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It is a method of language teaching that categorize along with others under the rubric of a communicative approach, stressing a means of organizing a language syllabus. The approach holds that the classification of skill levels should be based on what people want to do with the language or what meanings people want to convey.

This method helps the teacher to identity and analyze the needs of the learner, in order to draw the syllabus and to teach the purposes of speech.

It helps learners to use real and appropriate language for communication.

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Free conversations and debates about a certain topic, TV shows and public media.

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In 1972 D.A. Wilkings a British linguist proposed a radical shift from using traditional grammar and vocabulary concepts. Described the language to an analysis of the communicative meanings that learners would need to express themselves and to understand effectively. At the end

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Youtube Video with teaching modelling of the method

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Youtube Video with teaching modelling of the method

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Functional Notional Approach in Teaching Grammar

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The Silent Way is the name of a method of language teaching devised by Caleb Gattegno. It is based on the premise that the teacher should be silent as much as possible in the classroom but the learner should be encouraged to produce as much language as possible.
The Silent Way belongs to a tradition that views learning as a problemsolving, creative, discovering activity, in which the learner is a principal actor rather than a bench-bound listener (Bruner 1966).

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The silent way makes use of specialized teaching materials: colored Cuisenaire rods, the sound-color chart, word charts, and Fidel charts. The Cuisenaire rods are wooden, and come in ten different lengths, but identical cross-section; each length has its own assigned color.

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Publicado el

1. 1. The Silent Way Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I remember,Involve me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin

2. 2. IntroductionThe silent way(SW), a method oflanguage teaching, originatedin the early 1970s andintroduced by Caleb Gattegno,who, an Europe educator, iswell known for the use ofcolored sticks called Cuisenairerods and for his approach tothe teaching of initial reading inwhich sounds are taught bycolors.

3. 3. Basic Premises for SW The method is based on the premise that teacher should be silent as much as possible and the learners should be encouraged to produce language as much as possible. The SW assumes that learners work with resources and nothing else, as they are solely responsible for what they learn. "Teaching should be subordinated to learning." Silence makes students to concentrate on what is to be learned.

4. 4. Learning Hypotheses Learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or creates rather than remembers and repeats what is to be learned. Learning is facilitated by accompanying (mediating) physical objects. Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learned.

5. 5. Theory of LearningA successful learning involves commitment of the self to language acquisition through the use of silent awareness and then active trial. Silent Way learners acquire "inner criteria". The Silent Way student is expected to become independent, autonomous and responsible. 1 the possession or right of self- government. 2 freedom of action.

6. 6. The Silent Way student*Independent learners Autonomous *Responsible learners are aware that they Learners know that they have must depend on their free will to choose own resources and *Autonomous learners among any set of realize that they can choose proper linguistic choices, the use the knowledge of expressions in a given ability to choose their own language to set of circumstances intelligently andopen up some things in and situations. carefully is said to be a new language. evidence of responsibility. Independent Responsible Learners Learners

7. 7. Pedagogical materials thatare both effective and fun to use :

8. 8. 1. Word ChartWall charts on which the words arewritten with the same color code asthe rectangle chart. These chartsdisplay the structural vocabulary ofthe language: about 500 words. Thecolor code means that languages asdifferent as Japanese and Russian,which use signs unfamiliar to thelearner, can be immediately readand pronounced correctly.

9. 9. 2. The FidelThese show all the possible spellings for eachphoneme and which also use the samecolor code as the rectangle chart. The Fidelis particularly useful for languages such asEnglish and French, which have complexand irregular spellings.

10. 10. 3. Cuisenaire RodRos are used to createclear and visiblesituations that enablestudents to understandhow a given concept isexpressed in thelanguage.

11. 11. 4. A pointer The teacher or the learner can show a word or a sentence while maintaining the essential characteristic of language - its ephemeral nature. The pointer creates the dynamic of the language by introducing the element of time in relation to the different charts, which are in themselves, static. The use of the pointer is one of the ways in which the teacher calls on the learners to use their mental powers.

12. 12. 5. The Sound / Color Rectangle ChartA wall chart made up ofdifferent colored rectangles;each color represents aphoneme (sound) of thelanguage, enabling learners towork on fine distinctions in thephonetics and prosody of thelanguage, both on the level ofproduction and of listening andrecognition.

