Silent Way

Last updated
A Silent Way classroom with teacher and students working on English Silent Way classroom with students working on aspects of English.jpg
A Silent Way classroom with teacher and students working on English

The Silent Way is a language-teaching approach created by Caleb Gattegno that makes extensive use of silence as a teaching method. Gattegno introduced the method in 1963, in his book Teaching Foreign Languages in Schools: The Silent Way. [1] Gattegno was critical of mainstream language education at the time, and he based the method on his general theories of education rather than on existing language pedagogy. It is usually regarded as an "alternative" language-teaching method; Cook groups it under "other styles", [2] Richards groups it under "alternative approaches and methods" [3] and Jin & Cortazzi group it under "Humanistic or Alternative Approaches". [4]

Contents

The method 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 fundamental to the method, with a great deal of time spent on it each lesson. The Silent Way uses a structural syllabus and concentrates on teaching a small number of functional and versatile words. Translation and rote repetition are avoided, and the language is usually practiced in meaningful contexts. Evaluation is carried out by observation, and the teacher may never set a formal test.

One of the hallmarks of the Silent Way is the use of Cuisenaire rods, which can be used for anything from introducing simple commands ("Take two red rods and give them to her.") to representing objects such as clocks and floor plans. The method also draws on color associations to help teach pronunciation; there is a sound-color chart which is used to teach the language sounds, colored word charts which are used for work on sentences, and colored Fidel charts which are used to teach spelling. While the Silent Way is not widely used in its original form, its ideas have been influential, especially in the teaching of pronunciation.

Background and principles

Caleb Gattegno, creator of the Silent Way. GattegnoBG.jpg
Caleb Gattegno, creator of the Silent Way.

Gattegno was an outsider to language education when Teaching Foreign Languages in Schools was first published in 1963. The book conspicuously lacked the names of most prominent language educators and linguists of the time, and for the decade following its publication Gattegno's works were only rarely cited in language education books and journals. [5] He was previously a designer of mathematics and reading programmes, and the use of color charts and colored Cuisenaire rods in the Silent Way grew directly out of this experience. [6]

Gattegno was openly sceptical of the role the linguistic theory of his time had in language teaching. He felt that linguistic studies "may be a specialization, [that] carry with them a narrow opening of one's sensitivity and perhaps serve very little towards the broad end in mind". [7] The Silent Way was conceived as a special case of Gattegno's broader educational principles, which he had developed to solve general problems in learning, and which he had previously applied to the teaching of mathematics and of spelling in the mother tongue. Broadly, these principles are: [8]

  1. Teachers should concentrate on how students learn, not on how to teach
  2. Imitation and drill are not the primary means by which students learn
  3. Learning consists of trial and error, deliberate experimentation, suspending judgement, and revising conclusions
  4. In learning, learners draw on everything that they already know, especially their native language
  5. The teacher must not interfere with the learning process

These principles situate the Silent Way in the tradition of discovery learning, that sees learning as a creative problem-solving activity. [6]

Design and goals

The general goal of the Silent Way is to help beginning-level students gain basic fluency in the target language, with the ultimate aim being near-native language proficiency and good pronunciation. [9] An important part of this ability is being able to use the language for self-expression; students should be able to express their thoughts, feelings, and needs in the target language. In order to help them achieve this, teachers emphasize self-reliance. [10] Students are encouraged to actively explore the language, [11] and to develop their own 'inner criteria' as to what is linguistically acceptable. [12]

The role of the teacher is that of technician or engineer. The teacher's task is to focus the students' attention, and provide exercises to help them develop language facility; however, to ensure their self-reliance, the teacher should only help the students as much as is strictly necessary. [13] As Gattegno says, "The teacher works with the student; the student works on the language." [14] For example, teachers will often give students time to correct their own mistakes before giving them the answer to a question. [15] Teachers also avoid praise or criticism, as it can discourage students from developing self-reliance. [15]

Gattegno's original sound-color chart for English. This type of chart is used right from the beginning stages to teach pronunciation and word stress. Silent Way English sound-color chart.jpg
Gattegno's original sound-color chart for English. This type of chart is used right from the beginning stages to teach pronunciation and word stress.

