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A Teaching Method: Reading Approach
Direct Method as One of Language Teaching Approaches
A Teaching Method: Suggestopedia
Posted on June 12, 2011by novaekasari
A Teaching Method: Suggestopedia
Written by:
Anggun Apriana (06081001022)
Mutiara Islamiyah (06081001038)
English Education Study Program
Sriwijaya University

INTRODUCTION

Teacher should be creative in using different kinds of teaching method. They have to
choose an appropriate method to transfer the knowledge because they will find different
situation and different students in the class.
Generally, students would not be able to believe that they could be successful in
learning language. This lack of motivation has made students do not have confidence to
speak in the target language because they do not want to make mistakes. Moreover,
they find difficulties to recall the previous lesson, such us memorizing the new
vocabularies. This situation encourages teacher to be creative and to use an effective
method on teaching.
In addition, students have different type of learning style. They learn through their own
learning style which are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic style. Those who are visual learn
trough seeing and they need to see the teachers body language and learn best from
visual displays. Then, those who are auditory learn through listening and they learn best
through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through, and listening to what others
have to say. Besides, those who are kinesthetic learn through moving, doing, and
touching, and learn best through a hands-on approach and actively exploring the
physical world around them. In the class room, teacher will meet these three types of
students. In order to make students could learn well through their own learning style,
teacher is supposed to use an effective method of teaching different types of students.
Teacher should choose appropriate method of teaching different types of students,
to cultivate students motivation, and to increase students memorizing
ability. 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
A Brief History
Suggestopedia is a teaching method, which focuses on how to deal with the relationship
between mental potential and learning ability and it is very appropriate to use in

teaching speaking for young language learners (Xue, 2005). This method was
introduced by a Bulgarian psychologist and educator, George Lazanov in 1975. Maleki
(2005) believed that we are able of learning much more than we think, provided we use
our brain power and inner capacities. In addition, DePorter (2008) assumed that human
brain could process great quantities of material if given the right condition for learning in
a state of relaxation and claimed that most students use only 5 to 10 percent of their
mental capacity. Lazanov created suggestopedia for learning that capitalized on relaxed
states of mind for maximum retention material.
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 (1978) cited in Lica (2008) 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.
Theory of Language
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.
Theory of Learning

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 desuggestivesuggestive 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
1.

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 (Xue,
2005).
1.

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.
1.

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.

1.

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.
1.

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.
1.

Music, drama and art are integrated in the learning process

They are integrated as often as possible.

Design
Objective
Suggestopedia aims to deliver advance conversational proficiency quickly. It apparently
bases its leaning 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 states categorically, the main aims of teaching is not
memorization, but the understanding and creative solution of problem. As learners
goals he cited increased access an understanding and creative solution of problem.
However, because students and teachers place a high value on vocabulary recall,
memorization of vocabulary pairs continues to be seen as an important goal to the
suggestopedia method.
The syllabus
A suggestopedia course last thirty days and consist of ten units of study. Classes are
held four hours a day, six 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 lexicon 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 three days: day 1 half a day, day 2 full day, day 3
half a day. One of 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 the native language translation in parallel column. The teacher answers
any questions of interest or concern about the dialogue. The dialogue then is read the
second and third time in ways to be discussed sub sequently.
The whole course also has a pattern of presentation and performance. On the first day
a test is given to check the level the students knowledge and to provide a basis for
dividing students into two groups, one of new beginners and one of modified (false)
beginners. The teacher then briefs the students on the course and explains the attitude
they should toward it.
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 and 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.
Types of Learning and Teaching Activities
The types 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. During the third reading the material is acted out by the instructor
in a dramatic manner over a background of the special musical form described
previously.
Teachers Roles
Teacher should create situations in which learners are most suggestible and then to
present linguistic material in a way most likely to encourage positive reception and
retention by learners. Lozanov lists several expected teacher behaviors as follows:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Show absolute confidence in the method.

Display fastidious conduct in manners and dress.
Organize properly, and strictly observe the initial stages of the teaching process
this includes choice and play of music, as well as punctuality.
Maintain a solemn attitude towards the session.
Give tests and respond tactfully to poor papers (if any).
Stress global rather than analytical attitudes towards material.
Maintain a modest enthusiasm.

Learners Roles
The learners as well are should have faith in the system and accept that they are in a
childlike situation where they follow the teacher / parent (Knight, 2001, p. 154). The
students should not be critical, but simply absorb what is presented to them.
Stages of Suggestopedia
There are three stages in using suggestopedia method. They are:
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.
Advantages of Suggestopedia
There are some benefits in utilizing suggestopedia:
1.

