Seminar 8 : Suggestopedia and its main features Plan: The history of Suggestopedia

Suggestopedic Methodology
The basis of suggestopedia is formed by the 7 laws of suggestopedia, which enable the successful acquisition of new knowledge by stimulating all senses and the intellect of the individual.
The suggested information is acquired spontaneously, joyfully and with a relaxing effect. A lot of music and classical art are incorporated in the learning process, which bring a great deal of positive experience and inspiration for learners.
Basis of suggestopedia
Suggestopedia is based on the activation and development of the potential capabilities of individuals, the so-called hidden reserves of the mind, which every person possesses.
The uncovering of these reserves leads to immensely faster and more effective learning (from 3 to 5 times faster compared with traditional methods), as well as the retaining of the acquired knowledge. This serves to answer the questions about the essence of suggestopedia and why it leads to such high results for short periods of time.
There are 7 laws, developed and experimented with by Prof. Lozanov, which are applied in suggestopedic methodology in order to reach the reserves.
Various means of joyful and wholesome communication are used in order to activate the hidden reserves. At the heart of the methodology are the active and passive concert sessions, during which the lessons are read out in a specific way with classical music in the background. Suggestopedic methodology incorporates various role plays and interactive techniques, popular songs and classical painting reproductions.
Why suggestopedia?
Both the conscious and the para-conscious perceptions are engaged during suggestopedic lessons by specifically selected emotional stimuli. Learners’ imagination is unleashed, which leads to both hemispheres of the brain working in harmony, an exceptionally important factor in the activation of long-term memory.
Suggestopedia is a natural way of teaching and learning. It is a type of communication, free, inducing love and supreme delight to the senses, which is in fact the secret to reaching the hidden reserves.
It is this that makes suggestopedia ‘a generally superior method’ according to UNESCO’s evaluation. As early as 1978 an international commission of experts arrived in Bulgaria in search for the following answers: What is suggestopedia and why does it need to be applied in various fields of learning?

What are Suggestopedia method advantages and disadvantages?

When we talk about Suggestopedia, we are talking about a very peculiar learning and teaching methodology.

Advantages:

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  The first and biggest advantage is about the results. In fact, Suggestopedia speeds the acquisition process up by at least 6 times (up to 10 times, in many cases). This means people learn much faster and the acquisition is deeper compared to the acquisition process taking place with other methods.
  
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  The amount of input students absorb during a suggestopedic course is much bigger compared to what they would acquire through other methods. This means people acquire more, in less time. The programme is dense. Suggestopedic teachers take beginner level students to the intermediate level in 72 hours.
  
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  From the learners’ point of view, the acquisition process is a flow of enjoyable and playful activities, such as language games, music-based activities, dances and drama. Although the students are exposed to a huge amount of stimuli, they never feel under pressure, stressed or frustrated by this. The key point is that, in a suggestopedic lesson, students learn as smoothly as they did when they were little kids.
  
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  No homework needed. This is another interesting feature. The acquisition process takes place during the classes only. The students don’t need to revise the lessons at home or to do homework.
  
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  The method takes the students to absorb the target language and to become able to produce the target language in a creative and spontaneous way. During a classical, 72-hour, suggestopedic language course people absorb about 2,500 lexical units and can creatively put into use about 1,800 lexical units.
  
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  It’s a good boost of self-confidence for the students! The whole learning experience is pleasant and enjoyable for the students involved. They learn a lot without effort and with joy. They link the learning of the target language with pleasant emotions and a joyful experience.
  
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  A comprehesible input based on dessugestion and suggestion principle
  
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  By using this suggestopedia method, students can lower their affective filter. Suggestopedia classes, in addition, are held in ordinary rooms with comfortable chairs, a practice that may also help them relaxed. Teacher can do numerous other things to lower the affective filter.
  
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  Authority concept
  
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  Students remember best and are most influenced by information coming from an authoritative source, teachers.
  
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  Double-planedness theory
  
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  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.
  
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  Peripheral learning
  
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  Suggestopedia 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:

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  The overall framework is intense and requires the teacher to necessarily stick to it. One of the main reasons why many suggestopedic teachers are not delivering so many courses is down to the fact they need to respect the original framework, which means delivering about 3.5 hours of lesson a day over a month. The main difficulty many teachers encounter is related to the students’ actual availability. In fact, the students are supposed to attend the classes 5 days a week (on average) for 3.5 hours a day over a month. That’s pretty intense and not everybody can give such availability nowadays.
  
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  The teacher must take a specific training and get certified in Suggestopedia. In other words, this is not the kind of method you learn about from books.
  
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  The quantity of materials a suggestopedic teacher needs to prepare is – oh my Goodness! – seriously BIG.
  
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  The training room should be a classroom specifically dedicated to the suggestopedic course. Also, it should be always the same during the whole course – no change of room whatsoever. Furthermore, it would be recommended to choose a welcoming room, looking more like a domestic living room, rather than a school classroom.
  
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