SUGGESTOPEDIA

Suggestopedia is a teaching method developed by the Bulgarian psychotherapist Georgi Lazanov. The goals of the teacher who use Suggestopedia method is to accelerate the students’ learning processes in using a foreign language for everyday communication. Teacher is the authority in the classroom , and students must trust and respect his/her. The students will retain information better from someone in whom they have confidence with, for instance the teacher. If the students trust someone in the classroom, then they can feel more secure. If they feel secure, they can be more spontaneous and less inhibited. The teacher initiates interactions with the whole group of students and with individual right from the beginning of a language course. Initially, students only respond nonverbally, and then later students have more control of the target language and can respond more appropriately and even initiate interaction themselves.

In the method, a great deal of attention is given to students’ feelings. A fundamental principle of the method is that if students are relaxed and confident, they will no need to try hard in learning the language. It is important in the method that the psychological barriers that students bring with them be suggested. Indirect positive suggestions are made to enhance students’ self-confidence and to convince them that success is obtainable.

Vocabulary is the area of language which is emphasized. The success of the method is often focuses on the large number of words. Speaking is the language skill which is emphasized. Reading and speaking are in less attention than the speaking skill, but it is often used in the classroom. Students’ native language is sometimes used in the classroom.

Teacher uses the native language only when necessary. Native language translation is used to make the meaning of the dialog clear.
Usually evaluation is conducted on students’ normal performance in class not through formal test. Teacher respond too student errors by corrected it with using a soft voice, gently.

The techniques:
• Classroom set-up
Teacher is responsible to create a classroom environment which is bright and cheerful.
• Peripheral learning
By putting posters containing grammatical information about the target language on the classroom walls, students will absorb the necessary facts effortlessly.
• Positive Suggestion
Teacher is responsible to orchestrate the suggestive factors in a learning situation, in order to helping students break down the barriers to learning that they bring with them.
• Role play
Students are asked to pretend temporarily that they are someone else and to perform and introduce themselves as that person in the target language.
• Choose a new identity
Students choose a target language name and a new occupation, and then they have an opportunity to develop a whole biography about their fictional selves.
• Creative adaptation
Students engage in various activities designed to help them learn the new material and use it spontaneously. The activities include singing, dancing, dramatization, and games.