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Chapter Three

The Direct Method

This method came into practice as a solution for the problems confronted

by the teachers who used the Grammar-Translation Method in their classrooms.

As the name suggests, this is a method of teaching English directly through

English. The advocates of this method believed that a language was best

learnt when the learner was exposed to that language environment. Just as

the children learnt their mother tongue by listening to it and speaking it, they

could learn any language if they were provided with opportunities to listen to

that language and speak that language. To be precise, if anyone wanted to

teach English, they must be able to provide an English environment for the

learners.

Prof. Gurey says:

But essentially it (the Direct Method) is a principle, not a teaching

method, a system that operates through many methods; a way of

handling the new language and of presenting to the class. It

demands direct bond, that is, a direct association, between word

and meaning and between sentence and idea (…) instead of an

indirect one through the mother tongue.(qtd)1

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In contrast to the Grammar-Translation Method, the Direct Method

employs objects and actions to link with words in the Target Language. When

these could not be made use of, teachers resort to miming, gestures, sketches

etc. but never give mother tongue equivalents to make the process easy. The

learners have the opportunity to listen to complete meaningful dialogues in

the correct accent and pronunciation. Grammar is never taught inductively

as in the Grammar-Translation Method, but is expected to be learnt deductively.

One of the greatest disadvantages of the Grammar-Translation Method was

that it allowed translation of thoughts from the mother tongue to the Target

Language. In the Direct Method, this problem is seen to and is solved. As the

mother tongue equivalents are not administered to the learners, they are

habituated to link directly the words in the Foreign Language to the

corresponding object, action or idea. Thus, they think in the Target Language

and articulate their expressions in the Target Language itself.

The classrooms, in which the Direct Method is applied, are always

activity-oriented and so a lively classroom atmosphere is created. Classes are

usually developed around a picture, which depicts a situation of life in the

country where the language is spoken. Conversations between the teachers

and the learners develop in the Target Language. Thus the classroom is

always filled with the speech sounds of the Foreign Language.

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This method removed the inhibitions of the learners who had to speak

in a Foreign Language at an early stage. But then, the learners’ needs to

express in the Foreign Language even when they are not conversant enough

often lead to inaccurate expressions and artificial structures. As these learners

are already well established in their mother tongue, the structures they form

are likely to be very similar to the structures in their mother tongue. Here,

even though no mother tongue is used in the classroom to facilitate easy

learning, interference occurs consciously or unconsciously from the part of

the learners when they are confronted with a situation, which demands a

Foreign Language expression. Thus, but for the infant learners, mother tongue

interference is something that cannot be avoided. As the learners cannot get

sufficient oral practice of systematic structures, their expressions in unexpected

circumstances would lack clear ideas; hence a clear communication is

impossible.

This vagueness in expressions did not go unnoticed by the advocates of

this method. A conscious effort was made to counteract this vagueness by

means of drilling in the form of substitution tables and teaching of a few

grammatical structures. But sufficient care was taken to make sure that these

structures were functional rather than theoretical. Wilga M. Rivers observes:

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Since the students were required at all times to make a direct

association between foreign phrases and situations, it was the

highly intelligent student with well-developed powers of induction

who profited most from the method, which could be very

discouraging and bewildering for the less talented.2

According to Wilga M. Rivers, the average learners were soon distracted

from foreign language learning. Also, the teachers had to be remarkably

energetic if they were to maintain the same degree of interest and enthusiasm

in all the classes throughout the day. Where it was possible for the learners to

have exposure to the foreign language outside their classroom, the method

was a great success. But when it came to the learners who had the opportunity

of learning it or practising it only in the classroom, the method did not succeed

fully.3

Many teachers in the English Language Teaching field, after employing

the Direct Method for a while, drifted to other methods or made improvements

to their fancy. This shows the impracticality of the method to some extent.

Where the Direct Method demanded explanation in the foreign language itself,

teachers gave short explanations in their mother tongue to save time and

effort. “This modified form of the Direct Method is very similar to what has

been called the eclectic method”4, observes Wilga M. Rivers. He opines:

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The eclecticists try to absorb the best techniques of all the well

known language teaching methods into their classroom

procedures, using them for the purpose for which they are most

appropriate. The true eclecticist as distinguished from the drifter

who adopts new techniques cumulatively and purposelessly seeks

the balanced development of all the four skills at all stages, while

retaining the emphasis on an oral presentation first.5

The investigator feels that if all English Language teachers could adapt

their method to the situations, the level of the learner and purpose of learning

English as a Second or a Foreign Language, then they would be the best

teachers in the field. For this to happen, teachers have to be energetic,

imaginative, purposeful and all the more committed. They would not then be

adamant on using a particular method or approach but would be willing to

change when the situation demands.

