1. The Direct Method Hansjürg Perino Andrea Bossard, Philipp Christen
Fachdidaktik Englisch
University of Zurich
The Direct Method

2. John’s Key to Success 1
John is an incredibly accomplished and successful businessman. As such, he is quite popular as a mentor. He enjoys showing young professionals the ropes. The first thing he says is that his career has certainly not always been smooth sailing. In fact, he learned a number of lessons along the way. "First and foremost," John said "don't believe that success is ever mana from heaven." He said that everyone he had met had a similar rags to riches story, and that a lot of hard work had gone into the success.

3. John’s Key to Success 2
John believes in hard work, but also in recognizing the right opportunities. "It's absolutely essential to never spread yourself too thin" John advised. "If you have too many irons in the fire, you'll certainly miss out on real opportunity" he continued. "I've seen people as busy as a bee who never really seem to do anything" he pointed out. The more I thought about this advice, the more I understood what he was saying. If you put on your thinking cap, you'll realize that it's impossible to really concentrate if you have to worry about fifty different things.

4. John’s Key to Success 3
Another important lesson was that it's important to know which side your bread is buttered on and make sure to give that activity your full attention. In other words, you need to ride the gravy train. Don't start looking for new challenges if everything is working out for the best! John stressed that the most important ability of any successful entrepreneur was to have the presence of mind to not only take advantage of an opportunity, but also to keep your eye on the ball. Some people are quick on the uptake, but then they get bored. It's important to be consistent, but not spread yourself too thin. Finally, make sure to never show your hand to your opponents. In any case, that's how to be successful according to John.

5. Idioms 1 show someone the ropes smooth sailing
to show by example how something is done properly
to encounter little or no problems in what one is doing

6. Idioms 2 mana from heaven from to rags to riches
to receive unexpected riches without having to work for it
to progress from being poor to being rich

7. Idioms 3 spread yourself too thin
have too many irons in the fire
to try to do too many things at once, preventing oneself from succeeding in any one of the activities
to have lined up too many things to do at once

8. Idioms 4 as busy as a bee put on your thinking cap
to work relentlessly without taking a break
to concentrate in order to grasp something better

9. Idioms 5 ride the gravy train
know which side your bread is buttered on
to know where one’s strengths lie (and employing them accordingly)
To make money by doing something that has already proven to be successful

10. Idioms 6 have the presence of mind keep an eye on the ball
to be mentally alert and able to act quickly (usually to one’s advantage)
to not lose focus and continue doing well

11. Idioms 7 be quick on the uptake show one’s hand
to understand very quickly
to show others what advantages one has in a situation

12. The Direct Method
Goal: Students learn to communicate in target language  learn to think in target language

13. Principles of the Direct Method
No use of native language
Purpose of language learning is communication
Include communication activity in lessons
Pronunciation taught from beginning
Writing developed from beginning
Reading target language taught from beginning

14. Principles of the Direct Method
Self-correction to facilitate language learning
Teacher demonstrates instead of explaining
Grammar taught inductively
Use of physical objects or pictures to convey meaning
Syllabus based on topics instead of linguistic structures
Learning about the culture as well as the language

15. Use for Direct Method
Communication skills: syllabus based on real situations and relevant topics, focus on speaking in target language
Vocabulary: vocabulary practiced in complete sentences

16. Problems of Direct Method
Inductive grammar teaching: might not work with all grammatical topics

17. Sources
Beare, Kenneth. "John's Keys to Success - Idiomatic Story." Web. 23 Sept Larsen-Freeman, Diane, and Marti Anderson. Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford UP, Print.