In the Silent Way students are seen as bringing a vast amount of experience and knowledge with them to the classroom; namely, their first language. The teacher capitalizes on this knowledge when introducing new material, always building from the known to the unknown. [16] The students begin their study of the language by studying its sound system. The sounds are associated to different colors using 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, reading, and pronunciation. [14]

A word chart. Its color-coding enables the teacher to remain silent while students work out pronunciation by themselves. Silent Way Word chart 1, American English.png
A word chart. Its color-coding enables the teacher to remain silent while students work out pronunciation by themselves.

The Silent Way uses a structural syllabus. The teacher will typically introduce one new language structure at a time, and old structures are continuously reviewed and recycled. [10] These structures are chosen for their propositional meaning, not for their communicative value. [17] The teacher will set up learning situations for the students which focus their attention on each new structure. [14] For example, the teacher might ask students to label a floor plan of a house in order to introduce the concepts of inside and outside. [18] Once the language structures have been presented in this way, learners learn the grammar rules through a process of induction. [17]

Gattegno saw the choice of which vocabulary to teach as vital to the language learning process. He advised teachers to concentrate on the most functional and versatile words, to help students build a functional vocabulary. [17]

Translation and rote repetition are avoided, and instead emphasis is placed on conveying meaning through students' perceptions, and through practicing the language in meaningful contexts. [19] In the floor plan example, the plan itself negates the need for translation, and the teacher is able to give the students meaningful practice simply by pointing to different parts of the house. [18] The four skills of active listening, speaking, reading, and writing are worked on from the beginning stages, although students only learn to read something after they have learned to say it. [20]

Evaluation in the Silent Way is carried out primarily by observation. Teachers may never give a formal test, but they constantly assess students by observing their actions. This allows them to respond straight away to any problems the students might have. [21] Teachers also gain feedback through observing students' errors; errors are seen as natural and necessary for learning, and can be a useful guide as to what structures need more practice. [15] Furthermore, teachers may gain feedback by asking the students at the end of the lesson. [11] When evaluating the students, teachers expect them to learn at different rates, and students are not penalized for learning more slowly than their classmates. Teachers look for steady progress in the language, not perfection. [15]

Process

Teaching techniques

As the name implies, silence is a key tool of the teacher in the Silent Way. From the beginning levels, students do 90 percent or more of the talking. [22] Being silent moves the focus of the classroom from the teacher to the students, [23] and can encourage cooperation among them. [15] It also frees the teacher to observe the class. [11] Silence can be used to help students correct their own errors. Teachers can remain silent when a student makes a mistake to give them time to self-correct; [15] they can also help students with their pronunciation by mouthing words without vocalizing, and by using certain hand gestures. [24] When teachers do speak, they tend to say things only once so that students learn to focus their attention on them. [11]

A Silent Way classroom also makes extensive use of peer correction. Students are encouraged to help their classmates when they have trouble with any particular feature of the language. This help should be made in a cooperative fashion, not a competitive one. One of the teacher's tasks is to monitor these interactions so that they are helpful and do not interfere with students' learning. [25]

Teaching materials

A set of Cuisenaire rods Cuisenaire-Rods.jpg
A set of Cuisenaire rods

The silent way makes use of specialized teaching materials: colored Cuisenaire rods, the sound-color chart, word charts, and Fidel charts. The Cuisenaire rods are wooden, and come in ten different lengths, but identical cross-section; each length has its own assigned color. [22] The rods are used in a wide variety of situations in the classroom. At the beginning stages they can be used to practice colors and numbers, and later they can be used in more complex grammar. For example, to teach prepositions the teacher could use the statement "The blue rod is between the green one and the yellow one". They can also be used more abstractly, perhaps to represent a clock when students are learning about time. [26]

A Fidel chart for English. These charts are used to teach spelling. Silent Way English Fidel chart.jpg
A Fidel chart for English. These charts are used to teach spelling.

The sound-color chart consists of blocks of color, with one color representing one sound in the language being learned. The teacher uses this chart to help teach pronunciation; as well as pointing to colors to help students with the different sounds, the teacher can also tap particular colors very hard to help students learn word stress. Later in the learning process, students can point to the chart themselves. The chart can help students perceive sounds that may not occur in their first language, and it also allows students to practice making these sounds without relying on mechanical repetition. It also provides an easily verifiable record of which sounds the students have and which they have not, which can help their autonomy. [25]

