Early  Journal  Content  on  JSTOR,  Free  to  Anyone  in  the  World  
This  article  is  one  of  nearly  500,000  scholarly  works  digitized  and  made  freely  available  to  everyone  in  
the  world  by  JSTOR.    

Known  as  the  Early  Journal  Content,  this  set  of  works  include  research  articles,  news,  letters,  and  other  
writings  published  in  more  than  200  of  the  oldest  leading  academic  journals.  The  works  date  from  the  
mid-­‐seventeenth  to  the  early  twentieth  centuries.    

 We  encourage  people  to  read  and  share  the  Early  Journal  Content  openly  and  to  tell  others  that  this  
resource  exists.    People  may  post  this  content  online  or  redistribute  in  any  way  for  non-­‐commercial  
purposes.  

Read  more  about  Early  Journal  Content  at  http://about.jstor.org/participate-­‐jstor/individuals/early-­‐

journal-­‐content.    

JSTOR  is  a  digital  library  of  academic  journals,  books,  and  primary  source  objects.  JSTOR  helps  people  
discover,  use,  and  build  upon  a  wide  range  of  content  through  a  powerful  research  and  teaching  
platform,  and  preserves  this  content  for  future  generations.  JSTOR  is  part  of  ITHAKA,  a  not-­‐for-­‐profit  
organization  that  also  includes  Ithaka  S+R  and  Portico.  For  more  information  about  JSTOR,  please  
contact  [email protected].  
 THE DIRECT METHOD
As every one knows, the direct method in teaching modern
languages is an attempt to have the pupil, as far as may seem
practicable, unconsciously take the attitude of the child who is
learning his own language. In other words, the Direct Method is
"a direct appeal to the learner through the foreign language."
In order to successfully teach a modern foreign language by this
method one should use a text-book in which the material is presented
in the foreign language itself rather than in English. In this way
the pupil, from the beginning, learns to think in the language itself.
However, much care should be taken in choosing a book which
presents also the grammatical constructions and gradually and
simply.
If this method is to be successful it must be thoroughly sys-
tematic. From the very beginning the teacher must insist upon the
nearest possible approximation to correct pronunciation. In this
way the pupils will become accustomed to accuracy in hearing, in
observation, and reproduction, both oral and written. If the pupil
has not already acquired this habit of accuracy, he must learn to
train his eye and his ear in such a way that whatever he learns he
will learn correctly.
In order to form this habit of accuracy there must be regular
systematic drill, both oral and written, in which the pupil's accurate
knowledge of the subject may be tested. But this drill must not
be allowed to become lifeless and uninteresting, because if the
interest is not kept up the efforts will be useless. Then the question
will arise, "How can interest be kept up ?" This is a difficult question
to answer because so much depends upon the ability and personality
of the teacher. If the teacher herself is interested, is wide awake,
and is able to keep her class entirely under her control every minute,
and if she is of a resourceful type, she will have no trouble in
keeping her pupils interested. Then, too, she must have a thorough
knowledge of the language herself so that whatever she may do or
say, she will do freely, and without having to stop and think some-
thing out first in English.
This is, of course, not always easy to do at first, because it is only
through experience that a teacher learns the effect of her person-
ality and her methods upon the pupils. Perhaps she may start out
360
 THE DIRECT METHOD 3l1

thinking that she will do just as one of her former teachers has done
successfully. Possibly she may succeed, but, if she fails miserably,
she must not be discouraged but must go ahead and try to be herself
in her teaching as well as in anything else that she does.
If a teacher can be entirely free from self-consciousness, she is
much more likely to make her pupils free from it, because they will
be more attentive to what is going on if they are not watching the
conscious movements of the teacher. However, in most cases, this
comes with practice if the teacher know her subject well, and keeps
up with the times.
Thus, from the very first, the teacher must work with the idea
that the object of conversation according to the direct method is to
cultivate in the pupil a power of self-expression, both spoken and
written. Mere conversational power on the part of the pupil is
not the main object to strive for in teaching a modern foreign
language. But on the other hand a certain amount of ability in
conversation does create a stimulus for interest, and, if a teacher is
able to develop interest, she may be assured of obtaining desired
results in the majority of her pupils.
To be successful in this method a teacher cannot advance too
rapidly, but must go slowly and carefully. This is difficult, too,
because at first it is hard to find enough material not too difficult
and that will be interesting for the required time of the period.
Here is where the teacher must use her inventive powers to their
full extent.
At the very beginning the teaching of a foreign language in the
high school should be taught upon an imitative and an oral basis.
Therefore, the teacher must act as a model. She must be able to
speak the language correctly and as easily and freely as possible.
For it is only through imitation and repetition that a new language
can be mastered well at first. Then, through much oral practice
which has been carefully planned, right associations become habitual.
From the first, the teacher must constantly give her commands in
the foreign language, and must ask simple but helpful questions in
the language. Gradually she can add more to her list of commands
but she must not discard the first ones entirely. Then she can ask
questions which will be more than a word or two. These, too,
must gradually become more complicated as the class advances.
This oral work may be divided into two classes. First and fore-
most, is that of a formal grammatical character. By this I mean the
362 HISPANIA

