SUGGESTOPEDIA
A review
by
Elif
KEMALOĞLU
March 2005
1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
In the course of ELT history
1970s was in marked contrast to the previous periods in the ways learners
were treated. Earlier teaching approaches such as audiolingualism had
failed to take the learners’ psychological aspects into account in
selection of content, materials and learning activities since learners
were regarded as robot-like beings who would receive and process anything
loaded on them. 1970s was the time when a learner-centred view of language
learning namely humanistic approach entered the ELT agenda. Since then,
the language teaching approaches have focused more and more on the human
side of the learner.
The humanistic approach is
underlied by the philosophy that learners are human beings with flesh and
blood and more importantly with cognitive and affective dimensions so the
teachers should be sensitive about their thoughts, feelings and
experiences and use several methods to trigger them off so that they will
be able to use their full potential and thus learn both affectively and
effectively (Oller&Amato: 1991).
The above-mentioned
triggering process could be achieved by attempts to eliminate the
psychological barriers to learning and it was Lozanov, a Bulgarian
psychologist, who tried to make such a humanistic attempt by deriving a
new language teaching method named Suggestopedia in the late 1970s.
2. VIEWS ON LANGUAGE LEARNING
The rationale behind
suggestopedia reflects a perspective where the psychological aspects of
the learner are highly emphasized. Based on literature about Suggestopedia
the psychological and the instructional facts underpinning the method can
be analyzed by focusing on two components, namely the perceptual levels of
the learners and the techniques of controlling them (Gold:1985;
Larsen&Freeman:1985; Lozanov&Gateva:1988; Nunan:1991;
Richards&Rodgets:1986).
2.1. The perceptual levels of
the learners:
The subconscious and the conscious
According to this method
human beings continuously perceive and store the stimuli in their
environment at both conscious and subconscious levels. The conscious
represents the verbal, rational, cognitive whereas the sub-conscious the
non-verbal, emotional and intuitive aspects of the self.
The learners who start the
learning process bring a great deal of content stored in their own
subconscious and during the process of learning the stimuli coming from
the classroom environment exert both conscious and subconscious influences
on mind.
2.2. The psychological
techniques of controlling the sub-conscious and the conscious in the
learning environment
Suggestopedia holds that the
starting point in the language teaching process should be getting control
of both conscious and subconscious influences and use them to optimize
learning. This can be achieved by “suggestion”.
The ways how suggestion and
its derivatives such as desuggestion, direct and indirect suggestion can
be extended into the learning environment are described from the
perspective of Suggestopedia as follows:
2.2.1. Desuggestion and
suggestion
Among the subliminal
influences the fears of the learners that they will be unable to perform
and are limited in terms of their ability to learn is the main issue
Suggestopedia deals with. It is believed that due to those fears and some
other possible negative effects such as the physical effects of the
learning environment, learners’ minds cannot process and retain
information at the maximum efficiency. This also leads to a lack of
confidence and creativity. Thus it is significant to send all kinds of
negative effects off the students’ internal environment (the self) and
external environment (the classroom) through “desuggestion” by creating a
learning atmosphere where all messages have a positive emotional content.
In addition to this the memory banks of the learners should be filled with
pleasant memories through “suggestion”. It is believed that if this was
done, the learners would be able to overcome the barriers to learning and
use their maximum potential capacity, which means retention and recall of
what has been learnt in the long term.
2.2.2. Direct and indirect
suggestion
Based on his studies on yoga
Lozanov claims that the best learning takes place in a relaxed but focused
state. To achieve this, instruction takes place on two planes. On the
conscious plane there is direct suggestion and the language itself is used
here. On the sub-conscious plane instruction is achieved through indirect
suggestion by using elements which surround the language.
All these can be achieved
through some instructional techniques mentioned below.
