DIRECT METHOD

Also known as Reform Method / Natural Method / Phonetical Method / Anti-grammatical Method All reformers were vehemently opposed to teaching of formal grammar and aware that language learning was more than the learning of rules and the acquisition of imperfect translation skills. Vietor ('Die Sprachunterricht muss umkehren' 1882) "This study of grammar is a useless torture. It is certainly not understood; therefore it can have no effect as far as the moulding of the intellect is concerned and no-one could seriously believe that children could learn their living German tongue from it." Instead grammar should be acquired inductively by inducing the rules of how the language behaves from the actual language itself. "Never tell the children anything they can find out for themselves." (Jesperin 1904) Direct Method based on belief that: 1 Knowing a language was being able to speak it! Primacy of spoken word. New method laid great stress on correct pronunciation and target language from outset. Advocated teaching of oral skills at expense of every traditional aim of language teaching. 2 Second language learning must be an imitation of first language learning, as this is the natural way humans learn any language, and so MT has no place in FL lesson. (Baby never relies on another language to learn its first language). 3 Printed word must be kept away from second language learner for as long as possible (same as first language learner, who doesn't use printed word until he has good grasp of speech). 4 The written word / writing should be delayed until after the printed word has been introduced.

5 The learning of grammar/ translating skills should be avoided because they involve the application of the MT. 6 All above items must be avoided because they hinder the acquisition of a good oral proficiency. Disadvantages of Direct Method 1 Major fallacy of Direct Method was belief that second language should be learned in way in which first language was acquired - by total immersion technique. But obviously far less time and opportunity in schools, compared with small child learning his mother tongue. 2 Is first language learning process really applicable to second foreign language learning at later stage First language learning is essential part of child's total growth of awareness of world around him. He starts off with blank sheet, then starts collecting/selecting organising the experience of a totally new world, perceived through his senses, by formulating a variety of pre-verbal concepts. Subsequently part of the process of learning how to live is the acquisition of skills to verbalise his desires and aversions and to label his concepts, so as to make living more sufficient and secure.

Effectiveness of these verbalising skills depends on maturation level of the child / on type of environment on intelligence. Language is part of an intrinsic process through which child learns to recognise/ deal with new situations. 3 Compare learning of second language

At 11 years of age, child is not interested in recognition of new living situations, child has normally learned the basic concepts and can handle situations for ordinary living purposes. So as far as 'learning to live' is concerned, no similarities between two processes of learning. (not the case for immigrant children - they need to learn English for survival purposes - therefore motivating force is totally different). Older child has already at his disposal a first language, which is securely fixed to the universe of things; (s)he is equipped with this advantage; first language learner does not have this. Older child is more mature and it would seem nonsensical to imitate first language learning processes totally for learning additional language. (think of contact hours needed) this is argument for using MT (anti Direct Method). What does foreign language learner wish to know first? to know the FL equivalent of MT sentences/ words used in hitherto familiar situations. To learn how to handle certain known/ recurring situations through the medium of the FL. He doesn't wish to handle completely new situations in FL terms.

4 The Direct Method rejects use of the printed word - but this objection is illogical since second language learner has already mastered his reading skills. Does printed word interfere with FL pronunciation? -In fact experiments show that the printed word is of real help to consolidate the FL and actually reinforces retention (ef 'Je ma pel') - leaves mental imprint, image of shape of word. 5 Later disciples of Direct Method took it to extremes and refused to speak a single word of English in lessons. To avoid translating new words, they searched for an association between new words and the idea it stood for: 'Voil un livre, voici une craie'. Extreme Direct Methodists had cupboards full of realia. Explanations became cumbersome and time-consuming. (Definition type explanations UN meunier est UN homme qui travaille dans UN moulin' / 'court est le contraire de long'). Teachers would be jumping over desks flapping fins, rather than say that the English for 'saumon' is 'salmon'. Concepts like cependant'/ 'nanmoins' - obviously need immediate translation! 6 Successful teacher of the Direct Method needed competence in his language / stamina/ energy/ imagination/ ability and time to create own materials and courses - beyond capacity of all but gifted few.

"The method by its very nature presupposes a teacher of immense vitality, of robust health, one endowed with real fluency in the modern language he teaches. He must be resourceful in the way of gesture and tricks of facial expression, able to sketch rapidly on the board and in the language teaching day, he must be proof against linguistic fatigue". 7 Also Direct Methodists failed to grade and structure their materials adequately - no selection, grading or controlled presentation of vocabulary and structures. Plunged pupils into flood of living language - quite bewildering for pupils. However, many teachers did modify the Direct Method to meet practical requirements of own schools, implemented main principles, i.e teaching through oral practice and banning all translation into target language. Obviously compromise was needed. Direct method did pave the way for more communicative, oral based approach, and as such represented an important step forward in the history of language teaching. Comparison of first and second-language learning processes (Language Teaching and the Bilingual Method, CJ Dodson, Pitman Publishing 1967,ISBN 0 273 31665 6)

If first and second-language learning processes are compared, the following pattern emerges-

First-language learner 1. He has no command of another language before learning the target language 2 He is neurologically immature, thus his mother tongue is not fixed 3. He learns to recognise and cope with reality through the target

