Suggestopedia, and how it works in a classroom Based on Diane Freeman's study of language teaching methods.

Suggestopedia is a study that desuggests the limitations that learners have to help them to believe that they could be successful in learning. This will help the learners to overcome the barriers to learning. This study is done so because generally, learners would not be able to believe that they will succeed in gaining the knowledge, which contribute development of high limitations towards learning. It is believed that learning are done in two sets of planes, one is the linguistic message of the narrator, while the second one is the complimentary to the message, such as the background music played and the acting of the teacher. This method fulfilled few criteria in the principle of material selection. Here are the elaborations on how the materials used in this method fulfilled the principles. The first principle that is fulfilled is that materials should achieve impact. The use of different kind of music for different session has succeeded in getting the students' attention towards what is being presented. The use of real equipments such as the kettle, cup, dishes, etc gave an attractive presentation. The content of 'Saturday Morning' that is being discussed is appealing as the topic is something that interests the learners to listen. The materials used have also made the learners feel at ease; this is done by giving them soft music that lowered their mind stress. The teacher had also tells them what to do in their lesson making them less threatened on the so-called hidden agendas. Not only that, the teacher insisted them to relax when listening and watching the concert that is being played by the teacher. An addition to this, the teacher had made learning seems playful by using beach ball to do the question-answer activity. The next principle that the fulfilled the principle of materials selection is that it succeeded in developed self-confident to the learners. This is done by giving them challenges that can be completed by the students. Some examples are; the learners are to remember vocabulary and verbs by acting out the whole text and to recognize the pronunciation of the past tense [d] or [t]. During the activity, the students are also to recognize some of the irregular past-tense, but at the same time the teacher still provides them with guidance. The materials used are also relevant and useful as the words and phrases used in the activity are the words that usually used in daily life. When the teacher acts out the passage, it helps them to provide the concrete model for the sentences used, thus helping them understand better on what is being played. The materials used also had facilitated learners to self-investment. They are to act out the passage with a partner that helps them in remembering the words and the contextual meaning of it better. The teacher had also asked them to write down new phrases that uses the same words in their lesson. This helps them understand on the variation usage of the words.

The teacher had created a situation that uses variational features such as the repetition of learning the passage in different situation. This helps the students to develop mental features when they first watch the teacher, and then they act it out as whole class and later having to repeat with a partner. Last, a volunteer did the same act by the end of the lesson. By doing so, the teacher had widened the possibility of the learners' readiness to acquire the points being taught. The language that is being used had exposed the learners to authentic use language. This is being done by the usage of common vocabulary in daily chores such as boiling coffee and waking up from bed. Another aspect that we can look from the use of materials in Suggestopedia is that the materials used can lead the student's attention towards the linguistic features of the input. In this method, the students are paying the subconscious attention to second conditionals which is the application of the verbs. At the end of the teaching, teacher leads the students consciously to locate the conditionals by giving them the same verb that is blended into different sentences. By looking at the principles of the materials development (Tomlinson 1998), we associated how the materials work with the procedure in this method. In the viewing, the learners are beginner learners from various countries. In our own experience, beginner learners will learn faster if the language is learnt through action like the in TPR (Total Physical Response). They are the kinaesthetic and the experiential learners. The idea in Suggestopedia is that students learn by viewing the teacher's action and then follow what the teacher has done. The teacher has activated the materials playfully, therefore like in the TPR; the students are able to digest the input by experiencing the story of Sarah in many different ways. Materials should provide opportunities for outcome feedback. This can be achieved when what the students have learnt can be used for the communicative purposes. In this method, the teacher brought the student into the beginning of Sarah's day. It was like a drama but the main focus is on procedural and verb. For a communicative purpose, this might be useful for the beginner learners in order to tell someone what they were doing the whole day. The sentences in the story are mainly about what your morning routines. By considering that the learners are differ in their affective attitudes, that some of them are motivated, and some of them are not, the teacher has varied the activities and also called out a student to become Sarah. Instead of picking someone, she asked for volunteers and motivated learners are not shy to come in front and act as Sarah. Then, when students are aware with the gap between input and the output, it will encourage their negotiation of meaning. In this method, the teacher then, with the use of the materials again act the story in a different situation which allow the learners to earn the same input but in a different way. This suits the 10th principle the materials should take into account that the positive effects of the instruction are usually delayed. In the lesson, the teacher

