), you need to stick the target language when doing your
presentations. That is, do everything possible—demonstrating, dramatizing, gesturing—to send
your message using only the target language.
The idea is that going through translations only bogs down learning. Students should be trained
to think in the target language. Going through translations conditions them to think first in their
first language, before converting the information to the target language.
Your students should be trained to see the world through the lens of the target language. In a
Spanish class for example, when a student sees a red fruit hanging from a tree, she should
immediately be thinking, “la manzana,” not “that’s an apple, hmmm… let’s see, apple is
manzana in Spanish. That’s la manzana!”
There should be a direct connection between the sight of the fruit and la manzana. And it’s your
job as the teacher to make this direct connection.
The direct method looks to the processes of first language acquisition and applies them a
second time to second language acquisition.
When we first learned English, we didn’t have translations to get us through the day. Mommy
and daddy talked to us in simple English and we slowly acquired it. Sure, there were times when
we made mistakes. But through trial and error, we groped our way to fluency. We not only speak
English, we also think and dream in English. If that’s how your students acquired their first
language, then there’s no reason why the same mechanism wouldn’t work in second (or third, or
fourth) language acquisition.
This will allow students to excel in authentic situations where the language is actually being
used. Because they’re used to this target language-only setting, they won’t be overwhelmed
when confronting an unknown word or grammar structure when chatting with a native speaker
or watching a video.

Speaking is supreme
In the direct method, listening and speaking skills are given first priority. This would seem
obvious in the field of language learning, but this is in stark contrast to the grammar-translation
method where, because of the focus on linguistic structures, reading and writing skills are
primarily developed.
Not to sneer at writing and reading skills, but the time to focus hard on them should come later
in the language acquisition process. With the grammar-translation method, you have students
who know about the language and can translate a sentence accurately, knowing the different
grammatical rules. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t have enough communicative skills to find their
way through a speed date. With the direct method, instead of learning about the language,
students use the language to send and receive communication.
In the teaching techniques that we will talk about shortly, you will notice that students are
actively engaged in the different classroom activities. They’re not just passively sitting while
taking down copious notes.
In the direct method, students do a lot of talking, gesturing, acting and interacting. They’re
encouraged to talk, no matter how imperfectly. The more talking time the students get, the
better. They interact with you, the teacher, they interact with fellow students. Instead of looking
at examples of sentences written on the blackboard, they get to feel it roll off their tongues and
hear themselves speak in a language they’ll soon be fluent in.
By placing the correct emphasis on comprehension and conversational skills, students are given
vivid firsthand experience with the language. They aren’t just learning about the language,
they’re actually using it to send a message, perform a task or ask a question.
With the direct method, language is really not an academic endeavor, as it has been for the
grammar-translation method. Language is a way to communicate.

Features Of Direct Method Of Teaching

Facilitates Understanding of English
Learners can learn English directly through what they hear or read. It established a direct
connection between objects and English words which allows one to learn the language easily.
Natural Method
It is also known as the natural method of learning English because students can naturally learn
English just like their mother tongue.
Facilitates Acquisition of Vocabulary
Learners can acquire great vocabulary in English due to its constant use since the mother
tongue is not involved in this teaching method.
Improves Fluency of speech
This method emphasizes aural-oral words and students are encouraged to think in English
allowing them to speak fluently and confidently in English.
Focuses On Functional Grammar
This method focuses more on functional grammar rather than theoretical grammar.
No Use Of Mother Tongue
This method does not advocate the use of the mother tongue and relies solely on the use of the
target language.

Champion writes,

“It is a method of teaching English directly. To teach English directly is to establish a direct
association between experience and expression, between the English words, phrases, and its
meaning.”

The direct teaching method is a reaction to the Grammar Translation Method. The learners are
taught a language without the interference of any other language apart from the target
language.

Direct method occupies an important place amongst the various methods of teachingEnglish,
which came as a reaction against the traditional translation method. The directmethod was also
called the natural method or reformed method.The term ‘Direct method’ apparently was
originated in France in a circular of the Frenchminister of Public Instruction in 1901. The method
received official sanction in 1908, but was revised in 1909 and again in 1925-26. The principles
of the method came fromGermany and were popularized by the International Phonetic
Association, an associationof French teachers formed in 1986.
Meaning of Direct Method:
According to Champion, “The direct method is a method of teaching English directly. Toteach
English directly is to establish a direct or immediate association betweenexperience and
expression, between the English word, phrase, or idiom and as meaningin other words of
establishing in connection with English the same habit of directexperience as exists is the use of
mother-tongue.”