13. 13. Objectives of Learning The general goal set for language learning is near-native fluency in the target language, and correct pronunciation and mastery of the prosodic elements of the target language are emphasized. The teacher should give them only what they absolutely need to promote their learning. They become independent by relying on themselves.

14. 14. The SyllabusA basically structural syllabus, with lessons planned around grammatical items and related vocabulary. The following is a section of a Peace Corps Silent Way Syllabus for the first ten hours of instruction in Thai. It is used to teach American Peace Corps volunteers being trained to teach in Thailand. At least 15 minutes of every hour of instruction would be spent on pronunciation. A word that is italicised can be substituted for by another word having the same function.

15. 15. Lesson Vocabulary wood, red, green, yellow, brown, pink,1. Wood colour red. white, orange, black, colour2. Using the numbers 1-10 one, two,... ten3. Wood colour red two pieces. take (pick up)4. Take (pick up) wood colour red two give, object pronounspieces5. Take wood colour red two pieces hive where, on, under, near, far, over, nexthim to, here, there

16. 16. Question-forming rules. Yes.6. Wood red where? Wood red on table. No.7. Wood colour red on table, is it? Yes, on. Not adjectives of comparisonon.8. Wood colour red long. Wood colour greenlonger. Wood colour orange longest.9. Wood colour green taller. Wood colour red isit?10. Review. Students use structures taught innew situations, such as comparing the heights ofstu-dents in the class.(Joel Wiskin, Personal Communication)

17. 17. Types of learning and teaching activities.Learner rolesTeacher rolesThe role of instructional materials

18. 18. Learner roles Learners are expected to develop independence, autonomy, and responsibility. The autonomous learner chooses proper expressions in a given set of circumstances and situations. The absence of correction and repeated modeling from the teacher requires the students to develop "inner criteria" and to correct themselves.

19. 19. Learners have only themselves as individuals and the group to rely on, and so must learn to work cooperatively rather than competitively.A learner also must be a teacher, a student, part of a support system, a problem solver, and a self- evaluator.

20. 20. Teacher roles The teacher is a technician or an engineer who facilitates learning. The teachers role is one of neutral observer, neither praise nor criticize, merely looks for continued improvement. The teacher is silent. The teachers presence in the classroom is limited to providing a model of the language that the students are going to work on.

21. 21.  Stevick defines the Silent Way teachers tasks as to teach: the presentation of an item once, typically using nonverbal clues to get across meanings to test: elicitation and shaping of student production is done in as silent a way as possible to get out of the way: the teacher silently monitors learners interactions with each other and may even leave the room while learners struggle with their new linguistic tools

22. 22.  Teacher silently monitors learners interactions with each other and may even leave the room while learners struggle with their new linguistic tools. Teachers are responsible for designing teaching sequences and creating individual lessons and lesson elements. It is important for teacher-defined learning goals that are clear and attainable.

23. 23.  The teacher is responsible for creating an environment that encourages student risk taking and that facilitates learning. The teacher uses gestures, charts, and manipulates in order to elicit and shape student responses and so must be both facile and creative . Teacher like the complete dramatist, writes the script, chooses the props, sets the mood, models the action, designates the players, and is critic for the performance.

24. 24. The role of instructional materials The materials are used to illustrate the relationships between sound and meaning in the target language. The materials are designed for manipulation by the students and the teacher, independently and cooperatively, in promoting language learning by direct association. The number of languages and contain symbols in the target language for all of the vowel and consonant sounds of the language. The symbols are colour coded according to pronunciation; thus, if a language possesses two different symbols for the same sound, they will be coloured alike.

25. 25.  The coloured cuisenaire rods are used to directly link words and structures with their meanings in the target language, thereby avoiding translation into the native language. The rods may be used for naming colours, for size comparisons, to represent people build floor plans, constitute a road map, and so on. Use of the rods is intended to promote inventiveness, creativity, and interest in forming communicative utterances on the part of the students, as they move from simple to more complex structures. When the teacher or student has difficulty expressing a desired word or concept, the rods can be supplemented by referring to the Fidel charts, or to the third major visual aid used in the Silent Way, the vocabulary charts.