A comprehesible input based on dessugestion and suggestion principle

By using this suggestopedia method, students can lower their affective filter.
Suggestopedia classes, in addition, are held in ordinary rooms with comfortable chairs,
a practice that may also help them relaxed. Teacher can do numerous other things to
lower the affective filter.
1.

Authority concept

Students remember best and are most influenced by information coming from an
authoritative source, teachers.
1.

Double-planedness theory

It refers to the learning from two aspects. They are the conscious aspect and the
subconscious one. Students can acquire the aim of teaching instruction from both direct
instruction and environment in which the teaching takes place.
1.

Peripheral learning

Suggestopedia encourages the students to apply language more independently, takes

more personal responsibility for their own learning and get more confidence. Peripheral
information can also help encourage students to be more experimental, and look to
sources other than the teacher for language input. For example, the students can make
some sentences using the grammatical structure placed on the classrooms wall,
describe a particular place in an English speaking country by looking at the poster on
the wall, etc. When the students are successful in doing such self-activities, they will be
more confident.
Disadvantages of Suggestopedia
Suggestopedia also has limitation since there is no single teaching method that is
chategorized as the best based on some consideration such as: the curriculum,
students motivation, financial limitation, number of students, etc.
The main disadvantages of suggestopedia are as follow:
1.

Environment limitation

Most schools in developing countries have large classes. Each class consists of 30 to
40 students. One of the problems faced in utilizing this method is the number of
students in the class. There should be 12 students in the class (Adamson, 1997).
1.

The use of hypnosis

Some people say that suggestopedia uses a hypnosis, so it has bad deep effects for
human beings. Lazanov strongly denied about it.
1.

Infantilization learning

Suggestopedia class is conditioned be child-like situation. There are some students who
do not like to be treated like this as they think that thay are mature.
CONCLUSION
Teacher will find different situation and different types of students in learning. Therefore,
teacher should be creative and smart in choosing and using different types of methods
in teaching different skill of language. Teacher can use suggestopedia as teaching

method in their teaching. Using suggestopedia is very interesting but challenging to do.
It can be seen from some considerations. In one side it has some benefits, but on the
other side it also has some weaknesses. In addition, the key factors of effective
teaching are not the approaches and methods in language teaching themselves but the
teachers deliberate selection of different approaches and methods and the devoted
practice of putting theories into real teaching activities in a corresponding social-cultural
context. It is a fact that no approach or method is perfect. However, there is no end for
teacher to seek the perfection of the approaches and methods in language teaching.
The language teaching method known as Suggestopedia 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.

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How to encourage structured speaking and listening

Mike Gershon

16/4/2013
Mike Gershon shares his tips for enhancing students thinking skills by working on
speaking and listening
Recently, a friend of mine came to me with a problem.
We sat down over a drink and talked about it.
He spoke and I listened. Then I asked some questions and he spoke a little more. After
half an hour or so he said that he felt better and could see what he needed to do.
Although I had not offered a specific suggestion or solution to his problem, I had given
him the opportunity to discuss what was troubling him.

Language allows us to organise our thoughts and communicate them. By engaging in

this conversational process we achieve many things. First, we give ourselves a better
sense of what we are thinking, feeling or attempting to say. Second, we give voice to
our thoughts, which makes them real and gives us the opportunity to analyse them
more clearly. The process of speaking and listening moves the problem from the interior
realm and makes it something concrete in the exterior world.
Speaking and listening is integral to our lives. It is also integral to the process of
learning and, by extension, a vital part of any lesson.
The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky noted the importance of this when observing
the behaviour of children; and we, as teachers, can observe it by watching our students
progress by using discussion and the questioning techniques we teach them.
Here we will look at effective ways of structuring activities so that students do not get
distracted from the topic.
Activities for any subject
Interviewing is a fantastic activity for almost any class and in almost any subject.
Present students with a topic you want them to research something their peers can
answer questions about. Invite students to come up with between five and 10 questions
for their peers.
Encourage them to use a mixture of open and closed questions. Then ask them to
interview between three and 10 people in the class, making notes as they go. Finally,
ask them to write up their results and share these with a partner.
The next activity is speed debating one of my favourites. Divide the class in half.
Present a proposition connected to the topic, such as Macbeth was not solely
responsible for his actions. Get half the class to argue for the proposition and half
against it. Split the halves into even smaller groups and give 10 minutes for preparation.
During this time, students should come up with reasons, evidence and examples to
make their case.