Aims of Direct Method:

Champion has pointed out the following four aims of the direct method:(1) To make the pupil
think in English(2) To enable the pupil express his thoughts and feelings directly by means of
English with the intervention of his mother tongue.(3) To enable the pupil that instinctive
unerring language sense which we all possess in varying degrees in the mother tongue.
Essential Features or Principles of Direct Method:
(1) By this method it is possible to establish a direct association between the experienceand
expression, which should be one of the features of direct method.(2) There should be no use of
mother tongue. It should be reduced to a minimum oralmost the hearing and speaking of
English.(3) The third quality of this method is that every sentence, which is complete, is a
unitonly; it is a means of expressing ideas.(4) The direct method emphasizes the oral aspects of
teaching. Spoken words should bemade the basis and as far as possible the medium of
instruction.(5) In the direct method grammar is taught inductively rather than deductively.
(6) There is systematic use of vocabulary in the direct method. The direct method lays onthe
need of limited vocabulary and phraseology taught in definite stages. New wordsassociated with
concrete objects are introduced at regular intervals. They aresystematically and judiciously
selected for framing sentences.Therefore, the above are the features of a direct method of
teaching English in Indianschools.
History
The Direct Method, also called Natural Method, was established in Germany and France around
1900. It appeared as an answer to the shortcomings of the Grammar Translation Method. It is a
method for teaching foreign languages that uses the target language, discarding any use of
mother tongue in the classroom. As teachers became frustrated with the students’ inability to
communicate orally, they began to experiment with new techniques. The idea was that foreign
language teaching must be carried out in the same way people learn their mother tongue!

The method
Translation is completely banished from any classroom activity. Classroom activities are carried
out ONLY in the target language.
Oral teaching comes before any other kind of reading and writing activities.
Use of chain activities accompanied by verbal comments like ‘I go to the door. I open the door. I
close the door. I return to my place. I sit down.’ (called the Gouin series)
Grammar is taught inductively. (i.e. having learners find out rules through the presentation of
adequate linguistic forms in the target language.)
Use of realia to teach concrete vocabulary. Abstract vocabulary is taught through association if
ideas.
Emphasis is put on correct pronunciation and grammar.
Teaching through modeling and practice.

The teaching techniques rely mostly on:

● Reading aloud,
● Question answer exercises,
 ● Self-correction,
● Conversation practice,
● Fill-in-the-blank exercises,
● Dictation
● and Paragraph writing.

What’s the Direct Method?

Around the turn of the 19th century, a method arose that served to right the shortcomings of the
grammar-translation method—the most prevalent language teaching approach in those days.
The direct method was developed as an antithesis to grammar-translation method. When the
grammar-translation method’s weaknesses became apparent, the direct method expressly
addressed those competencies scarcely touched by its predecessor.

So what’s the grammar-translation method? Let’s review.

It’s the teaching method that puts grammar—its rules, morphology, syntax—at the forefront.
Meaning, language is taught by analyzing the different elements of language and explicitly
prescribing correct ways of combining those elements.
A teacher composing a sample sentence on the board, and then labeling the words as nouns,
verbs and adjectives while explaining how they relate to each other, is using
grammar-translation method to teach language. The approach is usually championed in
textbooks where the different parts of speech have their own chapters and, at the end of each
chapter, practice exercises abound.
The “translation” part of “grammar-translation” is embodied in the vocabulary lists that give the
equivalents of words in the target language. Translation exercises where students are asked to
translate words, phrases and sentences are often used.
The grammar-translation method is especially adept at developing writing and reading skills,
which is very important in dealing with Latin and Greek—dead languages, but for which a wealth
of preserved literature abounds. But when it comes to practical, modern, spoken languages, it
hasn’t resulted in students with communicative ability to carry an interesting conversation in the
target language.

So now comes the direct method, a repudiation of its predecessor.