provides the recycle instruction at the end of the lesson for the students to think about. She then reminded them to memorize the story and then continue in the next becoming lesson. In conclusion, Suggestopedia is a method where the materials played a big role in order to achieve the objective of the lesson. Without the materials, the method will not work because if we associated this to Richards and Rogers Model for Methodology, Suggestopedia works anti-clockwise. The procedure comes first, facilitated by the design where the materials are in and then comes the approach. Without the materials, the learning process will not fit the criteria of the Suggestopedia method.

WHO CAN USE THIS APPROACH? Everyone who wants to teach in a brain friendly and motivating way. This includes teachers and facilitators of all subjects and age groups, those responsible for school curriculum or company training programs and personnel development. WHAT IS SUGGESTOPEDIA? Suggestopedia is a teaching model developed by a Bulgarian, Dr. Georgi Lozanov, at the University of Sofia in Bulgaria in the 60's. Dr. Lozanov was a pioneer in that Suggestopedia was the first of the various cutting-edge brain friendly learning techniques which are utilized in progressive classrooms today. There are two phases incorporated in this approach: Students learn new information very quickly and efficiently in a state of light relaxation accompanied by Baroque or classical music. This new material which has been acquired 3 to 5 times faster than with traditional learning techniques, is now stored passively in the brain. It is then activated by means of creative, interactive and communicative learning techniques, i.e. grammar games, role play, etc. which contribute not only to recall and retention but also to the communication skills and personality development of the students. WHAT IS SUPERLEARNING? SUPERLEARNING is BRAIN FRIENDLY LEARNING. Variations of it are known in the U.S.A. as ACCELERATED LEARNING and in many parts of Europe as (W)HOLISTIC LEARNING(Ganzheitliches Lernen, Neues Lernen). SUPERLEARNING has Lozanov's original methodology SUGGESTOPEDIA at its core but incorporates other brain friendly approaches as well: NLP, guided fantasy, visualization and relaxation techniques, Mindmapping, Brain Gym, Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, mnemotechniques, metaphors and stories, etc. to optimize the learning process. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THESE APPROACHES?

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You will address the learning needs and styles of every student in your class. You will guarantee a higher and faster success rate among learners. You will increase retention and recall of material and long-term memory. You will instil higher confidence and self-esteem in your learners. You will promote the creativity as well as the learning and social competence of your students. You will create a pleasant, cooperative and fun learning environment in your classroom. You will have motivated students coming to your classes -- students who have rediscovered the joy of learning. And --

motivated students make motivated teachers!! Experience has shown that brain friendly learning is faster, more efficient and more enjoyable. Individual needs and learning styles are addressed. The students' creativity, social behavior and well-being are enhanced. There is a constant flow of feedback in a pleasant and encouraging learning environment. The students are motivated. And you are too!

COURSE STRUCTURE: The certified Suggestopedia Training consists of 90 60-minute lessons, which include the following SLL seminars: y y y y Introduction to Suggestopedia / Superlearning (This seminar module is a prerequisite for the Suggestopedia Basic Training Course) Suggestopedia / Superlearning Methods Course Nonverbal Classroom Management (It is possible to attend these two modules before, after or during the certification course). Creative Learning Techniques (It is possible to attend this module before, after or during the certification course).

COURSE OBJECTIVES: y y Personality Development is an integral part of the entire training program. There is no Suggestopedia; There are only suggestopedic teachers." (Jean Lerde) I teach what I am" (Dr. Georgi Lozanov) Mastering the entire palette of suggestopedic and brain friendly learning techniques. The emphasis is not on a dogmatic suggestopedic method, but rather that the participants learn the most important elements of Suggestopedia and brain friendly learning techniques. And that they begin to apply these elements to their personality, in their workplaces and to their classrooms.

