BACKGROUND
Who developed the Silent Way method?
Caleb Gattegno
What happens when you try to learn in silence instead of repeating aloud?
R/- According to Gattegno, silence promotes concentration, alertness, and even mental organization. Repeating consumes time and scatters the mind, while silence allows connections to be forged and facilitates retention.
What is the general objective of the silent way method?
The general objective is to provide beginning-level students with oral and aural proficiency in the basic elements of the target language.
What is self-correction?
This is the ultimate goal of the Silent Way's procedure, where learners can identify and correct their own errors.
What is the main idea of Total Physical Response (TPR)?
That students learn more effectively when they respond to language through physical actions
When was the Silent Way method created?
In the 60s. More specific 1963
How can self-correction help you become more aware of the language?
R/- Self-correction develops inner criteria, which allow the learner to monitor and improve their own production. This strengthens the ability to “learn how to learn” and promotes independence from the teacher.
What type of syllabus does the silent way method use?
It is a structural syllabus, with lessons planned around grammatical items and related vocabulary.
What is a nonverbal cue?
The teacher in the Silent Way uses this to signal a mistake, rather than directly correcting the student.
Who developed the Silent Way, and what is the teacher’s role?
Caleb Gattegno; the teacher stays mostly silent and guides learning with tools like colored rods and charts.
What teaching tools are central to the Silent Way Method?
Cuisenaire rods and color-coded charts.
Why might learning a second language be different from learning your first one?
R/- Because the learner already has prior knowledge. Unlike children, adults cannot learn in a purely “natural” way; instead, they need an artificial and controlled approach, involving awareness and will.
In the role of the student, what is expected to be developed?
Learners are expected to develop independence, autonomy, and a sense of responsibility.
What is teacher-led repetition or choral repetition?
This is a key teaching procedure that is largely absent from Silent Way classrooms.
What languages were traditionally taught using the Grammar Translation Method?
Latin and Greek
Why should teachers remain silent as much as possible in the classroom?
To encourage learners to produce as much language as possible
How do you feel when you “discover” the answer instead of being told by the teacher?
R/Gattegno’s idea is that discovery generates a sense of power, control, and inner peace, as the student uses their own awareness and will to construct knowledge, rather than passively receiving it.
According to Stevick, what should be the role of the teacher in the silent way method?
The role of the teacher should be:
-to teach
-to test
-to get out of the way.
What are the three dimensions of a method at the level of procedure?
The use of teaching activities to present new language and to clarify the aspects of the target language, such as formal and communicative.
The way in which specific teaching activities are being used for language practice.
The procedures and techniques used in giving feedback to learners.
What is the theory of language for the Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching?
Structuralism
What was the main idea behind the Silent Way’s creation?
To promote learners' autonomy and discovery through teacher silence and problem-solving by themselves.
What do you think Gattegno meant by “ learning to learn”?
R/- He meant that the Silent Way not only teaches a language but also educates awareness and the ability to learn. By exercising attention, analysis, and self-correction, the student develops tools to understand not only languages but anything.
What are the basic materials used in the silent way method? Name at least 3.
Colored Rods
Color-coded pronunciation and vocabulary wall charts
A pointer
Reading/writing exercises
What are the ways the procedure focuses on?
The procedure focuses on the way methods handle the presentation, practice, and feedback phases of teaching.
What is the method that commonly uses repetition and drilling as the base of learning?
The Audiolingual Method