As we shall soon see, grammar, which is at the core of the grammar-translation method, isn’t
even expressly taught in this approach. 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.”
And while the grammar-translation is taught using the students’ first language, the direct method
uses only the target language. Imagine! In a Spanish class that uses this method, you’d only
use Spanish to teach your students the 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.

5 Direct Method Teaching Techniques

1. Example proliferation
When you only have the target language to use during your lectures, you have to make it up
somehow. Example proliferation is one of the ways you do that.
In order for your students to connect the dots and figure out vocabulary and rules of grammar
for themselves, you have to give them plenty of material to work with. This means that instead of
just giving one or two examples to illustrate your point, you work with five, six or even ten
examples. And not only that—you’ll present each of the examples several times. Repetition is
key in the direct method if students are to draw the correct conclusions. The examples that you
give should be simple, unambiguous and interesting.

Let’s say you want to teach the class the shapes, say circle. You have many different ways to
dramatize this concept. Besides the obvious, which is drawing a circle on the board, you can
bring different objects that exhibit the shape. How about a hula hoop, rings, coins, CDs, buttons,
cookie, plate, frisbee or medal? How about bringing in pictures of the sun, a rotunda, the
London Eye and a pizza?
Notice how difficult it is to resist seeing the connection between what you’re bringing and the
concept of “circle?” The more interesting the things you offer to the class, the stronger and more
memorable those mental connections will be. When students have pizzas and pies staring back
at them, it’s very hard not to get the point.
You can do a comprehension check by presenting an object of a different shape and asking the
class if it’s a circle or not.

2. Visual support
A mantra of the direct method is “demonstrate, don’t translate.” When you do example
proliferation to drive home a point, you would probably be hitting different learning modalities,
different senses. And the most important sensory mechanism to hit—and hit again and
again—is the visual sense.

There are many ways you can do this. A simple gesture can make your point vivid and clarify
your intent. For example, you can use a close fist to signify strength. Execute it over and over
and your ESL students will know what you mean when you say, “This table is built strong.”
The thing is, there’s a whole language based on signs and gestures alone. This can only mean
that with enough well-timed actions, a whole new language can be taught.
You can also do actual body demonstrations instead of just using your arms. You can jump,
punch, dance, even swim. You can exaggerate body language to provide context cues for your
message. Teaching about airplanes? Dramatize it by zooming around class, hopping from one
airport to another.
As suggested earlier, you can bring labeled pictures or even the actual objects to help dramatize
the content of your lessons.
Of course, the direct method requires that the teacher be prepared. Nothing beats a teacher
who knows their stuff.

3. Listening activities
Remember when you were a kid and your mom and dad used to read you bedtime stories?
You probably didn’t understand every word of it. You also probably did not know that it was
actually also a great linguistic lesson—especially if one of your parents knew how to modulate
their voice and often went overboard telling the story.
Do the very same thing with your students. Read them a story. Preferably the kind with cool
pictures. (If you can somehow use a projector to have the images on the wall, so much the
better.) Choose a story containing simple sentences.
Pace yourself. The goal of storytelling here isn’t to get to the last page. The story is your vehicle
to expose your students to more of the language. So if you need to repeatedly read the
sentences several times before proceeding to the next page, then do so.
You don’t need to read verbatim, you can do short asides. For example, if there’s a line that
reads, “The lips of the princess were painted red,” you can elaborate a bit by saying, “Red. Just
like the rose I showed you earlier, remember?”
So pace yourself. If there’s a particular vocabulary or concept in the story that you want to
elaborate, then spend a little more time on it.
Another listening activity that you can do is playing a conversation of two native speakers. (They
can be talking about anything, as long as they use simple sentences and aren’t conversing too
fast.) Replay several times, then ask the students about the contents of the dialogue.
The goal in these activities is really not to understand everything. It’s to understand what’s going
on. What’s the story about? What are these two people talking about?
If they understand the message, then they’ve just experienced the target language as it’s used
to convey a specific message.

4. Oral exercises and tasks

The direct method is a speech-centered teaching approach and believes that there’s nothing like
having your students talk in the target language. Make it a clear goal to make your students talk
in class as early in the course as possible—in the first class, really.
Grab any excuse you have to make them open their mouths and use the target language. For
example, engage them interactively often by asking questions, encouraging them to reply only
in the target language. You can ask the class as a whole or random students individually.

