Silent way The silent way is a methodology of teaching language based on the idea that teachers should be as silent

as possible during a class but learners should be encouraged to speak as much as possible. There are three basic principals: - The learner needs to discover or create - Learning is made easier by the use of physical objects such as Cuisenaire rods - Learning is made easier by problem-solving using the target language Example The teacher shows the learners a small red Cuisenaire rod and a bigger blue one and says The blue one is bigger than the red one'. The learners repeat this. The teacher then substitutes the rods to produce other models, and finally encourages the learners to produce their own comparisons. In the classroom Areas of target language where Cuisenaire rods can be useful include word boundaries, contracted forms, prepositions, word order and word stress. Learners can use the rods to first represent and then to manipulate language. "The Silent Way" teaching technique
Maybe this is against the rules because it s kind of a re-post. But, I just want to repost my message in it s own topic because I spent a while typing it out as a response to another message, and now it s hidden somewhere that few will probably see. And, to be honest, I ve spent a fair amount of time researching this and I have no one to share it with, out here in the countryside in Japan! I just wanted to share some of the info. ===== I just finished writing this... sorry it s so long. I like writing so this was fun to think out and share hehe I use this method with some students who have special learning needs, and it works well for some of them, I think. ===== GENERAL INFO Have you ever heard of "The Silent Way"? Heres some info I know about it so far. Its a teaching style that was developed around the 1970s. It involves using cuisenaire rods (I use colored blocks), and phonetically colored word charts made up of the most common words in English, as the teaching aids. It s called "The Silent Way" because it s designed to have the teacher speaking as little as possible. In essence, the teacher doesnt do much, if any talking. I suggest you check out this website, or view his youtube videos to get an idea of how it words. I saw this 2 and a half years ago in a teaching course, and it seemed pretty cool. I like playing with stuff, so I enjoyed it. His website and youtube videos helped me get started because I often need to watch something before I can do it myself. http://donaldcherry.com/silentway/

CLASSROOM MATERIALS You can purchase cuisenaire rods and color charts through the mail (I use colored blocks), or maybe you can use a laptop in class to view the color charts that you can find at the website I listed above, and use a zoom-in function to see the pictures (for PCs hold CTRL and use the scroll button on the mouse to zoom in)? The charts are copyrighted, so printing them off of the website is probably prohibited. You also need a table and some chairs to sit around the table.

METHOD/TEACHING You can start with something simple like colors. Listing off the colors, and then building up to a sentence like, "Its a blue block" or "This is a blue block". You can add some actions into it, like "Pick up the blue block", or "Take the blue block", and have the students instruct each other or the teacher. Then, you start building simple objects with the blocks (example: a chair), and introduce "Its a chair". You can point at the color charts to remind the student. You can also use your fingers as a visual aid to signify how many words the student needs to speak. If there is an aid in the classroom, it would be great to teach both of them English, and have the aid model new ideas, from time to time. You can then build up the difficulty and move from "Its a chair", to "It s two chairs", to "Its 2 chairs and a table", etc. Or you can tell stories with it, perhaps by building a scene with the blocks of a house. Then, with a block signifying someone, students narrate the actions. For past tense, "She opened the door. She walked in. She sat on the couch. She watched tv." Or to make it more complicated, you might teach, "He opened the door and walked in. He sat on the couch and watched tv." Perhaps you can use it in a shopping roleplay, or to simply ask for something, like, "Can I have a blue block?" Whatever you can imagine. Also, repetition is really important. One great thing about this method is you can use plenty of repetition in the process of experimentation, and the students wont really even notice that youre doing a drilling exercise. HOW LEARNING STYLES ARE IMPACTED Tactile: Touching their own blocks: The tangible objects will likely help with memory for some students. Particularly tactile learners (those who need to learn through experience, movement -- for example, by building their own living room, or chairs, tables, etc.). So... let them build their own objects! Let them play with the blocks and get familiar with them. Sitting close to the blocks: Sitting next to the table and blocks for this special activity might help them remember the experience later on, and so, might help them remember words. Visual: Colored rods: having a red chair and a black table -- helps the visual learners focus more on the language and less on distinguishing what the object is, because the colors help them process things more quickly. Phonetically colored word charts: the letters are colored based on the phonetic sound. So, for example, the "E" in the word "The" is the same color as the "A" in the word "another", because they both share the schwa sound (something like uhh). Mouthing words: since teachers are discouraged from talking while using this method, just mouthing out the words and the shape of the mouth can be enough to help students

