The Silent Way

The Silent Way

1. General information

   • A teaching method devised by Caleb Gattegno. He used an approach to teaching beginning reading in which sounds were coded by specific colors. These are marketed by Educational Solutions Inc. in New York.
   • In this method, the teacher keeps the class as quiet as possible for the student to produce and improve his or her language. The most characteristic elements are color charts and colored sticks.

2. Concepts and Theories

   • In learning, the student must discover, create, remember and repeat what he is learning; he is the mediator between the environment and the student, who must be able to solve problems with what he is learning.
   • Jerome Bruner, educational psychologist and philosopher, names the teaching that has an expository mode and a hypothetical mode.
   • The teacher determines everything in the class and the student is the listener.
   • The teacher and the student cooperate in the class, the student being a main actor.
   • Discovery learning Boosts Intelligence , Brings extrinsic and intrinsic rewards , Remains longer in memory , Learner is his or her own challenge
   • Bars and color pronunciation charts Images that relate to what is being learned facilitate memorization, as students associate what they see with certain topics.

3. Problem-solving learning Benjamin Franklin

   • Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.
   • Experimental Psychology The subject promotes his learning and recall by processing the material he has learned on his own. Attention As the teacher is not in a repetitive state of teaching, the student will pay more attention and be more alert.
   • With this method, the student is expected to be independent, autonomous, responsible, problem solver and clear about his knowledge.

4. Theory of language

   • Experience gives meaning to language. Each language has its unique sound system and melody due to its phonological and suprasegmental elements
   • The social context is separate from teaching because it is taught through artificial situations.
   • The basic unit of teaching is the sentence, therefore the teacher is more concerned with propositional meaning than communicative meaning.
   • There are several kinds of vocabulary: semi-luxury (daily life), luxury (specific ideas), functional (keys).

5. Theory of learning

   • Someone who has already learned one language cannot learn a second one in the same way.
   • The approach must be controlled, artificial, purposeful and aimed at successful learning, based on the conscious and active commitment to acquire the language.
   • The SELF consists of two systems: one for learning It is activated by intelligent awareness and one for retention It allows to remember at will what was learned.
   • Silence is the best vehicle for learning, it allows concentration, activates consciousness, involves the OGDENS (unit of mental energy that links two elements).
   • Learning to learn Attention, production, self-correction and absorption. SELF AWARENESS for all learning with the human dimensions of being.

6. Types of learning and teaching activities

   • These encourage and elicit oral responses without direct instructions or unnecessary modeling.
   • Basic language tasks in which the teacher models what he/she wants to teach in order to elicit responses from the learners.

7. Role of the student

   • Their learning is a process of personal growth, as a conscious self-challenge.
   • First they focus, then do a trial and error analysis, then a directed experimentation with practice of what they have acquired.
   • They are expected to be autonomous, independent and responsible, with the ability to choose intelligently with their internal criteria and self-correction.
   • They will work in teams and correct each other, being all active problem solvers.

8. Role of the teacher

   • The teacher should model, remodel, help and direct questions to the students, teach them to learn, be critical and demanding.
   • The teacher will teach them, evaluate them and allow them (the students) to go through the process on their own.
   • Design group and individual lessons (if needed), clear and achievable learning objectives. Must encourage and motivate students to learn.

9. The role of instructional materials

   • Sets of colored sticks, vocabulary wall charts, visual, pointer, reading/writing exercises related to sound and meaning, vocabulary or writing tables, books, worksheets, tapes, films, and audio-visual aids.
   • Must be able to be used by teachers and students either individually or cooperatively.

10. Procedure

    • Follow a standardized format Pronunciation, symbols, words, intonation, modeling, participation, remodeling, presentation and understanding of structures, creation of situations, practice, use of materials and more practice.