“Jerry, how was your weekend?”

“Class, did you see the news this morning? Any reactions?”

“Can anyone tell me their greatest fear?”

Sure, they’ll maybe answer you in the most basic form of the target language that they can
muster, even almost incoherently mumbling. But you know that’s all part of the process.
Let them interact with each other. For example, split them up into pairs and let them do
question-and-answer dialogues. One of the students will ask all the questions, the other will do
the answering. They can ask any question that they want, and the answer given must be as
honest as possible. The goal here isn’t to ask grammatically perfect questions and give
grammatically perfect answers. It’s to experience what it’s like to send and receive messages in
the target language. After five questions and five answers, make them switch positions and do
another five rounds of Q&A.
Also give them opportunities to talk in front of the class. You can extend the previous activity by
making them present it in class. Give the pairs a chance to practice a little and put them on
deck.

Like I said, every time you find an opportunity to make your students enunciate the sounds of
the target language, grab it. Even a simple reading task where you call on each student to read
aloud different parts of text in front of the class would go a long way in giving them firsthand
experience with the language.
5. Stress free and supportive environment
Providing your students with a stress-free and supportive environment is a standard for all the
other teaching approaches, but nowhere is it more important than in the direct method.

Imagine being a student, sitting in your first language class, and immediately the teacher is
addressing you in the language that you’re supposed to be learning—even though you haven’t
learned a word yet. Everything that comes out of her mouth sounds all Greek to you (even
though it’s Spanish or Korean). Yeah, her gestures and tones help somehow, but you can’t be
really sure what she means.
Even so, you start picking up a few sounds and tones, a few words here and there that you think
have a certain meaning.
The classroom situation is very fluid and you just don’t know when the teacher will call on you
and make you stand in front of the class. You can’t just sit at the back of the classroom and fly
under the radar until the course finishes.
Imagine that. As good as this is for getting students to be observant, think critically and absorb
the language naturally, it could be a little intimidating.
As a teacher, it’s your first responsibility to make every member of the class understand that
mistakes aren’t fatal. They don’t have social repercussions. Mistakes are part of language
learning and you have to give students enough confidence to participate in class, regardless of
uncertainty.
Let them know that you’re there for support. One of the ways you can do this is by making sure
that when you call on someone and throw them a question, you never leave without giving the
correct answer. For example, you can ask, “Tim, what color is this?” Tim sees that you’re
pointing to a yellow banana, but doesn’t know how to respond. What do you do? You feed him
the answer and then let him tell it to you.

You: “It’s yellow. Yellow! This banana is yellow. What color is this?”

Tim: “Yellow.”

You: “Very good! Class, the banana is yellow.”

What if Tim ventures on another answer, like “red,” how do you respond?

You give Tim plenty of opportunity to self-correct and guide him to the answer. You can repeat
his answer with a questioning tone (“Red?”) then give him options by saying, “Is it red (pointing
to something red), or is it yellow (point to the banana)?”
If he mispronounces “yellow,” feed the correct pronunciation to him and let him throw it back to
you. In short, nobody in your class gets asked a question without being able to give the correct
answer.
Make students feel that you won’t leave them hanging, you won’t embarrass them in class and
they’ll be active and willing participants in the learning process.
And that’s what the direct method is all about—a unique method with wonderful virtues of its
own.

