Suggestopedia

Suggestopedia, also known as Desuggestopedia, is a method developed by the Bulgarian

psychiatrist-educator Georgi Lozanov. Suggestopedia is a specific set of learning
recommendations derived from Suggestology, which Lozanov describes as a “science . . .
concerned with the systematic study of the nonrational and/or nonconscious influences” that
human beings are constantly responding to. Suggestopedia tries to harness these influences
and redirect them so as to optimize learning. The most conspicuous characteristics of
Suggestopedia are the decoration, furniture, and arrangement of the classroom, the use of
music, and the authoritative behavior of the teacher. The claims for suggestopedic learning are
dramatic. “There is no sector of public life where suggestology would not be useful”.
“Memorization in learning by the suggestopedic method seems to be accelerated 25 times
over that in learning by conventional methods”

Suggestopedia is a way of teaching created by a person named Georgi Lozanov. It comes

from the study of how our minds respond to things without us consciously realizing it. The
method uses specific classroom setups, music, and a teacher acting in a certain way to make
learning more effective. The claims about Suggestopedia are big, saying it can be useful in
many parts of life and that people can memorize things 25 times faster compared to regular
methods.

Lozanov acknowledges ties in tradition to yoga and Soviet psychology. From raja-yoga
Lozanov has borrowed and modified techniques for altering states of consciousness and
concentration, and the use of rhythmic breathing. From Soviet psychology Lozanov has taken
the notion that all students can be taught a given subject matter at the same level of skill.
Lozanov claims that his method works equally well whether or not students spend time on
outside study. He promises success through Suggestopedia to the academically gifted and the
ungifted alike.

Georgi Lozanov, who made Suggestopedia, got ideas from yoga and Soviet psychology. He
borrowed techniques from yoga to help people focus and change their consciousness. From
Soviet psychology, he took the idea that everyone can learn the same subject at the same
level. Lozanov says his method works well for all students, whether they study outside of class
or not. Lozanov claims that Suggestopedia can bring success to both academically gifted and
less gifted students.

A most conspicuous feature of Suggestopedia is the centrality of music and musical rhythm to
learning. Suggestopedia thus has a kinship with other functional uses of music, particularly
therapy. Gaston (1968) defines three functions of music in therapy: to facilitate the
establishment and maintenance of personal relations; to bring about increased self-esteem
through increased self-satisfaction in musical performance; and to use the unique potential of
rhythm to energize and bring order. This last function seems to be the one that Lozanov calls
upon in his use of music to relax learners as well as to structure, pace, and punctuate the
presentation of linguistic material.
In Suggestopedia, music plays a big role in learning. It's similar to how music is used in
therapy for different purposes. According to Gaston (1968), music can help in building
relationships, boost self-esteem through musical activities, and use rhythm to energize and
bring order. Lozanov, the creator of Suggestopedia, relies on the power of music to relax
learners and also to organize and enhance the learning of language.

Approach: Theory of language and learning

Lozanov does not articulate a theory of language, nor does it seem that he is much concerned
with any particular assumptions regarding language elements and their organization. The
emphasis on memorization of vocabulary pairs – a target-language item and its native
language translation – suggests a view of language in which lexis is central and in which
lexical translation rather than contextualization is stressed. However, Lozanov does
occasionally refer to the importance of experiencing language material in “whole meaningful
texts” and notes that the suggestopedic course directs “the student not to vocabulary
memorization and acquiring habits of speech, but to acts of communication”

In describing course work and text organization Lozanov refers most often to the language to
be learned as “the material” (e.g., “The new material that is to be learned is read or recited by
a well-trained teacher”) The sample protocol given for an Italian lesson does not suggest a
theory of language markedly different from that which holds a language to be its vocabulary
and the grammar rules for organizing vocabulary.

Suggestion is at the heart of the theory of learning underlying Suggestopedia. Lozonov

distinguishes his theory of suggestion from the “narrow clinical concept of hypnosis as a kind
of static, sleeplike, altered state of consciousness”. Lozanov further claims that what
distinguishes his method from hypnosis and other forms of mind control is that these other
forms lack “a desuggestive-suggestive sense” and “fail to create a constant set up access to
reserves through concentrative psycho-relaxation”. There are six principal theoretical
components through which desuggestion and suggestion operate and that set up access to
reserves.

Lozanov doesn't really focus on a specific theory of language in Suggestopedia. The method
puts a lot of emphasis on memorizing pairs of words in the target language and their
translations, suggesting a central role for vocabulary. However, Lozanov does mention the
importance of experiencing language in whole meaningful texts and emphasizes
communication rather than just memorization.

When describing the language to be learned, Lozanov often refers to it as "the material." The
way he structures lessons and texts doesn't seem significantly different from traditional views
that see language as vocabulary and grammar rules.

Suggestion is a key concept in the theory of learning behind Suggestopedia. Lozanov

distinguishes his idea of suggestion from the clinical concept of hypnosis, emphasizing that
Suggestopedia creates a constant access to mental reserves through concentrative psycho-
relaxation. There are six main theoretical components through which desuggestion and
suggestion operate in Suggestopedia.

Authority

People remember best and are most influenced by information coming from an authoritative
source. Lozanov appears to believe that scientific-sounding language, highly positive
experimental data, and true-believer teachers constitute a ritual placebo system that is
authoritatively appealing to most learners. Well-publicized accounts of learning success lend
the method and the institution authority, and commitment to the method, self-confidence,
personal distance, acting ability, and a highly positive attitude give an authoritative air to the
teacher.

