THE SILENT WAY
WHAT IS THE SILENT WAY It is a method to language teaching designed to enable students to become independent, autonomous and responsible learners.
The Silent Way was created by Caleb GATTEGNO, Egyptian author in 1960s.
Discovering and creating Phsical object Problem solving
Bruner: the benefits of TSW are 1. the increase in intellectual potency 2. the shift from extrinsic to intrinsic rewards 3. the learning of heuristic by discovering 4. the aid to conserving memory
Benjamin Franklin Tell me and I forget teach me and I remember involve and I learn
APPROACH THEORY OF LANGUAGE structural view of language to learn grammar inductively propositional meaning vocabulary as a central dimension THEORY OF LEARNING cognitivism silence awareness
DESIGN Objectives Syllabus Learning Activities Roles of Teachers Roles of Learners Materials
OBJECTIVES Giving beginning level students oral and aural facility. Near-native fluency in the target language Correct pronunciation. Providing the learner with a basic practical knowledge of the grammar
SYLLABUS No fixed syllabus Beginning with student knowledge Developing syllabus from easy to complex
LEARNING ACTIVITIES Simple linguistic signs Charts, Fidel Charts, rods and other aids Responses to commands, questions and visual cues
ROLES OF LEARNERS Developing independence autonomy and responsibility Correcting each other Learning to work cooperatively
ROLES OF TEACHERS Being silent as much as possible Helping if necessary Focusing on the students’ perception Providing exercises to insure their facilities with language. Respecting the autonomy of the learners
MATERIALS Metal Pointer (for teacher) Reading & Writing Exercises Color-sound charts Fidel chart Word chart Colored rods
PROCEDURE Focusing on pronunciation Indicating stress, phrasing and intonation Practising sentence patterns, structure and vocabulary
ADVANTAGES Fostering cooperating learning between individuals Saving time and energy for both teachers and students Increasing self-esteem of students
DISADVANTAGES Studying in small groups Using only specific materials No creativity