TTC.Exploring Language Teaching Methods, Theories, and the Teacher’s Role by Saeideh Mahrami - HTML preview

3.Silent way

This is a student-centered method where the teacher speaks minimally, and encouraging students to discover language rules on their own. Teachers use tools like Cuisenaire rods and charts to facilitate learning, with students constructing their understanding. It can promote independence and activate problem-solving in language learning. The limited guidance in this approach can frustrate learners.

There are three basic principles which Richards and Rodgers (1986:99) summarize them as follows.

1. Learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or creates: The

Silent Way belongs to a tradition that views learning as a problem solving, creative, discovering activity in which the learner is a principal actor rather than a bench-bound listener (Bruner 1966).

2. Learning is facilitated by accompanying (mediating) physical

objects: Most of the traditional tools for language instruction (textbooks, worksheets etc.) are not used as part of this teaching

approach. Instead, teachers use different colored Cuisenaire

rods (traditionally used in maths teaching) and wall charts that indicate the correct pronunciation of certain letters. The latter means that the teacher does not need to use drill or call-and-response exercises.

3. Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material

to be learned: Advocates of the approach often refer to Benjamin Franklin"s famous words as evidence of its efficacy: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” 4.Suggestopedia

Suggestopedia, also known as Desuggestopedia, is a method developed by the Bulgarian psychiatrist-educator Georgi Lozanov.

It is a pedagogic system of teaching, which is the combination of pedagogy, psychology and artistic approaches. Suggestopedia is based on the activation and development of the potential capabilities of individuals, the so-called hidden reserves of the mind, which every person possesses.

Both the conscious and the para-conscious perceptions are engaged during suggestopedic lessons by specifically selected emotional stimuli. Learners" imagination is unleashed, which leads to both hemispheres of the brain working in harmony, an exceptionally important factor in the activation of long-term memory.

Suggestopedia is a natural way of teaching and learning. It is a type of communication, free, inducing love and supreme delight to the senses, which is in fact the secret to reaching the hidden reserves.

Suggestopedia approach utilizes relaxation and music to create a low-stress environment that promotes effective language learning. Students learn through dialogues, music, and positive reinforcement, believing in their own abilities. It can enhance retention and reduce psychological barriers to learning. Careful implementation is required to avoid seemin unstructured or unconventional.