Infantilization

Authority is also used to suggest a teacher–student relation like that of parent to child. In the
child’s role the learner takes part in role playing, games, songs, and gymnastic exercises that
help “the older student regain the self-confidence, spontaneity and receptivity of the child”.

Double-planedness

The learner learns not only from the effect of direct instruction but from the environment in
which the instruction takes place. The bright decor of the classroom, the musical background,
the shape of the chairs, and the personality of the teacher are considered as important in
instruction as the form of the instructional material itself.

Intonation, rhythm, and concert pseudo-passiveness

Varying the tone and rhythm of presented material helps both avoid boredom through
monotony of repetition and to dramatize, emotionalize, and give meaning to linguistic
material. In the first presentation of linguistic material, three phrases are read together, each
with a different voice level and rhythm. In the second presentation, the linguistic material is
given a proper dramatic reading, which helps learners visualize a context for the material and
aids in memorization.

Both intonation and rhythm are coordinated with a musical back-ground. The musical
background helps to induce a relaxed attitude, which Lozanov refers to as concert pseudo-
passiveness. This state is felt to be optimal for learning, in that anxieties and tension are
relieved and power of concentration for new material is raised.

Design: Objectives, syllabus, learning activities, roles of learners, teachers, and materials

The objectives of Suggestopedia are to deliver advanced conversational proficiency quickly.

It bases its learning claims on student mastery of prodigious lists of vocabulary pairs and,
indeed, suggests to the students that it is appropriate that they set such goals for themselves.
Lozanov emphasizes, however, that increased memory power is not an isolated skill but is a
result of “positive, comprehensive stimulation of personality”

A Suggestopedia course lasts 30 days and consists of ten units of study. Classes are held 4
hours a day, 6 days a week. The central focus of each unit is a dialogue consisting of 1,200
words or so, with an accompanying vocabulary list and grammatical commentary. The
dialogues are graded by lexis and grammar.

There is a pattern of work within each unit and a pattern of work for the whole course. Unit
study is organized around 3 days: day 1–half a day, day 2–full day, day 3–half a day. On the
first day of work on a new unit the teacher discusses the general content (not structure) of the
unit dialogue. The learners then receive the printed dialogue with a native language
translation in a parallel column. The teacher answers any questions of interest or concern
about the dialogue. The dialogue then is read a second and third time in ways to be discussed
subsequently. This is the work for day 1. Days 2 and 3 are spent in primary and secondary
elaboration of the text. Primary elaboration consists of imitation, question and answer,
reading, and so on, of the dialogue and of working with the 150 new vocabulary items
presented in the unit. The secondary elaboration involves encouraging students to make new
combinations and productions based on the dialogues. A story or essay paralleling the
dialogue is also read. The students engage in conversation and take small roles in response to
the text read.

During the course there are two opportunities for generalization of material. In the middle of
the course students are encouraged to practice the target language in a setting where it might
be used, such as hotels or restaurants. The last day of the course is devoted to a performance
in which every student participates. The students construct a play built on the material of the
course. Rules and parts are planned, but students are expected to speak extempore rather than
from memorized lines. Written tests are also given throughout the course, and these and the
performance are reviewed on the final day of the course.

Learning activities used in the method include imitation, question and answer, and role play –
which are not activities “that other language teachers would consider to be out of the
ordinary”. The type of activities that are more original to Suggestopedia are the listening
activities, which concern the text and text vocabulary of each unit. These activities are
typically part of the “pre-session phase,” which takes place on the first day of a new unit. The
students first look at and discuss a new text with the teacher. In the second reading, students
relax comfortably in reclining chairs and listen to the teacher read the text in a certain way.

Learners’ roles are carefully prescribed. The mental state of the learners is critical to success,
which is why learners must forgo mind-altering substances and other distractions and
immerse themselves in the procedures of the method. Learners must not try to figure out,
manipulate, or study the material presented but must maintain a pseudo-passive state, in
which the material rolls over and through them. Students are expected to tolerate and in fact
encourage their own “infantilization.” In part this is accomplished by acknowledging the
absolute authority of the teacher and in part by giving themselves over to activities and
techniques designed to help them regain the self-confidence, spontaneity, and receptivity of
the child. Such activities include role playing, games, songs, and gymnastic exercises.

Groups of learners are ideally socially homogeneous, twelve in number, and divided equally
between men and women. Learners sit in a circle, which encourages face-to-face exchange
and activity participation.

The primary role of the teacher is to create situations in which the learner is most suggestible
and then to present linguisitic material in a way most likely to encourage positive reception
and retention by the learner.

Lozanov lists several expected teacher behaviors that contribute to these presentations.

1. Show absolute confidence in the method.

2. Display fastidious conduct in manners and dress.

3. Organize properly and strictly observe the initial stages of the teaching process – this
includes choice and play of music, as well as punctuality.

4. Maintain a solemn attitude toward the session.

5. Give tests and respond tactfully to poor papers (if any).

6. Stress global rather than analytical attitudes toward material.

7. Maintain a modest enthusiasm.

Materials consist of direct support materials, primarily text and tape, and indirect support
materials, including classroom fixtures and music.

The text is organized around the ten units described earlier. The text- book should have
emotional force, literary quality, and interesting characters. Language problems should be
introduced in a way that does not worry or distract students from the content. “Traumatic
themes and distasteful lexical material should be avoided”. Each unit should be governed by a
single idea featuring a variety of subthemes, “the way it is in life”.