Role of the teacher. Principles of direct method

English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers wants students to think and speak in the target
language 100 percent of the time while in class. The direct method to achieve this emphasizes
conversation and pronunciation while giving little importance to the study of traditional grammar
through reading and writing. The teacher should use activities to encourage students to listen,
speak and think in the language they are learning without hesitation. The study program is
based on real-life situations. Students learn inductively. Vocabulary is practiced in complete
sentences, never in isolation.
Dictation: Teachers who use the direct method read aloud to students in the target language.
The teacher reads three times an appropriate passage for the student’s language level. The first
time, the students listen. The second time, the teacher reads the passage sentence by
sentence, slow enough for students to write what they hear. The third time, the teacher reads
the passage normally and the students review what they have written to make sure it is correct.
Principles of direct method
Questions and answers: When ESL teachers use the direct method, emphasis is placed on
speech, rather than reading and writing. To accomplish this, the teacher will ask simple
questions that he knows students will have the ability to answer at their current level, even if
doing so has a little difficulty. The teacher will choose a student and ask a question like “What
are you going to have lunch today?” and then wait for the student to answer using a complete
sentence. To prepare for this, the teacher demonstrates that a complete answer would be “I’m
going to eat a sandwich and a banana for lunch today” instead of “A sandwich and a banana.”
Out loud reading: When the direct method is used, the teacher wants students to speak as
much as possible in the target language, but the student’s ability to do so on their own may be
limited. To make the students speak in the target language above their current level, the teacher
chooses passages from novels, plays, magazines, or other sources, and has the students take
turns reading aloud. Students are exposed to new words and receive practice with
pronunciation, comprehension, and oral expression.
Self-correction: Instead of correcting students directly, a teacher who uses the direct method
directs students to reflect on their own mistakes when speaking. If a teacher asks: “What are
you going to have lunch today?” and the student’s answer is: “I will eat a sandwich with
bananas” instead of “a sandwich and a banana”, the teacher may ask “Does your sandwich
have bananas in it or are you eating a banana and a sandwich?”. The student has to stop and
think about the way he wrote the sentence and correct himself. Principles of direct method

Role of the student.

They must have active participation. During the lessons, your interaction and use of the
language should be maximized.
Presence of grammar.
The teaching of grammar is inductive from the observation of the examples. The student is
expected to be able to extract grammar rules directly from the language he listens and reads,
without receiving explicit grammatical explanations from the teacher or being able to give those
explanations himself.
It arises at the end of the XIX century, in opposition to the traditional method of
grammar-translation. This method is not based on an explicit linguistic theory but is based on
the idea that a language is a communication tool used in concrete situations every day. The
language is learned by exposure to it, since structures, sounds, and words are assimilated little
by little. For this reason, what is oral is privileged over what is written; Also, the usefulness of
explicit grammatical explanations is underestimated and the translation is censored. Learning is
inductive and the prototype of the language is the informal oral language. Principles of direct
method

This method was introduced in France and Germany at the beginning of the 20th century
and widely known in the United States thanks to L. Sauveur and M. Berlitz, who applied it in
their schools. However, based on experience, the correction of errors is essential, because the
consolidation of appropriate habits is pursued; otherwise, communication may be affected. The
student’s life experience is also used through associations, especially with images but also
mental ones (language is a system of representation of the world).

The direct method was born in Germany and in France, around 1900 and its creators were
Berlitz and Sauze. This method is based on the idea that learning a second language should be
an imitation of the mother tongue since it is the natural way in which individuals learn any
language. This method places great emphasis on the correct pronunciation of the language
being learned.

According to this method, the written text should be kept away from the student, until he has
adequate knowledge of the oral part of the language, just as a student does not use the written
text until he has adequate knowledge of his own language.
“The learning of writing and spelling should be delayed until the written text has not been
entered. Grammar and translation should be avoided as this would result in the involvement of
the student’s mother tongue. “
This method avoids the students’ native language use and concentrates almost entirely on the
second language. Principles of direct method
The direct method has only one rule: written translations are not allowed. As with the
Audio-Lingual method, the direct method also refused to use the basic techniques of the
grammar-translation method, and thanks to this motive it became very popular. Its principles
have been applied for several years by teachers and have marked the history of teaching
methodologies.
The natural approach is a method of language teaching developed by Stephen Krashen and
Tracy Terrell in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It aims to foster naturalistic language acquisition
in a classroom setting, and to this end it emphasises communication, and places decreased
importance on conscious grammar study and explicit correction of student errors. Efforts are
also made to make the learning environment as stress-free as possible. In the natural approach,
language output is not forced, but allowed to emerge spontaneously after students have
attended to large amounts of comprehensible language input.
The natural approach has become closely associated with Krashen's monitor model, and it is
often seen as an application of the theory to language teaching. Despite this perception, there
are some differences, particularly Terrell's view that some degree of conscious grammar study
can be beneficial. The syllabus focuses on activities which Terrell sees as promoting
subconscious language acquisition. He divides these activities into four main areas: content
activities, such as learning a new subject in the target language; activities which focus on
personalizing language, such as students sharing their favorite music; games; and
problem-solving activities.
The natural approach was originally created in 1977 by Terrell, a Spanish teacher in California,
who wished to develop a style of teaching based on the findings of naturalistic studies of
second-language acquisition.[1][2] After the original formulation, Terrell worked with Krashen to
further develop the theoretical aspects of the method. Terrell and Krashen published the results
of their collaboration in the 1983 book The Natural Approach.[3]
The natural approach was strikingly different from the mainstream approach in the United States
in the 1970s and early 1980s, the audio-lingual method. While the audio-lingual method prized
drilling and error correction, these things disappeared almost entirely from the natural
approach.[4] Terrell and Krashen themselves characterized the natural approach as a
"traditional" method[1] and contrasted it with grammar-based approaches, which they
characterized as new inventions that had "misled" teachers.[5]

