The silent way lecture

THE
SILENT
WAY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUPPGr
nrJv4

Introduction
The silent way(SW), a method of
language teaching, originated
in the early 1970s and
introduced by Caleb Gattegno,
who, an Europe educator, is
well known for the use of
colored sticks called Cuisenaire
rods and for his approach to
the teaching of initial reading
in which sounds are taught by
colors.

BASIC PREMISES FOR SW
The method is based on the premise that teacher should
be silent as much as possible and the learners should be
encouraged to produce language as much as possible.
The SW assumes that learners work with resources and
nothing else, as they are solely responsible for what
they learn.
“Teaching should be subordinated to learning.”
Silence makes students to concentrate on what is to be
learned.

LEARNING HYPOTHESES
Learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or creates rather
than remembers and repeats what is to be learned.
Learning is facilitated by accompanying (mediating) physical
objects.
Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the
material to be learned.

THEORY OF LEARNING
A successful learning involves commitment of the self to
language acquisition through the use of silent awareness and
then active trial.
Silent Way learners acquire “inner criteria”.
The Silent Way student is expected to become independent,
autonomous and responsible.
1 the possession or right of self-government.
2 freedom of action.

THE SILENT WAY STUDENT
•Independent learners are
aware that they must
depend on their own
resources and realize that
they can use the knowledge
of their own language to
open up some things in a
new language.
Independent
Learners
•Autonomous learners
choose proper
expressions in a
given set of
circumstances and
situations.
Autonomous
Learners
•Responsible learners
know that they have
free will to choose
among any set of
linguistic choices, the
ability to choose
intelligently and
carefully is said to be
evidence of
responsibility.Responsible
Learners

PEDAGOGICAL MATERIALS
THAT ARE BOTH EFFECTIVE
AND FUN TO USE :

1. WORD CHART
Wall charts on which the words are
written with the same color code as
the rectangle chart. These charts
display the structural vocabulary of the
language: about 500 words. The color
code means that languages as
different as Japanese and Russian,
which use signs unfamiliar to the
learner, can be immediately read and
pronounced correctly.

2. The Fidel
These show all the possible spellings for
each phoneme and which also use the same
color code as the rectangle chart. The Fidel
is particularly useful for languages such as
English and French, which have complex
and irregular spellings.

3. Cuisenaire Rod
Ros are used to create
clear and visible
situations that enable
students to understand
how a given concept is
expressed in the
language.

4. A pointer
 The pointer creates the
dynamic of the language
by introducing the
element of time in
relation to the different
charts, which are in
themselves, static.
 The use of the pointer is
one of the ways in which
the teacher calls on the
learners to use their
mental powers.
 The teacher or the learner can show a word or a
sentence while maintaining the essential characteristic
of language - its ephemeral nature.

5. The Sound / Color Rectangle Chart
A wall chart made up of
different colored rectangles;
each color represents a
phoneme (sound) of the
language, enabling learners to
work on fine distinctions in the
phonetics and prosody of the
language, both on the level of
production and of listening and
recognition.

OBJECTIVES OF LEARNING
The general goal set for language learning is near-
native fluency in the target language, and correct
pronunciation and mastery of the prosodic elements
of the target language are emphasized.
The teacher should give them only what they
absolutely need to promote their learning.
They become independent by relying on themselves.

THE SYLLABUS
A basically structural syllabus, with lessons planned
around grammatical items and related vocabulary.
The following is a section of a Peace Corps Silent
Way Syllabus for the first ten hours of instruction in
Thai. It is used to teach American Peace Corps
volunteers being trained to teach in Thailand.
At least 15 minutes of every hour of instruction
would be spent on pronunciation. A word that is
italicised can be substituted for by another word
having the same function.

Lesson Vocabulary
1. Wood colour red.
wood, red, green, yellow, brown, pink,
white, orange, black, colour
2. Using the numbers 1—10 one, two,... ten
3. Wood colour red two pieces. take (pick up)
4. Take (pick up) wood colour red two
pieces
give, object pronouns
5. Take wood colour red two pieces hive
him
where, on, under, near, far, over, next
to, here, there

6. Wood red where? Wood red on table.
Question-forming rules. Yes.
No.
7. Wood colour red on table, is it? Yes, on. Not
on.
adjectives of comparison
8. Wood colour red long. Wood colour green
longer. Wood colour orange longest.
9. Wood colour green taller. Wood colour red is
it?
10. Review. Students use structures taught in
new situations, such as comparing the heights of
students in the class.
(Joel Wiskin, Personal Communication)

TYPES OF LEARNING AND
TEACHING ACTIVITIES.
Learner roles
Teacher roles
The role of instructional materials

LEARNER ROLES
Learners are expected to develop
independence, autonomy, and
responsibility.
The autonomous learner chooses proper
expressions in a given set of
circumstances and situations.
The absence of correction and repeated
modeling from the teacher requires the
students to develop "inner criteria" and to
correct themselves.

Learners have only themselves as
individuals and the group to rely on,
and so must learn to work
cooperatively rather than
competitively.
A learner also must be a teacher, a
student, part of a support system, a
problem solver, and a self-
evaluator.

TEACHER ROLES
The teacher is a technician or an
engineer who facilitates learning.
The teacher's role is one of neutral
observer, neither praise nor criticize,
merely looks for continued
improvement.
The teacher is silent. The teacher's
presence in the classroom is limited to
providing a model of the language that
the students are going to work on.

