Suggestopedia Method of Teaching

Suggestopedia Method of Teaching
Submitted by: Zhanne Colen C. Ocañada

MALL-1
Suggestopedia is an educational method created by the Bulgarian physician-

educator, Georgi Lozanov, in the 1970s. It is a compound word of “suggestion” and
“pedagogy”. Learners are encouraged to consciously use the relaxation techniques
and physical postures with low lighting and soft music in the background.
Suggestopedia focuses on the idea that learning is enhanced by a calm body and
clear mind, which allows for better concentration, memory, and recall. Educational
researchers claim that Suggestopedia helps learners master languages
approximately three times as quickly as conventional methods. The approach is
based on the power of suggestion in learning where the teacher creates an
environment where anything negative is banned from the classroom and students
get enough positive reinforcement through the use of suggestions. These
suggestions, defined by Dr. Lazanov, as all the micro-messages of weak intensity
which a person picks up and senses without realizing it
Lozanov suggests that the human brain can process large amount of material
if given the right conditions for learning. One of these conditions is a state of
relaxation and letting the teacher take control. It is often regarded to as a
pseudoscience because it hasn’t been used on a large scale with a specific and
proper technique.
Characteristics of Suggestopedia
Suggestopedia helps students learn more efficiently for it stimulates imagination

and creativity. This teaching method encourages students to participate in discussion
and debates, and learning vocabulary through contextualized examples. The
characteristics of suggestopedia are:
 Classroom atmosphere is suited for relaxation with comfortable lights

 Gives importance on decoration, furniture, and arrangement of the classroom,
use of music, and the authoritative behavior of the teacher.
 Teacher-centered for the power of suggestion
 Games, songs, role-play
 Dispels fear and anxiety
 No test, no assignment
 Vocabulary is emphasized
 Grammar is dealt with explicitly but minimally
 Speaking communicatively is emphasized
 Native language is used to make the meaning of the dialog clear
 As the course proceeds, the teacher uses the native language less and less.
Teacher’s Role
The teacher’s goal using this method in teaching is to help students eliminate
and overcome fear and increase their communicative ability.
 To create situations in which learner are more suggestible.

 To accelerate the process of learning a foreign language for everyday
communication and show absolute confidence in the method.
 To desuggest learner’s psychological barriers
 To activate learner’s ‘paraconscious’ part of the mind
 Gives the students the impression that learning is easy and enjoyable.
 Leads the class in various activities involving the dialog, for example,
question-and-answer, repetition, and translation
 Integrate indirect positive suggestions (there’s no limit to what you can do)
into the learning situation
 Authority – being confident and trustable
 Security – affording a cheerful classroom atmosphere
 The teacher speaks confidently and encourages face to face communication.
 Maintain a solemn attitude towards the session
Learner’s Role
Learners are expected to:
 Respect and trust towards the teacher: relaxed – following the teacher’s
instruction easily.
 Commitment to the class and its activities
 Roleplaying – enjoy the identity freely
 Secure – assumption of a new identity
 Feel comfortable and relaxed – psychological barriers are desuggested
 Develop confidence for the target language to come naturally and success be
attainable
 Groups of learners are ideally and socially homogenous in number and
divided equally between male and female.
The Teaching-Learning Process in Suggestopedia
Three phases of the teaching-learning process in suggestopedia:
1. Deciphering (translating the code to understand the meaning)
The teacher introduces the grammar and the lexis (a complete group of words
in a language) of the content. In some materials, the foreign language text is
written on the left half of the page and the translation is on the right half of the
page. Meanings are written using the mother tongue.
2. 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 will follow. In the passive
session, the students relax and listen to the teacher reading the text calmly with a
baroque music playing in the background.
3. Elaboration
The students finish off what they have learned through dramas, songs, and
games. Students engage in various activities designed to help them learn the
new material and use it spontaneously. Students should practice using the
material through singing, dancing, dramatizations, and games.
Then the process has been developed into four phases as lots of experience
were done: 1. Deciphering, 2. Concert session, 3. Elaboration, and 4. Production.
4. Production
The students spontaneously speak and interact in the target language without
interruption and correction. Students can now communicate the target language
accurately without the aid or use of mother tongue.
According to Laznov (1982), Suggestopedia transcends the language

classroom and can be applied in different language situations.
Four Principles of Suggestopedia
1. No shame or guilt must be experienced by learners when errors are made

2. Every piece of information must have emotional meaning and pertinence
3. Important information should be largely hidden so that it is only perceived by
students
4. Assimilation must precede analysis
Advantages of Suggestopedia Teaching Method
 The learning environment is calm and allows learners to relax.

 Student’s mental reserves are stimulated through the integration of fine arts,
music, or dramas.
 Arouse students’ interests and potential to memorize. Suggestopedia wants
students to achieve the state of “infantilization” so they will be more open to
learning.
 Considers students’ feelings.
 Students’ creativity is also developed.
Disadvantages of Suggestopedia Teaching Method
 Absence of tests
 Students may differ in interests
 It is difficult to apply this technique in a large class because it is difficult to give
attention to everyone all at the same time
 There could be financial and environmental limitations
Conclusion
Suggestopedia is a teaching method that makes use of visualization,

relaxation, and muscle stimulation technique. The goal of suggestopedia is to
develop the body’s natural ability to adapt and learn effectively with the absence of
psychological barrier such as fear and anxiety. Suggestopedia considers the idea
that people are capable of taking in and retaining information through the five senses
while emphasizing on the learning environment where the students will feel more
relaxed.
References
Bowen, T. (n.d). Teaching approaches: What is “suggestopedia”? Retrieved from Teaching

approaches: What is "suggestopedia"? | Article | Onestopenglish
Gold, L. (1985). Suggestopedia: The Theory and its Practical Implications. Retrieved from Teaching
approaches: What is "suggestopedia"? | Article | Onestopenglish
Univ-English (2021). The Suggestopedia Teaching Method. Retrieved from The Suggestopedia
Teaching Method - YouTube.

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Suggestopedia Method of Teaching

Submitted by: Zhanne Colen C. Ocañada

Suggestopedia is an educational method created by the Bulgarian physician-

Suggestopedia helps students learn more efficiently for it stimulates imagination

 Classroom atmosphere is suited for relaxation with comfortable lights

 To create situations in which learner are more suggestible.

Learners are expected to:

The Teaching-Learning Process in Suggestopedia

Three phases of the teaching-learning process in suggestopedia:

1. Deciphering (translating the code to understand the meaning)

2. Concert session (active and passive)

According to Laznov (1982), Suggestopedia transcends the language

Four Principles of Suggestopedia

1. No shame or guilt must be experienced by learners when errors are made

Advantages of Suggestopedia Teaching Method

 The learning environment is calm and allows learners to relax.

Disadvantages of Suggestopedia Teaching Method

Suggestopedia is a teaching method that makes use of visualization,

Bowen, T. (n.d). Teaching approaches: What is “suggestopedia”? Retrieved from Teaching

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