Preparation of a complete suggestopedic unit for each participant's particular teaching or training situation. This includes writing a suggestopedic text as well as preparing a lesson plan for the unit. With the help of this text and material, the participants will have the opportunity during the training course to practice all of the suggestopedic techniques presented and they will also return to their own classrooms with tried and tested suggestopedic material. Another element represented throughout the entire course is the principle: experience -- analyze -- adapt. For example, activities and games, which are used during the course to teach the principles of Suggestopedia are first experienced, then analyzed and finally the participants can adapt them to their own teaching situation.

FURTHER TOPICS DEALT WITH IN THE TRAINING COURSE: y y y y y y y y y y y y Introduction to Suggestopedia using Suggestopedia and other learner-centered methodologies The history and theory of Suggestopedia / Superlearning Training in all of the important and basic state-of-the-art suggestopedic techniques. Training in all elements of the suggestopedic cycle as well as elegant transitions from one activity to the next. Demonstration of a suggestopedic lesson either in a foreign language or observing a school class being taught suggestopedically. The rhythmitization of the learning process Suggestopedic correction. Work with verbal and nonverbal suggestion, desuggestion (eliminating learning barriers). Multi-modal (visual, auditory and Kinesthetic) learning styles and teaching (NLP). Introduction to Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. The use and effect of music in teaching: Centering, Decoding, the Session, Activation, relaxation techniques, guided imagery, etc. Writing suggestopedic texts, teaching and learning materials. Adapting textbook materials to Suggestopedia. Presentations of participants' own work within the training group and feedback. Suggestopedia and its adaptation to different teaching situations: public schools, various grade levels, adult education, intensive courses, various subject matter, etc.

Use of music in suggestopedia

he use of music in the classroom can make the entire learning process more enjoyable and can stimulate "right" brain learning. Six years ago researchers reported that people scored better on a standard IQ test after listening to Mozart. Other tests soon followed: Rats raised on Mozart run through mazes faster and more accurately. People with Alzheimer's disease function more normally if they listen to Mozart and the music even reduces the severity of epileptic seizures. Just think of all the times you have used music to help you study for tests, think clearly about something, relax from daily stress, etc. If you think about it, using music in the ESL EFL classroom is a pretty logical thing to do considering how helpful it can be to the learning process.Setting the scene Musically

Using music to introduce an exercise is a great way to activate vocabulary and get students thinking in the right direction. Take a piece of music or song which you associate with a certain activity or place ("New York, New York" sung by Frank Sinatra) and play the first 30 seconds of the piece. You will be surprised at how quickly associations come to students' minds - many more than if you introduced the lesson by saying, "Today we are going to talk about New York City". A wonderful example of this can be found in any broadcast of "Morning Edition" by National Public Radio. Each story is ended with a selection of music which in some way relates to that story. This music is repeated after a commercial and before the next story. In this way, listeners are subtly encouraged to reflect on the story they have just heard. "Headway Intermediate", a popular EFL student's book published by Oxford Press, gives another great example of setting the scene musically. Every extended listening is preceded and followed by a short snippet of related music - usually the beginning bars and the final tones of a given piece. These little touches do wonders to add atmosphere to an otherwise familiar classroom setting. Using Music Selectively To Enhance Concentration The most important point to remember when using music to accompany learning is that it be an aid to learning and not a distraction. Let me give an example, if your class is doing a grammar exercise and you want to use some music in the background to help students concentrate, choose music which employs regular periods (repeated phrases and patterns) - something like Hayden or Mozart, maybe Bach. Choosing abrasive, disharmonic music will distract students while their brains try to make sense of the disharmony. Choosing something melodic which employs musical patterns will not distract. Not only will this type of music not distract, the regular patterns of the music also help to underline the repetetive nature of grammar. Another example of using music selectively would be written descriptive exercises in which students need to use their imaginations. You can set the scene musically which will help stimulate their imagination. Let's say students need to describe their life as young children. Ravel's "Mother Goose Suite" playing softly in the background will help them return to those simpler times through its sweet harmonies and simple structures. Listening to Shostokovitch, on the other hand, would put them right off! Here are some suggestions for appropriate music for different activities:
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Grammar - Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi Imagination exercises (descriptive writing, speaking) - Ravel, Debussy, Satie Current Situation, News in the World - Rap (for inner cities and their problems), Ethnic Music from the discussed countries (you would be surprised at how many people quickly associate the type of music with a part of the world) Making Future Plans - Fun upbeat jazz ("Take Five" by Dave Brubeck) Discussing "Serious" issues - the "serious" Germans: Beethoven, Brahms - even Mahler if you are adventurous!