Stevick defines the Silent Way teacher's tasks as
to teach: the presentation of an item once, typically using
nonverbal clues to get across meanings
to test: elicitation and shaping of student production is done
in as silent a way as possible
to get out of the way: the teacher silently monitors learners'
interactions with each other and may even leave the room
while learners struggle with their new linguistic tools

Teacher silently monitors learners' interactions with each other
and may even leave the room while learners struggle with their
new linguistic tools.
Teachers are responsible for designing teaching sequences and
creating individual lessons and lesson elements.
It is important for teacher-defined learning goals that are clear
and attainable.

The teacher is responsible for creating an
environment that encourages student risk taking and
that facilitates learning.
The teacher uses gestures, charts, and manipulates in
order to elicit and shape student responses and so
must be both facile and creative .
Teacher like the complete dramatist, writes the script,
chooses the props, sets the mood, models the action,
designates the players, and is critic for the
performance.

THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIALS
The materials are used to illustrate the relationships
between sound and meaning in the target language.
The materials are designed for manipulation by the
students and the teacher, independently and
cooperatively, in promoting language learning by direct
association.
The number of languages and contain symbols in the
target language for all of the vowel and consonant
sounds of the language.
The symbols are colour coded according to
pronunciation; thus, if a language possesses two
different symbols for the same sound, they will be
coloured alike.

The coloured Cuisenaire rods are used to directly link words
and structures with their meanings in the target language,
thereby avoiding translation into the native language.
The rods may be used for naming colours, for size
comparisons, to represent people build floor plans, constitute
a road map, and so on.
Use of the rods is intended to promote inventiveness,
creativity, and interest in forming communicative utterances
on the part of the students, as they move from simple to more
complex structures.
When the teacher or student has difficulty expressing a
desired word or concept, the rods can be supplemented by
referring to the Fidel charts, or to the third major visual aid
used in the Silent Way, the vocabulary charts.

THE CONTENT OF WORD CHARTS WILL VARY FROM
LANGUAGE TO LANGUAGE, BUT THE GENERAL
CONTENT OF THE VOCABULARY CHARTS
(GATTEGNO 1972) IS PARAPHRASED BELOW:
Chart 1: the word rod, colours of the rods,
plural markers, simple imperative verbs,
personal pronouns, some adjectives and
question words
Charts 2, 3: remaining pronouns, words
for "here" and "there," of, for, and name
Chart 4: numbers

Charts 5, 6: words illustrating size, space,
and temporal relationships, as well as some
concepts difficult to illustrate with rods, such
as order, causality, condition, similarity and
difference
Chart 7: words that qualify, such as adverbs
Charts 8, 9: verbs, with cultural references
where possible
Chart 10: family relationships
Charts 11, 12: words expressing time,
calendar elements, seasons, days, week,
month,year, etc.

Other materials: books and worksheets for
practicing reading and writing skills, picture
books, tapes; videotapes, films and visual aids.

PROCEDURE OF LEARNING
The first part of the lesson focuses on pronunciation.
If a response is incorrect, the teacher will attempt to
reshape the utterance or have another student present
the correct model.
After practice with the sounds of the language,
sentence patterns, structure, and vocabulary are
practiced.

THE SAMPLE LESSON THAT FOLLOWS
ILLUSTRATES A TYPICAL LESSON FORMAT.
THE LANGUAGE BEING TAUGHT IS THAI,
FOR WHICH THIS IS THE FIRST LESSON.1. Teacher empties rods onto the table.
2. Teacher picks up two or three rods of different
colours, and after each rod is picked up says: [mai].
3. Teacher holds up one rod of any colour and
indicates to a student that a response is required.
Student says: [mai]. If response is incorrect, teacher
elicits response from another student, who then
models for the first student.
4. Teacher next picks up a red rod and says: [mai
sti daeng].

5. Teacher picks up a green rod and says: [this is a
green rod.]
6. Teacher picks up either a red or green rod and
elicits response from student, If response is incorrect,
procedure in step 3 is followed (student modeling).
7. Teacher introduces two or three other colors in
the same manner.
8. Teacher shows any of the rods whose forms
were taught previously and elicits student response.
Correction technique is through student modeling, or
the teacher may help student isolate error and self-
correct.
9. When mastery is achieved, teacher puts one red
rod in plain view and says: [I have a red rod].

10. Teacher then puts two red rods in plain view and says:
[how many rods I have?].
11. Teacher places two green rods in view and says [which
color of rods I have];
12. Teacher holds up two rods of a different color and
elicits student response.
13. Teacher introduces additional numbers, based on
what the class can comfortably retain. Other colors might
also be introduced.
14. Rods are put in a pile. Teacher indicates, through his
or her own actions, that rods should be picked up, and the
correct utterance made. All die students in the group pick
up rods and make correction is encouraged.

15. Teacher then says: [Give me a blue rod].
16. Teacher indicates that a student should give the teacher
the rods called for. Teacher asks other students in the class
to give him or her the rods that he or she asks for. This is all
done in the target language through unambiguous actions
on the part of the teacher.
17. Teacher now indicates that the students should give
each other commands regarding the calling for of rods. Rods
are put at the disposal of the class.
18. Experimentation is encouraged. Teacher speaks only to
correct an incorrect utterance, if no peer group correction is
forthcoming.

CONCLUSION
The actual practices of the Silent Way are much less
revolutionary than might be expected.
Working from what is a rather traditional structural and
lexical syllabus, the method exemplifies many of the
features that characterize more traditional methods,
such as Situational Language Teaching and
Audiolingualism.
With a strong focus on accurate repetition of sentences
modeled initially by the teacher and a movement through
guided elicitation exercises to freer communication.

Thanks for your time
For more queries mail
me @
raj.wali@ell.uol.edu.pk

The silent way lecture

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