Next, invite the students who are for the proposition to sit in a line. The students who
are against should sit opposite them, so that members of the opposing sides are
paired.
Give the students who are for one and a half minutes to argue their case while their
partners listen. When the time is up, reverse the roles. Finally, have a one-minute freefor-all in which both sides can argue.
After the first debate, ask half of the class to stand up and find a new partner. The
activity then runs again with the new groups. Repeat this one more time before
wrapping things up, perhaps seguing into a piece of extended writing centred on the
proposition.
The final activity is paired talk. Whenever you ask your class a question, present them
with a task or provide a piece of stimulus material and encourage them to discuss it with
the person next to them. Help students to stay on track by modelling what good
discussion looks like. This activity encourages students to express their immediate
responses and thoughts, refine their existing ideas and supplement their thoughts with
those of others, helping them to extend their thinking further.

Encourage high-quality speaking

In considering paired talk we touched briefly on the importance of facilitating speaking
and listening. Here are some specific techniques to do this.
A key here is to wait after asking a question. Giving students time to think and respond
is an important part of encouraging highquality speaking and ensuring their responses are of a better standard.

Second, is the issue of structure which underpins each of the activities above and
ensures that students speech is focused and relevant; that it combines content and
skills without overemphasising or neglecting either.
Third, there is questioning. Adroit use of questions will help the teacher to draw
thoughtful answers and developed ideas from students. Use open questions ones that
ask for clarification or to explain their reasoning.
For example, instead of asking What is democracy? try asking What might
democracy be?
You can further raise standards by teaching your students how to ask good questions
themselves. Modelling is a part of this, but so too is setting up activities which
encourage them to ask certain types of questions.
For example, you could ask students to focus solely on asking open questions and
follow this with a discussion in which different sorts of questions are analysed and
students assess their strengths and weaknesses.
Listening activities
We will now look at three activities that concentrate on listening.
A lecturette is a miniature lecture. During the course of their lives students will
frequently need to listen carefully for an extended period of time. Lecturettes are a way
of helping them to develop those skills.
Provide students with a listening frame, a series of subtitles or relevant keywords and
ask them to make notes while you talk on the topic for about 20 minutes. Then invite
them to share, compare and contrast their notes with three of their peers. They should
add to their notes where appropriate.
The next activity is hot-seating, where you divide the class into groups of four and
appoint a hot-seater in each. These students will be told they will be taking on a role or
character associated with the topic under discussion. You might give them a sheet with
background information about the character.

These students are then quizzed by their fellow group members who will be trying to
discover as much as possible about the character the hot-seater is playing. They need
to listen carefully and ask a range of questions to discover the identity of the hotseater.
The final listening activity is read-aloud peer-assessment, which is most effective after
students have completed an extended piece of written work.
There are two ways to structure it. In the first, the teacher chooses one students piece
of work and reads it to the class. The students listen carefully and peer-assess what
they have heard. The teacher can provide categories for this peer-assessment success
criteria or leave it open for students to make their own decisions. When the reading has
finished, the students discuss their thoughts.
The second approach has the class divided into groups of four. In each group, one
student reads out a piece of their work while the rest of the group listens. They then
discuss their thoughts. If you have time, repeat the activity until every student has had
their work peer-assessed.

Support high-quality listening

To conclude, let us consider ways to help students listen effectively.
Here are three potential approaches:
First, provide students with a sheet of A4 paper divided into four. In each quadrant write
a question students can answer by listening to what is said later. Second, give students
a list of keywords to write down, leaving space under each one. As the students are
listening, they should note anything that is relevant to the keywords. Third, provide

students with an outline of what they are going to hear (from a lecturette, an audio clip,
a video or a speaker). They can then add to this as they go along.
Modelling is something teachers do all the time. Things are no different when it comes
to listening. When you are listening in class, think carefully about what you are
modelling for your students. Everything you do should be setting a great example for
your students. Feel free to talk to them about this and talk about your choices and
actions and why they are effective.
Encourage students to ask questions; particularly to demand further facts or
clarification. These help us to understand precisely what the speaker is trying to say and
show that we have not only listened but want to know more. Questions of clarification
include: What do you mean by that?; Could you explain that in more detail?; and Im
not quite clear; could you go over that again? They will all help students to become
better listeners.
Conclusion
So there you have it, a brief collection of strategies and techniques to help ensure that
excellent speaking and listening takes place.
Hopefully we can show students that by using these skills they will be likely to make
much greater progress. And, of course, it is our greatest hope that they will enjoy
themselves at the same time.
For the sake of clarity
When asking for further detail, use these questions:

What do you mean by that?