figure out the words for themselves. Students then try and experiment with sounds to discover the correct sound on their own. The theory behind this, is that speaking a word has a different sound because as human beings, when we hear our own voice, were hearing the sounds through the air, and through the bones in our head. (But, if she/he learns best by listening, I think speaking the word is probably better.) Colored blocks can represent words/phrases: "Its a chair." <--- use 3 different colored blocks for each word. I have a student who I think might be living with dyslexia (if mixing up word order is one of the symptoms... I dont know?), and the colored blocks seemed to immediately fix any problems he had with word order. Aural (Listening): Listening opportunities in groups: the students, especially in groups, can listen to one another experiment, especially if one student is singled out by the teacher to give it a try. Plenty of speaking: since the method is designed for minimal speaking from the teacher, students are encouraged to talk talk talk. Accurate pronunciation and speed of speech: I use this to teach natural rhythm and speed. For example, tapping my fingers faster or harder at certain points to emphasize a louder voice, or blended words. Students can handle it pretty well, I think. And then I can speak at my normal speed after plenty of practice. Then I like to give a pause sometimes to let the students figure out what I said. ***VERY IMPORTANT POINT* I learned this the hard way...the student(s) should be sitting at a desk with you, and not behind a desk of their own. It just doesnt work if the students are isolated behind a desk. I think it feels less safe because there is a big physical/energy space between the teacher and students, and they dont want to put themselves outside of their comfort zone. Everybody sitting close is best for everyone, as long as youre not a space invading teacher (who might make the kids feel more uncomfortable so close ====== MY OPINION ABOUT THE SILENT WAY Its good as one tool of many. I cant use it all the time or the students seem to get bored. It should be a trust building activity where the teacher praises a lot, and doesnt embarass kids for experimenting. So, I use this method with a lot of other different methods. I think it should be used to help build a more complete lesson, rather than as the only method itself. Some students with strong listening skills, especially in private lessons, probably wont benefit as much as visual or tacticle learners. But I think it s fun. John )

In this paper I wish to present an innovative approach to teaching structures of a language to L2 learners. I contend that it is possible to teach any structure in any second language in such a way that (1) there is no need to resort to metalinguistic vocabulary to explain how to operate correctly in the new tongue (e.g. "noun," "prepositional," phrase," "do-support"), and (2) the teacher need not speak at all. Rather, I suggest that grammatical meanings can be made clear in perceptible situations which force the students to use the language correctly and

understand why they are doing so. Thus, my primary concern is not with teaching grammar, but in how the students function. I have found that all of the structures in English can be presented in unambiguous situations using a set of colored rods and a word chart of necessary vocabulary. For this paper I will limit myself to a discussion of how ESL students can acquire the articles "a" and "the." These are often considered a fine point that even advanced students have difficulty mastering, yet I know that the following lesson can be successfully grasped by students with only a few hours' exposure to English. In answer to the question, "Why teach structure at all?" I respond that students need this kind of work if they are to function in the new language on a par with native speakers. The vast majority of ESL students today would like to learn English well enough so that they can exist alongside native speakers in schools and jobs without being penalized for misuse of the language. To reach this state of attainment they must study the language consciously. Thus, when I present a linguistic situation such as the following, I want my students to see it as native English speakers do, and act accordingly. In this exercise, then, the students' responsibility is to perceive the situation and work on the appropriate language. My responsibility is to make sure the meaning is clear, and to make sure the students work properly. (I mention this last point because at times I have observed students who did not know how to look very well-they trained their eyes on the teacher or a student sitting next to the, rather than on the rods.) I put a collection of colored rods someplace where they can be seen by everyone. They may be lying in a shallow box that is tilted slightly, or they may stand up on a table or desk. A sample collection would look like this:

