Direct Methods of Language Teaching

In the mid-19th century the movement towards rejection of the Grammar-Translation Method increasingly developed.
Among its leaders were
- the Frenchmen C. Marcel and F. Gouin and
- the Englishman T. Prendergast

Marcel, Gouin and Prendergast were the first to pay attention to children’s mode of language acquisition.
Children use situational and contextual cues to interpret utterances. They use menorised phrases and “routines” in speaking.

Gouin’s “series” included sequences of sentences related to some activities. He emphasised on: teaching items in context; use of gestures and action to convey the meaning of utterances

The Reform Movement
Henry Sweet, Wilhelm Vietor, Paul Paussy
Speech was emphasised as the primary form of language
1886 – International Phonetic Association
International Phonetic Alphabet

Reformers’ Principles of Language Teaching
The spoken language is primary – oral-based method
Learners should hear the language before seeing
Words must be presented in sentences in meaningful contexts, not in isolation
Grammar should be taught inductively
Translation to be avoided; use native language to explain new words or check comprehension

The Direct Method
L. Sauveur, F. Franke, M. Berlitz – the Natural Method
L2 learning similar to L1 learning
Language can be taught without use of learners’ native language; meaning should be conveyed through demonstration and action.

The Direct Method: Basic Principles
Goals
To communicate in target language; to think in target language.
Roles
Teacher directs class activities, but students and teacher are partners in the teaching/learning process.
Teaching/Learning Process
Students are taught to associate meaning and the target language directly. New target language words or phrases are introduced through the use of realia, pictures or pantomime, never the native language. Students speak in the target language a great deal and communicate as if in real situations. Grammar rules are learned inductively – by generalizing from examples. Students practice new vocabulary using words in sentences.

The Direct Method: Basic Principles
View of Language, Culture
Language is primary spoken, not written. Students study common, everyday speech in the target language. Aspects of foreign culture are studied such as history, geography, daily life.
Emphasized Aspects of Language
Vocabulary emphasized over grammar; oral communication considered basic, with reading, writing based on oral practice; pronunciation emphasized from outset.
Role of Students' Native Language
Not used in the classroom.
Means for Evaluation
Students tested through actual use, such as in oral interviews and assigned written paragraphs.
Response to Students' Errors
Self-correction encouraged whenever possible.

Oral Approach
Situational Language Teaching
1930-1960, Palmer, Hornby
Scientific foundation – 1st attempt to establish principles of syllabus design. Systematic selection, gradation and presentation of language material: vocabulary and sentence patterns
Oral presentation precedes written. Writing and reading take place after establishing lexical and grammatical basis
Grammar and vocabulary are introduced inductively in situations; explanations and translation are discouraged

Oral Approach
Situational Language Teaching
Careful selection of vocabulary and gradation of grammar
Situation – use of objects, pictures, realia, actions, gestures to demonstrate the meaning of new language items
Target language is the language of instruction
Behaviourist learning theory underlies the method: language learning is seen as habit formation.
Drill-based manner of practicing patterns: guided repetition, substitution, questions-answers, dictation, pair practice, group work.

Situational Language Teaching
Teacher-learner roles: T – model, manipulator. Teacher-centered lessons. L is supposed to listen and repeat
Teacher’s responsibilities: timing, oral practice, revision, adjustment to individuals special needs, testing, developing extra language activities
Materials: textbook + visual aids (wall charts, flashcards, pictures, figures). Textbook – guide to learning; teacher – master of the textbook

Situational Language Teaching
Procedure: pronunciation; revision; presentation of new structure or vocabulary; oral practice (drilling); reading of material on the new structure or written exercises
Error correction: accuracy if highly valued – errors must be avoided at all costs. Teacher does not correct, he gets students correct themselves or each other.

The Audio-Lingual Method
Appeared in 1950s; term coined by professor Nelson Brooks, 1964
Based on a combination of structural linguistic theory, contrastive analysis, oral-aural procedures and behaviourist psychology

The Audio-Lingual Method: Basic Principles
Goals
Use the target language communicatively, overlearn it, so as to be able to use it automatically by forming new habits in the target language and overcoming native language habits.
Roles
Teacher directs, controls students' language behavior, provides good model for imitation; students repeat, respond as quickly and accurately as possible.
Teaching/Learning Process
New vocabulary, structures presented through dialogs, which are learned through imitation, repetition. Drills are based on patterns in dialog. Students' correct responses are positively reinforced; grammar is induced from models. Cultural information is contextualized in the dialogs or presented by the teacher. Reading, writing tasks are based on oral work.

