The Suggestopedia Method

The Suggestopedia Method

 

Suggestopedia is a teaching method developed by the Bulgarian psychotherapist Georgi Lozanov. The method has been used in different fields of studies but mostly in the field of foreign language learning.

Lozanov says that by using this method one can teach languages approximately three to five times as quickly as conventional methods. However, it is not limited to the learning of languages, but language learning was found to be a process in which one can easily measure how much and how fast something is learned.

The theory applied positive suggestion in teaching when it was developed in the 1970s. However, as improved, it has focused more on “desuggestive learning” and now is often called “desuggestopedia.” Suggestopedia is used in six major foreign-language teaching methods known to language teaching experts (the oldest being the grammar translation method.) The name of Suggestopedia is from the words “suggestion” and “pedagogy. Many discussions and misunderstanding have caused this name because people connects the word "suggestion" to "hypnosis". There are many different definitions for the word "suggestion". When Dr. Lozanov chose this word, he was thinking about the English meaning: TO SUGGEST = TO OFFER, TO PROPOSE (BUT THE STUDENTS ARE FREE TO CHOOSE).

 

Lozanov's "Suggestopedia" is

 

Not Hypnosis

Lozanov, once a hypnotist himself, now strongly opposes against use of hypnosis. He has realized the danger of hypnosis and being hypnotized (Lozanov 1978). In the process of refining his own Suggestopedia with Evelina Gateva, he has removed all elements that may induce "hypnotical states" of mind.Lozanov defines hypnotic situation as being taken one's freedom and creativity away by a hypnotic dictator. Every teaching method that uses "order", "guidance", "Monotonous intonation" and "monotonous rhythm" may cause hypnotic states.

Not Superlearning

The authors of "Superlearning" have never been trained by Lozanov. The book was written with limited information acquired from a short observation of Lozanov's experimental research. Hence, there is a lot of misunderstandings in the book.

 

 

Not NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)

Lozanov denies any kind of manipulation on ones personality, even if it would "program" however positive or optimistic way of thinking. Suggestopedia sees "programming" is a product of "dictation" and "manipulation" that, like hypnosis, inhibits freedom of personality.

Not using a reclining chair, or a sofa.

A Suggestopedia class uses a room with a central round table and ordinary chairs surrounding the table. It never uses reclining chairs to lay down students and make them listen to a teacher's voice. Such an activity may cause hypnotic states.

Not using "breathing exercise"

Lozanov has never introduced a breathing exercise in his Suggestopedia. Such an exercise may cause hypnotic states.

Not using "visualization exercise"

Lozanov calls such an exercise as "guided fantasy". He regards this kind of guided fantasy in which people are forced to visualize some image is a hypnosis.

Not using "alpha wave" enhance exercise

"Alpha wave" is not a special brain wave. It appears only by closing eyes. It is meaningless to create a monotonous or fixed brain wave for the learning. Such an exercise may cause hypnotic states.

Not using "slow baroque" music in the concert reading

Suggestopedia uses baroque music pieces in the second or "passive" concert session. However it never uses a "slow baroque" or a music piece written as "adagio". It is simply because Suggestopedia does not want students to fall asleep in the concert session. Rather, it uses faster and livelier pieces to stimulate a whole brain.

In the first or "active" concert session, it uses even more lively pieces of classical music. The music list includes a quite dramatic piece such as Beethoven's piano concerto No.5.

Not using rap music in the concert reading

Suggestopedia uses the power of the selected (scientifically proven) pieces of classical music because of its artistically harmonized colorful melody, rhythm, and emotion that stimulates all levels of mind as it changes from time to time. Music dominated by a monotonous rhythm and beat, such as rap music, may cause hypnotic states.

 

 

Not only a group of teaching techniques

Teaching techniques are meaningless if applied without full comprehension of the theory. For example, giving a set of concert reading sessions in the traditional setting language classroom doesn't work.

Not able to teach without a teacher

Suggestopedia uses a lot of emotion in the classroom to stimulate all levels of human "personality" that works in coordination of consciousness and paraconsciousness. Self study can never receive such a global stimuli.Not selling tapes, CDs, Videos, and bio-feedback devices or any mechanical materials as such Dr. Lozanov denies all the "mechanical" stimuli. Monotonous and meaningless stimuli generated by a machine that can cause hypnotic states.

