Direct Method (education) - Historical Context

Historical Context

The direct method was an answer to the dissatisfaction with the older grammar translation method, which teaches students grammar and vocabulary through direct translations and thus focuses on the written language.

There was an attempt to set up conditions that imitate mother tongue acquisition, which is why the beginnings of these attempts were called the natural method. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Sauveur and Franke proposed that language teaching should be undertaken within the target-language system, which was the first stimulus for the rise of the direct method.

The audio-lingual method was developed in an attempt to address some of the perceived weaknesses of the direct method.

The most famous direct method for learning English is Callan Method designed by Robert Callan in 1959. The Callan Method is a fast and effective system for the study of English by non-native speakers. Thanks to its long record of achievement, it is securely established and internationally respected. Multinational companies like IBM, Fiat, and Olivetti have used the Method to teach English to their staff. The Method is a rigorously structured programme of instruction, divided into twelve stages. The teacher asks students a series of questions which the students must answer. Because the Method aims to get students to speak, classes hold the attention of students and stimulate their memory. The structure of the Method ensures that students increase their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary step by step. Students are never distracted by rare or complicated vocabulary, and must concentrate on picking up the basics of the language.