In this lesson I am assuming that the students are familiar with the names of the colors, the word "rod," and the imperative "take." They have most likely have also met the words "a" and "the," although it is not necessary. On the wall is a chart with all of these words located in random order. If I don't have a chart, I can easily write the words on the board. Here is an example of this chart:

Miming, I convey to the students that I want them to tell me to take a red rod. I listen to the students' output and work with what they say. If someone says, "Take a red rod," I have the entire class listen to and repeat. My work can be done via gestures, so I do not have to speak at all. If no one says anything correctly, I work with a statement with errors in it. For example, if I hear, "You take a rod red," I can stop the class, have the student repeat the sentence while I put it, word by word, on the outstretched fingers of my right hand. "You" is placed on my thumb, "take" on my index finger, "a" on my middle finger, "rod" on the ring finger, and "red" on my pinky. When this has been established, I fold my thumb down, indicating that the first word should be dropped. The student responds with, "Take a rod red." Then I cross my last two fingers, to show a change in word order, and the student says, "Take a red rod." At last we have a correct, working sentence. The class repeats the sentence and I take a red rod. I mime that the class should tell me to take a green rod. They say, "Take a green rod," and I do. I point to a black, they say, "Take a black rod," and I do. Then I point to the sole yellow rod. Many students will naturally say, "Take a yellow rod." I shake my head "no" at this, which perhaps perplexes them. I let them try again, making other guesses. If someone is right ("Take the yellow rod"), I indicate this and have the rest of the class listen. If not, I go to the word chart, cover the word "a" with one hand while pointing to "the" with the other. This should be sufficient for the students to say, "Take the yellow rod," though some may still be perplexed. I then take the yellow rod. The remaining rods look like this:

I have the students tell me to take a white rod. Some may be confused between saying "a" or "the," but as a class we decide on "a". I point to a red rod and we do the same. Next I point to the blue rod, and hope that some of the students will realize that it is time to say, "Take the blue rod." I nod my head "yes" to them, shake my head "no" to the others. As we continue to remove rods from the table, I work with the students who have still not caught on to the rules of this game. Perhaps I stop all of the class from speaking, while one confused student and I work alone. Usually this is enough not only to bring this one student "into the light," but also the other uncertain ones who were just watching. By the time we are through, it should be clear that "a" is used to indicate any one out of a group of like objects, while "the" is used for something unique. To test the students, and to provide practice, I can put up a new set of rods, and repeat the exercise. If both the students and I have been doing our jobs correctly, this second set should present no problems, and we can complete it easily. As well, if the students are enjoying the activity, I can expand it by having them work on the distinction between "Take two blue rods" and "Take the two red rods." Also, we can work on sentences like "Take a blue rod and a white one; give the blue one to me and put the white one back." Since the class will continue to use the rods to learn other structures, additional practice on the items just learned will naturally arise in subsequent lessons. Working with rods can occur as a whole class activity, or in small groups. Perhaps the former is best for provoking linguistic awareness, while the latter allows practice to gain facility. The point of working in this way is to let students study the language analytically while developing a synthetic feel for it. To my mind, this is not teaching grammar at all, it is teaching students. The grammatical structures of English are something I must have conscious knowledge of, yet foremost in my mind when I teach is that I must be in contact with what the students are doing. The "model" lesson presented above can be modified when working with a single ESL student in a class of native English speakers, or when working with a group of mixed-level L2 learners. I liken teaching language to teaching music - to be good at either, one must provide the right exercises based on the student's needs at that moment.
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Things You'll Need

Cuisenaire rods

Instructions
1.
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1 Purchase some Cuisenaire rods. These can be found at mathematics teacher supply stores, or you can make your own.