The natural approach shares many features with the direct method (itself also known as the
"natural method"), which was formulated around 1900 and was also a reaction to
grammar-translation.[6] Both the natural approach and the direct method are based on the idea
of enabling naturalistic language acquisition in the language classroom; they differ in that the
natural approach puts less emphasis on practice and more on exposure to language input and
on reducing learners' anxiety.[6]

The aim of the natural approach is to develop communicative skills,[7] and it is primarily
intended to be used with beginning learners.[8] It is presented as a set of principles that can
apply to a wide range of learners and teaching situations, and concrete objectives depend on
the specific context in which it is used.[8] Terrell outlines three basic principles of the approach:

"Focus of instruction is on communication rather than its form."[9]

"Speech production comes slowly and is never forced."[9]
"Early speech goes through natural stages (yes or no response, one- word answers, lists of
words, short phrases, complete sentences.)"[9]
These principles result in classrooms where the teacher emphasizes interesting,
comprehensible input and low-anxiety situations.[7] Lessons in the natural approach focus on
understanding messages in the foreign language, and place little or no importance on error
correction, drilling or on conscious learning of grammar rules.[7][2][10] They also emphasize
learning of a wide vocabulary base over learning new grammatical structures.[2] In addition,
teachers using the natural approach aim to create situations in the classroom that are
intrinsically motivating for students.[7]
Terrell sees learners going through three stages in their acquisition of speech: comprehension,
early speech, and speech emergence.[11] In the comprehension stage Terrell focuses on
students' vocabulary knowledge. His aim is to make the vocabulary stick in students' long term
memory, a process which he calls binding.[12] Terrell sees some techniques as more binding
than others; for example, the use of gestures or actions, such as in total physical response, is
seen to be more binding than the use of translation.[12]
According to Terrell, students' speech will only emerge after enough language has been bound
through communicative input.[12] When this occurs, the learners enter the early speech stage.
In this stage, students answer simple questions, use single words and set phrases, and fill in
simple charts in the foreign language.[13] In the speech emergence stage, students take part in
activities requiring more advanced language, such as role-plays and problem-solving
activities.[13]
Although Terrell originally created the natural approach without relying on a particular theoretical
model, his subsequent collaboration with Krashen has meant that the method is often seen as
an application to language teaching of Krashen's monitor model.[5] Krashen outlined five
hypotheses in his model:
The acquisition-learning hypothesis. This states that there is a strict separation between
conscious learning of language and subconscious acquisition of language, and that only
acquisition can lead to fluent language use.[5]
The monitor hypothesis. This states that language knowledge that is consciously learned can
only be used to monitor output, not to generate new language. Monitoring output requires
learners to be focused on the rule and to have time to apply it.[5]
The input hypothesis. This states that language is acquired by exposure to comprehensible
input at a level a little higher than that the learner can already understand. Krashen names this
kind of input "i+1".[5]
The natural order hypothesis. This states that learners acquire the grammatical features of a
language in a fixed order, and that this is not affected by instruction.[5]
The affective filter hypothesis. This states that learners must be relaxed and open to learning in
order for language to be acquired. Learners who are nervous or distressed may not learn
features in the input that more relaxed learners would pick up with little effort.[5]
Despite its basis in Krashen's theory, the natural approach does not adhere to the theory strictly.
In particular, Terrell perceives a greater role for the conscious learning of grammar than
Krashen. Krashen's monitor hypothesis contends that conscious learning has no effect on
learners' ability to generate new language, whereas Terrell believes that some conscious
learning of grammar rules can be beneficial.[7]

