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John is learning English the traditional way.
John is learning English in the traditional way.
I would expect an "in" before a particular way: "doing something in the traditional way."
So, are both of these usages correct: "doing something in a particular way" or "doing something the particular way" (without in)
Regards,
Neither is incorrect, although it sounds far more idiomatic without "in", and that isn't a personal preference.
"Way", in this context, is often used interchangeably with 'style' or 'manner', both of which do require "in", for example:
However, "way" literally means a route, or a direction, not strictly a style, and is more synonymous with 'method'.
Saying "in this way" can change the meaning - for example, if we said "walk this way", it would idiomatically mean in this direction; however, if we said "walk in this way", it would mean in this style, or manner.
Either is fine. I don't think that anyone would object to your second sentence:
John is learning English in the traditional way.
Your first sentence omits the preposition:
John is learning English the traditional way.
I can think of two ways [in which??? :)] to justify this:
The preposition has been elided and must be understood. However, it is somewhat unusual (though not entirely unheard of) to elide prepositions, so I don't favor this interpretation.
Nominal phrases often function as adverbs, and we can interpret the nominal phrase "the traditional way" as functioning as an adverb.
If you want to be strictly correct and satisfy more people, then I recommend retaining the preposition. That does sound slightly more formal, though.