Although not language materials per se, the learning environment plays such a central role in
Suggestopedia that the important elements of the environment need to be briefly enumerated.
The environment (the indirect support materials) comprises the appearance of the classroom
(bright and cheery), the furniture (reclining chairs arranged in a circle), and the music
(Baroque largo).

Procedure

As with other methods we have examined, there are variants both historical and individual in
the actual conduct of Suggestopedia classes. Adaptations such as those we witnessed in
Toronto by Jane Bancroft and her colleagues at Scarborough College, University of Toronto,
showed a wide and diversified range of techniques unattested to in Lozanov’s writings. We
have tried here to characterize a class as described in the Suggestopedia literature while
pointing out where the actual classes we have observed varied considerably from the
description. Bancroft (1972) notes that the 4-hour language class has three distinct parts. The
first part we might call an oral review section. Previously learned material is used as the basis
for discussion by the teacher and twelve students in the class. All participants sit in a circle in
their specially designed chairs, and the discussion proceeds like a seminar. This session may
involve what are called micro-studies and macro-studies. In micro-studies specific attention is
given to grammar, vocabulary, and precise questions and answers. A question from a micro-
study might be, “What should one do in a hotel room if the bathroom taps are not working?”
In the macro-studies, emphasis is on role playing and wider-ranging, innovative language
constructions. “Describe to someone the Boyana church” (one of Bulgaria’s most well-known
medieval churches) would be an example of a request for information from the macro-studies.

In the second part of the class new material is presented and discussed. This consists of
looking over a new dialogue and its native language translation and discussing any issues of
grammar, vocabulary, or content that the teacher feels important or that students are curious
about. Bancroft notes that this section is typically conducted in the target language, although
student questions or comments will be in whatever language the student feels he or she can
handle. Students are led to view the experience of dealing with the new material as interesting
and undemanding of any special effort or anxiety. The teacher’s attitude and authority are
considered critical to preparing students for success in the learning to come. The pattern of
learning and use is noted (i.e., fixation, reproduction, and new creative production), so that
students will know what is expected.

The third part – the séance or concert session – is the one by which Suggestopedia is best
known. Since this constitutes the heart of the method, we will quote Lozanov as to how this
session proceeds.

At the beginning of the session, all conversation stops for a minute or two, and the teacher
listens to the music coming from a tape-recorder. He waits and listens to several passages in
order to enter into the mood of the music and then begins to read or recite the new text, his
voice modulated in harmony with the musical phrases. The students follow the text in their
text-books where each lesson is translated into the mother tongue. Between the first and
second part of the concert, there are several minutes of solemn silence. In some cases, even
longer pauses can be given to permit the students to stir a little. Before the beginning of the
second part of the concert, there are again several minutes of silence and some phrases of the
music are heard again before the teacher begins to read the text. Now the students close their
text-books and listen to the teacher’s reading. At the end, the students silently leave the room.
They are not told to do any homework on the lesson they have just had except for reading it
cursorily once before going to bed and again before getting up in the morning.

Suggestopedia is a language teaching method originated in the 1970s by Bulgarian

psychologist Georgi Lozanov. The name combines the terms "suggestion" and "pedagogy",
the main idea being that accelerated learning can take place when accompanied by de-
suggestion of psychological barriers and positive suggestion. To this end lessons take place
against a background of soothing music in an emotionally comforting environment, with the
teacher actively planting and unplanting thoughts in and from the learners' minds.

Typical features of a Suggestopedia lesson:

 target language/mother tongue

 teacher-centred

 bright, cheerful classrooms with comfortable chairs

 soothing background music

 positive suggestion and negative "de-suggestion" by teacher

 new identities for learners with TL names and new occupations

 printed TL dialogues with MT translation, vocabulary and grammar notes

 reading of dialogues by teacher, rhythm and intonation matched to music

 reading of dialogues by learners just before sleeping and on rising (homework)

 classroom activities based on dialogues, including Q&A, games and song

It has been suggested that there are some theoretical components through which desuggestion
and suggestion operate. They are:

Authority

People remember best and are influenced when information comes from an authority figure or
institution

Infantilization

Learners may build self-confidence in a relation of teacher-student that is modeled after the
parent-child relation

Prestige

The learning environment is considered as of equal importance as the learning method. This
means that in the best possible setting, the institution is located in a prestigious building such
as an old mansion, villa or castle, and furnished with high-quality equipment, comfortable
seating, a high-class sound system, and perfectly up-to-date learning and teaching tools

Professionalism

Teachers must be trained and certified, irradiate self-confidence and charm, able to change the
tone, intonation, and rhythm of their diction, just like actors do: varying tone and rhythm of
presentation frees the instruction from boredom, and presenting linguistic material with music
brings about the cooperation of the subconscious mind.

Suggestopedia is one of methods that can be used by teacher. It is a method that desuggests
the limitations that students have to help them to believe that they could be successful in
learning, so it can cultivate students’ motivation in learning. Then, it is one of methods which
concerns to students’ learning style because there are visual display, audio, and physical
involvements during learning process. Moreover, it involves emotional meaning in given the
lesson which help students’ better in memorizing.

Suggestopedia is an effective comprehensible input based method with a combination of

desuggestion and suggestion to achieve super learning. The most important objective of
suggestopedia is to motivate more of students’ mental potential to learn and which obtained
by suggestion. Desuggestion means unloading the memory banks, or reserves, of unwanted or
blocking memories. Suggestion then means loading the memory banks with desired and
facilitating memories.