Could you explain that in more detail?

Could you go over that again?

Do you mean ?

How might you explain that in another way?

So to speak
The benefits of structuring speaking and listening:

It channels students energy in the direction you want it to go.

It creates a sense of purpose that motivates students.

It gives the activity a clear sense of progression, which is good for students,
teachers and any observers.
It allows you to support learners who may otherwise struggle.
It gives you the means of keeping students on track.
Why is speaking and listening important?

It forms the bedrock of our culture.

It helps to develop our thoughts.

It is an excellent precursor to writing.

It gives us an insight into what other people think and feel.

It allows us to analyse and interrogate different ideas.

Mike Gershon is an author and sociology teacher at King Edward VI School in Bury St
Edmunds.
Based on an article first published in TESS on 12 April, 2013

Mike Gershon's resources for speaking and listening

Discussion Toolkit
The toolkit guides you through a variety of activities you can use to structure and
encourage discussion in the classroom.
Challenge Toolkit
The Challenge Toolkit provides 50 different activities to stretch and extend students'
thinking. The activities are generic and can be used across Key Stages and in different
subjects.
The Whole Class Feedback Guide
Included are 25 different strategies for eliciting feedback from an entire class of
students. All the strategies are generic and can be used across the Key Stages and the
curriculum.

Peer and Self-Assessment Guide

A straightforward guide to peer and self-assessment. Includes a step-by-step guide
explaining how to embed it in your practice.
Find all of Mike's teaching resources here: www.tesconnect.com/mikegershon and find
his books on Amazon here
.
Further resources for speaking and listening
Speed Debating
Requires pupils to find evidence in a text and explain how this supports their point.
Debating lesson
Lesson detailing rules and strategies for a class debate - includes co-operative learning
strategies.
Developing empathy
This lesson plans get students to develop empathy and consider the impact of their
actions on other peoples feelings through script work or hot seating.
Peer Assessment - personal writing
Helps to encourage pupils to peer assess personal writing. Pupils are encouraged to
highlight evidence of thoughts and feelings.
James Bond - Listening Skills
A fun activity that demonstrates to your class just how much information goes in when a
teacher is "just talking".

SHORT ARTICLES

Year 12; Issue 4; August 2010, ISSN

1755-9715

How to Make Listening and Speaking More Enjoyable

Gulnare Hajiyeva, Azerbaijan
Gulnara Chingiz Hajiyeva is a teacher at the Azerbaijan University of
Languages. She is interested in the interactive teaching methods of EFL.

She has written 2 articles on the topic Authentic Materials In The Teaching
Process.Current interests are learning more about interactive teaching
methods of EFL and how to apply them in the teaching process in a more
effective way. She enjoys working with students and sharing teaching
experiences with colleages. E-mail: gulu_13 @yahoo.com
Menu
Introduction
Background
Examples
Conclusion
References
Introduction
Developing students listening skills is fundamental to their progress in
acquiring the language. In the same way, giving them opportunity to develop
their fluency, to try things out in the language without fear, to make mistakes
and learn from them, is very important. However, listening classes are often
difficult and even boring for students because the listening piece itself is not
interesting for them or, because teachers expect them to
heareverything and answer lots of questions. It becomes stressful, instead
of enjoyable. In order not to face this difficulty teachers need to recreate the
motivation that engages all the students in the topic and really make
them want to listen. But how can the teacher do that? Not all the students
are interested in every single topic that the teacher brings to the classroom.
However, real teachers job is to motivate their students to listen, whatever
the topic. Giving students a choice about which piece of information they
would like to listen for from any listening task is a way of creating an
effective reason to listen. Other things the teacher can do are:

Always to have a lead-in, e.g. engaging the students in the topic

.Pictures and other visuals on the target listening material can be
helpful to the teacher in this step.

To make a link between the topic and the students own lives and
experiences (personalization).

To have a pre-listening task which helps students to focus on

the task that the teacher require the students to do when they listen.,
e. g. prediction from some extracted information ( key words, title);
read questions about the listening; students compose their own
questions.

