The direct method

The direct method, sometimes also called natural method, is a method that refrains from using the learners' native language and just uses the target language. It was established in Germany and France around 1900 and are best represented by the methods devised by Berlitz and de Sauzé although neither claim originality and has been re-invented under other names. The direct method operates on the idea that second language learning must be an imitation of first language learning, as this is the natural way humans learn any language - a child never relies on another language to learn its first language, and thus the mother tongue is not necessary to learn a foreign language. This method places great stress on correct pronunciation and the target language from outset. It advocates teaching of oral skills at the expense of every traditional aim of language teaching. Such methods rely on directly representing an experience into a linguistic construct rather than relying on abstractions like mimicry, translation and memorizing grammar rules and vocabulary.
According to this method, printed language and text must be kept away from second language learner for as long as possible, just as a first language learner does not use printed word until he has good grasp of speech. Learning of writing and spelling should be delayed until after the printed word has been introduced, and grammar and translation should also be avoided because this would involve the application of the learner's first language. All above items must be avoided because they hinder the acquisition of a good oral proficiency.
The method relies on a step-by-step progression based on question-and-answer sessions which begin with naming common objects such as doors, pencils, floors, etc. It provides a motivating start as the learner begins using a foreign language almost immediately. Lessons progress to verb forms and other grammatical structures with the goal of learning about thirty new words per lesson.

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The direct method, sometimes also called natural method, is a method for teaching foreign languages that refrains from using the learners' native language and just uses the target language. It was established in Germany and France around 1900. Characteristic features of the direct method are
.teaching vocabulary through pantomiming, realia and other visuals
.teaching grammar by using an inductive approach (i.e. having learners find out rules through the presentation of adequate linguistic forms in the target language)
.centrality of spoken language (including a native-like pronunciation)
.focus on question-answer patterns
.teacher-centeredness
Classroom instructions are conducted exclusively in the target language. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught. (The language is made real.) Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully graded progression organized around question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes. Grammar is taught inductively. New teaching points are introduced orally. Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects, and pic­tures; abstract vocabulary is taught by association of ideas. Both speech and listening comprehensions are taught. Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.
The direct method was an answer to the dissatisfaction with the grammar translation method, which teaches students in grammar and vocabulary through direct translations and thus focusses on the written language.
There was an attempt to set up such conditions as would imitate the mother tongue acquisition. For this reason the beginnings of these attempts were marked as The Natural methods. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Sauveur and Franke wrote psychological rootes regarding the associations made between the word and its meaning. They proposed that in language teaching we should move within the target-language system and this was the first stimulus for the rise of The Direct method.
Later on, Sweet recognized the limits of The Direct method and he proposed a substantial change in methodology, and for this reason there was an introduction of the audio-lingual method.