2. 3. The instructional
techniques of controlling the sub-conscious and the conscious in the
learning environment
Suggestopedia puts suggestion
into practice by making use of instructional techniques which can be
grouped under the following titles:
2. 3.1. Techniques used in
environmental set-up
Learning is facilitated in an
environment which is as comfortable as possible. Pleasing, relaxing and
stimulating arrangement of the classroom is deemed to be crucial to
learning. To do this there is soft-cushioned seating arranged in the form
of a semicircle, dim lighting and soft music played in the classroom. Also
as stated above the learners not only learn by means of direct instruction
but also indirect instruction that’s why there are posters hung around the
classroom to encourage “peripheral learning”.
Also due to the belief that
arts have a soothing and facilitating effect on human psychology it is
advised that the works of fine arts such as classical paintings be hung on
the walls.
2.3.2. Authority-building
techniques underlying the teacher’s and the learners’ roles
Not only the classroom design
but also the teacher’s authoritative role leads to effective learning by
stimulating the sub-conscious. It is maintained that information which is
considered to be coming from an authoritative source is likely to be
remembered best and be the most influential of all information types. This
belief indeed highlights the teacher’s role and the learner’s role in this
method.
The teacher assumes the role
of complete authority and control in the classroom. S/he should have
absolute confidence in the method, be organized and punctual, be very
careful about choosing smart clothes and reflect her self-confidence and
enthusiasm by communicating reassuringly with the learner through facial
expressions, body language, voice intonations, warmth and sensitivity.
That kind of
authority given to the teacher also determines the learner’s role in the
classroom. Since the teacher treats the students like a parent, the
learner assumes a child-like role. The learners engage in role-plays,
songs and breathing exercises that are believed to have the potential of
making them feel self-confident, spontaneous and receptive like children.
2.3.3. Techniques concerning
presentation of the linguistic material
Ø
The layout and content of the
linguistic material
The linguistic material
presented to the students is in the forms of lengthy (but not necessarily
difficult) dialogues or stories in the target language. The reason why
they are lengthy is the suggestopedic assumption that if the students get
long but relatively unchallenging dialogues they may tend to think that
they are capable of managing the subject matter, which will increase their
self-confidence. In addition to being lengthy, an effective Suggestopedic
text should not include logical, affective and ethical barriers.
Each linguistic material is
presented on a page divided into two, including the target language text
on the right and its translation into the native language on the left. The
layout is done like that because of the research findings about the
tendency of the readers who read from left to right to focus on the right
hand-side of the page. In the material there is also a bilingual glossary
and brief grammar explanations related to the text.
When the teacher gives the
text, s/he gives time to the students to have a look it and then partly in
the target language, partly in the native language and partly through body
language s/he outlines the flow of the text and gives a quick and brief
explanation of the grammar point/s to be covered. Following this a
presentation session with music starts.
Ø
Presentation of the material
in harmony with classical music
That the presented text of
the concerning lesson is read twice by the teacher in harmony with the
classical music playing in the background is a distinguishing feature of a
suggestopedic class. This part of the lesson is called the concert session
and it has two stages. In the first stage, which is called the active
concert, the teacher turns on the tape recorder to play classical music,
the best of which is thought to be Baroque music by Bach for its relieving
effects. S/he allows the students to get into the mood of the music for a
few minutes and then starts reading varying his/her intonation and rhytmn
in accordance with the music as if his/her voice were one of the
instruments in the orchestra. The students at the same time follow the
text actively. When the active concert finishes, it is time for the
passive concert. In the passive concert another classical music work,
which is slower than the former one, plays in the background. The teacher
again gives some time to students to listen to the music and then reads
the text for the second time. This time there is no attempt in matching
his/her voice with the music. S/he accords her tones with the real
meanings of the phrases being read. This time the students just listen to
the text in a relaxed way. They sit back and do yoga breathing which has
been taught to them in the beginning of the course i.e. they breathe
rhythmically and deeply for relaxation and more effective concentration.
They are also asked to close their ideas and visualize the content, which
is another internalization technique of Suggestopedia called
“visualization”. At the passive concert the students find themselves in a
state between sleep and wakefulness. Lozanov calls this stage
“pseudo-passiveness”, which he believes optimizes learning.