Lazanov argued that learners have difficulties in acquiring English as the second language
because of the fear of the students to make mistakes. When the learners are in this situation,
their heart and blood pressure raise. He believes that there is a mental block in the learners’
brain (affective filter). This filter blocks the input, so the learners have difficulties to acquire
language caused by their fear. The combination of desuggestion and suggestion is to lower the
affective filter and motivate students’ mental potential to learn, aim to accelerate the process
by which they learn to understand and use the target language for communication to achieve
super learning. It is the final goal of suggestopedia.

Lozanov does not articulate a theory of language, nor does it seem he is much concerned with
any particular assumptions regarding language elements and their organization. Lozanov
emphasizes the importance of experiencing language material in “whole meaningful texts”
(Lozanov 1978:268) and notes that the suggestopedia course directs “the student not to
vocabulary memorization and acquiring habits of speech, but to acts of communication”
(Lozanov 1978:109). Lozanov refers most often to the language to be learned as “the
material.”

Suggestion is at the heart of Suggestopedia. Lozanov claims that his method is different from
hypnosis and other forms of mind control because they lack a “desuggestive-suggestive
sense” and “fail to create a constant set up to reserves through concentrative psycho-
relaxation” (1978:267). (Reserves are like human memory banks) There are some principal
theoretical components through which desuggestion and suggestion operate and that set up
access to reserves.

Key Features of Suggestopedia

Comfortable environment
In suggestopedia method, the classroom is not the same as common classrooms. In the
classroom, the chairs are arranged semicircle and faced the black or white board in order to
make the students pay more attention and get more relaxed. In addition, the light in the
classroom is dim in order to make the students’ mind more relaxed.

The use of music

One of the most uniqueness of this method is the use of Baroque music during the learning
process. Baroque music, with its 60 beats per minute and its specific rhythm, created the kind
of relaxed states of mind for maximum retention of material. It is believed that Baroque music
creates a level of relaxed concentration that facilitates the intput and retention of huge
quantities of materials. Baroque music helps the students to reach a certain state of relaxation,
in which the receptivity is increased (Radle, 2008). The increasing of learning potential is put
down to the increase of alpha brain and decreasing of blood preasure and heart rate. The use
of music also depends on the expected skill of the students: listening, grammar,
pronunciation, discussion, etc.

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
everyday. By doing this, the students can learn many things undirectly in the classroom or
outside classroom. For example, students can produce simple sentence by using the posters or
grammatical information on the wall.

Free Errors

In the teaching learning process, students who make mistakes are tolerated, for example in
pronouncing the word. The emphasis is on the content not the structure. Grammar and
vocabularies are presented and given treatment from the teachers, but not dwelt on.

Homework is limited

Students reread materials given in the classroom once before they go to sleep at night and
once in the morning before they get up.

Music, drama and art are integrated in the learning process

They are integrated as often as possible.

Suggestopedia is a method of foreign language teaching developed by Lozanov. It makes use

of dialogs, situations, and translation to present and practice language, and in particular,
makes use of music, visual images, and relaxation exercises to make learning more
comfortable and effective. It is a method of teaching a foreign language in which students
learn quickly by being made to feel relaxed, interested and positive. From these two
definitions, it is clear that Suggestopedia uses techniques to make the students feel relaxed,
comfortable, interested in order to learn more quickly.

In the late 70s, a Bulgarian psychologist by the name of Georgi Lozanov proposed an
argument that students naturally face psychological barriers to learning. The psychological
barriers here refer to a variety of internal distractions (worry, fatigue, boredom, fear, etc.).
There are “negative belief systems”, such as a conviction that learning is hard or that school is
a bore, etc. These barriers will make them unable to perform their best and will reduce their
ability to learn. These systems must be changed into “positive belief systems”, such as
“learning is interesting and fun” and “I can accomplish much more than I ever thought I
could,” in turn permit the activation of unconscious mental processes that result in
unexpectedly powerful effects. The procedure of suggestopedic instruction is as follows:
presentation, active concert, passive concert, practice.

Presentation

Presentation is the basis of conducting a class successfully. In this stage, a discussion of

previously learned material could be conducted first, involving micro-studies or macro-studies
in the real practice to make an integrated teaching procedure. However, the main aim at this
point is to help students relax and move into a positive frame of mind, with the feeling that the
learning is going to be easy and fun. Desuggestion and suggestion happen at this stage at the
same time.

First Wave

The ‘first wave’ involves the active presentation of the material to be learnt. Extended
dialogues are read aloud to the students to the accompaniment of music. The most formal of
these readings, known as the ‘concert reading’ would typically employ a memorable piece of
classical music such as a symphony. This would not be in the form of background music but
would be the main focus of the reading, with the teacher’s voice acting as a counterpoint to
the music. Thus the ‘concert reading’ could be seen as a kind of pleasurable event, with the
learners free to focus on the music, the text or a combination of the two. The rhythm and
intonation of the reading would be exaggerated in order to fit the rhythm of the music.

Second Wave

Students are now guided to relax and listen to Baroque music. During both types of reading,
the learners sit in comfortable seats, armchairs rather than classroom chairs, in a comfortable
environment. After the readings of these long dialogues to the accompaniment of music, the
teacher then makes use of the dialogues for more conventional language work. The music
brings the students into the optimum mental state for the effortless acquisition of the material.

