Al-Aqsa University

Faculty of Education

English Language

Research paper entitled :

Desuggestopedia Methodology

Prepared by :

Usama Maher Ahmed Ibai

Supervision Dr :

Ahmed Salman Abed-Elhady

2015
If you want a well-done thing , do it
by yourself .

Content
 Introduction
What Desuggestopedia Method is , and it's
origin
The Principles of Desuggestopedia
The techniques of Desuggestopedia
Summary
References

ii

Introduction
Teacher should be creative in using different kinds of
teaching method. They have to choose an
appropriate method to transfer the knowledge,
because they will find different situation and different
students in the class. Generally, students would not
be able to believe that they could be successful in
learning language. This lack of motivation has made
students do not have confidence to speak in the
target language, because they do not want to make
mistakes. Moreover, they find difficulties to recall the
previous lesson, such as memorizing the new
vocabularies. This situation encourages teacher to be
creative and use an effective method on teaching.
According to Lozanov and others, we may be using
only five to ten percent of our mental capacity. In
order to make better use of our reserved capacity,
the limitations we think we have need to be
desuggested. Desuggestopedia, the application of
the study of suggestion to pedagogy, has been
developed to help students eliminate the feeling that
they cannot be successful or the negative association
they may have toward studying and, thus, to help
them to overcome the barriers to learn. One of the
ways the students mental reserves are stimulated is
through integration of the fine arts. Lozanov states
that communication takes place on two planes: on
one the linguistic message is encoded; and on the
other are factors which influence the linguistic
message. On the conscious plane, the learner
attends to the language; on the subconscious plane,
the fine arts (it could be classical music) suggests
that learning is easy and pleasant. When there is a
unity between conscious and subconscious, learning
is enhanced.
 What Desuggestopedia Method is , and
it's origin

Desuggestopedia : is a teaching method based on the idea

how the human brain works and how we learn most
effectively. It includes a rich sensory learning, a positive
expectation of success and the use of a varied range of
methods like dramatized texts, music, active participation
in songs and games, etc.
In other words Desuggestopedia : is the application of the
study of suggestion to pedagogy.

Suggestopedia was originally developed in the 1970s by

the Bulgarian psychoterapist and educator Georgi
Lozanov (July 22, 1926, Sofia, Bulgaria May 6, 2012)
Although it was originally used as a general teaching
method in Bulgaria , later desuggestopedia was used for
some adults who had the prejudice that they are unable to
perform learning a foreign language . Language teaching
is not just about teaching language, but it is also about
helping students to develop themselves as people.
According to him, the reason why we are inefficient is that
we set up some psychological barriers to learning such as
the fear of being unable to perform or the fear that we will
be limited or we will fail. We do not use the full mental
power that we have. The amount of capacity that we use
is not more than five to ten per cent of its full capacity. In
order to make better use of our mental reserves, we have
to de-suggest the limitations we think we have.
But , we can aske some important questions that are :
What does Lozanov, the originator of Desuggestopedia,
believe?
1. Language learning can occur at a much faster rate than
ordinarily transpires.
2. The reason for learners inefficiency is that they set up
psychological barriers to learning: (a) They fear that they
 will be unable to perform, that (b) they will be limited in
their ability to learn, that (c) they will fail .
3. Learners do not use the full mental powers that they
have. According to Lozanov and others, we may be using
only five to ten percent of our mental capacity.
4. In order to make better use of our reserved capacity, the
limitations we think we have need to be desuggested.
Why has Desuggestopedia been developed?
1. It has been developed to help students eliminate the
feeling that they cannot be successful.
2. It has been developed to help students eliminate the
negative association they may have toward
studying and.
3. It has been developed to help students overcome the
barriers to learning.

Principles of Desuggestopedia
1. Students can learn from what is present in the
environment, even if their attention is not directed to
it (Peripheral learning).
2. The teacher should recognize that learners bring
certain psychological barriers with them to the
learning situation. Teacher should attempt to
desuggest these.
3. The dialog that the students learn contains language
they can use immediately.
4. The teacher should integrate indirect positive
suggestions into the learning situation.
5. The teacher should present and explain the
grammar and vocabulary, but not dwell on them.
6. Fine art provides positive suggestions for students.
7. Meaning is made clear is through native language
translation.
8. Communication takes place on two planes: on one
the linguistic message is encoded; and on the other
are factors which influence the linguistic message.
On the conscious plane, the learner attends to the
language; on the subconscious plane, the music
suggests that learning is easy and pleasant.
9. Dramatization is a valuable way of playfully
activating the material.
 10. The fine arts (music, art, and drama) enable
suggestions to reach the subconscious.