2.3.4. Techniques concerning
the follow-up stages
Following the presentation of
the text there are two-follow up stages aiming student activation. At the
primary activation stage, students are asked to reread the dialogues aloud
in a dramatic way by embedding various emotions in it as individuals and
in groups. They may also be provided with costumes and wigs to make the
role play more realistic. Dramatization is done because of the
significance attached to arts, that is to say, in addition to the use of
fine arts and music dramatisation is also deemed to be an important
artistic technique that should be used to facilitate learning. At the
second activation stage, students engage in a variety of activities such
as singing songs, making conversations, playing games and creating and
acting role-plays. All the activities are grammatically and lexically
relevant to the presented material but this is not brought to student’s
attention since the focus is on the communicative meaning, not on form.
Also the activities are often carried out in pairs /groups at these
stages.
2.3.5. Techniques
concerning error treatment
Errors are tolerated since
the emphasis is on content not structure. They are not corrected
immediately. When errors of form occur the teacher uses the correct form
in soft voice following the activities.
Another interesting technique
to deal with the errors affectively is the technique of giving students
new identities in the beginning of the suggestopedic classes. The belief
is that by assuming new names and roles in the target language, the
learners do not feel embarrassed as the errors they make seem to be not
their own. This technique not also masks their errors but also represents
a break with the previous learning experiences which might have been
unsuccessful.
2.3.6. Techniques concerning
homework
The only homework given to
the students is re-reading the presented linguistic material once before
they go to sleep at night and once in the morning just after they get up
as these periods are alleged to be the periods where optimal learning
takes place.
2.3.7. Evaluation techniques
The assessment of the
students’ performance is made on the basis of students’ in-class
involvement. Formal tests are avoided for the fear that they might
deteriorate the relaxing aura of the classroom atmosphere and act as a
threatening force against learner’s self-esteem.
3. VIEWS ON LANGUAGE
Lozanov does not base his
method on a theory of language. The linguistic elements given in the
courses do not follow a systematic order in terms of functions or
structures (Richards&Rodgets:1985).
In suggestopedic classes the
presented text in the form of a dialogue or story is the guiding force of
all the activities carried out in the class. It is read again and again by
the teacher and students in and outside the class and communicative
activities are built on it so it seems that language is seen as “the text”
to be loaded on memory.
It is maintained that a great
number of words can be acquired through this method (Lozanov&Gatewa :1988)
so it can be deduced that the lexical part of the language is considered
to be very important. Grammar is presented explicitly and spontaneously
with the linguistic material. Since the grammatical explanations are
handled briefly and the time devoted to grammar is minimal this method
does not seem to be grammar-focused.
Another claim is that the
suggestopedic courses direct the students to acts of communication (Lozanov&Gatewa
:1988). This is true as several communicative activities rather than
mechanical ones take place following the presentation of the linguistic
material.
We can also infer from the
concert sessions that among the language skills listening is of great
importance. Speaking communicatively is also deemed to be significant.
Reading is carried out just by voicing the text dramatically so the
strategic reading or reading techniques like finding the main idea are
neglected. On the other hand, writing has a very little place in the
courses and may just take part in the follow-up stages in the form of
imaginative activities like describing one’s dream house.
4. AN EXAMPLE OF A CLASSROOM
APPLICATION
A typical four-hour
suggestopedic class involves the application of the psychological and
instructional techniques mentioned above. Moreover it comprises three
aforesaid stages in the following order : 1. Material presentation
2. Primary Activation 3. Secondary Activation
A sample lesson
material that I have prepared is given in the Appendix and it involves
components exemplifying the techniques of the Suggestopedic approach. The
material is designed for Intermediate learners and involves a lengthy
dialogue between John, a kindergarten teacher who has applied for the
position of English teacher at an English course that uses Suggestopedia
as a method and Sarah, his friend. The content of the dialogue reflects
warmth and sensitivity in the way that Sarah is in empathy with his friend
by listening to him actively and giving constructive feedback, for
instance by saying “I wish the best for you.” Apart from those encoded
non-conscious influences the essence of the Suggestopedic course is
described and presented by the dialogue character John with this sentence:
“The more positive you are, the better you learn.” This reflects an
educational aim, which is making the students feel the humanistic
intentions lying behind the classroom techniques at the conscious level.
