Teaching Beginners with the Direct Method: 50 Activities for the Speaking-First Classroom
Get your beginners talking from the very first lesson. The Direct Method builds a direct link between language and meaning with no translation in between, so learners understand through demonstration and start speaking straight away.
The fifty activities sit in five clear sets that build a complete beginner foundation:
- Speak from lesson one with demonstration techniques that make meaning clear without a word of translation
- Teach any class, including mixed-first-language groups, since showing works for everyone in the room at once
- Pick up and teach in minutes thanks to a consistent eight-field format covering aim, level, time, materials, target language, procedure, variations and a teacher's note
- Build real confidence as learners move from naming a single object to running a question chain and telling their own story across past, present and future
- Grow strong pronunciation and listening by working orally first, before the page
- Adapt to any group with stronger-and-weaker variations built into every activity
Every activity runs on three simple moves: show, say, and use. You show meaning through objects, pictures and mime, fix the form through graded questions and answers, then open it out into a real spoken exchange. No first-language explanation, no grammar lectures, just learners speaking, listening and thinking in the new language from day one.
Whether you're new to the Direct Method or returning to it with fresh eyes, this book gives you everything you need to run a speaking-first beginner course that works. Written in a clear teacher-trainer voice by an experienced ELT author, it's a companion you'll reach for lesson after lesson. Buy the book today!
