suggestopedia

SUGGESTOPEDIA

• Suggestopedia, the application of the study of suggestion to pedagogy, has been developed to help students eliminate the feeling that they cannot be successful or the negative association they may have toward studying and, thus, to help them overcome the barriers to learning.

• This method developed out of believe that human brain could process great quantities of material given the right conditions of learning like relaxation.

• Teachers hope to accelerate the process by which students learn to use a foreign language for everyday communication. In order to do this, more of the students' mental powers must be tapped.

• The teacher is the authority in the classroom. In order for the method to be successful, the students must to trust and respect the teacher. Once the students trust the teacher, they acn feel more secure. If they feel secure, they can be more spontaneous and less in inhibited.

• A desuggestopedic course is conducted in a classroom which is bright and cheerful. The texts students work from are handouts containing lenghty dialogs in the target language. Next to the dialog is a translation in the students' native language. There are also some notes on vocabulary and grammar which correspond to bold-faced items in the dialog.

• One of the fundamental principles of the method is that if the sudents are relaxed and confident, they will not need to try hard to learn the language. It will come just naturally and easily. Indirect positive suggestions are made to enhance students' self-confidence and to convince them that success is obtainable.

• Music was the central to this method. Soft music led to increase in alpha brain wave and a decrease in blood pressure and pulse rate resulting in high intake of large quantities of material.

• The communication takes place on 'two planes': on one the linguistic message is encoded; and on the other are factors which influence the linguistic message. On the conscious plane, the learner attends to the language; on the subconscious plane, the music suggest that learning is easy and pleasant. When there is a unity between conscious and subconscious, learning is enhance.

• Teacher should present and explain the grammar and vocabulary, but not dwell on them. The bolds print are allows the students' focus to shift from the whole text to the details before they return to the whole text again. The dynamic interplay between the whole and the parts is important.

• Vocabulary is emphasized. Grammar is dealt with explicitly but minimally. In fact, it is believed that students will learn best if their conscious attentionn is focused not on the language forms, but on using the language. The 'paraconscious' mind will then absorb the linguistic rules. Speaking communicatively is also emphasized. Students read in the target language and write native compositions.

• Native-language translation is used to make the meaning of the dialog clear. The teacher also uses the native langauge in class when necessary. The teacher uses the native language less and less.

• Evaluation usually is conducted on students' normal in-class performance and not through formal tests, which would threaten the relaxed atmosphere considered essential for accelerated learning.

• Errors are correctly gently, with the teacher using a soft voice and not in a direct.