Direct Method

 Hi everyone, and welcome to another entry!😁

I will be discussing the Direct Method or also called the natural method.

This method was established at the beginning of the 20th century in Germany and France by Maximiliam Berlitz. The first difference I was able to spot compared to the GTM is that the Direct Method is completely student-centered and is all about triggering the students' participation, another difference is that the main skills this method works with are listening and speaking, there is more oral interaction between the students, there is no translation or analysis of any grammatical rules like the previous method.

Unlike the GTM, the natural method discards any use of the mother tongue in the classroom and emphasizes the learning of the second language to be more like the first one that was learned, the grammar is taught inductively, meaning it is taught in context and when a student makes a mistake it is not the end of the world, this method does not focus on the error correction.

Right off the bat, students will work on their social skills and they will be able to start a conversation at any moment, however, they might leave aside the reading part since it is not what they are used to, but this is still a very important skill such as writing.

Since the class has to always be dynamic for the students, the direct method works with many different techniques, some of them are:

1. Example proliferation: From one initial idea you start creating more of them.

2. Visual support: Use objects in the classrom, signs and gestures.

3. Listening activities: Listen to music, read stories out loud, listening lessons.

4. Oral exercises: Practice dialogues in pairs or groups or ask questions.

5. Stress free and supportive environment: Making mistakes is ok!

This is the most common and comfortable method, I dare to say, a teacher can use for their students to learn a language while also having fun and creating a bond with them.

I hope you were able to understand more of the Direct Method after reading this entry and thank you for doing so, stay tuned for the next one, bye bye!👋