Second-language learner 1. He has command of another language before learning the target language 2. He is neurologically mature,thus his mother tongue is fixed 3. He learns to recognise and

language 4. He requires a high contactfrequency with the target language to learn that all things have names 5 He requires a high contactfrequency with the target language to recognise the meaning of sounds representing the names of things, because he is neurologically immature because his range of experience with the outside world is limited and as he has no knowledge of the equivalent meaning of sounds from another language for the same things 6. He requires a high contactfrequency to establish integration of mother-tongue sounds with things

cope with reality through the mother tongue, not the target language 4. He already knows that all things have names 5. He has already experienced the process, involving high contact-frequency and maturation, of recognising the meaning of sounds representing the names of things in his mother tongue. As he is now neurologically mature, he need not be subjected a second time to the same process in the new target language merely to recognise the equivalent meaning of target-language sounds for the same things. (Recognition of the sound representing the thing should not be confused With the integration of the sound with the thing, set 6 He has already established integration of mother-tongue sounds with things, but requires high contact-frequency to establish new integration of target-language sounds with the same things

AUDIO-LINGUAL AUDIO-VISUAL METHOD

Mid 1960's - three new technological aids came into general use in the classroom-language laboratory, portable tape-recorder and film-strip projector. All these were greeted with euphoria in all modern language departments. Extensive use of tapes and equipment was revolutionary for language teachers. Instead of buying sets of books to equip a class, teachers were demanding most expensive boxes of film-strips and sets of tapes. Blackout facilities and electric points had to be installed. Potential offered to language teaching by tape-recorder was enormous - now possible to bring native speaking voices into classroom. Editing and self-recording facilities now available. Tapes

could be used with tape recorder or in language laboratory. Early audio-visual courses consisted of taped dialogues, accompanied by film -strips which were designed to act as visual cues to elicit responses in the foreign language. Most audio-lingual courses consisted of short dialogues and sets of recorded drills. Method was based on a behaviourist approach, which held that language is acquired by habit formation. Based on assumption that foreign language is basically a mechanical process and it is more effective if spoken form precedes written form. The stress was on oral proficiency and carefully- structured drill sequences (mimicry/memorisation) and the idea that quality and permanence of learning are in direct proportion to amount of practice carried out. But early enthusiasm for audio-visual materials and language laboratory soon cooled as teachers gradually recognised limitations of this approach. Disadvantages of Audio-Visual/Audio-Lingual Method 1 Basic method of teaching is repetition, speech is standardised and pupils turn into parrots who can reproduce many things but never create anything new or spontaneous. Pupils became better and better at pattern practice but were unable to use the patterns fluently in natural speech situations. 2 Mechanical drills of early Audio-Visual approach criticised as being not only boring and mindless but also counter-productive, if used beyond initial introduction to new structure. 3 Audio-Visual materials were open to same sort of misuse. Tendency to regard audio-visual materials as a teaching method in themselves, not as a teaching aid. 4 Soon became clear to teachers that audio-visual approach could only assist in presentation of new materials. More subtle classroom skills were needed for pupils to assimilate material and use it creatively. This final vital phase was often omitted by teachers. New technology caught publishers and text-book writers unprepared - very few commercial materials were available in the early stages. Those that did exist stressed oral and aural skills and didn't develop reading and writing skills. 6 New materials necessitated extensive use of equipment with all associated problems of blackout, extension leads, carrying tape-recorders from classroom to classroom. Some schools set up Specialist- Language rooms, but teachers still had to set up projectors and find places on tape. Equipment could break down, projector lamps explode, tapes tangle - not sophisticated equipment of today. Hardware involved extra time, worry and problems, and, for these reasons alone, its use gradually faded away. 7 Series of classroom studies threw doubt on claims made for language laboratory. Showed that this costly equipment did not improve performance of 11+ beginners, when compared with same materials used on single tape-recorder in classroom.

But Audio-Lingual/(Visual approach did mark start of the technological age in language teaching and it did introduce important new elements Emphasised need for visual presentation and possibility of eliciting language from visual cues. It placed far more weight on use of foreign language in classroom by both teacher and pupil, and the language used was of far greater practicality. More gifted and energetic teachers used new courses with great success - moved forward to openended question and answer work and extended dialogue, designed own supplementary materials, exercises and worksheets. However, generally teachers were disillusioned and dissatisfied with the new methods - at a time when whole secondary education was being reorganised with advent of comprehensive schools. Examples of Drill Patterns Audio - Lingual Drill Audio-Visual Drill Meaningful Drill Open-Ended Drill

Audio - Lingual Drill tape stimulus Je vais la boucherie (gendarmerie) Je vais la gendarmerie (cinma) Je vais au cinma (discothque) Je vais la discothque (thtre) Je vais au thtre (supermarch) student response Je vais la gendarmerie Je vais au cinma Je vais la discothque Je vais au thtre Je vais au supermarch

Audio-Visual Drill (as in 1966 textbook) Das hat er schon einmal gefragt (ich) Das habe ich schon einmal gefragt (essen) Das habe ich schon einmal gegessen (ihr) Das habt ihr schon einmal gegessen (sehen) Das habt ihr schon einmal gesehen (du) Das hast du schon einmal gesehen
etc

Meaningful Drills

tape stimulus Il faut acheter du pain (o vas-tu?) Il faut acheter des gteaux (o vas-tu?)

student response Je vais la boulangerie Je vais la ptisserie

Il faut jouer au football (o vas-tu?) Je vais au terrain de sports Il faut parler la police (o vas-tu?) Il faut acheter des provisions (o vas-tu?)) etc Je vais la gendarmerie

Je vais au supermarch

Open-Ended Drill Teacher: Pupil 1: Imaginez un peu! Il faut acheter Je vais la quelque chose manger.O vas-tu boulangerie. ? Teacher: A la boulangerie? Oui, et toi, Jacques? Pupil 2: Moi, je vais la ptisserie.

Teacher: Pupil 3: Ha! Tu aimes les gteaux, non? Et Je vais au toi? supermarch Teacher: Au supermarch! Bonne ide! Et toi, Marie? Teacher: Encore une bonne ide. Et toi, Bernard? Etc.. Pupil 4: Je vais au caf