The Direct Method: Critique And Analysis

1069 Words3 Pages

Victoria Phillips TSL 600 Method Critique and Analysis 9-19-2017 The method that I chose to analyze is The Direct Method. The Direct Method is an older method that has been used for some time. According to Wikipedia, It was established in Germany and France around 1900. It was produced in response to the Grammar Translation Method. Teachers felt that the Grammar Translation method was ineffective in developing communicative ability. It is called the Direct Method because it is directly related to the language being learned without using the target language. The method is mainly used for teaching foreign languages. The idea is to teach the target language the same way the native language was learned. There is an emphasis on correct pronunciation …show more content…

They must participate in the activities of the lessons which keeps them alert and engaged in their learning. Another advantage of this method is that students are understanding what they learn. They don't connect it back to their native language but they are able to express their thoughts and ideas in correct English. The Direct Method works for all levels of learners. Whether it be level one beginning learners or higher level learners. It can be adapted for the whole range of learners. Since the main focus is the speaking and listening of the new language the students will become fluent speakers. They will have a lot of practice with pronunciation and expression as well. With this method, the teacher demonstrates the language instead of explaining the rules of the language and how to use …show more content…

One disadvantage is that since the learner is only focusing on the target language, they do not make the connection of the words to their native language. To successfully teach using this method, you must have it planned out step by step. There is not a lot of room for spur of the moment things. Which means, the teacher must always be prepared for the lesson. If the teacher is not prepared or does not have a lot of knowledge of the lesson content, the lesson could turn into a disaster rather quickly. Another disadvantage is that the lessons are mainly teacher guided. This means that there is not a lot of group or pair work. A downfall of this is that students are not interacting with one another as much and are maybe losing some of that extra oral practice. This method can become expensive for the teacher. There is a lot of use of materials which can become costly. The teacher uses visuals in all the lessons so depending upon what those visuals consist of, the teacher could end up spending a decent amount of

Open Document