To set a clear global listening task; Global tasks focus on gist e. g.

guess the title; put events in the correct order; check texts against
predictions made beforehand.

To set a clear specific listening task; Specific tasks focus on specific

details (e.g. answering questions about specific items of information;
using the text to fill in a form etc.), require more comprehensive
understanding (e.g. comprehension questions; discussion of issues;
comparison of viewpoints etc. ) , and test individual language items
( grammar or vocabulary; working out meaning of words from
context).

To do a follow- up task if relevant, e.g. speaking (role-play, debate, or

writing task).

Background
In the present EFL classroom, the teaching of listening and speaking relies
heavily on the language labs and tape recorders. The main reason for this is
that most EFL teachers are non-native English speakers and thus may lack
proficiency in English. Thats why sometimes native English speakers have
been invited recently to teach listening and speaking in an integrated form
and to achieve better results.These teachers have made listening and
speaking classroom more lively and even have made passive students
listen more attentively. However, while observing these kind of classes we
can easily see that yet all students are not involved in the class, only the
better students take the opportunities to talk in group work. Furthermore, its
these students who speak for most of the discussion time.These students
are able to monopolize discussions for the following reasons:

The large size of the class : This makes it difficult for teacher to
control the whole class in group work and to get feedback from all
students.

Affective factors: Some extroverted students tend to be talkative and

learn better in oral work, while the introverted ones remain quiet.

Lack of interesting authentic materials: Listening materials depend to

a large extent on the text-book. Even teachers who are very
proficient in English are not encouraged to make tapes of their own
for the students.
In order to enhance the listening competence of the students and at the
same time to involve all the students in the listening process the teachers
should follow the several tips given below:
1. Use short recordings. Two or three minute-listening material is often
enough.
2. Give the students a slightly higher listening than their level but make

sure the task is easy.

3. Vary the tasks that the students do before, while, or after listening.
4. Let the students check their answers in pairs before taking feedback
from the whole class.
5. Allow the students to control the recorder sometimes.
6. Vary listening materials as soon as possible. The teacher can bring
different songs or sound-tracks to the classroom and do various
activities with them ,etc.
Now, I want to share my class-experiences on the last point of tips.
Sometimes I prefer to make listening classes more enjoyable as it provides
excellent learning opportunities for students. It can also be a very
memorable way of learning. I usually find the activities described below very
helpful and useful for developing the students listening and speaking skills
in an integrated way.
Examples
Activity 1
The teacher assigns the students to choose their favourite sound tracks and
bring them to the classroom, but the chosen pieces of music should be
popular ones. During the class the students one by one plays their
soundtracks . After listening to the piece of music, the rest of the class gives
different kind of questions to the presenter-student in order to find out the
names of the film and singer.
Example
The soundtrack of The Bodyguard plays. And the students who have
already listened to it begin to ask these kind of questions:
1. Is it a romantic film?
2. Does the singer her/himself star in a film?
3. Does the singer love the main hero of the film?
4. How does the film end? etc.
After getting their answers the students sound their answers. And finally,the
presenter defines the correct answer:- Yes, its true. The correct answer is
the film Bodyguard and the singer is Whitney Houston. Then the other
student follows the same procedure till all the students perform their sound-

tracks.
This activity is good for developing the students both listening and speaking
skills. Firstly, the students listen to the lyrics of the sound-track and its
enjoyable for them and in itself an interesting piece of listening material for
them . Even sometimes they sing themselves together with the singer. It
motivates a positive emotional approach to language learning and
introduces students to the music and culture of particular interest to them in
the target language community. Russian methodologists consider works of
art poetry, prose, paintings, songs, etc.- to be effective tools that stimulate
the content of foreign language speech(Gurvich, P. 1974. The basis of
teaching spoken English at foreign languages departments. Vladimir,
Russia.)While listening to a song, students begin to recognize the words
and notions easily understood by native speakers but which may present
difficulty for foreigners. Secondly, it provides good opportunity for students
themselves to share their ideas, feelings on the playing piece of music. It
creates a suitable atmosphere that allows students to express themselves
freely and make them feel eager to communicate. Furthermore, the
classroom, thus, is a non-threatening environment where students are
eager to communicate and where the focus is on the process of learning,
not on error correction. Here the errors should be viewed as a natural part of
learning process, never as a drawback.
Activity 2
This activity is good for giving the students some listening practice if the
teacher doesnt have access to a cassette recorder or CD player.
The teacher calls one of the students outside of the classroom and narrates
him one story and assigns him or her to retell the same story to one of his
group-mate in 2 or 3 minutes(it depends on the length of the story). The
listener-student is not allowed to ask any questions of misunderstanding.
S/he is only passive listener in this game. The main task of a listenerstudent is to listen attentively and try to get as much as specific detailed
information. The retelling procedure goes on till all the students share this
story with one-another .Finally, the last student comes and presents the
students story to all class , and also the students listen to the original story
narrated by the teacher. At the same time they guess how different and
funny form of the story theyve made in the process of listening and
narrating.
Example
The Story--------------A Question of Choice
Many years ago, when a person who owed money could be thrown into