When the Direct Method demanded a strict Foreign Language

environment to be created in the classroom, the eclecticists brought forth

changes to meet the challenges it created. They believed that mere exposure

to Target Language would not facilitate effective learning. They felt the need

for pattern practice and drill, as the learners often ended up constructing
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‘unnatural’ sentences. This new focus on pattern practice and drill was the

result of emphasis on listening and speaking skills, which were thought to be

primary skills in comparison with reading and writing skills.

As said earlier, the Direct Method or the Natural Method, as the term

implies, makes use of a direct link between the words and objects of the Target

Language, thus refusing the native language or the mother tongue to act as

mediation. The method necessitates a strict Target Language atmosphere,

which means the conversation, discussion or reading, whatever is used to

teach the Target Language will be in the Target Language itself. The words

will be taught by linking them to objects or pictures and not by relying on

translation under any circumstance. Moreover, formal grammar is not taught

as in the Translation Method.

To be precise, in the Direct Method, emphasis is on the actual use of

the Target Language and not just on memorising paradigms or practising

forms. This is in great resemblance with learning one’s native language. The

native language, as we know, “is learnt by listening to a great deal of it and

that they learn to speak it by speaking it”.6 If the native language could be

learnt in this way, the advocates of active classroom methods thought that if

children were exposed to similar Foreign Language environment, they could

learn the Foreign Language too without any apparent difficulty.

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As speech precedes the other forms of language skills in any language,

even while teaching a Foreign Language, the skill of speaking must be

developed first. When it was advocated, the method aimed to develop the

ability to think in the Target Language or in the Foreign Language. Therefore,

it follows that ample practice must be given to ensure correct pronunciation

too. Here lies the importance of introducing the system of speech sounds in

the syllabus. Once the correct accent and pronunciation have been developed

in the language learners, they will be able to articulate the Foreign Language

words and sentences without being influenced by their respective native

languages.

In contrast to the classroom in which the Grammar-Translation Method

is used, the classroom where the Direct Method is adapted needs very energetic,

enthusiastic and very resourceful teachers. In addition, these teachers need

to have a near-native accent and pronunciation. For this, the teachers need

to be given opportunities to participate in pre-service and in-service training

programmes.

Even though grammar is not to be taught directly and formally, the

learners should be encouraged to draw structural generalisations from what

they have been learning. Thus, whatever grammar has been learnt, it must

be at a functional level and that too, limited to what has been used in speech.
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In the Direct Method, reading materials are introduced only after an

oral presentation of the same has been done. Further, they are encouraged

to seek direct comprehension by inferring meanings from the context. When

this cannot help, explanations are given in the Target Language itself. No

native language translation is given in any case. Jack C. Richards and Theodore

S. Rodgers, in their Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (2001:12),

summarise the principles and procedures of the Direct Method as follows:

1. Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the Target

Language.

2. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught.

3. Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully graded

progression organised around question-and-answer

exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive

classes.

4. Grammar is taught inductively.

5. New teaching points are introduced orally.

6. Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration,

objects, pictures; abstract vocabulary is taught by association

of ideas.
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7. Both speech and listening comprehension are taught.

8. Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasised.7

In order to follow these principles and procedures strictly, teachers of

extraordinary calibre, commitment and capability are required.

As the method is often criticised for having no thorough methodological

basis, efforts can be made towards developing one to that effect. The

investigator, thus, reaches at an integrated approach to English Language

Teaching focussing on the exclusive use of the Target Language in the

classroom, using materials that contain graded vocabulary and structures.

The syllabus is to include materials to teach conversation skills. By including

well-controlled grammar-based activities and by making the approach more

inductive in nature, the method can be modified so as to meet the functional

needs of the learners. Integrating the communicative approach would help

facilitate communication between learners.

While implementing the new approach, it is to be ensured that the

materials allow learners to progress at their own rates of learning and for

different styles. Also, that they provide opportunities for independent study

and use and for self-evaluation and progress in learning (Jack C. Richards

and Theodore S. Rodgers, 2001).

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The syllabus and the material for implementing or adopting the new

approach should also aim at making the classroom activities meaningful by

relating them to the real world. They should also foster real communication

among the learners. A good comprehension and resulting communication

are expected of the learners, and the language, in all the forms it is used, must

necessarily possess a link with objects, pictures or actions.