The word charts contain the functional vocabulary of the target language, and use the same color scheme as the sound-color chart. Each letter is colored in a way that indicates its pronunciation. The teacher can point to the chart to highlight the pronunciation of different words in sentences that the students are learning. There are twelve word charts in English, containing a total of around five hundred words. [27] The Fidel charts also use the same color-coding, and list the various ways that sounds can be spelled. For example, in English, the entry for the sound /ey/ contains the spellings ay, ea, ei, eigh, etc., all written in the same color. These can be used to help students associate sounds with their spelling. [28]

Reception and influence

As of 2000, the Silent Way was only used by a small number of teachers. These teachers often work in situations where accuracy or speed of learning is important. Their working conditions may also be challenging, for example working with illiterate refugees. [29] However, the ideas behind the Silent Way continue to be influential, [30] particularly in the area of teaching pronunciation. [31] [32]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Gattegno 1963, available as Gattegno 1972.
  2. ↑ Cook 2008, pp. 266–270.
  3. ↑ Richards 1986, pp. 81–89.
  4. ↑ Jin & Cortazzi 2011, pp. 568–569.
  5. ↑ Stevick 1974, p. 1.
  6. 1 2 Richards 1986, p. 81.
  7. ↑ Gattegno 1972 , p. 84, cited in Richards 1986 , p. 82.
  8. ↑ Stevick 1974, pp. 1–2.
  9. ↑ Richards 1986, p. 83.
  10. 1 2 Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 64.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 63.
  12. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 60.
  13. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, pp. 64–65.
  14. 1 2 3 Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 65.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 62.
  16. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, pp. 60, 63.
  17. 1 2 3 Richards 1986, p. 82.
  18. 1 2 Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 59.
  19. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, pp. 62–63.
  20. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 66.
  21. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, pp. 60, 67.
  22. 1 2 Stevick 1974, p. 2.
  23. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 61.
  24. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, pp. 62, 69.
  25. 1 2 Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 68.
  26. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 69.
  27. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, pp. 69–70.
  28. ↑ Larsen-Freeman 2000, p. 70.
  29. ↑ Byram 2000, p. 546-548.
  30. ↑ Young & Messum 2013.
  31. ↑ Underhill 2005.
  32. ↑ Messum 2012.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phonics</span> Method to teach reading and writing of an alphabetic language

Phonics is a method for teaching people how to read and write an alphabetic language. It is done by demonstrating the relationship between the sounds of the spoken language (phonemes), and the letters or groups of letters (graphemes) or syllables of the written language. In English, this is also known as the alphabetic principle or the alphabetic code.

Total physical response is a language teaching method developed by James Asher, a professor emeritus of psychology at San José State University. It is based on the coordination of language and physical movement. In TPR, instructors give commands to students in the target language with body movements, and students respond with whole-body actions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English as a second or foreign language</span> Use of English by speakers with different native languages

English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL), English as an additional language (EAL), English as a New Language (ENL), or English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The aspect in which ESL is taught is referred to as teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), teaching English as a second language (TESL) or teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Technically, TEFL refers to English language teaching in a country where English is not the official language, TESL refers to teaching English to non-native English speakers in a native English-speaking country and TESOL covers both. In practice, however, each of these terms tends to be used more generically across the full field. TEFL is more widely used in the UK and TESL or TESOL in the US.

Crazy English is a brand name related to a non-traditional method learning English in mainland China conceived by Li Yang. Li believes that the traditional way of learning English in China is ineffective. Li Yang's method places heavy emphasis on practicing English orally. His method can be described with the slogan "By shouting out loud, you learn." In many ways it remains similar to the traditional pedagogic practices of Chinese education in that it still relies on repetition and recitation. Members of the school administration in China often disapprove of the method because they believe it goes against the traditional Chinese values of modesty and restraint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisenaire rods</span> Learning aids

Cuisenaire rods are mathematics learning aids for students that provide an interactive, hands-on way to explore mathematics and learn mathematical concepts, such as the four basic arithmetical operations, working with fractions and finding divisors. In the early 1950s, Caleb Gattegno popularised this set of coloured number rods created by Georges Cuisenaire (1891–1975), a Belgian primary school teacher, who called the rods réglettes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caleb Gattegno</span> Egyptian mathematician

Caleb Gattegno (1911–1988) was an Egyptian educator, psychologist, and mathematician. He is considered one of the most influential and prolific mathematics educators of the twentieth century. He is best known for introducing new approaches to teaching and learning mathematics, foreign languages and reading. Gattegno also developed pedagogical materials for each of these approaches, and was the author of more than 120 books and hundreds of articles largely on the topics of education and human development.