11.The teacher should help the students activate the

material to which they have been exposed.
12. In an atmosphere of play, the conscious attention of
the learner does not focus on linguistic forms, but
rather on using the language.
13. Errors are corrected gently and indirectly.

REVIEWING THE PRINCIPLES

What are the goals of teachers who use Desuggestopedia?

Teachers hope to accelerate by process to the students by

using a foreign language for everyday communication. The
students` mental power must be tapped by desuggesting
the psychological barriers learners bring with them to the
learning situation and using techniques to activate the
Para-conscious part of mind, just below the fully
conscious mind.

What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?

The teacher is the authority in the classroom. In order for

the method to be successful, the students must trust and
respect their teacher. Once the students trust the teacher,
they can feel more secure. If they feel secure, they can be
more spontaneous and less inhibited.

What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?

The posters are change every few weeks to create a sense

of novelty in the environment. Students select target
language names and choose new occupations. During the
course they create whole biographies to go along with
their new identities.
What is the nature of student-teacher interaction? What is the
nature of student-student interaction?

The teacher initiates interactions with the whole group of

students with individuals right from the beginning of a
language course. Initially, the students can only respond
nonverbally or with a few target language words they have
practiced. Later the students have more control of the
target language and can respond more appropriately and
even initiate interaction themselves.

How are the feelings of the students dealt with?

A great deal of attention is given to the students` feeling

in this method. One of the fundamental principles of the
method is that if the students are relaxed and confident,
they will not need to try hard to learn the target language.
It will come naturally and easily.
The important thing in this method is the psychological
barriers that students bring with them be desuggested.
Indirect positive suggestions are made to enhance
students` self confidence and to convince them that
success is obtainable.

How is language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Language is the first of two planes in the two planes of

communication. In the second plane are the factors which
influence the linguistic message.
The culture which students learn concerns the everyday
life of people who speak the language. The use of fine arts
is also important in Desuggestopedic classes.

What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills

are emphasized?
Vocabulary is emphasized. Claims about the success of the
method often focus in a large number of words that can be
acquired. Grammar is dealt with explicitly, but minimally.
In fact, it is believed that students will learn best if their
conscious attention is focused not on the language forms,
but on using the language. The paraconscious mind will
absorb the linguistic rules.
Speaking communicatively is emphasized. Students also
read in the target language (for example, dialogs) and
write (for example, imaginative compositions).

What is the role of the students` native language?

Native language translation is used to make the meaning

of the dialog clear. The teacher also uses the native
language in the class when necessary. As the course
proceeds, the teacher uses the native language less and
less.

How is evaluation accomplished?

Evaluation usually is conducted on students` normal in

class performance and not through formal tests, which
would threaten the relaxed atmosphere considered
essential for accelerated learning

How does the teacher respond to the student errors?

Errors are corrected gently, the teacher using a soft voice.

What are the two major phases of Desuggestopedia?

1- The receptive phase :

-(a) The first concert (the active concert): The teacher
reads the dialog, matching his voice to the rhythm and
 pitch of the music. In this way, the whole brain (both the
left and the right hemispheres) of the students become
activated. The students follow the target language dialog
as the teacher reads it out loud. They also check the
translation.
-(b) The second concert (the passive concert): The
students listen calmly while the teacher reads the dialog
at a normal rate of speed.

2- The activation phase:

Students engage in various activities designed to help
them gain facility with the new material.
-(a) Primary activation: The students playfully reread the
target language dialog out loud, as individuals or in
groups.
-(b) Creative adaptation: The students engage in various
activities designed to help them learn the new material
and use it spontaneously. Activities particularly
recommended for this phase include singing, dancing,
dramatizations, and games. The activities are varied and
do not allow the students to focus on the form of the
linguistic message, just the communicative intent.

Techniques of Desuggestopedia

1. Classroom set-up
The teacher should create a classroom environment
which is bright and cheerful .The teacher should try to
provide as positive an environment as possible.

