How to Teach Effectively Using the Direct Method – Part 2: Practical Techniques and Classroom Management

In this part, we move from theory to practice: how to run a Direct Method DLLAB lesson so that the group speaks a lot, stays focused and is evenly engaged.

In this post you will learn:

• How to use questions.
• How to maintain lesson rhythm without “dead air” and digressions.
• How to ensure that everyone speaks, not just the most confident students.
• How to use DLLAB coursebooks, DL PRO and apps to support lesson flow.
• How to interleave revision with new material so students constantly practise communication.

1. Question Forms – The Engine of the Method

The core of the DLLAB Direct Method is question–answer work, with at least 80% of the lesson devoted to intensive oral practice. For students to truly master the language, the teacher must deliberately mix affirmative and negative sentences.

In this way, students practise different structures, opposites, word order and intonation, which is strongly emphasised in DLLAB materials.

 

2. Lesson Rhythm – No Silence, No Digressions

Teachers must avoid moments of silence because when the teacher stops asking questions, students immediately start losing their focus. A lesson should be lively and dynamic – the teacher stands, moves around the classroom, maintains eye contact and reads questions in an engaging, not monotonous, way.

Silence most often appears when the teacher is not sufficiently prepared or slips into long digressions or small talk in the students’ native language. DLLAB recommends preparing in advance: deciding which pages to cover, in what order, and how to move between revision, new material, and reading so that transitions are smooth. If a student does not understand a question, the teacher has specific tools: read it a third time more slowly, break it into smaller parts, highlight key words and only as a last resort briefly translate the difficult part.

 

3. Even Engagement – Who Answers, and When

Direct Language Lab recommends choosing students to answer at random so that everyone listens to the question without knowing in advance whom the teacher will point to. It is important to avoid predictable patterns  because then part of the group stops listening actively.

The Teacher Academy also stresses that weaker students must not receive fewer questions – this is a typical mistake made by novice teachers. In DLLAB, weaker students should get as many opportunities to speak, with more support from the teacher, for example using the “push–pull” technique: the teacher says part of the sentence, stops before the new difficult word, expects the student to say it first, and then helps again with the next part of the answer. This way, every learner truly practises instead of hiding in the background.

 

4. Coursebooks, DL PRO and Apps as the Backbone of the Lesson

The DLLAB Direct Method is designed “around the coursebook”: the structure of the books, the order of units and the exercise types are fully aligned with the question–answer technique. During oral work in class, students keep their books closed so they do not read questions and answers from the page but listen and speak instead. Books are opened only for reading, grammar exercises or written tasks.

Beyond coursebooks, digital tools play a key role: the DL PRO software and DLLAB apps and audio materials support revision and independent learning at home. The ideal model looks like this: intensive oral work in the classroom (questions and answers based on the book), followed by work with recordings and online exercises on the same material after class. For the school, this means a coherent system: the same method, the same language structures, different channels (lesson, platform, app).

 

5. Interleaving Revision and New Material – Practice, Not Theory

According to DLLAB principles, each coursebook page should appear 5–7 times in different modes: as new material, in revision during subsequent lessons, during reading and in complete revision before an exam.

This cycle keeps communication at a high level: students do not “tick off” material once; they come back to it repeatedly, answering in full sentences to questions that become more and more automatic. This approach works particularly well with DLLAB coursebooks, which clearly indicate the order of pages, communication sections and grammar lessons, so the teacher does not have to invent the lesson structure from scratch – it is enough to follow the methodology.

 

What’s Next in This Direct Method Series?

This second part of the series is meant to help teachers see how DLLAB methodology works in a real lesson: from the way questions are asked, through group management, to the practical use of coursebooks and digital tools. In Part 3, we will focus on motivation, building relationships, and long-term student progress in Direct Method courses.