Direct Method: Teaching English in Natural Way

There lies little or no doubt that a good method makes teaching effective. So, a teacher has to be very choosy as far as methods are concerned. There are a bunch of methods, such as the grammar translation method, bilingual, eclectic, direct method, total physical response, etc. The direct method of teaching English means teaching English directly by using the target language. In the direct method, if we want to teach some grammar rules, like how to form the plural of nouns, we might want to bring two sets of pictures, one depicting a lone object, and the other depicting a group. We should hold the pictures side by side, clearly enunciating, for example, “car” on our right and “cars” on the left. Then we should repeat this process for several pairs of pictures, emphasising the “s” sound each time. Our students will pick up on the clues and figure out the rules for themselves.
Even in the first few sessions of the course, when pupils of the class will be absolute beginners and all the words that are coming out of our mouths may sound unknown to them, we need to stick to the target language when doing our presentations. That is, we should do everything possible-- demonstrating, dramatising, gesturing-- to send our message using only the target language. The idea is that going through translations only bogs down learning. Students should be trained to think in the target language and see the world through the lens of the target language. Because, going through translations conditions them to think first in their first language before converting the information to the target language. 

When we first learned Bengali, we did not have translations to get us through the day. ‘Ma’ and ‘Baba’ talked to us in simple Bengali, and we slowly acquired it. Surely, there were times when we made mistakes. But through trial and error, we groped our way to fluency. In the direct method, students do a lot of talking, gesturing, acting and interacting. They are encouraged to talk, no matter how imperfectly. The more talking time the students get, the better. They interact with the teacher, fellow students and others. Instead of looking at examples of sentences written on the board, they get to feel it roll off their tongues and hear themselves speak in a language they will soon be fluent in.
We should also give them opportunities to talk in the class. We can give the pairs a chance to practise a little and put them on deck. Providing our students with a stress-free and supportive environment is a standard for all the other teaching approaches, but nowhere it is more important than in the direct method. As teachers, it is our first responsibility to make every member of the class understand that mistakes are part of language learning, and we have to give students enough confidence to participate in class, regardless of uncertainty. We must let them know that we are there for their support.
When we were kids and our `mothers’ and ‘fathers’ used to read to us bedtime stories, we probably did not understand every word of it and did not know that it was actually a great linguistic lesson. We should do the same thing with our students while teaching English. We should allow our students to interact with each other, splitting them up into pairs, and let them do question-and-answer dialogues. One of the students will ask all the questions; the other will do the answering. The goal here is not to ask grammatically perfect questions and give grammatically perfect answers. It is to experience what it is like to send and receive messages in the target language.
As there is a direct relation between thought and expression, it helps the learners in having good fluency in a language they learn. Using the direct method, a teacher helps students have a good command of English. Average and below-average students, especially from rural backgrounds, find it difficult to grasp the things taught via this method. Emerging in the late 19th century as a direct challenge to the dominant grammar-translation method, it shifted the focus squarely onto spoken communication, spontaneous language use, and real-world interaction. For English teachers, understanding this method is essential – not just as history, but as a living influence on how oral skills are developed in classrooms today. Oral skills are really essential for effective communication without ignoring the other three skills.
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The writer is the President, English Teachers’ Association of Bangladesh. He can be reached at [email protected]