The format of the
linguistic material is also peculiar to Suggestopedic approach. That is,
the translation of the dialogue is given at the left hand-side of the page
and dialogue in the target language is presented at the right end in
bigger fonts so as to emphasize it. The vocabulary items are more
highlighted (in bold characters) in the text compared to the grammar
points (just underlined) since lexis is seen more important than grammar.
This is also implied by the place of the bilingual word list related to
the dialogue, given just below the dialogue before the grammar part. This
is followed by a brief explanation of the grammar point covered in the
lesson, Present Perfect Continuous Tense and the sentences made with this
tense in the dialogue are presented as examples since the main determinant
is always the presented text in Suggestopedia.
In a sample
lesson based on this text the teacher first hands out the copies of the
presented text to the classroom and gives the students a few minutes to
scan the pages. Then s/he outlines the dialogue, quickly reads the lexical
items with their equivalences and explains the related grammar point
briefly. Following this the concert sessions, where the teacher reads the
text twice in accompaniment of the classical music, are put into practice.
After the presentation there is the first activation stage. At this stage
the students read the dialogue aloud by adding “spirit” in it through
emotional voicing. For example they may be asked to dramatize it or act
the text out in different emotions each time they read it; e.g. they may
read it enthusiastically in the first reading, sadly in the second reading
and angrily in the third trial. The second activation stage involves
communicative and imaginative activities related to the linguistic
material. For instance the students may be divided into groups and be
asked to write the script of John’s job interview and then dramatise it.
In addition songs underlining the importance of positive mood such as “I
Feel Good” may be sung together. There may also be a ball throwing game in
which students throw a ball to each other and the one who receives the
ball should answer the question of the person who has thrown it. The
teacher may have the students ask their questions by using Present Perfect
Continuous tense.
5. A COMMENTARY ON THE
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SUGGESTOPEDIA AND ITS APPLICABILITY TO
TEACHING
Suggestopedia
appears to be an appealing method as it has put forward a bunch of unusual
and seemingly interesting techniques tied together for the first time in
ELT history. It seems as if it was created by a knowledgeable advertiser
since it comprises many of the sub-conscious-oriented techniques that an
effective advertisement should have: The use of music, relaxing, pleasing
and stimulating environmental set-up, motivated and powerful service
people (teachers) giving positive messages with their attractive
appearance and never-ending energy so it has the potential to increase
motivation, among the learners, to try and use the “product”, which is
English here.
In addition to creating
motivation about starting language learning, Suggestopedia seems to have
laid sound grounds for effective learning compared to mechanical
approaches due to the fact that its emphasis is on the affective side of
the human. The humanistic philosophy behind it is that “if students are
relaxed and confident, they will not need to try hard to learn the
language as learning the language will just come easily and naturally”
(Larsen and Freeman: 1985). Thus Suggestopedia has been useful as it seems
to have paved the way for the awareness in ELT environments about the fact
that language acquisition requires a state of readiness highly affected by
the existence of positive emotions. We find a theoretical reflection of
such awareness in Krashen’s affective filter hypothesis. As Krashen says
if learners are bored, angry, frustrated, nervous, unmotivated or stressed
they may not be receptive to language input and so “screen” the input.
This screen is referred to as the “affective filter”. Thus ELT teachers
should lower the learners’ affective filter so as to make them understand
the input (Krashen: 1982). As seen above Suggestopedia provides teachers
with several ideas and techniques to lower the affective filter.