prison, a merchant in London had the misfortune to owe a huge sum to a

money lender. The money- lender, who was old and ugly, wanted to marry
the merchants beautiful daughter. He proposed a bargain. He said he would
cancel the merchants debt if he could have the girl instead.
Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified at the proposal. So the
cunning money lender suggested that they let Fate decide the matter. He
told them that he would put a black stone and a white stone into an empty
money-bag, and then the girl would have to pick out one of the stones. If
she chose the black stone she would become his wife and her fathers debt
would be cancelled. If she chose the white stone she would stay with her
father, and the debt would still be cancelled. But if she refused to pick out a
stone, her father would be thrown into prison , and she would starve.
Reluctantly the merchant agreed. They were standing on a stony path in the
merchants garden as they talked, and the money-lender stooped down to
pick up the two stones. While he was picking up the stones the girl, sharpeyed with fright, noticed that he picked up two black stones and put them
into the money bag. He then asked the girl to pick out the stone that was to
decide her fate and that of her father. The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a stone. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall to
the path where it was immediately lost among all the others.
Oh, how clumsy of me, she said, but never mind, if you look into the bag,
you will be able to tell which stone I took by the colour of the one that is left.
After I called on one of the students and narrated this story to him, he
followed what did. So he also retold the same story to his other group
mate, and this procedure went on till all students in the group became
aware of the given story, but certainly in a quite different content. While
listening and retelling the given story ,the students who didnt get the
unknown word , or may be because of less attention that was really needed
in it , began to invent it in their own ways in order to have something to
retell.. Finally, the last student entered the classroom and produced the
invented story.. I ,in my turn also narrated the original story. The students
who listened two quite different stories first became shocked, and then burst
into laughing because at the end of their story the merchants daughter and
the money lender got married, they were very happy with many merry
children.
As previously said, in this activity, the focus is again on the process of
improving both listening and speaking skills and how the teacher can do it in
an interesting way. All along the narrating process, students are stimulated
to gain accuracy and fluency, keeping in mind that errors should be
corrected so as to have students learn from their own mistakes. On the
other hand, stimulations fulfill the requirements of interactive method of

teaching where they hear and use the target language in order to get more
specific information on the plot of the story and reproduce it effectively to his
/her partner. Also stimulations keep students highly motivated, giving them a
chance to be involved in creative language use, to be exposed to the
language as a system, and to develop strategies that will be of importance
in their learning processes.
Conclusion
A teacher of English should always be creative and innovative. Songs and
stories in ELT will help him or her to make the learning process more
enjoyable and effective. Furthermore, the use of songs and stories in
teaching and improving the students listening and speaking skillsis
1. motivating because the students consider them a game;
2. relaxing because it is a way of creating a less tense EFL class;
3. confidence building because it makes students realize they can
understand and have fun with a language different from their mother
tongue;
4. exciting because it is a challenge to catch as more detailed
information or words as possible;
5. easy to do for the teacher because you need only a song or a story
and CD-player;
References
Beatriz, Ch. 1997. Developing Speaking Skills by Creating Our Own
Stimulations for the EFL Courses. English Teaching Forum 35,3, pp 54
Brown, H.D.1994. Principles of language learning and teaching.3 rd ed.
Prentice Hall Regents.
Gurvich, P. 1974. The basis of teaching spoken English at foreign
languages departments. Vladimir, Russia
Harmer J.1991. The practice of
London:Longman Group U.K.Limited.

English

language

teaching.

Klassen,J.1991. Using student errors for teaching. English Teaching Forum,

24,1, pp10-16
www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology.shtml A
framework
for
planning a listening skills lesson .Nik Peachey. Pre-Listening activities.&
Find the gap-Increasing speakingin class. Gareth Rees Helping teens to

listen. Kevin Thomson and Speaking and elementary learners. Sue Leather

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