26. 26. The content of word charts will vary fromlanguage to language, but the generalcontent of the vocabulary charts (Gattegno1972) is paraphrased below: Chart 1: the word rod, colours of the rods, plural markers, simple imperative verbs, personal pronouns, some adjectives and question words Charts 2, 3: remaining pronouns, words for "here" and "there," of, for, and name Chart 4: numbers

27. 27.  Charts 5, 6: words illustrating size, space, and temporal relationships, as well as some concepts difficult to illustrate with rods, such as order, causality, condition, similarity and difference Chart 7: words that qualify, such as adverbs Charts 8, 9: verbs, with cultural references where possible Chart 10: family relationships Charts 11, 12: words expressing time, calendar elements, seasons, days, week, month,year, etc.

28. 28.  Other materials: books and worksheets for practicing reading and writing skills, picture books, tapes; videotapes, films and visual aids.

29. 29. Procedure of Learning The first part of the lesson focuses on pronunciation. If a response is incorrect, the teacher will attempt to reshape the utterance or have another student present the correct model. After practice with the sounds of the language, sentence patterns, structure, and vocabulary are practiced.

30. 30. The sample lesson that follows illustratesa typical lesson format. The languagebeing taught is Thai, for which this is thefirst lesson. 1. Teacher empties rods onto the table. 2. Teacher picks up two or three rods of different colours, and after each rod is picked up says: [mai]. 3. Teacher holds up one rod of any colour and indicates to a student that a response is required. Student says: [mai]. If response is incorrect, teacher elicits response from another student, who then models for the first student. 4. Teacher next picks up a red rod and says: [mai sti daeng].

31. 31.  5. Teacher picks up a green rod and says: [mai sii khiawj. 6. Teacher picks up either a red or green rod and elicits response from student, If response is incorrect, procedure in step 3 is followed (student modeling). 7. Teacher introduces two or three other colors in the same manner. 8. Teacher shows any of the rods whose forms were taught previously and elicits student response. Correction technique is through student modeling, or the teacher may help student isolate error and self-correct. 9. When mastery is achieved, teacher puts one red rod in plain view and says: [mai sii daeng nung an].

32. 32.  10. Teacher then puts two red rods in plain view and says: [mai sii daeng song an]. 11. Teacher places two green rods in view and says [mai sii khiaw song an]; 12. Teacher holds up two rods of a different color and elicits student response. 13. Teacher introduces additional numbers, based on what the class can comfortably retain. Other colors might also be introduced. 14. Rods are put in a pile. Teacher indicates, through his or her own actions, that rods should be picked up, and the correct utterance made. All die students in the group pick up rods and make correction is encouraged.

33. 33.  15. Teacher then says: [kep mai sii daeng song an]. 16. Teacher indicates that a student should give the teacher the rods called for. Teacher asks other students in the class to give him or her the rods that he or she asks for. This is all done in the target language through unambiguous actions on the part of the teacher. 17. Teacher now indicates that the students should give each other com¬mands regarding the calling for of rods. Rods are put at the disposal of the class. 18. Experimentation is encouraged. Teacher speaks only to correct an incorrect utterance, if no peer group correction is forthcoming.

34. 34. Conclusion The actual practices of the Silent Way are much less revolutionary than might be expected. Working from what is a rather traditional structural and lexical syllabus, the method exemplifies many of the features that characterize more traditional methods, such as Situational Language Teaching and Audiolingualism. With a strong focus on accurate repetition of sentences modeled initially by the teacher and a movement through guided elicitation exercises to freer communication.

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Publicado el 1. The Silent Way Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I remember,Involve me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin 2. IntroductionThe silent way(SW), a method oflanguage teaching, originatedin the early 1970s andintroduced by Caleb Gattegno,who, an Europe educator, iswell known for the use ofcolored sticks called Cuisenairerods and for his approach tothe teaching of initial reading inwhich sounds are taught bycolors.

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Youtube Video with teaching modelling of the method

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Youtube Video with teaching modelling of the method

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Cooperative learning is an instructional strategy that enables small groups of students to work together on a common assignment. The parameters often vary, as students can work collaboratively on a variety of problems, ranging from simple math problems to large assignments such as proposing environmental solutions on a national level. Students are sometimes individually responsible for their part or role in the assignment, and sometimes they are held accountable as an entire group.