The teacher of the new approach could effectively use materials like

advertisements, brochures, maps, graphs and books in addition to games like

Charade, Mime, Word games and Role-Plays.

The principles of the Direct Method that could be well incorporated in

the new approach are as follows:

The process of learning is essentially one of forming

associations: speech with appropriate action, words with

concepts and objects. The associations have to be direct,

concrete and definite, and cross-associations, which conflict

with each other, have to be avoided.

Repetition is essential if associations have to be formed and

reinforced. The teacher should begin with a limited number

of items.
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Memory depends not only on repetition, but attention and

interest as well. So, if a learner is motivated and wants to

learn a language, she/he will do it.

The teaching materials namely texts, dictionaries and grammar

should be interrelated and co-ordinated to make learning

effective.

Formal teaching of grammar should be undertaken only after

learners have intuitively absorbed it from the texts. There

should be no memorisation of word lists, verb declensions

etc. Grammar teaching should begin at the sentence level

and not the word level, as syntax is the most important part of

grammar.

Henry Sweet divides the learning of Target Language into five stages

(quoted in Kudchedkar: 2002):

Mechanical: Pronunciation of words and sentences is mastered

thoroughly.

Grammatical: The grammatical categories in the text are

identified and taught. The teaching of grammar is graded

from easy to difficult.

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Idiomatic and lexical: Idioms and new vocabulary in the text

and other sources are taught systematically.

Literary: Graded texts from contemporary literature are

studied.

Archaic: Older literature, with particular emphasis on its lexical

and syntactic items, is studied.

Despite these, the Direct Method has its disadvantages. Demands made

on the learners to express themselves too soon in a Foreign Language, that

too in a relatively unstructured situation, were a serious set back as this resulted

in a sort of pseudo proficiency in the foreign tongue. Besides that, it failed to

take into account the fact that unlike an infant, the Foreign Language learner

already possessed well-established first language patterns, so the first language

situations could not be replicated.

The most serious disadvantage is that the learners are not given adequate

systematic practice in structures and hence the progress in the Second or

Foreign Language learning is haphazard. But, this is seen to, and corrected in

the Audio-Lingual Method.

To be precise, the syllabus meant for teaching English as a Second or a

Foreign Language through the Direct Method should be as specific as possible

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in its design. It should also be more open in the sense that it acts as a source

book in itself for the teachers to rely on. The materials need to be suggestive

and graded with respect to their complexity. Moreover, they need to be tightly

constructed so as to ensure uniformity in various classrooms in spite of the

difference that exists between teachers. They must also cater to the needs of

the learners simultaneously, not overlooking the learning capacity of the

learners but providing enough scope for all types of learners. They must also

support what has been learnt and lay foundation for further learning.

The investigator would like to highlight the fact that in the deteriorating

situations prevailing in the English Language Teaching and Learning, it is high

time the method of teaching revised and the New Integrated Approach

incorporating all the merits of the methods discussed adopted. When the

possibilities of the Audio-Lingual Method and the Structural-Aural-Situational

Approach are taken into consideration, combining all these with the Direct

Method easily evolve the New Integrated Approach. In order to materialise

this, the syllabus and the materials are to be revised and redesigned so as to

meet the needs of the present day. For the effective implementation of the

‘new’ method, the teachers need to be intrinsically motivated too. The

prospects of Language Teaching and Learning are undoubtedly high if ample

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room is given for teacher development, for resolving conflicts in the profession

and recognising recommendation from research in language pedagogy.

The study of the sentences translated from Malayalam into English by

the experimental group throws light on the fact that the errors made by the

students taught by the Direct Method, while translating from Malayalam into

English, are fewer and less serious when compared to those made by the

students who were taught by the Grammar-Translation Method.

3.1. The Data

1. M.1. ninakkenta:nu ve:ntatu?

E. What do you want? (This is correct).

M.2. ninalenne sne:hikjunnunto:?

E. Do you love me? (This is correct).

M.3. ninal vi:najalle?

E.* You are Veena, no?

Aren’t you Veena?

M.4. na:n marikjum alle?

E.* I will die, no?

I will die, won’t I?

M.5. ennotippo:rum de:sjama:nu, alle?

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E.* You are angry with me, no?

You are angry with me, aren’t you?

M.6. enta:nu ninte kannukalkitra saundarjam?

E. Why are your eyes so beautiful?

(This is correct)

M.7. avalku ro:sa:ppu:kal istama:nu.