Terrell outlines four categories of classroom activities that can facilitate language acquisition (as
opposed to language learning):

"Content (culture, subject matter, new information, reading, e.g. teacher tells interesting
anecdote involving contrast between target and native culture.)"[12]
"Affective-humanistic (students' own ideas, opinions, experiences, e.g. students are asked to
share personal preferences as to music, places to live, clothes, hair styles, etc.)"[12]
"Games [focus on using language to participate in the game, e.g. 20 questions: I, the teacher,
am thinking of an object in this room. You, students, have twenty questions to guess the object.
Typical questions: is it clothing? (yes) is it for a man or a woman? (woman) is it a skirt? (yes) is it
brown? (yes) is it Ellen's skirt? (yes)]"[12]
"Problem solving (focus on using language to locate information, use information, etc., e.g.
looking at this listing of films in the newspaper, and considering the different tastes and schedule
needs in the group, which film would be appropriate for all of us to attend, and when?)"[12]
How to Learn a Language with the Natural Approach (or, How 7.8 Billion People Successfully
Have)
1. Don’t Learn the Language, Acquire It.
The first thing to notice in The Natural Approach is that there’s an important difference between
“learning the language” and “acquiring the language.” And like mentioned earlier, it all has to do
with the activities involved in each.
“Learning” involves conscious instruction. When you memorize usage rules and vocabulary,
when you memorize the different conjugations of the verb, when you’re concerned whether or
not the tense used is correct—those are all “learning” related activities.

“Learning a language” means you’re studying a language, its linguistic forms (grammar,
semantics, phonology) and how the different elements interact with each other. Most “learning”
activities happen inside a classroom, but you could certainly manage to do these independently.

“Learning the language” will get you good grades, but it won’t necessarily lead to fluency.

“Acquiring,” on the other hand, involves different activities that are, for the most part,
communicative and immersive in nature.
Meaning, these activities give you plenty of opportunities to listen, observe and experience how
language is used. And, even better, these activities give you plenty of opportunities to use the
language in order to communicate.
For example, you’re living with an Armenian family. You get to hear what the mom screams
when she wakes the kids up in the morning, or what she says when she calls them to the table
for dinner. You hear grandma talk to you in Armenian because she often forgets that you’re not
one of her granddaughters.

Every day you find yourself exposed to the language. You’ll slowly pick up the language. You’ll
be able to work out the context of things being said and work out their meanings. Maybe the
dirty words first. Then you’ll pick up their expressions, then maybe the adjectives and verbs, and
so on and so forth.
Exposure to language is big when you want to acquire it rather than “learn” it. So as a language
learner (or rather, “acquirer”), you have to put yourself in the way of language that’s rife with
action and understandable context.
Watch movies, listen to songs, enjoy some podcasts, read (children’s) books and talk with
native speakers.
You’re not required to understand everything. See, hear and get a feel for how your target
language is used by native speakers.
You can also change the language option of your gadgets and social media accounts so that
they display in the target language of your choice. You can also make your home a hub of
language learning by using Post-Its to label the different objects that you use every day in the
language of choice.

Outsource your label-making for the most important vocabulary words by using a Vocabulary
Stickers set, which gives you well over 100 words to put on items you use and see every day
around your home and office.
There’s so much you can do, short of going to a country where your target language is spoken,
to make picking up a language as immersive and as natural as possible.

3. Get Exposure to Different Situations with Different Senses

Going to a country to acquire its national language only works when you’re actually exposing
yourself to the myriad of available experiences in the country of choice.
A change in geography won’t do you any good if you only keep to yourself or associate
exclusively with fellow English speakers.
You don’t even have to up and leave just to get exposure and immersion. Again, you don’t need
a passport to have the needed immersion. Getting a language learning partner is one method
for doing this and was already pointed out earlier.
Another method is actively seeking out the native speakers who are living in your area. Chances
are they already have a local association that hosts cultural activities such as food raves and
language meetups like these in New York.
Attend these and you’ll find tons of fellow language learners (or rather, acquirers). Knowing that
there are others who are on the same journey will be a big boost.
Remember that when you’re going for exposure and immersion, you should always try to get it
in different situations and have the experiences fully stimulate your senses.
Bathe yourself in the same experiences that native speakers have. Eat their food, listen to their
music. Read the headlines of their newspapers. Find out what’s up with their local celebrities.
If you want to learn Chinese, spend a day in Chinatown. Dive into the rich underbelly of Chinese
culture and you’ll come out with priceless insights, not to mention some really interesting home
décor.
Get into some stores there and try to ask about the different stuff they sell. Haggle prices. Watch
out for hand gestures and you’ll have learned something not found in grammar books.
Get some food packs and try to make out what’s written on the backs of packages. You’ll learn
plenty of contextually rich Chinese just by befriending the characters on those food labels.

