The Direct method

The Direct Method appeared as a reaction against the grammar – translation method. The rapid development of various, differentbranches of industry and great development of international trade required plenty of officials who had a practical mastery of the language,and be able to communicate with foreigners.

The main features of this method are as follows:

Spoken language becomes the basis of teaching and the ignoring of the of the mother tongue as it is assumed that learning the mother tongue and learning a foreign language are similar processes, merely undertaken at different ages.

Instead of translation, visual aids and various oral and written exercises are recommended in a large scale (etc).

The method is called direct because in teaching a foreign language an attempt is made to establish a direct connection between a foreign word and the thing or notion it denotes without the aid of the native language.

At the end of the 19^th and in the beginning of the 20^th century there appeared several varieties of the direct method which differed only in some details. The most orthodox advocates of the direct method were F. Gouin, M. Berlitz, M. Walter, B. Eggert.

The direct method found ready supporters. It stimulated enormously the pupil’s curiosity to learn and make progress. But there were too many difficulties in the use of the method, the main of them are the following.

No scientific principles were applied to selection of study material and vocabulary in particular.

School conditions did not favourthe development of pupils’ speech habits (too few periods a week, overcrowded classes, lack of visual materials, etc.)

In the hands of inexperienced teacher the direct method did not work and the teachers had to return to the old grammar - translation method.

However during the period between the two wars it became possible to revise the main principles of the direct method:

by careful experimentation;

by taking note of the new developments in the field of linguistics (Ferdinand de Saussure) and psychology (Thorndike);

by insisting that clear statements be made as to the aims and objectives of teaching. This was done by H. Palmer and M. West, prominent English methodologists.

The main points of Palmer’s method are:

In learning a foreign language the pupil must tread the path he has followed in acquiring the mother tongue, starting with oral language.

The teaching of a foreign language must be based upon carefully selected material. H. Palmer was one of the first methodologists who tried to work out the principles of vocabulary selection in a scientific basis. A special Research Institute was established in Tokyo and H.Palmer headed this Institute. The results of the work was a 3000 word minimum vocabulary list.

Great attention should be given to the rationalization of study material to make the assimilation of a foreignlanguage easier.

H. Palmer compiles a series of study guides for teaching oral language.

English Through Actions - where a system of exercise drills based upon the concrete showing of things and actions is given.

100 Substitution Tables – in which typical English sentences (sentence patterns) are arranged in tables for pupils to make up their own sentences, following the pattern. Since Substitution Tablesis one of the innovations introduced by H. Palmer and they are widely used in contemporary methods, it is relevant to mention what such tables allow the learner to do while using them:

To present the most frequently used English words and word groups in such a manner as to form the greatest number of useful sentences of general application.

To serve as practical ear – training exercises, by the use of which the student will come to understand themost rapid speech.

In contrast to H. Palmer, M.West proposes to begin by teaching to read. In support of such a sequence in foreign language teaching: from reading – reception, to speaking – reproduction.

M. West advances the following arguments:

1. In a country where the child must be bilingual and be brought into easy contact with world culture it is necessary to begin by teaching to read.

2. Reading is the easiest aspect of the language to acquire, for reading involves no active use of grammar and idioms and memory of the vocabulary is merely recognition. M. West says it is necessary to begin with reading because “We need not begin by teaching the child to speak for that would be to teach something easy by means of something more difficult.”

In teaching reading it is easier to develop a sense of the language and a feeling of what is idiomatic which would verygreatly diminish the child’s liability to errors and very greatly accelerate his progress.

In learning reading the child will sooner feel his progress in language knowledge and enjoy it. Besides, he can improve his knowledge independently without the teacher’s aid.

M. West has developed methods of teaching oral language and complied special teaching material for the purpose. These are: “ Learn to Speak by Speaking, Improve your English, Easy English Dialogues, Book One and Book Two ”. His book “ Teaching English in Difficult Circumstances ” was translated into Russian.

Дата добавления: 2014-01-05