Practice

During the practice stage, ample use is made of a range of role play, games, puzzles, and alike
in order to review and consolidate the learning. Homework is given to students consisting in
again reading the dialogue they are studying—namely once before going to bed and again
before getting up in the morning.

1. 1. Presentation
Presentation is the basis of conducting Suggestopedia in class successfully. The main
aim in this stage is to help students relaxed and move into a positive frame of mind,
with the feeling that the learning is going to be easy and funny. Desuggestion and
suggestion happen at this stage at the same time.

2. 2. Concert

First Concert

This involves the active presentation of the material to be learnt. The original form of
Suggestopedia presented by Lozanov consisted of the use of extended dialogues, often several
pages in length, accompanied by vocabulary lists and observations on grammatical points.
Typically these dialogues will be read aloud to students to the accompaniment of music.

Second Concert

The students are now guided to relax and listen to some Baroque music. The best choice of
music according to Lozanov, with the text being studied very quietly in the background.
During both types of reading, the learners will sit in comfortable seats, armchairs rather than
classroom chairs, in a comfortable environment. After the readings of these long dialogues to
the accompaniment of music, the teacher will then make use of the dialogues for more
conventional language work. The music brings the students into the optimum mental state for
the effortless acquisition of the material. The students, then, make and practice dialogue after
they memorize the content of the materials.

1. 3. Practice

The use of a range of role-plays, games, puzzles, etc. to review and consolidate the learning.

Lozanov believes that learners may have been using only 5 to 10 percent of their mental
capacity, and that the brain could process and retain much more material if given optimal
conditions for learning. Based on psychological research, Lozanov began to develop a
language learning method focusing on "desuggestion" of the limitations learners think they
have, and providing the sort of relaxed state of mind that would facilitate the retention of
material to its maximum potential. This method became known as Suggestopedia - the name
reflecting the application of the power of "(de)suggestion" to the field of pedagogy. Lozanov
believes that unconscious mental activity can be brought into play. Physical and mental
relaxation exercises enable students to regulate the contents of their consciousness in order to
receive lesson material in a manner uninterrupted by any of a variety of internal distractions
(worry, fatigue, boredom, etc.)
One of the most unique characteristics of the method was the use of soft classical music
during the learning process. Lozanov believes it creates a level of relaxed concentration that
facilitates the intake and retention of huge quantities of material. Another aspect that differs
from other methods is the use of soft comfortable chairs and dim lighting in the classroom
(other factors believed to create a more relaxed state of mind). Using this method, Lozanov’s
foreign language classes have demonstrated rates of learning three times faster than those
achieved in the best intensive programs in the United States.

1. The goal

The term 'Suggestopedia', derived from suggestion and pedagogy, is often used loosely to
refer to similar accelerated learning. The goal is to accelerate the process of language
learning. In order to achieve this goal, the students’ psychological barriers must be
minimized. And the students’ mental power must be maximized. Learners have commonly
set a limit on their abilities. For instance, students may say, "Oh, it's too late for me, I am
too old," or "How can I remember that amount? Nobody can!" Lozanov says that by using
this method one can teach/ learn languages approximately three to five times as quickly as
conventional methods.

2. The role of the teacher and the students

The relationship between the teacher and the students is like parents and children. The
teacher is the authority in the classroom. He is sources having great authority. The
students will retain information better from someone in whom they have confidence.
Once, the students trust the teacher, they can feel more secure, they can be more
spontaneous and less inhibited

3. Characteristics of the teaching/ learning process

The teaching- learning process of suggestopedia instruction is "learner-centered". The

learning climate is established that is free from anxiety and cooperation within the group
is perceived as supportive. The consciously designed learning environment, consisting, for
example, of a bright, cheerfully decorated room, flowers, and a seating order which allows
eye-contact among learners as well as maximum freedom of mobility is designed to
increase the joy of learning and to create a positive learning environment. The learner is
able to practice the material in a playful manner in order to be able to apply it freely and
creatively in new contexts. These exercises are designed to promote learning through life-
like contexts.

4. The nature of student-teacher, student-student interaction

The teacher initiates interactions with the whole group of students and with individuals
from the beginning of the course. Later, the students initiate interaction themselves.

5. The feelings of the students

Students are encouraged to be as “childlike” as possible, yielding all authority to the
teacher. Students thus become “suggestible”. A great deal attention is given to students’
feelings. One of the fundamental principles of the method is enhancing the students’
feelings of relax and confidence.

6. The language skills that are emphasized

Speaking communicatively is emphasized. Lozanov states that the suggestopedic course

directs the students to act communications.

7. 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 classroom when necessary. As the course proceeds,
the teacher uses the native language less and less.

8. The way the evaluation is accomplished

Evaluation is usually conducted on students’ normal in-class performance and not through
formal tests, which would threaten the relaxed atmosphere considered essential for
accelerated learning

9. The way the teacher responds to student errors.

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

Georgi Lozanov states that learning is a matter of attitude, not aptitude. Some of the key
elements of Suggestopedia include a rich sensory learning environment (pictures, colour,
music, etc.), a positive expectation of success and the use of a varied range of methods:
dramatised texts, music, active participation in songs and games, etc. Suggestopedia uses
four main stages as follows:

1. Presentation

It is a preparatory stage in which students are helped to relax and move into a positive
frame of mind, with the feeling that the learning is going to be easy and fun. Physical
exercises, mostly muscle tensing and relaxing, mind calming with music are done.
Students are relaxed and immerse themselves in soft classical music while they visualize
themselves first in a safe, calm place away from the classroom, then see themselves
learning lesson material quickly and easily. After three or four minutes of this activity, the
students return to their usual attentive state of awareness.

