SILENT WAY

1.The Definition of Silent Way

Silent Way is a language-teaching method created by Caleb Gattegno that makes extensive use of
silence as a teaching method. Gattegno introduced the method in 1963, in his book Teaching Foreign
Languages in Schools: The Silent Way.[1] Gattegno was critical of mainstream language education at the
time, and he based the method on his general theories of education rather than on existing language
pedagogy. It is usually regarded as an "alternative" language-teaching method; Cook groups it under
"other styles",[2] Richards groups it under "alternative approaches and methods"[3] and Jin & Cortazzi
group it under "Humanistic or Alternative Approaches".[4]

The method emphasizes learner autonomy and active student participation. Silence is used as a tool to
achieve this goal; the teacher uses a mixture of silence and gestures to focus students' attention, to elicit
responses from them, and to encourage them to correct their own errors. Pronunciation is seen as
fundamental to the method, with a great deal of time spent on it each lesson. The Silent Way uses a
structural syllabus and concentrates on teaching a small number of functional and versatile words.
Translation and rote repetition are avoided, and the language is usually practiced in meaningful
contexts. Evaluation is carried out by observation, and the teacher may never set a formal test.

One of the hallmarks of the Silent Way is the use of Cuisenaire rods, which can be used for anything
from introducing simple commands ("Take two red rods and give them to her.") to representing objects
such as clocks and floor plans. The method also draws on color associations to help teach pronunciation;
there is a sound-color chart which is used to teach the language sounds, colored word charts which are
used for work on sentences, and colored Fidel charts which are used to teach spelling. While the Silent
Way is not widely used in its original form, its ideas have been influential, especially in the teaching of
pronunciation.

2.Desain of Silent Way

The general goal of the Silent Way is to help beginning-level students gain basic fluency in the target
language, with the ultimate aim being near-native language proficiency and good pronunciation.[9] An
important part of this ability is being able to use the language for self-expression; students should be
able to express their thoughts, feelings, and needs in the target language. In order to help them achieve
this, teachers emphasize self-reliance.[10] Students are encouraged to actively explore the language,
[11] and to develop their own 'inner criteria' as to what is linguistically acceptable. [12]

The role of the teacher is that of technician or engineer. The teacher's task is to focus the students'
attention, and provide exercises to help them develop language facility; however, to ensure their self-
reliance, the teacher should only help the students as much as is strictly necessary.[13] As Gattegno
says, "The teacher works with the student; the student works on the language."[14] For example,
teachers will often give students time to correct their own mistakes before giving them the answer to a
question.[15] Teachers also avoid praise or criticism, as it can discourage students from developing self-
reliance.[15]

In the Silent Way students are seen as bringing a vast amount of experience and knowledge with them
to the classroom; namely, their first language. The teacher capitalizes on this knowledge when
introducing new material, always building from the known to the unknown.[16] The students begin their
study of the language by studying its sound system. The sounds are associated to different colors using a
sound-color chart that is specific to the language being learned. The teacher first elicits sounds that are
already present in the students' native language, and then progresses to the development of sounds
that are new to them. These sound-color associations are later used to help the students with spelling,
reading, and pronunciation.[14]

The Silent Way uses a structural syllabus. The teacher will typically introduce one new language
structure at a time, and old structures are continuously reviewed and recycled.[10] These structures are
chosen for their propositional meaning, not for their communicative value.[17] The teacher will set up
learning situations for the students which focus their attention on each new structure.[14] For example,
the teacher might ask students to label a floor plan of a house in order to introduce the concepts of
inside and outside.[18] Once the language structures have been presented in this way, learners learn the
grammar rules through a process of induction.[17]

3. Background of Silent Way

Gattegno was an outsider to language education when Teaching Foreign Languages in Schools was first
published in 1963. The book conspicuously lacked the names of most prominent language educators and
linguists of the time, and for the decade following its publication Gattegno's works were only rarely cited
in language education books and journals.[5] He was previously a designer of mathematics and reading
programmes, and the use of color charts and colored Cuisenaire rods in the Silent Way grew directly out
of this experience.[6]

Gattegno was openly sceptical of the role the linguistic theory of his time had in language teaching. He
felt that linguistic studies "may be a specialization, [that] carry with them a narrow opening of one's
sensitivity and perhaps serve very little towards the broad end in mind".[7] The Silent Way was
conceived as a special case of Gattegno's broader educational principles, which he had developed to
solve general problems in learning, and which he had previously applied to the teaching of mathematics
and of spelling in the mother tongue. Broadly, these principles are:[8]

Teachers should concentrate on how students learn, not on how to teach

Imitation and drill are not the primary means by which students learn

Learning consists of trial and error, deliberate experimentation, suspending judgement, and revising
conclusions

In learning, learners draw on everything that they already know, especially their native language

The teacher must not interfere with the learning process

These principles situate the Silent Way in the tradition of discovery learning, that sees learning as a
creative problem-solving activity.[6]