APPROACHES AND

METHODS
The Silent Way (SW)
 Definition
• Caleb Gattegno, 1963

• “Teaching Foreign Languages in Schools:

The Silent Way”

• Extensive use of silence as a teaching

method
• Humanistic approach

• Cognitive approach

• Dissatisfaction with mainstream language

education.
• Alternative teaching method

• Teaching subordinated to learning.

 Key principles
How is learning facilitated?

1. Discovering and creating, rather than

remembering and repeating.
2. Accompanied physical objects
3. Problem-solving, involving the material to
be learnt
All four skills are important:
• Reading
• Writing
• Speaking
• Listening

Work on pronunciation using sound-color chats.

• Errors – show what is unclear

 Teacher’s role
• Provide materials

• Facilitate learning

• Be silent and neutral observer

• Giving help only when absolutely

necessary
 Students’ role
• Develop independence from a teacher
• Peer Correction: encouraged to help each
other in a cooperative and non-competitive
spirit.

• Explore the language, deduce its rules

 Advantages of SW
• Learning through problem solving fosters
creativity, discovery, an increase of
intelligence potency and long-term
memory
• Students learn by themselves

• Students are able to fix their

pronunciation.
 Disadvantages
• Lack of teacher’s guidance

• Lack of pronunciation knowlegde. It can be

confusing.
Sound-colour chart
THE END

Ana Tomić