The Audio-Lingual Method: Basic Principles
Interaction: Student-Teacher & Student-Student
Students interact during chain drills or when taking roles in dialogs, all at teacher's direction. Most interaction is between teacher and student, initiated by teacher.
View of Language, Culture
Descriptive linguistics influence: every language seen as having its own unique system of phonological, morphological, and syntactic patterns. Method emphasizes everyday speech and uses a graded syllabus from simple to difficult linguistic structures. Culture comprises everyday language and behavior.
Aspects of Language the Approach Emphasizes
Language structures emphasized; vocabulary contextualized in dialogs but is limited because syntactic patterns are foremost; natural priority of skills – listening, speaking, reading, writing, with emphasis on first two; pronunciation taught from beginning, often with language lab work and minimal pair drills.

The Audio-Lingual Method: Basic Principles
Role of Students' Native Language
Students' native language habits are considered as interfering, thus native language is not used in classroom. Contrastive analysis is considered helpful for determining points of interference.
Means for Evaluation
Discrete-point tests in which students distinguish between words or provide an appropriate verb for a sentence, etc.
Response to Students' Errors
Teachers strive to prevent student errors by predicting trouble spots and tightly controlling what they teach students to say.

The Silent Way
Galeb Gattegno, early 1970s
Teaching should be subordinated to learning
Learner should discover or create rather than remember and repeat
Use of visual devices as associative mediators for learning and recall
Problem-solving approach to learning

The Silent Way: Key Features
Goals
To use language for self-expression: to develop independence from the teacher, to develop inner criteria for correctness.
Roles
Teachers should give students only what they absolutely need to promote their learning. Learners are responsible for their own learning.
Teaching/Learning Process
Students begin with sounds, introduced through association of sounds in native language to a sound-color chart. Teacher then sets up situations, often using Cuisenaire rods, to focus students' attention on structures. Students interact as the situation requires. Teachers see students' errors as clues to where the target language is unclear, and they adjust instruction accordingly. Students are urged to take responsibility for their learning. Additional learning is thought to take place during sleep.

The Silent Way: Key Features
Interaction: Student-Teacher & Student-Student
The teacher is silent much of the time, but very active setting up situations, listening to students, speaking only to give clues, not to model speech. Student-student interaction is encouraged.
Dealing with feelings
Teachers monitor students' feelings and actively try to prevent their feelings from interfering with their learning. Students express their feelings during feedback sessions after class.
View of Language, Culture
Language and culture are inseparable, and each language is seen to be unique despite similarities in structure with other languages.
Aspects of Language the Approach Emphasizes
All four skill areas worked on from beginning (reading, writing, speaking, listening); pronunciation especially, because sounds are basic and carry the melody of the language. Structural patterns are practiced in meaningful interactions. Syllabus develops according to learning abilities and needs. Reading and writing exercises reinforce oral learning.

The Silent Way: Key Features
Role of Students' Native Language
Although translation is not used at all, the native language is considered a resource because of the overlap that is bound to exist between the two languages. The teacher should take into account what the students already know.
Means for Evaluation
Assessment is continual; but only to determine continually changing learning needs. Teachers observe students' ability to transfer what they have learned to new contexts. To encourage the development of inner criteria, neither praise nor criticism is offered. Students are expected to learn at different rates, and to make progress, not necessarily speak perfectly in the beginning.
Response to Students' Errors
Errors are inevitable, a natural, indispensable part of learning.

The Total Physical Response (TPR)
Comprehension approach
Developed by James Asher
Coordination of speech and motor activity
Innate bio-program for language learning
Brain lateralization: different learning functions in the right and left hemisphere
The lower the stress, the greater the learning

TPR: Key Features
Goals
To provide an enjoyable learning experience, having a minimum of the stress that typically accompanies learning a foreign language.
Roles
At first the teacher gives commands and students follow them. Once students are “ready to speak,” they take on directing roles.
Teaching/Learning Process
Lessons begin with commands by the teacher; students demonstrate their understanding by acting these out; teacher recombines their instructions in novel and often humorous ways; eventually students follow suit. Activities later include games and skits.
Interaction: Student-Teacher & Student-Student
Teacher interacts with individual students and with the group, starting with the teacher speaking and the students responding nonverbally. Later this is reversed; students issue commands to teacher as well as to each other.

TPR: Key Features
Dealing with Feelings
The method was developed principally to reduce the stress associated with language learning; students are not forced to speak before they are ready and learning is made as enjoyable as possible, stimulating feelings of success and low anxiety.
View of Language, Culture
Oral modality is primary; culture is the lifestyle of native speakers of the target language.
Aspects of Language the Approach Emphasizes
Grammatical structures and vocabulary are emphasized, imbedded in imperatives. Understanding precedes production; spoken language precedes the written word.

TPR: Key Features
Role of Students' Native Language
Method is introduced in students' native language, but rarely used later in course. Meaning is made clear through actions.
Means for Evaluation
Teachers can evaluate students through simple observation of their actions. Formal evaluation is achieved by commanding a student to perform a series of actions.
Response to Students' Errors
Students are expected to make errors once they begin speaking. Teachers only correct major error, and do this unobtrusively. “Fine-tuning” occurs later.