After working on the use of suggestion in medicine, he applied the ideas to learning. It's based on the idea that we are conditioned to believe that learning is "hard" and that we may fail -and that if we believe that, then our minds will make it a reality. (Parallel that with the story - possibly apocryphal, but it makes the point - of a man who got locked overnight in a deep freeze truck and died of hypothermia. Only at the time the refrigeration was not turned on. But he believed that he was going to freeze to death and his mind created the physical reality.) So suggestopaedia uses relaxation, positive suggestion and other techniques (eg the tone of the T's voice and games) to overcome those barriers and to replace the negative beliefs with beliefs that learning will be enjoyable and successful. It also uses baroque music, which is said to stimulate a certain type of electrical activity in the brain which is conducive to learning, particularly subconscious intake.

Music, is vital for the approach. The following composers from the baroque epoch(XVIIth c.), recommended by Andrea Rohmert as suitable for suggestopedic learning, havemusic works, which contain Largo movements: Johann Sebastian Bach, ArcangeloCorelli, Georg Friedrich Hndel, Johann Pachelbel, Georg Philipp Telemann, AntonioVivaldi. Baroque "Largo" movements help the suggestopedic student to reach a certainstate of relaxation, which increases receptivity. Experiments by Lozanov and hissuccessors in both Europe and America showed that the following criteria have to be metby a music work to be useful for suggestopedic learning. The music that we want to useshould have "largo" tempo (approx. 60 beats/min), regular patterns (works made up byrhythmic and melodic variations on a theme, following a somewhat mathematical pattern),voices (even choirs) and instruments should not stand out against the orchestra becausethey are likely to distract the student. Ideally, the orchestra must have a neutral colour (thesame instruments be played throughout the work) - that is why the best choice is stringorchestras [6]. The total effect is further increased by suggestion, especially using theconcert session as a placebo. Research by Lozanov (1978) has shown that there is apositive effect when classical music is used during efforts to memorize, even withoutsuggestion. Before the concert session the student is told by an authoritative figure thatafter the session the material will be memorized. The students notice that theirmemorization has improved, so they accept the statement of the authority. The result is ahuge increase in memorization power [7].Unlike other methods and approaches, there is no apparent theory of language insuggestopedia and no obvious order in which items of language are presented. However,Andrea Romhart says that a lesson which involves the learning of vocabulary by means of flashcards has three parts:- First, an introductory Largo baroque music piece (60 beats/min) helps the learner torelax (approx. 3 min).- Next, you listen to the recorded flashcards , on a background of soothing baroquemusic.- Finally, a faster Allegretto baroque movement (120 beats/min)