2 .First Concert - "Active Concert"

The instructional setting will be look like a living room, using a central round table and
ordinary arm chairs surrounding the table. The classroom is bright and colorful. There are
several posters on the wall. Some of them contain grammatical and vocabulary
information. The teacher is lively, dynamic, confident, yet sensitive. All learners choose a
new name and nationality, after which they are given a fictional autobiography. By means
of song, imitation, and play, the learners are enabled to introduce themselves to each other
and assume their new roles. This involves the active presentation of the material to be
learnt. The teacher introduced the new dialogue for the week, reading the material aloud
in a dramatic manner, pausing to translate new vocabulary as necessary. He reads the text
at a normal speed, sometimes intoning some words, and the students follow. Then, it is
followed by various kinds of activities: group or choral reading of the parts of the script,
role play, singing , playing games. It uses lively pieces of classical music. Suggestopedia
uses the power of pieces of classical music because of its artistically harmonized colorful
melody, rhythm, and emotion that stimulates all levels of mind as it changes from time to
time.

2. Second Concert - "Passive Concert"

In this step, a state of relax is created. The students put down the script, close their eyes.
The students are now invited to relax and listen to some Baroque music, with the text
being read by the teacher very quietly in the background. The music is specially selected
to bring the students into the optimum mental state for the effortless acquisition of the
material. Suggestopedia uses baroque music pieces in the second or "passive" concert
session, it never uses a "slow baroque" or a music piece written as "adagio". It is simply
because Suggestopedia does not want students to fall asleep in the concert session. Rather,
it uses faster and livelier pieces to stimulate a whole brain. At the end of this passive
concert, the students leave the classroom silently.

3. Practice

In this stage, the students finish off what they have learned with dramas, songs, games,
puzzles, etc. to review and consolidate the learning. The students sing classical songs and
play games, etc. while “the teacher acts more like a consultant.” The students
spontaneously speak and interact in the target language without interruption or correction.

EFFECTS OF SUGGESTOPEDIC INSTRUCTION

According to Gabriele Beitinger, the design of suggestopedic instruction has positive

cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social effects. Individual differences between
learners are taken into consideration as well, since the goal of suggestopedia is to give
special help to those learners with somewhat more negative approach to learning, such as
a high degree of anxiety.

1.Cognitive effects: development of knowledge.

As explained above, suggestopedic instruction provides learners with learning

environments which are comfortable. This is to increase learning resistance, to stimulate
learning readiness, to make the learners feel relaxed, to foster hope and trust in their own
power, to help the learners overcome the barriers to learning, to facilitate the learners to
change input into intake. The students are exposed to situational exercises as well as to the
complex, authentic system of the target language. It can be expected that this exposure has
an especially positive effect on the development of listening comprehension and the
ability to communicate in a foreign language in everyday situations.

Motivational effects: According to the motivational approach, the experience of

enjoyment (intrinsic motivation) and competence in learning is the decisive factor in the
development of long-term learning motivation. The playful design of many exercises in
suggestopedic instruction is likely to produce such kind of experience, e.g. a joy of
learning and curiosity. Therefore, we might expect an increase of intrinsic motivation
during the course of suggestopedic instruction. As suggestopedic instruction offers
frequent opportunities to select the activities according to personal interests or intent to
apply the learning, learners should quite often experience the feeling of autonomy and
self-determination. The manner in which different forms of practice are embedded in rich
situational contexts helps the learner understand rather complex remarks even with a
limited vocabulary. Experiences of success such as those are likely to frequently let
learners experience a feeling of competence. Thus, overall, suggestopedic instruction can
be expected to have positive motivational effects.

Emotional effects: Anxiety

In regard to emotional effects, one important way to facilitate the learning process of the
learners is to reduce their nervousness and anxious tension. Suggestopedic instruction
responds to this emotional need through the frequent use of relaxation exercises as well as
through reducing nervousness in movement- oriented exercises. We can therefore assume
that suggestopedic instruction has a positive effect on the emotional dimension of the
learning process.

Social effects

By motivating independent groups of learners to work on a certain subject matter even

after a corresponding course has ended ("groups of practice"), self-autonomous
development of knowledge, especially on a long term basis, is promoted. A positive view
of the shared process of learning is vital for the formation of such groups. Suggestopedic
instruction frequently uses exercises which provide a high degree of social interaction and
authentic communication. It is seen as very important that learners become acquainted
with each other. Therefore, we can expect that students in a suggestopedic course will
experience cooperation with other students as well as with the instructor in a positive way.

Eight Key Features

Suggestopedia can be characterized, and distinguished by eight key features:

1. Comfortable Learning
The learning environment is optimized in every possible way to facilitate a
comfortable and pleasant learning experience that is relaxed and fun to experience.
 Besides a spacious classroom where activities can be held, dim lights, soft music,
comfortable chairs, and various posters relating to the target language are necessary.

2. Peripheral Learning
The idea is that people perceive much more from the environment than that to which
they consciously attend. Students may absorb the foreign language with posters,
pictures and decorations containing grammatical patterns, rather than learning
vocabulary and grammar.

3. Authoritative Teacher
The teacher takes a role of complete authority and control in the classroom during the
teaching. That’s why it’s required that the teacher must be well-trained and certified.
To some extent, the teacher is not only a teacher but also a psychologist.

