Chapter: Desuggestopedia
Key concept
- The originator of the Desuggestopedia is a Bulgarian psychiatrist and educator. Georgi Lozanov.
- An effective comprehensible input-based method
- Desuggest is the opposite of suggest. To overcome some learning problem this method puts importance on “desuggesting limitations on learning.”
- Meaning: Suggest => desuggest
“Desuggestopedia” is to eliminate the negative feeling (we do not use full mental powers) & “Suggestopedia” is to reinforce positive learning.
A Brief History
Desuggestopedia is a teaching method which focuses on how to deal with the relationship between mental potential and learning ability. It is very appropriate to use in teaching speaking for young language learners. This method was introduced by a Bulgarian psychologist and educator, Georgi Lazanov in late 1970s. Lazanov created suggestopedia for learning that capitalized on relaxed states of mind for maximum retention or memory material.
The goals or objectives
- To help students eliminate and overcome the barriers to learning.
- Increase the communicative ability of the students.
Key features / Key Elements
Some of the key elements of Suggestopedia include a rich sensory learning environment (pictures, color, music, etc.), a positive expectation of success and the use of a varied range of methods: dramatized texts, music, active participation in songs and games, etc.
- Classroom atmosphere- decorations and posters
- A new name and occupation- to dispel the anxiety. To put it differently, Students are encouraged to be childlike.
- Handout or leaflet for advanced students
- No test, no assignment
- Conversation with translation in music- to activate the ‘whole brain’ of the students
- Games, Songs, and Role Plays helps in strengthening the classroom materials
- Vocabulary is emphasized.
- Speaking communicatively is emphasized. Students also read in the target language and write.
More Notes of ELT
The techniques or Principles
Larsen-Freeman in his book “Techniques and Principles of Language Teaching” (2000) has mentioned about the techniques or principles of Dessuggestopedia. Here we have some of them.
Classroom set-up
Everything is bright and colorful in classroom set-up. To put it differently, relaxed classroom.
Peripheral learning
It means when students think or perceive themselves as a part of the environment, they can absorb information effortlessly. It creates such an environment in which students can be more open.
Baroque music
Use of Baroque music for increasing alpha brain waves and decreasing blood pressure and heart rate.
Presentation
A preparatory stage in which students are helped to relax and move into a positive frame of mind, with the feeling that the learning is going to be easy and fun.
First Concert – “Active Concert”
This involves the active presentation of the material to be learnt. For example, in a foreign language course there might be the dramatic reading of a piece of text, accompanied by classical music.
Second Concert – “Passive Review”
The students are now invited to relax and listen to some Baroque music, with the text being read very quietly in the background. The music is specially selected to bring the students into the optimum mental state for the effortless acquisition of the material.
Practice
The use of a range of games, puzzles, etc. to review and consolidate the learning. Such practice is called creative adaption.
Others
- The great deal of attention to students’ feelings.
- Trustworthy authority of the teacher in classroom.
- Errors are corrected gently which means not in a confrontational manner.
Teachers and Students Role
Two main roles for a teacher who uses this method:
- Authority: Teacher is seen as being confident and trustworthy
- Security: Teacher provides a cheerful classroom environment
Two main roles for a student:
- Students may relax and tends to follow the teacher’s instruction easily
- Students tend to enjoy doing role plays, and able to enjoy their new identity freely
Advantages of Suggestopedia
There are some benefits in utilizing Desuggestopedia:
Authority concept
Students remember best and are most influenced by information coming from an authoritative source, teachers.
Double-planedness theory
It refers to the learning from two aspects. They are the conscious aspect and the subconscious one. Students can acquire the aim of teaching instruction from both direct instruction and environment in which the teaching takes place.
Peripheral learning
Desuggestopedia encourages the students to apply language more independently, takes more personal responsibility for their own learning and get more confidence. Peripheral information can also help encourage students to be more experimental and look to sources other than the teacher for language input. For example, the students can make some sentences using the grammatical structure placed on the classroom’s wall, describe a particular place in an English-speaking country by looking at the poster on the wall, etc. When the students are successful in doing such self-activities, they will be more confident.
Disadvantages of Desuggestopedia
Desuggestopedia also has limitation since there is no single teaching method that is categorized as the best based on some consideration such as: the curriculum, students’ motivation, financial limitation, number of students, etc. The main disadvantages of suggestopedia are as follow:
Environmental limitation
Most schools in developing countries have large classes. Each class consists of 30 to 40 students. One of the problems faced in utilizing this method is the number of students in the class. There should be 12 students in the class.
The use of hypnosis
Some people say that suggestopedia uses a hypnosis, so it has bad deep effects for human beings. Lazanov strongly denied about it.
Infantilization learning
Desuggestopedia class is conditioned for child-like situation. There are some students who do not like to be treated like this as they think that they are mature.
Though Desuggestepedia is not possible in the context of Bangladesh, teacher can use techniques or principles of this method while he or she teaches in GTM or CLT.
