Silent WayBackground

Decline of Audio-lingualism (1960s) Theoretical Attack

Rejection of structural linguistics Rejection of Behaviorism Emergence of Cognitive-code learning theory Practical Attack Inability to use L2 habits to communicative

situations Boring & unsatisfying teaching procedures

Alternative Teaching proposals (1980s) Silent Way by Caleb Gattegno Total Physical Response by James Asher Community Language Learning by Charles A.

Curran

Approach

Language theory Structural approach

sentence a basic unit of teaching teaching & learning grammar inductively teaching functional vocabulary

Learning theory Cognitive-code view of learning L2 learning radically different from L1 learning Meaningful, discovery learning Focus on having an artificial teaching approach Primacy of learning to teaching Rejection of repetition Silence a powerful tool for mental organization Inner criteria, self-correction

DesignTeaching Objectives

To attain near-native fluency in L2 Objectives for low-level students

To gain oral-aural facility in basic L2 elements To gain a basic practical knowledge of L2

grammar To Perform adequately in reading , and writing

Syllabus More lexico-grammatical units No precise selection & arrangement of content

Grammatical complexity Ease of visual presentation

Types of Teaching / Learning Activities

Problem-solving activities Using charts, rods, other aids Helping Ss develop independence, autonomy, responsibilityDeveloping inner criteria & correct themselvesCooperating with other Ss to solve language problems Cooperative rather than competitive procedures

Learner Roles Rule discoverers / Language explorersWorking cooperatively not competitivelyCorrecting themselves & being corrected by othersMaking use of their backgroundAssuming responsibility for their own learning

Teacher Roles

Stimulator / Not a hand holder Being silent most of the timeGetting out of the way for Ss to develop

inner criteria Cooperative rather than competitive

procedures

Role of Instructional Materials A Pointer Cuisenaire rods

To teach Vocabulary (Colors/ numbers/adjectives / Verbs) To teach syntax ( prepositions, conditionals, word order…)

12 Word Chart Containing about 500 functional English vocabulary Having identical color code with sound & Fidel charts

8 Color-Coded Fidel Charts To associate sounds with spelling

A Sound- color chart Representing vowels & consonants of L2 To show how to form syllables, words, sentences To teach stress pattern of words

The Cuisenaire RodsAre used to teach items such as

prepositions of place, sentence and word stress

Used to represent a series of useful situations for a language lesson

Are named after their inventor, Georges Cuisenaire (1891-1976), a Belgian primary school teacher,

Are used for both mathematics and language teachingRods of equal length are assigned the same color.

Important:Effective use of rods depends on efficient teacher training.

The Cuisenaire Rods Different in color, & size To teach Vocabulary & syntax ( Colors/ numbers /adjectives / Verbs prepositions, conditionals, word order…)

Word ChartFunctional words of the language are printed in color.color code is the same as that of the rectangle chart

and the Fidel.Only structural words (about 500 words) is included:

pronouns ArticlesPrepositionscommon adjectives and adverbsConjunctionsauxiliary verbsa few common verbs but very few nouns.

The use of colour enables students to read directly in languages with a different alphabet or characters and to pronounce correctly what they read.

The First English Word ChartOne of the 12 word charts on which the functional words are printed in color.

Sound-Color ChartTo show how to form syllables, words, sentencesTo teach stress pattern of words

Color-Coded Fidel ChartThe Fidel is a set of charts presenting all the

possible spellings of each sound of the language using the same color code as the rectangle chart and word charts.

It is particularly useful when the foreign language uses signs unknown to the studentan English person learning Japanese or vice

versathe same signs correspond to different sounds as

in English and Frenchthere are many irregularities in spelling

Color-Coded Fidel ChartTo associate sounds with spelling

ProcedureTeaching L2 sounds first

Using sound-color chart Considering L1 background of Ss Modeling sounds at the beginning Using pointer to indicate stress/phrasing /intonation

Teaching sentence-patterns & vocabulary Using colored rods for visual realization Modeling utterances by the teacher first Having a S model & produce utterances

No encouragement or correction by the teacher Regarding learning as personal responsibility Practice with L2 structure without repetition Self-correction gestures / peer correction

Structured feedback

Questions

What are the goals of the teachers who use this method?

What’s the role of the teacher?What are some characteristics of the

teaching/learning process?What is the nature of the student-teacher and the

student-student interactions? Does it make sense to you that language

acquisition is the result of habit formation?Which of the principles of this method are

acceptable to you?