2. Peripheral learning:
The students learn English not only from direct
instruction but also from indirect instruction. It is
encouraged through the presence in the learning
environment of posters and decoration featuring the
target language and various grammatical information.
They are changed from time to time. By doing this, the
students can learn many things indirectly in the
 classroom or outside classroom. The teacher may or
may not call attention to the posters. For example,
students can produce simple sentence by using the
posters or grammatical information on the wall.

3. Positive suggestion

(a) Advantage: It is the teacher's responsibility to

orchestrate the suggestive factors in a learning
situation, thereby helping students break down the
barriers to learning that they bring with them.
(b) Types: Teachers can do this through direct and
indirect means.
(1) Direct suggestion appeals to the students
consciousness: A teacher tells students they are
going to be successful.
(2) Indirect suggestion, which appeals to the
students' subconscious, is actually the more powerful
of the two. For example, indirect suggestion could be
accomplished through the choice of a dialogs title

4. Choose a new identity

The students choose a target language name and a
new occupation. As the course continuous, the
students have an opportunity to develop a whole
biography about their fictional selves.

5. Role play

Students are asked to present temporarily that they

are someone else and to perform in the target
language as if they were that person. They are often
asked to create their own lines relevant to the
situation.

6. First concert (active concert)

 The two concerts are components of the receptive
phase of the lesson. In the first concert, the teacher
reads the dialog in the target language. Music is
played. After a few minutes, the teacher begins a
slow, dramatic reading and synchronized in intonation
with the music.

7. Second concert (passive concert)

In the second phase, the students are asked to put

their script aside. They simply listen as the teacher
reads the dialog at the normal rate of speed. The
teacher is seated and reads with musical
accompaniment. The content governs the way the
teacher reads the script, not the music.

8. Primary activation

This technique follows components of the active phase

of the lesson . The students playfully re-read the
target language dialog out loud, as individuals or in
groups. Students try to read parts of the dialog in
particular manners: sadly, angrily, and cheerfully.

9. Creative adaptation
The students engage in various activities designed to
help them learn the new material and use it
spontaneously. Activities particularly recommended for
this phase include singing, dancing, dramatization and
games. The important thing is that the activities are
varied and do not allow the students to focus on the
form of the linguistic message, just the communicative
intent.

Summary
Teacher will find different situation and different types of
students in learning. Therefore, teacher should be creative
and smart in choosing and using different types of
methods in teaching different skills of language. Teachers
can use Desuggestopedia as teaching method in their
teaching. Using Desuggestopedia is very interesting but
challenging to do.

Desuggestopedia considers that the process of learning

of human should include the coordination of brain, which
unifies consciousness and unconsciousness, also is the
unification of reason and emotion; scholars of this
teaching strategy think that the foregoing few points
cannot be apart from each others. During the process of
teaching, De-suggestopedia appropriately uses
environment suggestion, figure suggestion, activity
suggestion and self suggestion to impetus English
teaching. The learning environment of Desuggestopedia
has to be bright and cheerful, often decorated with scenes
of holidays from the country of their target language.
Furthermore, the process usually accompany with music or
some games or drama to achieve the success of learning.

As for the teachers and students under this teaching

strategy, teachers usually act as authority and security.
They should be confident and trustable to their students
and afford a cheerful classroom atmosphere. On the other
hand, students should be relaxed and easily following the
teachers instruction; through the activities of role play,
they can enjoy in the new identity freely, and then receive
some achievements by themselves.

In one side Desuggestopedia has some positive effects

on language learning ,this teaching approach can help
students in the lower grade point average ranges more
than those with higher grade point averages. But on the
other side it also has some weaknesses .

The scholars had investigated the influence of a

suggestive atmosphere and synchronized music; they
found that at a practical level, these variables when
present resulted in learning 2.5 times better than these
same variables were absent. So, Desuggestopedia
indeed give a new page on English teaching, this strategy
really can help students to open English learning gate. It
can broad students horizon and accomplish the true
meaning of effective learning.
 References

1- Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching ,

chapter 6, p.73/87

2- Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching , p.100

3- Ibrahim S. M. AlFallay(2008), English Course 406.6

Suggestopedia, King Saud University- College of Arts -
English Department

4- W. Jane Bancroft, Suggestopedia and Language

Acquisition, Gordon and Breach Publishers

5- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suggestopedia