Suggestopedia: A Different Way of Teaching

Many educators believe that younger students, fearing that they will be unable to perform, limit their ability to learn by setting up psychological barriers. Adults, especially ones who are learning a new language also feel embarrassed and this causes a barrier also. The barriers that these learners create in their minds are many times due to the conventional methods of teaching. One method that claims to overcome these barriers is suggestopedia.

Suggestopedia which derives its name from the words “suggestion” and “pedagogy” is a method developed by Bulgarian psychotherapist Georgi Lozanov. In this method students are put in what proponents call an ideal learning environment where soothing casual music such as Baroque, combined with comfortable chairs, soft lighting, and a relaxed atmosphere are introduced to the students. The teacher then assumes the role of suggestionist and creates a type of teaching sometimes referred to as hypnotic. Lozanov claimed that his method could teach language three to five times quicker than the conventional methods.

Although this method in writing would seem to work and is used in some home study language courses I don’t see it as possible in a classroom setting. First, I couldn’t see a classroom full of anyone under eighteen being calmed long enough to teach, especially much younger children, who strive on interacting in the learning environment. Secondly, if the students did settle down and relax I‘d bet many of them would just fall asleep. After all, many drift off when there is not soothing music and they are sitting at a hard wooden desk. I believe suggestopedia would work in some instances but I can’t see it being effective in a normal room full of children. To learn more about suggestopedia I will refer you to YouTube because there are many videos and series on this subject posted there.