awakes the studentfrom their half-sleep (3 min).The speech for each flashcard is recorded following this pattern:Breathe in (2 seconds) - Front/Back (4 s) - Breathe out (2 s)(Typically, Front/Back contain an English word and its counterpart in a foreignlanguage, etc.). The speaker should use different intonations and rhythms, to make eachflashcard more impressive. The final recording must be about 20 minutes long (whichmakes 150 flashcards). It will later be played back along with soothing baroque music [8].The suggestopedic session which is based on the memorizing of a text is accomplishedthrough ritualistic concert sessions : an active session and a passive one. During the activesession the teacher reads the text to the accompaniment of emotional classical music. Thestudents follow along in their text, underlining, highlighting, or making notes as they wish.Thus the students have a translation of the text. This translation is collected after theconcert session and the students work without it. Here we have the LH/suggestion thatsince I can work in the class without the translation, I must have learned the text. Duringthe passive concert, after the active session, the students close their eyes and listen to theteacher who reads more or less normally to the accompaniment of philosophic classicalmusic.As far as the integrating of the the textual materials is regarded the teacher uses bothverbal and non-verbal ways to communicate the learning hypothesis: (X) I am doing this,so (Y) I am learning the language; (X) I did, so (Y) I can use the language. This is anecessary and continuous part of suggestopedic teaching. Now that the student has learned

the text, all that remains to be done is to integrate this language into the student'spersonality. To do this the students read the text aloud stopping here and there foractivities. The activities consist of acting out portions of the text, singing speciallyprepared songs and playing games, telling stories, carrying on short conversations, andpsycho-dramas. Throughout this portion, Lozanov calls it the elaboration , the teachercarefully structures the class so that the language used by the students comes mainly fromthe present text. After the text has been read, the teacher introduces additional activitiesthat allow the student to integrate the present language with that from previous lessons[9].The original form of suggestopedia presented by Lozanov made use of extendeddialogues about people from the students' country visiting a country that uses the targetlanguage, often several pages in length, accompanied by vocabulary lists and observationson grammatical points. Typically these dialogues would be read aloud to the students andwere accompanied by music [10].In order to stimulate the creativity of the learners suggestopedia uses almost all thecategories of art such as music, visual arts, and stage art. The suggestopedic teachers usemusic as songs in the elaborations and as classical background music in the concertsessions. They hang colorfully made grammar posters among other art posters in theclassroom, and sometimes you give the group drawing tasks. They move like actors in thetheater, use puppets like a show person, and read the textbook like poets at their recital[11].The teachers attitude and behaviour in the classroom is one of the key elements whichensures the success of a

suggestopedic session. He or she has to establish good humanrelations in the class so that students would help and praise one another. The teacher in asuggestopedic course not only radiates effective suggestive stimuli, but also coordinatesenvironmental suggestive stimuli in a positive way for students to learn. One of Suggestopedia's unique goals is to release learners' minds from the existing framework of the <social-suggestive norms> (Lozanov, 1978. p. 252) [12].Lozanov trains suggestopedic teachers through an apprentice system at Lozanov'sSuggestopedia Institute. Very few working teachers are in a position where they can usethis system as it is laid out by Lozanov (1988). Even with the active support of theadministration, Charles Adamsom from the Myiagi University found that he could not usethe system. Problems such as the length (one month) and size (12 students) of systemclasses, the cost-effectiveness of recruiting students, scheduling and other administrativefactors forced major alterations as he began to use the method [13]. Some methodologists,like Tim Bowen, say that there is little evidence to support the extravagant claims of success. The more obvious criticisms lie in the fact that many people find classical musicirritating rather than stimulating (to some cultures Western music may sound discordant),the length of the dialogues and the lack of a coherent theory of language may serve toconfuse rather than to motivate, and, for purely logistic reasons, the provision of comfortable armchairs and a relaxing environment will probably be beyond the means of most educational establishments. In addition the idea of a teacher reading a long (and oftenclearly inauthentic) dialogue aloud, with exaggerated rhythm and intonation, to theaccompaniment of Beethoven or Mozart may well seem ridiculous to many people.Another aspect considered negative by some teachers is the use of the native languagemore than in the case of other approaches. The lack of tests, the correction of errors laterduring classes and not on the spot, the emphasis laid on listening and speaking more thanon reading and writing appeal to most of the students but do not meet the requirements of the schooling system in Romania and of the exams the students have to face.