The stuff you’d ignore in your native language can be priceless study material in your target
language. For example, unless you’re a parent, you’re probably not binge-watching children’s
songs on YouTube. You probably don’t spend a lot of time watching commercials on purpose.
FluentU, for example, has a dedicated section for kid-oriented videos and another one for
advertising videos. The program also has many other types of authentic content that you can
learn through exposure to your target language. For example, you can study German with
movie clips or learn French through vlogs. Whatever you’re interested in, you can use it to study
the language on FluentU.
You can also get different kinds of sensory exposure with this program. You’ll be listening to and
watching videos, of course, but you’ll also be following along with accurate subtitles, interacting
with these subtitles to get on-demand contextual definitions, typing and speaking answers to
personalized quizzes and finding new ways to experience the language.
Contextual learning makes it easier to remember new vocabulary, sentence constructions and
grammar concepts. Expose yourself to authentic language as soon as you can in your learning,
to always give your learning context.

4. Work with Materials That Suit Your Level

One of the tragedies that befall many who try to acquire a language is that they use the wrong
materials for their level. When someone gives up on a language, you usually hear one of these
excuses:

“The audio was too fast.”

“I couldn’t understand a word in the book.”

“The sentences are too long.”

“I didn’t have enough time to digest what my partner was saying.”

It doesn’t mean that the language is too hard or the person is too slow. They didn’t stand a
chance because the materials they got exposed to were too advanced, stepping beyond the “i +
1” formula of the input hypothesis.
It became gibberish and had no place in the memory to be anchored in.

The tragedy is that this person would’ve been perfectly able to acquire the language had they
been using materials that were more approachable for them.
That’s why we start beginners with children’s books—where the target language is in bold,
capital, colorful letters, where the sentences are simple and where pictures help the folks figure
out the meaning.
For exposure to be meaningful, it should be in the general area of the learner’s competency. For
example, it should be easy enough so that a reader already understands at least 50% of the
words in the sentences. (The remaining 50% is the room where the learner grows.)
Imagine a mountain climber ascending a steep rock. He doesn’t reach for those grips that are
several meters above him. Nope, he reaches for one an arm’s length above, while the other
hand is keeping him safe and steady.
So instead of banging your head against materials that prove how much you don’t know, go for
materials that say, “Yeah, you already know this. But look, there’s more!”
Instead of challenging yourself with materials that ultimately overwhelm you, strategically
choose materials that you know you can master given enough time and effort.

5. Make the Road to Fluency Stress-free

For a language to be successfully acquired, motivation must not only be high, but anxiety must
also be low.
Otherwise, all the language inputs we’ve talked about earlier will find no home in the brain.
When a person is highly anxious, the immersive experience loses impact and no amount of
stimulation will be comprehensible input.
The pressure of a language test might push you to learn a language by memorizing plenty of
vocabulary, drilling grammar rules and getting good grades, but it can’t always lead you to
acquire language. (We’ve already distinguished “learning” and “acquisition” earlier, right?)
Language acquisition is about being so relaxed and so dialed into the conversation that you
forget you’re talking in a foreign language. You become engrossed with the message or content,
instead of the medium.
So shed off the pressure you put on yourself. Thoughts like, “I need to learn this now” or “I’ve
got two months to learn this list” won’t be helpful to your cause.

Expose yourself to the language instead. Watch your Spanish telenovela, eat your Chinese
noodles after looking at the labels, enjoy that children’s book in French. Don’t even think about
grades or timelines or milestones. Just put yourself in an environment where you can listen and
read and observe how the target language is used.