Page 31 - HOW TO TEACH GRAMMAR

SUGGESTOPEDIA

INTRODUCTION
Teacher should be creative in using different kinds of teaching methods. They have to choose
an appropriate method to transfer the knowledge because they will find different situations and different
students in the classroom.

Generally, students would not be able to believe that they can be successful in learning a
language. This lack of motivation has made students not to 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 vocabulary. This situation encourages the teacher to be
creative and to use an effective method on teaching.

In addition, students have different type of learning styles. 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 teacher’s 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, the teacher will meet these three types of
students. In order to make students learn well through their own learning style, the teacher is supposed
to use an effective method of teaching different types of students.

The teacher should choose appropriate methods to teach different types of students, to
cultivate students’ motivation, and to increase students’ memorizing ability. Suggestopedia is one of
the methods that can be used by teacher. It is a method that de-suggests 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 displays, audio, and physical involvements during the learning process. Moreover, it
involves emotional meaning in given the lesson which helps students’ better in memorizing.

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 to 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, De Porter (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.

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