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Positive interdependence: Students feel responsible for their own and the group's effort.

Face-to-face interaction: Students encourage and support one another; the environment encourages discussion and eye contact.

Individual and group accountability: Each student is responsible for doing their part; the group is accountable for meeting its goal.

Social Skills: Group members gain direct instruction in the interpersonal, social, and collaborative skills needed to work with others.

Group processing: Group members analyze their own and the group's ability to work together.

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When designing cooperative learning activities, teachers need to clearly identify to students their individual responsibility and accountability to the group.

Each member must have a task they are responsible for and that cannot be completed by other members.

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What is Cooperative Learning? — Cooperative Learning Institute

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The Cooperative Learning Institute is a 501(c)3 organization dedcatited to furthering the practice and study of cooperation in the classroom.

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Learning by immersion means that the children are immersed in a "language bath". They hear, speak and learn the language in authentic everyday contexts and experience it in their familiar surroundings. They thus learn the new language as naturally as their mother tongue - without any pressure or vocabulary stress. The immersive method places great emphasis on facial expressions and gestures. The children can thus understand what is being said from the context. As receptive skills increase and reading and listening comprehension improve, the children gradually absorb the new language into their everyday language use.

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Youtube Video with teaching modelling of the method

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Youtube Video with teaching modelling of the method

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Cooperative Learning Model: Strategies & Examples

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1 Read Children’s Books even if your children were not yet born or Have grown up already.

2 Watch the Full-Length cartoons, arranging your home theater.

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" Each language is a window opened up to another world, another landscape, another kind of human values". "

Georges Steiner, French philosopher

( Version française)

Our project for Douvrain :

Developing an English Immersion Program.

An English immersion program is being organized at the Communal School of Douvrain. This program begin in kinder garden (at 5 years old), and year after year, will gradually phase into the primary grades.

What are the reasons for carrying forward with this experience ?

Today, learning foreign languages is a necessity for everyone, especially for our youth who will eventually be working in the European Community.

The traditional method of language learning does not give very satisfying results. Therefore, we envision another way : immersion. Learning a foreign language is the easiest and occurs most rapidly during the first 8 years of an individual's life. The results are also more longstanding. At this age, the intellectual flexibility and the phonetic organs allow the child the ability to learn and speak any language. What does immersion consist of ?

The immersion method consists of an organization of games and activities as well as the teaching of ail the curriculum subjects in the chosen foreign language (English). The method also consists of plunging the learners into a " language bath " with a native speaking teacher.

This " language bath " implies certain principles :

Contact with the language must be quantitatively important (at Douvrain: 13 periods per week).

The target language must be the vehicle of communication between the teacher and the students and as soon as possible amongst the learners themselves.

The curriculum subjects must be taught in the target language.

Games and other activities must also be organized in the target language.

What is the rôle of the native language in the immersion program ?

Solidifying the learning capacities and their development in the native language (French) must take place in school since this responsibility cannot be left alone to the parents.

Objectives of the Immersion Program
(teaching English to French speakers)

Educational objectives

By the end of the 6 th year in primary school, the students will acquire a competency in English as similar as possible to English speaking children of the same age.

In their other core subjects (French, math,...), the immersion students will be up to par with non-immersion students.

Democratic objectives

To invite everyone to participate in this type of foreign language learning which, up until now, was only available to families who could afford to send their children abroad or to private schools.

To put at the disposition of our region dozens of graduated bilingual secondary students ( and why not tri or quatrilingual ?), as early as 2009. To achieve this, contacts will be made with the secondary schools in Saint-Ghislain (especially the Charles Plisnier High School).

If you would like your child to benefit from this experience, you can already begin to reserve your registration for the next school year by clicking here. Please note that the students who are previously registered at one of our four schools have priority.

If you would like to teach English immersion at our school and you have the proper qualifications, you can submit your resume here.

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" Each language is a window opened up to another world, another landscape, another kind of human values". " Georges Steiner, French philosopher ( Version française) Our project for Douvrain : Developing an English Immersion Program. An English immersion program is being organized at the Communal School of Douvrain.

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YouTube Video with teaching modeling of the method

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YouTube Video with teaching modeling of the method