Language Education and Target Language

1.0 INTRODUCTIONIn the course of ELT history 1970s was in marked contrast to the previous periods in the ways learners were treated. Earlier teaching approaches such as audiolingualism had failed to take the learners’ psychological aspects into account in selection of content, materials and learning activities since learners were regarded as robot-like beings who would receive and process anything loaded on them.

1970s was the time when a learner-centred view of language learning namely humanistic approach entered the ELT agenda.Since then, the language teaching approaches have focused more and more on the human side of the learner. The humanistic approach is underlie by the philosophy that learners are human beings with flesh and blood and more importantly with cognitive and affective dimensions so the teachers should be sensitive about their thoughts, feelings and experiences and use several methods to trigger them off so that they will be able to use their full potential and thus learn both affectively and effectively (Oller&Amato: 1991).The above-mentioned triggering process could be achieved by attempts to eliminate the psychological barriers to learning and it was Georgi Lozanov, a Bulgarian psychologist, who tried to make such a humanistic attempt by deriving a new language teaching method named Suggestopedia in the late 1970s. Like Community Language Learning and the Silent Way Method, Suggestopedia is an innovative method that promises great effective language learning results. Lozanov claimed that by using this method one can teach languages approximately three to five times as quickly as conventional methods.

The name of Suggestopedia is derived from the words “suggestion” and “pedagogy”. It is a set of learning recommendations derived from Suggestology, which Lozanov describes as “a science concerned with systematic study of the non rational and/or non conscience influences” that human beings are constantly responding to. The method also draws from insights from yoga and the Soviet psychology.From yoga it draws the importance of relaxation of mind for maximum retention of material. From Soviet psychology Lozanov took the idea that“all sudents can be taught a given subject matter at the same level of skill.

” Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers (1986).2.

0 APPROACHThis holistic approach of teaching is applied more and more and is also well known as Superlearning. People have to deal with a lot of suggestive information. They save them consciously or unconsciously as verbal or non-verbal messages in their brain. This suggestopedic teaching and learning method is based on the facts that both the conscious and unconscious are very important for the retention of memory.

It is also based on the fact that participants who are in an attentive relaxed state are empowered to learn more effectively without getting tired.Positive suggestions which accelerate learning and develop potentials are for example a relaxed, positive learning atmosphere which is created by the change of tension and relaxation, active and passive phases, journeys of fantasy, games, movement and simulation of possible real situations. As music creates emotional engagement and memory retention, it is a very valuable tool. For instance, it makes the learners feel comfortable, it helps to overcome any inhibitions and it increases motivation and reception. The different parts of our brain are specialized to receive and to manage information as for instance, verbal, non-verbal, rational or emotional messages or as a word or picture.In suggestopedic teaching individual learning styles are considered.

All channels of learning are respected: the sense of looking and seeing, hearing, feeling, smell and taste. By the holistic activation and coordination of the left and the right part of the brain, thus increasing the retention of memory, the method of suggestopaedia shows new ways and open doors in holistic teaching. It was mainly used as an approach to teaching foreign languages, however it has been applied to teach all disciplines (Superlearning). Scientific findings made show a considerably increased efficiency of learning.

Therefore, the suggestopedic method of learning is especially effective for trainings in both professional and daily life.3.0 THE PRINCIPLES OF SUGGESTOPEDIA• The goals are to learn at accelerated pace, a foreign language for everyday communication by tapping mental powers, overcoming psychological barriers. • Teacher has authority, commands trust and respect of students.

Teacher desuggests negative feelings and limits to learning. • Students learn in a relaxing environment. They choose a new identity in the target language and culture. They use texts of dialogues accompanied by translation and notes in their native language.

Each dialogue is presented during two musical concerts, once with the teacher matching his voice to the rhythm and pitch of the music while students follow along. The second time, the teacher reads normally and students relax and listen.• At first, teacher initiates all interaction and students respond only nonverbally or with a few words in target language that they have practiced. Eventually, students initiate interaction.

• Great importance is placed on students’ feelings, in making them feel confident and relaxed, in desuggesting their psychological barriers. • Language is one plane; nonverbal parts of messages are another. Culture includes everyday life and fine arts. • Vocabulary is emphasized in some explicit grammar. Students focus on communicative use rather than form. Reading and writing also have place.

• Translation clarifies dialogues’ meaning. Teacher uses native language more at fist than later when necessary. • Students’ normal in class performance is evaluated. There are no tests, which would threaten relaxed environment. • Errors are not immediately corrected. Teacher models correct forms later during class.

4.0 TECHNIQUES OF TEACHING• Classroom set-up: The teacher provides as relaxed and comfortable an environment as possible. The classroom is provided with dim lights, soft music, cushioned armchairs, and walls decorated with scenes from a country where the target language is spoken. • Peripheral learning: It is much more in the environment.

• Positive suggestion: The teacher has responsibility to orchestrate the suggestive factors in a learning situation, thereby helping students to break down the barriers in learning they bring with them. • Visualization: Students are asked to close their eyes and to concentrate on their breathing and the teacher speaks in a quiet voice, describing a scene or event. The description is detailed so students feel they are really there.• Choose a new identity: The students choose a target language name and a new occupation. • Role-play: Students are asked to pretend temporally that they are someone else and to perform in the target language as if they were that person.

• First concert: The music is played while the teacher reads the dialogue and the students are asked to find out some grammatical points. • Second concert: The students simply close their eyes and listen as the teacher reads the dialogue at a normal rate of speed with musical accompaniment.• Primary activation: Students playfully reread the target language dialogue out loud as individuals or in groups. Each group reads the dialogue in particular manner. • Secondary activation: Students are engaged in various activities which include singing, dancing, dramatizations, and games.

5.0 TEACHING PROCEDURE (CLASSROOM APLLICATION)5.1 Sample Lesson The teacher first hands out the copies of the presented text to the classroom and gives the students a few minutes to scan the pages. Then she or he outlines the dialogue, quickly reads the lexical items with their equivalences and explains the related grammar point briefly. Following this the concert sessions, where the teacher reads the text twice in accompaniment of the classical music, are put into practice. After the presentation there is the first activation stage.

At this stage the students read the dialogue aloud by adding “spirit” in it through emotional voicing. For example they may be asked to dramatize it or act the text out in different emotions each time they read it, for instance, they may read it enthusiastically in the first reading, sadly in the second reading and angrily in the third trial. The second activation stage involves communicative and imaginative activities related to the linguistic material. For instance the students may be divided into groups and be asked to write the script of John’s job interview and then dramatise it. In addition songs underlining the importance of positive mood such as “I Feel Good” may be sung together.There may also be a ball throwing game in which students throw a ball to each other and the one who receives the ball should answer the question of the person who has thrown it.

The teacher may have the students ask their questions by using Present Perfect Continuous tense.6.0 CONCLUSIONAlthough Suggestopedia has been criticised for a number of reasons, there are some advantages of this method that have been accepted and adapted by teachers worldwide. Through Suggestopedia, we learn how to trust the power of mind.

We can also benefit from the use of music to induce the relaxation and make us calm.