SUGGESTOPEDIA

The Main Learning Theories:

Limitations and any barriers before the learners’ language learning process are needed to be desuggested to proceed the class finely.

Psychological problems must be removed to create relaxed atmosphere.

Peripheral learning is important in learning period.

Music (especially Baroque music) use while presenting new materials and doing reading activities is essential.

Art and learning are integrated each other to design more attractive environment and suitable conditions for learning.

Other Features of Suggestopedia:

Teacher is authority in the class. This model of teacher helps to students (especially for older learners) feel themselves like a child and, thanks to that, do the activities by feeling more comfortable and self-confident. This is also called “Infantilization”.

Learners learn from environment besides instructions. They can learn lots of thing from posters, word charts hung on walls.

The atmosphere in the class is so important because it affects students’ attention and relaxation.

The classroom conditions (temperature, light, cleanliness and comfort) are very important for feeling relaxed. An area which has bad or insufficient conditions do not give a chance to get an efficient class.

Intonation is also important because there is relaxation factor in a rhytmic way, so pronouncing words in target language must accompany the background music.

Parent-child relationship is developed between teacher and student with infantilization and conformance to the class gets easier for learners while doing role plays, gymnastic exercises, singing songs and etc.

Students are children in the class and they have new identities in various activities (reading dialogues, dramatisation, role plays and etc.)

Student-student and teacher-student interaction are seen. Students interact each other with lots of pair and group works.

Vocabulary learning is important. Lots of words can be given to the learners, and when it is necessary, comments and explanations for the words can be made in learners’ native language.

Grammar rules are taught explicitly but not much. These rules also can be given in their native language.

Evaluation period is done by in-class performance and grading with formal tests is not much suitable because it may be a bad factor to affect adversely the relaxed atmosphere in the class.

Objectives in Suggestopedia are to prepare students’ psychology by a suitable environment and atmosphere and improve their everyday communication by removing the learning barriers/fears. Self-confidence is of vital importance in this method.

There is no immediate error-correction. If an error occurs, teacher corrects it after or at the end of the class because it can affect the atmosphere in the class.

Oral communication is important and speaking skill is prior to the other skills, but everyone is used when the time comes.

Techniques:

Organising classroom (background music, comfortable seats, dim lights),

Motivating comments from the teacher,

Peripheral learning (learning by seeing),

Visualisation,

Choosing a new identity

First concert (reading aloud a text with the classical music, listening activities)

Second concert (this time by emphasising content)

Primary activation (reading dialogues in groups and adapt them to emotions such as reading angrily, amorously etc.)

Secondary activation (focusing learners on communicative activities) are among the techniques and materials in Suggestopedia.

Summarizing Keywords/Phrases:

Music

Rhythm

A relaxed atmosphere

Peripheral learning

Classroom design

Intonation

Oral Communication

Native language

First and second concert

Primary and secondary activation

Self-confidence

Infantilisation

Teacher authority