Suggestopedia Overview | Objectives | Key Features | Typical Techniques | Comments

In the late 70s, a Bulgarian psychologist by the name of Georgi Lozanov introduced the contention that students naturally set up psychological barriers to learning - based on fears that they will be unable to perform and are limited in terms of their ability to learn. Lozanov believed that learners may have been using only 5 to 10 percent of their mental capacity, and that the brain could process and retain much more material if given optimal conditions for learning. Based on psychological research on extrasensory perception, Lozanov began to develop a language learning method that focused on "desuggestion" of the limitations learners think they have, and providing the sort of relaxed state of mind that would facilitate the retention of material to its maximum potential. This method became known as Suggestopedia (but also - rather confusingly - Desuggestopedia) - the name reflecting the application of the power of "(de)suggestion" to the field of pedagogy. One of the most unique characteristics of the method was the use of soft Baroque music during the learning process. Baroque music has a specific rhythm and a pattern of 60 beats per minute, and Lozanov believed it created a level of relaxed concentration that facilitated the intake and retention of huge quantities of material. This increase in learning potential was put down to the increase in alpha brain waves and decrease in blood pressure and heart rate that resulted from listening to Baroque music. Another aspect that differed from other methods to date was the use of soft comfortable chairs and dim lighting in the classroom (other factors believed to create a more relaxed state of mind). Other characteristics of Suggestopedia were the giving over of complete control and authority to the teacher (who at times can appear to be some kind of instructional hypnotist using this method!) and the encouragement of learners to act as "childishly" as possible, often even assuming names and characters in the target language. All of these principles in combination were seen to make the students "suggestible" (or their fears of language learning "desuggestible"), and therefore able to utilize their maximum mental potential to take in and retain new material. Objectives The prime objective of Suggestopedia is to tap into more of students' mental potential to learn, in order to accelerate the process by which they learn to understand and use the target language for communication. Four factors considered essential in this process were the provision of a relaxed and comfortable learning enviroment, the use of soft Baroque music to help increase alpha brain waves and decrease blood pressure and heart rate, "desuggestion" in terms of the pyschological barriers learners place on their own learning potential, and

"suggestibility" through the encouragement of learners assuming "child-like" and/or new roles and names in the target language.

Top | Objectives | Key Features | Typical Techniques | Comments Key Features Here are some of the key features of Suggestopedia: (1) Learning is facilitated in an environment that is as comfortable as possible, featuring soft cushioned seating and dim lighting. (2) "Peripheral" learning is encouraged through the presence in the learning environment of posters and decorations featuring the target language and various grammatical information. (3) The teacher assumes a role of complete authority and control in the classroom. (4) Self-perceived and psychological barriers to learners' potential to learn are "desuggested". (5) Students are encouraged to be child-like, take "mental trips with the teacher" and assume new roles and names in the target language in order to become more "suggestible". (6) Baroque music is played softly in the background to increase mental relaxation and potential to take in and retain new material during the lesson. (7) Students work from lengthy dialogs in the target language, with an accompanying translation into the students' native language. (8) Errors are tolerated, the emphasis being on content and not structure. Grammar and vocabulary are presented and given treatment from the teacher, but not dwelt on. (9) Homework is limited to students re-reading the dialog they are studying - once before they go to sleep at night and once in the morning before they get up. (10) Music, drama and "the Arts" are integrated into the learning process as often as possible.

Top | Objectives | Key Features | Typical Techniques | Comments Typical Techniques

Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:84-86) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with Suggestopedia. The listing here is in summary form only. (1) Classroom Set-up (Emphasis is placed on creating a physical environment that does not "feel" like a normal classroom, and makes the students feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible) (2) Peripheral Learning (Students can absorb information "effortlessly" when it is perceived as part of the environment, rather than the material "to be attended to") (3) Positive Suggestion (Teachers appeal to students' consciousness and subconscious in order to better orchestrate the "suggestive" factors involved in the learning situation) (4) Visualization (Students are asked to close their eyes and visualize scenes and events, to help them relax, facilitate positive suggestion and encourage creativity from the students) (5) Choose a New Identity (Students select a target language name and/or occupation that places them "inside" the language language they are learning) (6) Role-play (Students pretend temporarily that they are somone else and perform a role using the target language) (7) First Concert (Teacher does a slow, dramatic reading of the dialog synchronized in intonation with classical music) (8) Second Concert (Students put aside their scripts and the teacher reads at normal speed according to the content, not the accompanying pre-Classical or Baroque music - this typically ends the class for the day) (9) Primary Activation (Students "playfully" reread the target language out loud, as individuals or in groups) (10) Secondary Activation (Students engage in various activities designed to help the students learn the material and use it more

spontaneously - activities include singing, dancing, dramatizations and games "communicative intent" and not "form" being the focus)

Top | Objectives | Key Features | Typical Techniques | Comments Comments The language teaching method known as Suggestopedia provides some valuable insights into the power of cognition and creating/employing techniques that make students feel comfortable and relaxed, and "suggestible" to the material being learned. Unfortunately it does not provide for the majority of language teaching environments teachers typically encounter. The dim lighting, large comfortable chairs and music selections are not readily available to the majority of schools, and these environmental factors are certainly close to impossible for very large classes. As with other methods, it does not take account of the fact that many learners in many countries do not necessarily bring an intrinsic desire to learn the language into their English lessons, and its basic foundations in cognitive theory in some ways limit it as a method to the realm of adult learning. Still, many teachers can relate to many of the basic principles of the approach. Playing soft music to make students relax, making classrooms as comfortable as possible for students within the constraints imposed by space and budget considerations, having them assume new target language identities, employing role-playing activities, and decorating the classroom with peripheral aids to learning. In my opinion, these are the things that can be taken from the Suggestopedia method and effectively combined with more effective language teaching techniques specific to the students we find in various learning situations. Something I have taken from Suggestopedia and experimented with extensively in terms of teaching young learners has been the concept that communication takes place on "two planes" - the conscious and the subconscious. Suggestopedia suggests that on the conscious plane, learners attend to the language itself and the linguistic message encoded therein. On the subconscious plane are factors influencing this linguistic message, such as the physical enviroment and various background ways to make the students relax and feel that the learning process is as easy, natural and stress-free as possible. I also feel that "peripheral learning" can be a huge factor in encouraging students to apply language more independently, thereby taking more personal responsibility for their own learning and generating a feeling of more confidence and aptitude. Peripheral information can also help encourage students to be more experimental, and look to sources other than the teacher for language input. Several of my flashcard sets include peripheral information such as vocabulary and grammatical inflections, to encourage students to try and start building sentences on their own rather than imitating a model from the teacher. In Sentence Navigation, students are provided with a range of vocabulary they must somehow navigate in a problem-solving exercise to build correct English sentences, but the words they do not choose are also genuine chunks of language input that can be considered as "peripheral". This also relates to initial exposure of students to language and forms they will require later by placing them on the peripheral rim of whatever they are applying themselves to now. They are thus

provided with stress-free and subtle initial exposure to language that, when it comes along next or later, feels interestingly familiar and challenging rather than scarily new or alien. This guides my treatment of vocabulary and sounds in the English Raven Phonics Kits.

Top | Objectives | Key Features | Typical Techniques | Comments Engli