Paper 12: English Language Teaching 1
Name:
Sagar B Vaghela
Semester:
3
Roll
No: 32
Enrollment
No: 2069108420180052
Paper
12: English Language Teaching 1
Topic:
What is Suggestopedia ?
Batch: 2017-19
Submitted
To: S.B.Gardi Department of English MKBU
Suggestopedia
is a teaching method developed by the Bulgarian psychotherapist Georgi Lozanov.
It is used mostly to learn foreign languages.
The
theory applied positive suggestion in teaching when it was developed in the
1970. However, as the method improved, it has focused more on
"desuggestive learning" and now is often called
"desuggestopedia". Suggestopedia is a portmanteau of the words
"suggestion" and "pedagogy". A common misconception is to
link "suggestion" to "hypnosis". However, Lozanov intended
it in the sense of offering or proposing, emphasising student choice.
Often
considered to be the strangest of the so-called "humanistic
approaches", suggestopedia was originally developed in the 1970s by the
Bulgarian educator Georgi Lozanov. Extravagant claims were initially made for
the approach with Lozanov himself declaring that memorization in learning
through suggestopedia would be accelerated by up to 25 times over that in
conventional learning methods. The approach attracted both wild enthusiasm in
some quarters and open scorn in others. On balance, it is probably fair to say
that suggestopedia has had its day but also that certain elements of the
approach survive in today’s good practice.
The
approach was based on the power of suggestion in learning, the notion being
that positive suggestion would make the learner more receptive and, in turn,
stimulate learning. Lozanov holds that a relaxed but focused state is the
optimum state for learning. In order to create this relaxed state in the
learner and to promote positive suggestion, suggestopedia makes use of music, a
comfortable and relaxing environment, and a relationship between the teacher
and the student that is akin to the parent-child relationship. Music, in
particular, is central to the approach. Unlike other methods and approaches,
there is no apparent theory of language in suggestopedia and no obvious order
in which items of language are presented.
The
original form of suggestopedia presented by Lozanov consisted of the use of
extended dialogues, often several pages in length, accompanied by vocabulary
lists and observations on grammatical points. Typically these dialogues would
be read aloud to the students to the accompaniment of music. The most formal of
these readings, known as the "concert reading", would typically
employ a memorable piece of classical music such as a Beethoven symphony. This
would not be in the form of background music but would be the main focus of the
reading, with the teacher’s voice acting as a counterpoint to the music. Thus
the "concert reading" could be seen as a kind of pleasurable event,
with the learners free to focus on the music, the text or a combination of the
two. The rhythm and intonation of the reading would be exaggerated in order to
fit in with the rhythm of the music.
A
second, less formal reading would employ a lighter, less striking piece of
music, such as a piece of Baroque music, and this would take a less prominent
role. During both types of reading, the learners would sit in comfortable
seats, armchairs rather than classroom chairs, in a suitably stimulating
environment in terms of décor and lighting. After the readings of these long
dialogues to the accompaniment of music, the teacher would then make use of the
dialogues for more conventional language work. In theory at least, large chunks
of the dialogues would be internalized by the learners during the readings due
both to the relaxed and receptive state of the learners and to the positive
suggestion created by the music.
There
is, however, little evidence to support the extravagant claims of success. The
more obvious criticisms lie in the fact that many people find classical music
irritating rather than stimulating (to some cultures Western music may sound
discordant), the length of the dialogues and the lack of a coherent theory of
language may serve to confuse rather than to motivate, and, for purely logistic
reasons, the provision of comfortable armchairs and a relaxing environment will
probably be beyond the means of most educational establishments.
In
addition the idea of a teacher reading a long (and often clearly inauthentic)
dialogue aloud, with exaggerated rhythm and intonation, to the accompaniment of
Beethoven or Mozart may well seem ridiculous to many people.
