Direct Method

The Direct Method
Introduction
At the turn of 20th century the Direct Method became quite widely known and practiced.
The basic premise of the Direct Method was similar to that of Gouin's Series Method, namely, that second language learning should be more like first language learning-lots of oral interaction, spontaneous use of the language, no translation between first and secondlanguages, and little or no analysis of grammatical rules. Richards and Rodgers summarize the principles of the Direct Method[1]
As with the Grammar-Translation Method, the Direct Method is not new. Its principles have been applied by language teachers for many years. Most recently, it was revived as a method when the goal of instruction became learning how to use a foreign language to communicate.Since the Grammar-Translation Method was not very effective in preparing students to use the target language communicatively, the Direct Method became popular.[2]
The Direct Method has one very basic rule: No translation is allowed.
In fact, the Direct Method receives its name from the fact that meaning is to be connected directly with the target language, without going through the processof translating into the students' native language.
The Direct Method enjoyed considerable popularity through the end of the nineteenth century and well into this one. It was most widely accepted in private language schools where students were highly motivated and where native-speaking teachers could be employed.
One of the best known of its popularizers was Charles Berlitz (who never usedthe term Direct Method and chose instead to call his method the Berlitz Method). To this day "Berlitz" is a household word; Berlitz language schools are thriving in every country of the world. Enthusiastic supporters of the Direct Method introduced it in France and Germany (it was officially approved in both countries at the turn of the century), and it became widely known in the United Statesthrough its use by Sauveur and Maximilian Berlitz in successful commercial language schools. (Berlitz, in fact, never used the term; he referred to the method used in his schools as the Berlitz Method)[3]
But almost any "method" can succeed when clients are willing to pay high prices for small classes, individual attention, and intensive study. The Direct Method did not take well in publiceducation where the constraints of budget, classroom size, time, and teacher background made such a method difficult to use. Moreover, the Direct Method was criticized for its weak theoretical foundations. Its success may have been more a factor of the skill and personality of the teacher than of the methodology itself.
By the end of the first quarter of 20th century the use of the Direct Methodhad declined both in Europe and in the United States. Most language curricula returned to the Grammar Translation Method or to a "reading approach" that emphasized reading skills in foreign languages. But interestingly enough, by the middle of the century the Direct Method was revived and redirected into what was probably the most visible of all language teaching "revolutions" in the modern era,the Audio-lingual Method.

Principles of the Direct Method
1. Reading in the target language should be taught from the beginning of language instruction; however, the reading skill will be developed through practice with speaking. Language is primarily speech. Culture consists of more than the fine arts.
2. Objects (e.g., realia or pictures) present in the immediate classroom environmentshould be used to help students understand the meaning.
3. The native language should not be used in the classroom.
4. The teacher should demonstrate, not explain or translate. It is desirable that students make a direct association between the target language and meaning.

5. Students should learn to think in the target language as soon as possible. Vocabulary is acquired more...