2 Gather a small group of students around a table or desk. The Silent Method will not work well with more than five or six students, so it is more suited for small classes or tutoring environments.

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3 Start by teaching the students the word for "rod" or "stick" by holding up one of the Cuisenaire rods. Be sure to choose either "rod" or "stick" and use it consistently through the lesson; don't switch back and forth between the two.

4 Hold up the Cuisenaire rod and have a single student repeat the word after you. Then hold up the rod and have each of the students produce the word individually.

Teach the students the colors of the various rods by holding them up or pointing to them. Do not include more than five colors as this will overwhelm the students.
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6 Put the color of the rod together with the name of the rod. Hold up a red rod, and say "red rod" having the students repeat. Later hold up the various colors and have the students individually produce the color and the rod, "black rod", "blue rod" etc.

7 Teach the students simple commands by calling their names and making a request, "Juan, please hand me a red rod." Once the group has mastered this concept, indicate that they should ask each other for specifically colored rods.

8 Expand this activity to include a number of other concepts. It is particularly useful for prepositions (for example, the black rod is BESIDE the blue one).

Read more: How to teach English using the Silent Method | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7241927_teach-english-using-silentmethod.html#ixzz1t9MF8ibp

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The Silent Way Method

5 July 2009 One Comment The Silent Way

The Chomskyan criticism of the theories upon which the audiolingual method was founded led to an interest in not only the affective factors but also on the cognitive factors. While Community Language Learning, drawing from Carl Rogers philosophy, focused on the importance of the affect, new methods were developed in the 70s to highlight the cognitive domain in language learning. The Silent Way is one of these innovative methods. In Fact, Caleb Gattegno, the founder of the Silent Way,devoted his thinking to the importance of problem solving approach in education.He contends that the method is costructivist and leads the learners to develop their own conceptual models of all the aspects of the language. The best way of achieving this is to help students to be experimental learners.

Features

The Silent Way is charaterized by its focus on discovery, creativity, problem solving and the use of acompanying materials. Richards and rodgers (1986:99) summerized the method into three major features.
1. Learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or creates. The Silent way belongs to the tradition of teaching that favors hypothetical mode of teaching (as opposed to expository mode of teaching) in which the teacher and the learner work cooperatively to reach the educational desired goals. (cf Bruner 1966.) The learner is not a bench bound listener but an active contributor to the learning process. 2. Learning is facilitated by accompanying (mediating) physical objects. The Silent Way uses colorful charts and rods (cuisinere rods) which are of varying length. They are used to introduce vocabulary ( colors, numbers, adjectives, verbs) and syntax (tense, comparatives, plurals, word order ) 3. Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learned. This can be summarized by Benjamin Franklins words: Tell me and I forget Teach me and I remember Involve me and I learn A good silent way learner is a good problem solver. The teachers role resides only in giving minimum repitions and correction, remaining silent most of the times, leaving the learner strugGling to solve problems about the language and get a grasp of its mechanism. Disadvantages

The Silent Way is often criticised of being a harsh method. The learner works in isolation and communication is lacking badly in a Silent Way classroom. With minmum help on the part of the teacher, the Silent Way method may put the learning itself at stake. The material ( the rods and the charts) used in this method will certainly fail to introduce all aspects of language. Other materials will have to be introduced.

Advantages

Learning through problem solving looks attractive especially because it fosters: o creativity, o discovery, o increase in intelligent potency and o long term memory. The indirect role of the teacher highlights the importance and the centrality of the learner who is reponsible in figuring out and testing the hypotheses about how language works. In other words teaching is subordinated to learning

References

Bruner, J. (1966). Toward a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

H. Douglas Brown (1987).Principles of language learning and teaching. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall Richards, Jack C. and Theodore S. Rodgers (1986). Approaches and methods in language teaching: A description and analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

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