This
is not to say, however, that certain elements of the approach cannot be taken
and incorporated into the more eclectic approach to language teaching widely in
evidence today. The use of music both in the background and as an accompaniment
to certain activities can be motivating and relaxing. Attention to factors such
as décor, lighting and furniture is surely not a bad thing. Dialogues too have their
uses. Perhaps most importantly of all the ideas, creating conditions in which
learners are alert and receptive can only have a positive effect on motivation.
Whether these conditions are best created by the use of classical music and the
reading of dialogues is open to questions but there is no doubt that
suggestopedia has raised some interesting questions in the areas of both
learning and memory.
Key
Elements
Some
of the key elements of Suggestopedia include a rich sensory learning
environment (pictures, colour, music, etc.), a positive expectation of success
and the use of a varied range of methods: dramatic texts, music, active
participation in songs and games, etc.
Suggestopedia
adopts a carefully structured approach, using four main stages as follows:
a. Presentation.
b. First Concert - "Active
Concert".
c. Second Concert - "Passive Review.
d. Practice.
Ø Purpose
Theintended
purpose of Suggestopedia was to enhance learning by tapping into the power of
suggestion. Lozanov claims in that “suggestopedia is a system for liberation”;
liberation from the “preliminary negative concept regarding the difficulties in
the process of learning” that is established throughout their life in the
society.
Ø Types of Learning and Teaching Activities
The
types of activities that are more original to suggestopedia are the listening
activities, which concern the text and text vocabulary of each unit. These
activities are typically part of the “pre-session phase”, which takes place on
the first day of a new unit.
The
students first look at and discuss a new text with the teacher. In the second
reading, students relax comfortably in reclining chairs and listen to the
teacher read the text in a certain way. During the third reading the material
is acted out by the instructor in a dramatic manner over a background of the
special musical form described previously.
Ø Teacher’s Roles
1. Show absolute confidence in the method.
2. Display fastidious conduct in manners
and dress.
3. Organize properly, and strictly observe
the initial stages of the teaching process-this includes choice and play of
music, as well as punctuality.
4. Maintain a solemn attitude towards the
session.
5. Give tests and respond tactfully to poor
papers (if any).
6. Stress global rather than analytical
attitudes towards material.
7. Maintain a modest enthusiasm.
Ø Advantages of Suggestopedia
There
are some benefits in utilizing suggestopedia:
1. A comprehensible input based on
dessugestion and suggestion principle
By
using this suggestopedia method, students can lower their affective filter.
Suggestopedia classes, in addition, are held in ordinary rooms with comfortable
chairs, a practice that may also help them relaxed. Teacher can do numerous
other things to lower the affective filter.
2. Authority concept
Students
remember best and are most influenced by information coming from an
authoritative source, teachers.
3. Double-planedness theory
It
refers to the learning from two aspects. They are the conscious aspect and the
subconscious one. Students can acquire the aim of teaching instruction from
both direct instruction and environment in which the teaching takes place.
4. Peripheral learning
Suggestopedia
encourages the students to apply language more independently, takes more
personal responsibility for their own learning and get more confidence.
Ø Disadvantages of Suggestopedia
Suggestopedia
also has limitation since there is no single teaching method that is categorized
as the best based on some consideration such as: the curriculum, students
motivation, financial limitation, number of students, etc.
Suggestopedia
is a language teaching method developed by the Bulgarian psychologist, Georgi
Lozanov (see picture on the right.) Like Community Language Learning and the
Silent Way Method, Suggestopedia is an innovative method that promises great
effective language learning results. Lozanov claimed that by using this method
one can teach languages approximately three to five times as quickly as
conventional methods.
The
name of Suggestopedia is from the words “suggestion” and “pedagogy.” It is a
set of learning recommendations derived from Suggestology, which Lozanov
describes as “a science … concerned with systematic study of the nonrational
and/or non-conscience influences” that human beings are constantly responding
to. The method also draws from insights
from yoga and the Soviet psychology. From yoga it draws the importance of
relaxation of mind for maximum retention of material.
The
main features of suggestopedia are:
The
use of music to relax learners.
The
furniture, decoration and the arrangement of the classroom.
Teacher’s
authority. The teacher plays a central
role and he/she is the source of all information.
Work
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