4. Suggestible Students
The students are encouraged to follow the teacher’s suggestions without doubts and
assume new roles and names, called ‘new identities.’ That’s a smart way to decrease
learning anxiety due to mistakes and accidented performances. This leads to students
being more suggestible and open to the learning input. Furthermore, students are asked
to close their eyes and to concentrate on their breathing for relaxation, while listening
to Baroque string music while listening to the lessons.

5. Dialogue
A Suggestopedia course lasts 30 days and consists of ten units of study. The central
focus of each unit is a dialogue consisting of 1,200 words or so, with an accompanying
vocabulary list and grammatical commentary.

6. Positive Suggestions
Direct suggestion might be used for the students’ encouragement may consist of a
simple affirmation that ‘all learning is joyful and pleasurable.’

7. No Corrections
Errors are tolerated while the focus remains on the content. The teacher does
corrections subtly, by repeating the patterns in variations but he or she is not supposed
to directly correct the student, for the simple reason that the latter procedure is
counter-productive to high learning input. Thus grammar and vocabulary are only
taught by implication, not directly.

8. Activities
Various activities such as music, drama, role play or methods known from Gestalt
therapy sessions may be integrated into the learning process as frequently as possible.

In all the features of Suggestopedia, the most conspicuous one is the central place of
music and musical rhythm to learning. Suggestopedia has some relationship with other
functional uses of music, particularly sound therapy.
The most important is to find the right kind of music for achieving a maximized relaxation
response. According to not only Lozanov, but many sound therapists around the world,
Baroque music, with its 60 beats per minute and its specific rhythm creates this kind of
‘focused relaxation’ that leads to highly effective learning.

What are reserve capacities?

Dr. Lozanov believed that the more the brain is used, the more it develops. If this is a
well-known fact in relation to muscles, the same applies for the brain, and especially, our
memory interface.

Suggestopedia is a teaching method which is based on a modern understanding of how the

human brain works and how humans learn most effectively. Suggestopedia was originally
applied mainly in foreign language teaching and it was often claimed that students could
learn languages approximately three times more quickly through Suggestopedia than
conventional methods.

Students learn at a different speeds and rates. One reason for their inefficiency in learning
is that they set up psychological barriers to learning. They fear that they will be unable to
perform, that they will be limited in their ability to learn, and so they fail. Students do not
use the full mental powers that they have. According to psychologists, we may be using
five to ten percent of our mental capacity. To have a better use of our reserve capacity, the
limitations, barriers and their fear of failures need to be ‘desuggested.’

Desuggestopedia is an application of the study of suggestion to pedagogy. Desuggest is

the opposite of suggest. It is used to eliminate the negative feeling and Suggestopedia is
used to reinforce the positive feeling and to release the full mental power. This
methodology 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 help them
overcome the barriers to learning. This theory emphasizes the power of students’ feelings
and puts the main focus on them. Though Suggestopedia has been primarily been used for
foreign language teaching, it can be used to teach any subject. It is known in the western
world as ‘Super-learning’ or ‘Suggestiveaccelerative learning.’

This method states that learners set up psychological barriers to learning and thus learners
do not use the full mental power they have. They fear that they will be unable to perform
or be limited in their ability to learn so they fear that they will fail. In order to use
learners’ reserved capacity, the limitations need to be ‘desuggested.’ Desuggestopedia was
developed to help students eliminate the feeling that they cannot be successful and the
negative association they may have toward studying.

There are five main principles that govern Desuggestopedia:

1. Learning should be characterized by the joy and the absence of tension and it is
facilitated in a cheerful environment.
2. Humans operate on a conscious and paraconscious level. A student can learn from what
is present in the environment even if his attention is not directed to it.

3. Suggestion is the means to use the normally unused mental reserves for learning.

4. The teacher should recognize that learners bring certain psychological barriers with
them to the learning situation, and she should attempt to desuggest them.

5. If students are relaxed and confident, they will not need to try hard to learn the
language. It will just come naturally and easily.

The Teacher’s Role

The teacher’s main role is to desuggest psychological barriers that learners bring with
them to the learning situation. She speaks confidently and gives the students the
impression that learning the target language will be easy and enjoyable. Once the students
trust the teacher, they can feel more secure. They can be more spontaneous and less
inhibited. The students will retain information. The major goal of the teacher is to help
students eliminate and overcome the barriers to learning and to help the students to
develop communicative ability. Teachers do not act in a directive way although this
method is teacher controlled and not student controlled. Teachers act as a real partner with
the students, participating in the activities such as games and songs naturally and
genuinely. The teachers not only need to know the techniques and the methodology
completely, but they must also fully understand the theory. If they implement the
techniques without understanding, they will not be able to lead their learners to successful
results or they could even cause a negative impact on learning.

The teacher uses various activities like dialog, question and answer, repetition and
translation. The teacher integrates indirect and direct positive suggestions. To bring a
positive expectation of success, he or she should use a varied range of methods like
dramatized texts, music, active participation in songs and games, etc.

A great deal of attention is given to students’ feelings in this method. The teacher uses
various techniques in this method. She makes the classroom environment bright and
cheerful. The walls are decorated with scenes related to their communicative language.
The classroom contains grammatical information about the target language on classroom
walls. The teacher provides as positive environment as possible

Peripheral learning is another technique used in this method. It is based on the idea that
we perceive much more in our environment than we consciously notice. It is claimed that
students will absorb the necessary facts effortlessly by seeing the information in the
classroom walls as posters and hangings. The teacher may or may not call attention to the
posters. They are changed from time to time to provide grammatical information that is
appropriate to what the students are studying at that time.

