1. Methods
Week 6
Silent Way 1

2. Housekeeping: Name Cards
English Nickname: _________
address: ______________
Phone #: __________________
Your Picture
Something about your self:_________
______________________________ 2

3. Homework Today’s Class- Chapter 5 – Silent Way
Read Ch 6 - Desuggestopedia
First, in TP3 read the sections: Experience and Thinking About the Experience (pp )
Then use the TESOL Method Workbook (TMWB, pp ) As you re-read the chapter look at and answer the questions in the workbook

4. TESOL Method Workbook Open the book to page 37 Discuss questions 1-3:
What is the goal of the Silent Way?
What influences did Noam Chomsky have on arguments about language acquisition? How did those arguments influence S-way?
One basic principle of S-way is: “teaching is subordinate to learning.” What does this mean? How does it influence the role of the T and Ss?

5. Goal of Silent Way Learners discovery the “essence” of the TL
Teaching is subordinate to learning so T remains as silent as possible, so Ss can develop their own “inner criteria”

6. Historical Background S-Way
Silent Way was developed in response ot criticisms of ALM
In ALM, Ss memorize chunks and set dialogues which they never use in the outside world
Memorize responses were hard to transfer to real world communicative situations
Chomsky challenged the learning theory of ALM – language learning is NOT habit formation

7. Historical Background ALM
Chomsky’s arguments regarding language acquisition:
People create & understand utterances they have never heard
Universal Grammar: all humans have innate knowledge of underlying abstract rules & elements
Language learning is about rule formation. Acquisition requires learners to apply thinking process, i.e. cognition to the learning process

8. Historical Background ALM
What is the Cognitive Code Approach?
CCA stemmed from Chomsky’s ideas, with an emphasis on human cognition (thinking/noticing)
Learners are not just organisms responding to stimuli, but are humans actively responsible for own learning (anti-conditioning)
Language learning is a process of formulating hypotheses to discover rules of the TL

9. Principles associated with the Cognitive Code Approach
Errors are inevitable, a sign that learner is actively formulating & testing new hypotheses
CCA caused a flood of new thinking about language, learners, learning and teaching, and led to development of several new methods, including Silent Way, Deuggestopedia, Community Language Learning, and TPR

10. Creation of Silent Way
Not developed directly from CCA, but shares principles with it
Teaching should be subordinated to learning – to teach is to serve the learning process rather than to dominate it
Looks at language learning from the learner’s perspective by studying the way children and babies learn

11. Silent Way Video (Tony)
Look at p. 37 in the workbook question 4
Watch the video of Tony and use the teaching experience described on pages to help you answer the questions
How does T present new material?
How does T have Ss practice?
What aspects do T control and how?
How are Ss errors handled?
How does the T move from known to unknown?

12. Reviewing the techniques
Discuss the resources and associated techniques that are used in the Silent Way with your classmates on p. 38 in the workbook

13. Elicitation & Assessing Student Prior Knowledge
Practice eliciting the words on the cards using the following techniques
Gestures
Realia
Rods
Pictures
Associations
Synonyms/Antonyms
Do not say the word.

14. Concept/Comprehension Check Questions (CCQs)
Positive/Negative Check Qs
Discrimination Check Qs
Demonstration Check Qs

15. Using Rods
Look at the handout (some will have activity A other Activity B)
Discuss the directions and think about how you would use rods to teach the language topic
With your group members plan a teaching sequence for the activity
Switch groups and practice teaching using rods