It is true that not everyone can reach the levels of Lozanov's classes, but by usingsome of the suggestopedic methods we can, however, greatly accelerate our students'progress. Certain elements of the approach can be taken and incorporated into the moreeclectic approach to language teaching widely in evidence today. The use of music both inthe background and as an accompaniment to certain activities can be motivating andrelaxing. Attention to factors such as dcor, lighting and furniture is surely not a bad thing.Dialogues too have their uses [14]. Some of the suggestopedic methods like the fact that inclass the students take on the names, professions and personalities of native speakers (theLH/suggestion is that since I am now a native speaker, I can speak and understand thelanguage), playing games, narrating stories, the use of grammar and art posters or thespecial graduation ceremony given at the end of the course are some of the suggestopedicmethods employed by teachers at the Land Forces Academy and at the Foreign LanguageCenter in Sibiu. Creating conditions in which learners are alert and receptive has a positiveeffect on motivation. Another significant fact is that this method can be used with aremarkable mixture of students from different grades (2nd to 8th) and courses (beginnersadvanced) like Worowsky uses at the International School of Dusseldorf [15].The suggestopedic sessions can also be held on a computer, by way of VTrain(Vocabulary Trainer), a program which includes a sound recorder and a highlycustomizable slideshow mode [16].There is no

doubt that suggestopedia has raised some interesting questions and someof its techniques can be successfully used to achieve good results in the areas of bothlearning and memory.

Key Elements of Suggestopedia Techniques

from http://www.jwelford.demon.co.uk/brainwaremap/suggest.html Some of the key elements of Suggestopedia include a rich sensory learning environment (pictures, colour, music, etc.), a positive expectation of success and the use of a varied range of methods: dramatised texts,music, active participation in songs and games, etc. One of Suggestopedia's unique goals is to release learners' minds from the existing framework of the "social-suggestive norms" (Lozanov, 1978. p. 252). Learners have commonly set a limit on their abilities by following the guidelines of the suggestive norms which are often considered common sense in a given society. One important task for a suggestopedic teacher is to put students in the state of mind called "concentrative psychorelaxation" (Lozanov, 1978, p. 2S8). Lozanov describes concentrative psychorelaxation as the optimal state of brain activity for learning in which the level of relaxation is neither too deep nor too shallow. The teacher needs to create and arrange different styles of activities to stimulate the students' minds in various ways so that each student has a chance to achieve this state of concentrative psychorelaxation. Suggestopedia introduces rich artistic elements into its teaching methodology and materials to stimulate learners' creativity (Gateva 1990a, pp. 54-55). Almost all the categories of art are included such as music, visual arts, and stage art. You use music as songs in the elaborations and as classical background music in the concert sessions. You hang colorful art posters in your classroom, and sometimes you give the group drawing tasks. You move like an actor in the theater, use puppets like a show person, and read the textbook like a poet at his recital. Suggestopedia adopts a carefully structured approach, using four main stages as follows: 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. (The cheerful sounds of the Mozart's Fifth Violin Concerto) 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. (An organ piece from J. S. Bach's Fantasia for Organ in G Minor BMV 572) Practice- The use of a range of games, puzzles, etc. to review and consolidate the learning.

Music list for adult class 1. A:

W. A. Mozart , Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 5 in A major.A (alternative): W. A. Mozart , Symphony No. 29 in A major KV 201.A (alternative): W. A. Mozart , Symphony No. 40 in G minor KV 550.B: J.S. Bach , Fantasies for organ in G Major BWV 572.B (alternative): J.S. Bach , Fantasies for organ in C minor BWV 562.2. A: J. Haydn , Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra No. 1 in C major.A (alternative): J. Haydn , Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra No. 2 in Gmajor.B: J.S. Bach , Prelude and Fugue in G Major BWV 541.B (alternative): J.S. Bach , Chorals du Dogme BWV 669 - 679.