The direct method

THE DIRECT METHOD

Paola Eugenia Valderrama Arzayús

Profesor
Carlos Julio Briceño

UNIVERSITY LA SALLE
School of educational Sciences
Modern Languages Department
Seventh Term – Group 20
Bogotá D.C.
2003

1. INTRODUCTION

The direct method is an approach to teach English in which the second language learning must be similar to first language learning, like the natural method.Since this is an oral method students learn pronunciation through intuition and imitation. The goal is speak such as the teacher through repetition.
This method has a basic rule. No translation. In the classroom the students must speak all the time in the foreign language.
Printed words must be kept away from second language learners, who do not use printed words before knowing well the language.This is a good approach to teach a foreign language to children.
Welcome to this presentation.

2. BACKGROUND
The first linguistic contribution to the teaching of pronunciation emerged in 1890s as part of the revolution movement in language teaching.
Gouin refers to a natural stimulation to learn a second language like learning of the first language.
Gouin said that the objective oflearning a foreign language was the ability to communicate with the speakers of that language rather than writing or reading a book an the grammar and the translation were not important.
This methods had been used by other people before the Gouin’s research , for example, in the sixteenth century Montaignes’ father hired a teacher for teaching Latin using this method.
In the nineteenth century L.Sauveur opened a language school in Boston using this method too, Then it became widely known in the United States. Sauveur and Maximiliam Berlitz founded some commercial language schools that actually are working in many countries of the world.
In the 1920s and 1930s a series of methodological initiatives arose later to be grouped under the heading of “The direct method” in which the denominatoris the idea of Gouin that say that the second language learning should be more like first language learning with oral interaction, spontaneous use of the language, no translation and not grammar structures.

3. GOALS

The principal idea is to show an alternative to teach in the classroom, and make more like the second language learning.
The Direct Method is the principal of the naturalsmethods to learning, and the objectives are:
To make the class orally.
To learn in a real context the meaning of words only.
To associate the vocabulary with the grammar in the practice
To speak with sentences all time. (Not words)

4. ROLES

-Teacher directs the class, and the students speak based in the vocabulary given by the teacher.
-Students and teacher must be partners in the teachinglearning process, and they must to have a good communication.
-The teacher has not to teach and explain the grammar rules in the foreign language only.
-The teacher has to use sentences to explain, never single words.
-Students have to learn vocabulary, but never translate.
-Students make sentences whit the new vocabulary.

5. TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS

-Teacher teaches vocabulary-Students learn grammar structure by deduction and they should not translate.
-Student are taught to associate meaning and target language directly.
-Students practice new vocabulary using words in sentences.
-The class should be talked all time.
-Language skills are presented orally in the classroom.
-The textbook is not used in the class.
-The meaning of words must be learned in linguisticsand cultural context, not with translation.
-The use of the foreign language must be spontaneous.
-The students improve his pronunciation by repetition.
-Pictures, mime, demonstrations are used as teaching methodology.
-Speaking began with systematic attention to pronunciation. The teacher never has to speak too slowly or too quickly.

6. INTERACTION STUDENT TEACHER AND STUDENT – STUDENT...