kind that will require changes in the sentences studied. These

changes will be in person, number, tense, voice, and in substitutions
of pronouns for nouns, etc. These changes must be arranged in
such a way that it will be perfectly clear for the pupil to see what
is required.
The second class of oral work to be suggested is that of a more
natural character. By this I mean rapid questions and answers upon
the day's reading which has been carefully prepared. At first, these
answers must necessarily follow the printed text, but later the
teacher must insist upon them adding more than is in the text, and
finally the answers should be for the most part original. Thus, the
text is used merely as a starting point for conversational practice.
Later the pupils will unconsciously draw their answers from their
general knowledge of subject matter and of the spoken language.
They should gradually be encouraged to tell, in good Spanish, or
French, as the case may be, a part or the whole of the material
studied. In this way fluency and accuracy may be assured if simple
and thorough questioning is practiced from the beginning.
Grammar must be gradually and definitely introduced. In this,
the importance of formal question and answer drills cannot be
overestimated. The teacher must ask questions which will force
the pupil to employ the new grammatical principle or form. Many
of these questions may be what may be termed type questions, that
is, questions that will admit a comparatively large number of
answers, each of which will contain the required principle or form.
It will be found that in this way there will be plenty of material for
quick, definite, and interesting drills, which cannot be carried on
under the old plan of translating disconnected and uninteresting
sentences.
Gradually, simple and interesting reading should be made the
foundation for instruction in foreign languages. This reading, to
be entirely successful, should be connected, and easily understood.
If it is fairly easy at first, the pupil will become very much encour-
aged, because he will think that he is learning quickly. Then, too,
it should be interesting and varied. It should contain definite but
simple grammatical constructions which will afford material for
drill. Gradually, comparatively simple idiomatic constructions,
which are common in the everyday language of the people, should
be introduced and learned in such a way, that with considerable
drill they will become a part of the pupil. The more difficult con-
 THE DIRECT METHOD 363

structions in grammar should be introduced gradually, and they

should be mastered before leaving them. Whenever it is necessary
to explain a grammatical construction in English, it should be
done, and done well, because, in many cases, the modern language
teacher is confronted with a very hazy knowledge of English
grammar on the part of the pupil. If such is the case, it is
absolutely essential to make the construction as clear as possible in
English, and then to drill on it in Spanish. It will not be detrimental
to the pupil's mastery of the foreign language, if, after explaining
the construction in English the teacher returns to her drill in the
foreign language, and does not allow herself to lapse back into
using English in her questions and drills. However, the more the
mother tongue is kept out of the modern language lesson the stronger
will be the influence of the principle of direct association, and the
greater will be the opportunity, on the part of the class, for idiomatic
practice in the foreign language, and there can be no greater mistake
that the artificial separation of conversation or speaking in the
language taught from so-called instruction.
After the first or second year of high school Spanish, one can
and must resort to English for explanation much more often. Then
the foundation will have been laid and they will be able to supplement
this foundation with advanced work in composition and literature.
With a little effort on the part of the teacher this work in composi-
tion can be made interesting to the pupil by putting it somewhat on
a competitive basis, that is, by seeing who is able to answer the
greatest number of grammatical constructions. Much interest
depends upon the type of literature studied. It should fulfill several
requirements. Above everything else it should be correct Spanish.
It should be instructive in the matter of grammatical constructions
as well as in the subject matter. The atmosphere of the literature
should be foreign, depicting the life, history, geography, and the
civilization of that country and of no other.
There are dangers which one must guard against in the use of
the Method as well as in that of any other. One danger is that
of allowing a pupil to answer with loose constructions without cor-
recting them merely to encourage him to develop ability to converse
in the foreign language. To be sure, this ability is extremely desir-
able, but only if accuracy in the learning of the language is the
object in view. Another danger in this method is one on the part
of the teacher who is fortunate enough to possess unusual conversa-
364 HISPANIA

tional powers herself, to be impatient with the pupil who is slow.

Sometimes a pupil who seems slow at first in developing his con-
versational powers, is really mastering a construction with an
accuracy which in the end will help him to become more skilful in
conversation.
Then, too, this method frequently fails when a teacher has a
large class of pupils who possess a very poor knowledge of English
grammar and who have never studied any other foreign language.
This is because she is forced to teach English in the foreign language
class to such an extent that the time left for the teaching of the
foreign language is so short that there is very little time for the
necessary amount of drill.
In conclusion, I will say that the direct method of teaching
foreign languages is especially adapted to pupils of high school age,
particularly during the first two years, because it is then that boys
and girls are full of enthusiasm for competition in learning to
master little points in a language. Then, too, they are at an age
when it is easy for them to imitate, and at first this method consists
principally in imitating the teacher.
Therefore, in teaching a foreign language by the direct method
there are several main points which must be kept in mind. First,
the teacher must insist upon a good pronunciation. If the pupil is
to learn to speak the language at all he must learn to speak it
correctly. Thus, it is very essential that the teacher should have
a correct pronunciation herself. Second, there must be an abun-
dance of systematic oral work with variations which will keep it
from becoming monotonous. Third, the grammar must be taught
by means of an inductive method, in order that the pupil may build
upon what he has already learned. Fourth, there must be a
sufficient amount of well selected reading which will give the pupil
a background for the language which he is studying. And, fifth,
a Spanish atmosphere must be created in the classroom so that the
pupil will unconsciously begin to think in the foreign language
itself.
DOROTHY E. DONALDSON.
HOLLISTER
HIGH SCHOOL,
HOLLISTER, CALIFORNIA