Purpose and Theory

 

The intended purpose of Suggestopedia was to enhance learning by lowering the affective filter of learners.Lozanov claims in his website, Suggestology and Suggestopedy, that “suggestopedia is a system for liberation,” the liberation from the “preliminary negative concept regarding the difficulties in the process of learning” that is established throughout their life in the society. Desuggestopedia focuses more on liberation as Lozanov describes “desuggestive learning” as “free, without a mildest pressure, liberation of previously suggested programs to restrict intelligence and spontaneous acquisition of knowledge, skills and habits.” The method implements this by working not only on the conscious level of human mind but also on the subconscious level, the mind’s reserves. Since it works on the reserves in human mind and brain, which are said to have unlimited capacities, one can teach more than other method can teach in the same amount of time.

In Practice

 

Physical surroundings and atmosphere in classroom are the vital factors to make sure that "the students feel comfortable and confident”, and various techniques, including art and music, are used by the trained teachers. The lesson of Suggestopedia consisted of three phases at first: deciphering, concert session (memorization séance), and elaboration. Deciphering: The teacher introduces the grammar and lexis of the content. Concert session (active and passive): In the active session, the teacher reads the text at a normal speed, sometimes intoning some words, and the students follow. In the passive session, the students relax and listen to the teacher reading the text calmly. Music (“Pre-Classical”) is played background.

 

 

Elaboration: The students finish off what they have learned with dramas, songs, and games. Then it has developed into four phases as lots of experiments were done: introduction, concert session, elaboration, and production.

Introduction: The teacher teaches the material in “a playful manner” instead of analyzing lexis and grammar of the text in a directive manner.

Concert session (active and passive): In the active session, the teacher reads with intoning as selected music is played. Occasionally, the students read the text together with the teacher, and listen only to the music as the teacher pauses in particular moments. The passive session is done more calmly.

Elaboration: The students sing classical songs and play games while “the teacher acts more like a consultant

Production: The students spontaneously speak and interact in the target language without interruption or correction.

 

 

Teachers

Teachers should not act directive although this method is teacher-controlled but not students- controlled. For example, they should act as a real partner to the students, participating in the activities such as games and songs “naturally” and “genuinely.” In the concert session, they should fully include classical art into their behaviors. Although there are many techniques that the teachers use, the factors such as “communication in the spirit of love, respect for man as a human being, the specific humanitarian way of applying there ‘techniques’” etc. are crucial. The teachers need not only to know the techniques and theoretical information but also to understand the theory and to acquire the practical methodology completely because if they implement those techniques without complete understandings and acquisition, they could not provide learners successful results, or even could give a negative impact on their learning. Therefore the teacher has to be trained in the course that is taught by the certified trainers.

Here are the most important factors for teachers to acquire, described by Lozanov.

1. Covering a huge bulk of learning material.

2. Structuring the material in the suggestopaedic way; global-partial – partial-global, and global in the part – part in the global, related to the golden proportion.

3. As a professional, on one hand, and a personality, on the other hand, the teacher should be highly prestigious, reliable and credible.

 

4. The teacher should have, not play, a hundred percent of expectancy in positive results (because the teacher is already experienced even from the time of teacher training course).

5. The teacher should love his/her students (of course, not sentimentally but as human beings) and teach them with personal participation through games, songs, a classical type of arts and pleasure.

6. There are a few teachers and trainers all over the world who are certified in the newest development of Suggestopedia - Desuggestopedia. In Brazil there is one teacher certified by Dr. Lozanov - Paulo Negrete (http://www.lozanov.com.br), in the US - Lupe Escamila (http://www.parsomni.com) and a few others in Europe and one in Japan and Australia.

Method for Children (Preventive Suggestopedia)

The method for Adults includes long sessions without movement, and materials that are appropriate for adults. Children, however, get impacts from “the social suggestive norms” differently and their brains are more delicate than those of adults. Therefore, another method with different materials should be applied to children, which better matches their characteristics. Lessons for children are more incidental and short, preventing the children from the negative pedagogical suggestions of Society. It is important to tell the parents about the method and their roles because they could influence children both negatively and positively, depending on how they support the kids.