The Silent Way

 

The Silent Way

·       Developed by Caleb Gattegno.

·       Notable for the "silence" of the teacher.

·       Introduced in his book Teaching Foreign Languages in Schools: The Silent Way (1963).

Principles

·       Emphasizes learner autonomy and active student participation.

·       Silence is used as a tool to achieve this goal.

·       The teacher uses a mixture of silence and gestures to focus students' attention, to elicit responses from them, and to encourage them to correct their own errors.

·       Pronunciation is seen as important, with time spent on improving pronunciation.

·       Uses a structural syllabus and concentrates on teaching the uses of the functional vocabulary of the language.

·       Translation and rote repetition are avoided.

·       Language is practiced in meaningful contexts.

·       Evaluation is carried out by observation, and the teacher may never set a formal test.

·       Used with beginners is the use of Cuisenaire/ ˌkwē-zə-ˈner- / rods, which can be used for anything from simple commands ("Take two red rods and give them to her.")

·       Gattegno developed this to solve general problems in learning. He had previously applied to the teaching of mathematics and of spelling in the mother tongue

1.     Teachers should concentrate on how students learn, before considering how to teach.

2.     Imitation and drill are not the primary means by which students learn.

3.     Learning involves trial and error, deliberate experimentation, suspending judgement, and revising conclusions.

4.     Learners can draw on everything that they already know

5.     The teacher must be careful not to interfere with the learning process

·       Goal:

o   Help beginning-level students gain basic fluency in the target language, with the ultimate aim being near-native language proficiency and good pronunciation.

o   Able to use the language for self-expression; express their thoughts, feelings, and needs in the target language.

o   In order to help them achieve this, teachers emphasize self-reliance.

o   Students are encouraged to actively explore the language, and to develop their own 'inner criteria' as to what is linguistically acceptable.

·       The role of the teacher is that of a coach.

·       Students bring experience and knowledge with them to the classroom. The teacher capitalizes on this knowledge when introducing new material, always building from the known to the unknown.

·       The students begin learning the language by work on its sound system. The sounds are associated with different colors on a sound-color chart that is specific to the language being learned.

·       The teacher first elicits sounds that are already present in the students' native language, and then progresses to the development of sounds that are new to them.

·       These sound-color associations are later used to help the students with spelling and reading.

Disadvantages

·       Requires high teacher skill and preparation.

·       Some learners feel confused or uncomfortable due to limited teacher explanation.

·       Can be time-consuming compared to direct instruction.

·       Not always suitable for large classes.

·       Overemphasis on structure may limit spontaneous communication.