In the Positive Suggestion technique, the teacher’s responsibility is to orchestrate the

suggestive factors in a learning situation, thereby helping students break down the barriers
to learning that they bring with them. A teacher tells students that they are going to be
successful. This type of suggestion is called Direct Suggestion and it directly appeals to
the students’ consciousness. The Indirect Suggestion appeals to the students’ subconscious
which is the more powerful of the two.

Choosing a New Identity is a wonderful technique used in this method. The students
choose a target language name and occupation. As it continues, the students have an
opportunity to develop a whole biography about their fictional selves. Role play can also
be used as a technique here. Students are asked to pretend temporarily that they are
someone else and to perform in the target language as if they were really that person.

In the technique of First Concert, the teacher introduces a story as related in the dialogue
and calls her students’ attention to some particular grammatical points. The students have
copies of the dialogue in the target language and their native language and refer to it as the
teacher is reading. The teacher reads with intoning as selected music is played.
Occasionally the students read the text together with the teacher, and listen only to the
music as the teacher pauses in particular moments. This is called an Active Concert. In the
Passive Concert, the students are asked to put their scripts aside. They simply listen as the
teacher reads the dialogue at normal speed. Here also the teacher reads with musical
accomplishment and the passive session is, consequently, occurs more calmly as the
students listen only.

In the Primary Activation technique, the students playfully reread the target language
dialog out loud, individually or in groups. The teacher divides the students into three
groups and each group of students reads the parts of the dialogue in a particular manner,
the first group sadly, the second group angrily and the last cheerfully.

In Creative Adaptation technique, students engage in various activities. Activities include

singing, dancing, dramatizations and games. This technique is used to accelerate the
process of learning a foreign language for every day communication.

In each technique, errors are corrected gently and indirectly. The teacher gives the
students the impression that learning is easy and enjoyable. Teachers help the students
activate the material to which they have been exposed and integrate indirect positive
suggestions into the learning situation.

Conclusion

Desuggestopedia is a method that aims to mitigate the psychological barriers of the

student. The psychological barriers in language acquisition that manifest with negative
feelings include lack of vocabulary, poor grammar, poor fluency, and mispronunciation.
To help the students overcome these barriers, the teacher will find different techniques of
teaching and learning processes. The teacher should be creative and smart in choosing and
using different methods in teaching different skills of language. These methods must be
effective for the students to communicate using foreign language. Teachers can use
Suggestopedia as a teaching method. It provides some valuable insights into the power of
cognition and creates techniques that make students feel comfortable, relaxed and
suggestible to the material being learned. The teacher can easily apply this method in class
because it is an effective method to make students feel joyful about learning English.
During the process of teaching, Desuggestopedia appropriately uses environment
suggestion, figure suggestion, activity suggestion and self-suggestion to enhance English
teaching. The process is usually accompanied with music or some games or drama to
achieve the success of learning.

Suggestopedia is a teaching method that claims several advantages:

1. Accelerated Learning: Suggestopedia suggests that memorization is accelerated,

claiming up to 25 times faster learning compared to conventional methods.

2. Reduced Anxiety: The method aims to create a relaxed and comfortable learning
environment, reducing anxiety and stress often associated with language learning.

3. Improved Retention: The emphasis on relaxation and positive suggestion is believed

to enhance the retention of information, including vocabulary and language structures.

4. Equality in Learning: Suggestopedia asserts that it can benefit learners of varying

abilities, including both academically gifted and less academically inclined
individuals.

5. Holistic Learning: While focusing on vocabulary pairs, Suggestopedia also promotes

experiencing language in whole meaningful texts, encouraging a more holistic
understanding of language.

6. Cultural Context: The method often involves exposure to the cultural aspects of the
target language, providing a broader context for language acquisition.

7. Utilization of Music: Suggestopedia utilizes music and rhythm to create a positive

and energizing atmosphere, contributing to an enhanced learning experience.

Disadvantages

1. Resource-Intensive: Suggestopedia often requires specific resources like music and

well-designed classrooms, making it resource-intensive.

2. Limited Applicability: It might not suit all subjects or learning objectives, limiting its
applicability.

3. Dependence on the Teacher: Success often depends on a well-trained teacher, and it

might be challenging for some educators to implement effectively.

4. Scientific Validity: Some critics question the scientific validity of its claims,
especially the dramatic increase in learning speed.

5. Cultural Sensitivity: The method may not be equally effective across different
cultural settings.
 6. Not Suitable for All Learners: Some learners might not respond well to the highly
structured and orchestrated nature of suggestopedia.

The use of classical/baroque music is important to reduce the stress other types of music can
demotivate the learners. This method says by the technique of suggestions, we can eliminate
these negative thoughts with positive ones. This method does not underrate students’ mental
capacity.

To want is to be able to- the idea here is that everybody can do anything but the only problem
is that how can you maximize our mental capacity.

Classroom setting is also important for creating an optimal learning environment. This
method says that this is important to motivate learners for the learning process. Also we
should hang lots of pictures and flashcards on the walls especially about a grammatical item.
For example, if we hang flashcards about the future tense, a few weeks later we should
replace it by another one. Double-pleanedness helps students learn subconsciously. Learning
from environment called peripheral learning.