The grammar–translation method is a method of teaching foreign languages derived from the classical method of teaching Ancient Greek and Latin. In grammar–translation classes, students learn grammatical rules and then apply those rules by translating sentences between the target language and the native language. Advanced students may be required to translate whole texts word-for-word. The method has two main goals: to enable students to read and translate literature written in the source language, and to further students' general intellectual development. It originated from the practice of teaching Latin; in the early 16th century, students learned Latin for communication, but after the language died out it was studied purely as an academic discipline. When teachers started teaching other foreign languages in the 19th century, they used the same translation-based approach as had been used for teaching Latin. The method has been criticized for its shortcomings.

The audio-lingual method or Army Method is a method used in teaching foreign languages. It is based on behaviorist theory, which postulates that certain traits of living things, and in this case humans, could be trained through a system of reinforcement. The correct use of a trait would receive positive feedback while incorrect use of that trait would receive negative feedback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manipulative (mathematics education)</span> Educational aid

In mathematics education, a manipulative is an object which is designed so that a learner can perceive some mathematical concept by manipulating it, hence its name. The use of manipulatives provides a way for children to learn concepts through developmentally appropriate hands-on experience.

Language pedagogy is the discipline concerned with the theories and techniques of teaching language. It has been described as a type of teaching wherein the teacher draws from his prior knowledge and actual experience in teaching language. The approach is distinguished from research-based methodologies.

In linguistics, according to J. Richard et al., (2002), an error is the use of a word, speech act or grammatical items in such a way that it seems imperfect and significant of an incomplete learning (184). It is considered by Norrish as a systematic deviation which happens when a learner has not learnt something, and consistently gets it wrong. However, the attempts made to put the error into context have always gone hand in hand with either [language learning and second-language acquisition] processe, Hendrickson (1987:357) mentioned that errors are ‘signals’ that indicate an actual learning process taking place and that the learner has not yet mastered or shown a well-structured [linguistic competence|competence] in the target language.

The natural approach is a method of language teaching developed by Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It aims to foster naturalistic language acquisition in a classroom setting, and to this end it emphasises communication, and places decreased importance on conscious grammar study and explicit correction of student errors. Efforts are also made to make the learning environment as stress-free as possible. In the natural approach, language output is not forced, but allowed to emerge spontaneously after students have attended to large amounts of comprehensible language input.

Dictogloss is a language teaching technique that is used to teach grammatical structures, in which students form small groups and summarize a target-language text. First, the teacher prepares a text that contains examples of the grammatical form to be studied. The teacher reads the text to the students at normal speed while they take notes. Students then work in small groups to prepare a summary of their work using the correct grammatical structures, and finally each group presents their work to the rest of the class. Dictogloss activities encourage learners to focus on the form of their language while also being based in communication, and are used in task-based language teaching.

An information gap task is a technique in language teaching where students are missing information necessary to complete a task or solve a problem, and must communicate with their classmates to fill in the gaps. It is often used in communicative language teaching and task-based language learning. Information gap tasks are contrasted with opinion gap tasks, in which all information is shared at the start of the activity, and learners give their own opinions on the information given.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georges Cuisenaire</span>

Georges Cuisenaire (1891–1975), also known as Emile-Georges Cuisenaire, was a Belgian teacher who invented Cuisenaire rods, a mathematics teaching aid.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to second-language acquisition:

The Articulatory approach to teaching pronunciation considers learning how to pronounce a second language to be a motor skill which most students are not in a position to develop based on self-evaluation of their production. The role of the teacher is therefore to provide feedback on students' performance as part of coaching them in the movements of the vocal tract articulators which create speech sounds.

Eclectic approach is a method of language education that combines various approaches and methodologies to teach language depending on the aims of the lesson and the abilities of the learners. Different teaching methods are borrowed and adapted to suit the requirement of the learners. It breaks the monotony of the class.

Words in Colour is an approach to literacy invented by Dr Caleb Gattegno. Words in Colour first appeared in 1962, published simultaneously in the UK and US. Later versions were published in French and Spanish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Larsen-Freeman</span> American linguist

Diane Larsen-Freeman is an American linguist. She is currently a Professor Emerita in Education and in Linguistics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. An applied linguist, known for her work in second language acquisition, English as a second or foreign language, language teaching methods, teacher education, and English grammar, she is renowned for her work on the complex/dynamic systems approach to second language development.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.