On the other hand
can all Suggestopedic techniques be effective in lowering the affective
filters of all learners? What if they form other psychological barriers in
the class about some techniques? For instance there may be resistance to
learning, as there are people who find classical music irritating rather
than stimulating and classical music in some cultures may sound “foreign”.
Also there is the possibility that exaggeration of rhythm and intonation
may be perceived “odd” and “illogical”. As soon as the students are given
long dialogues, can all of them tend to think that they are proficient
enough to handle it and be willing to work on it due to such “pseudomotivation”?
I think this cannot always be true as it is the case in my teaching
environment. My students are apt to have a negative attitude to long
texts. They often have a tendency to think that the longer the text is,
the more boring learning will be. Thus the first weakness of this method
is that the techniques may not work well in all the learners and cultures.
Moreover in
Suggestopedia the emphasis is on the techniques, the “how” part of
language learning. What about the “what” part the language? The language
to be taught is based on the presented texts and this is useful in the way
that a contextual framework is formed so that learners are able to see the
connections between the language items. However due to a lack of a
coherent language theory the views on language and those on language
learning seem not to have been knitted in an organized way. The main
components of language learning namely vocabulary, structures, functions
and topics are not harmonized on a sound basis so the failure in putting
the language items in order may serve to confuse the learners rather than
motivate them. There is “this” and “that” and learners are expected to
pick them up randomly through internalization.
Also
Suggestopedia totally ignores mechanical activities in internalizing the
grammar rules or the vocabulary items. Based on my observations I believe
these activities are as important as the communicative activities and
should not be totally neglected as students will learn more if they have
various tasks to work on the structures (Nunan: 1987).
What about
physical limitations? Creating a relaxing atmosphere seems to be difficult
especially in crowded classrooms like Turkey’s since crowd leads to noise
and possibly chaos and it becomes hard to manage the class. Also there may
be financial limitations about setting the physical environment and using
the technical equipment. Even if perfectly-decorated classes are
established there is also the risk of vandalism especially in crowded
state schools.
These limitations
do not mean that Suggestopedia should totally be ignored in the ELT
environment. For instance when I was working as the writing instructor of
beginner classes at YTU, I used classical music within in-class writing
practices and most students liked the idea and gave me positive feedback
about this technique. Also dramatization of the dialogues for instance the
ones in the coursebooks both by the teacher and the learners may help the
learners enjoy the learning process. Another technique that I find useful
is peripheral learning. In the classrooms we may use bulletin boards to
hang useful linguistic materials such as irregular verb lists and/or
posters focusing on the important structural and/or lexical features of
the concerning lesson. By being exposed to language at a visual level,
students have the chance of internalizing the linguistic items
subconsciously.
All in all, as
teachers we should not be the fanatics of just one method. Suggestopedia
helps us with the brilliant idea that there should be pleasing memories in
the learning environment for effective language acquisition. In order to
create those memories the techniques that Suggestopedia has brought into
the field of ELT can be harmonized with the current ones we apply so as to
create a humanistic learning environment.
REFERENCES
Gold, L.
(1985) "Suggestopedia: Activating the Student's Reserve Capacities".
English Teaching Forum. Vol: 33 / 3. pp. 26-33.
Krashen, S. (1982)
Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Pergamon.
Larsen-
Freeman, D. (1985) Techniques and
Principles in Language Teaching. New York: Oxford.
Lozanov,
G. & Gateva, E. (1988)
The Foreign
Language Teacher's Suggestopedic Manual.
New York: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers.
Nunan, D.
(1987) “Communicative Language Teaching: Making it work”. ELT Journal.
Vol: 41 /2. pp. 136-145.
———
(1991) Language
Teaching Methodology –A Textbook for Teachers. UK: Prentice Hall.
Oller, J. &
Amato, P. R. (1983) Methods That
Work. Newbury: Newbury House.
Ridgards, J.C.
& Rodgers, T.S. (1986) Approaches and
Methods in Language Teaching – A
description and Analysis. Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press.