E. She loves roses. (This is also correct)

M.8. aval kalkattajil ta:masikjunnu.

E. She lives in Calcutta. (This is correct)

M.9. ka:ttirippu enne bhra:ntu pitippikjunnu

E. Waiting makes me mad. (This is correct)

M.10. na:n madhurappalaha:ranal isttappetunnu

E. I love sweets. (This is correct)

M.11. ninalenne sne:hikjunnunt u, ille?

E.* You love me, no?

You love me, don’t you?

M.12. aval vara:mennu parannu.

E.* She said she will come.

She said she would come

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M.13. aval enikju madhurappalaha:ranal istama:nennu vica:riccu.

E.* She thought I like sweets.

She thought I liked sweets.

M.14. avan parannatu na:n visvasiccu

E.* I believe what he said.

I believed what he said.

M.15. mikka ro:gikalum ra:vile na:lumanikju

alpam munpa:nu marikjuka

E. Most of the patients die a little before 4 a.m.

(This is correct)

M.16. aval nanna:ji pa:tum.

E. She sings well. (This is correct)

M.17. mansu:nil mara nanna:ji pejjum

E.* It rains well in monsoon.

It rains heavily in monsoon.

M.18. ve:dana arija:tirikja:na:ji na:n ituvare ga:jatri: mantram

uruvittukontirikjukaja:jirunnu

E.* I was chanting Gayatri Mantra in order not to feel the pain.

I have been chanting Gayatri Mantra in order not

to feel the pain.

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M.19. Kamala avalute a:tmakatha erutuva:n tutanijirikjunnu

E. Kamala has started to write her autobiography.

(This is correct)

M.20. muttassi oru maniku:ra:ji bha:gavatam va:jikjunnu

E.* Grandma was reading Bhagavata for an hour.

Grandma has been reading Bhagavata for an hour now.

3.2. Observations

The analysis of the data reveals that the group of students performed

better when taught by the Direct Method and the errors identified were fewer

and less serious. There found to be a marked difference in their spontaneity

of expression which lacked in the students who were taught by the Grammar-

Translation Method. When the students showed great confidence in the making

of sentence structures and in word order, this in turn resulted in pseudo fluency

as evident in sentences from M.3. to M.5. and in M.11. Nevertheless the

errors in the use of auxiliary verb, word order, number etc. were negligible.

Thus, the study necessitates more emphasis on pattern practice and drill along

with exposure to a wider variety of situations. This would positively enhance

the Target Language utterances and discourage the practice of translating

one’s thoughts into the mother tongue. The much feared mother tongue

interference could be thus tackled to some extent.

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3.3 Findings

The study shows that in spite of the differences in the structures of

Malayalam and English, it is possible to minimise, if not eliminate the errors

by following an integrated approach. There still occur errors in the use of

perfect tenses and in tense sequence which necessitate further intensive pattern

practice and drill.

As it is evident in the analysis, errors in word order, subject-verb concord

in number and person, plural endings, and the use of auxiliaries have been

successfully eliminated by teaching in the Direct Method. Teaching structural

items like modals would further enhance the conversing skills of the learners.

Also, it is seen in the analytical study that the tags in all the translated sentences

are erroneous owing to the fact that there is no such thing as Tags in Malayalam

where the inflectional endings serve the purpose. Thus, a Malayalee learner

tends to say ‘You love me, no?’ where he has to say ‘You love me, don’t

you?’

Despite the exposure to a Target Language atmosphere, learners who

have already mastered their mother tongue are still affected by the negative

transfer or interference. This is a result of ‘fossilisation’ which, only to some

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extent, can be dealt with, by conscious and persistent effort from the part of

the learner.

In the light of these findings, it follows that the New Integrated Approach

shall necessarily contain most of the attributes of the Direct Method. We shall

see in the subsequent chapter what principles could be adopted or incorporated

from the Audio-Lingual Method and the Communicative Language Teaching

Method so as to evolve the New Integrated Approach to English Language

Teaching.
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Notes

1
M.S. Sachdeva, A New Approach to Teaching of English in India (13th

ed. Ludhiana: Prakash Brothers, 1992) 85.

2
Wilga M. Rivers, Teaching Foreign Language Skills (Fifth imp.1972,

Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1968) 21.

3
Rivers 21.

4
--- 21.

5
--- 21-22.

6
--- 18.

7
Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, Approaches and Methods

in Language Teaching (6th print 2003, New York: Cambridge University

Press, 2001) 12.