“I don’t teach. I let them learn.” This quote from legendary educator and mathematician Caleb Gattegno encapsulates his educational philosophy of promoting learner independence. Gattegno believed that real teaching could never be accomplished by force-feeding learners material they didn’t understand, and even worse, didn’t want to understand. The Silent Way of teaching a foreign language aims to largely mute the teacher in order to put students in control of their learning.
The quote itself sounds excellent, but is it just another teacher cliche like “Don’t lecture them. Listen to them” or “Don’t punish them. Reward them”? Critics of the Silent Way, especially in its application to foreign language learning, certainly believe so, and the method itself has largely fallen out of favor in recent years. Here we’ll take a look at where it went wrong (and right) and see what can be taken from this method in creating an effective foreign language program.
Cuisenaire Rods
These brightly colored blocks are an integral part of Gattegno’s method, and having to purchase or construct these is the first impediment to easily implementing this strategy. These rods are similar to the number rods that were once common in math classes for teaching units and addition/subtraction, where a 1-cm white block was equal to 1, a 2-cm red block was equal to 2, and so on. Students would see that connecting two white blocks made them the same length as one red block, or that 1+1=2.
For language classes, the approach varies slightly, as the Cuisenaire rods are not assigned numerical values, but rather different language concepts. For example, white blocks may represent a sentence’s subject, red blocks a predicate, and green blocks the ending punctuation. They can also be used at higher levels, where a purple block may denote an adjective, a black block an adverb, etc. Students read or listen to a sentence, then diagram it by placing the blocks in the proper places.
The Silent Way’s Goals
In addition to the use of the Cuisenaire Rods, this teaching methodology also stresses very limited teacher speaking (hence the name), lots of learner groupwork/interaction, a heavy emphasis on grammar, and a focus on proper pronunciation. This last item may seem counterintuitive, given that the teacher is largely quiet, but the Silent Way relies largely on peer feedback and self-correction for proper pronunciation.
Typical Lesson
4th Grade English class for native Greek speakers
Topic: The Simple Present Verb Tense
- Grammar Instruction
The teacher uses visual aids and limited speaking to present the basic present tense structure of a Subject + Verb ending in -s.
- Teacher’s Silent Demonstration
The teacher now writes a basic, but complete, 2-word sentence on the board. For example, she may write “Dad sings.” Under the word “Dad,” she holds up a white block to represent that it is the subject, and under the word “sings,” she holds up a red block to represent that it is the present tense of a verb. She repeats this with sentences like “Mom runs” and “Grandpa cooks.”
- Cuisenaire Rods
In pairs, the students create their own simple sentences, representing each word with the proper colored rod. They work to correct one another if a sentence is incorrect.
- Group Review
The teacher goes around the room asking for examples of student-made sentences in the present tense.
- Charades Game
Following the same simple present format, students act out different basic sentences, such as “The baby cries.”
Role of the Teacher
The instructor needs to have almost an invisible presence here, laying out the necessary clues, but allowing learners to solve all the problems for themselves. Verbal instruction should be reduced to only the most essential moments. The teacher must also have all the materials and colored blocks ready to go, and a brisk schedule of activities so that students stay focused.
Positives
- Students will almost certainly enjoy using the Cuisenaire Rods. These types of hands-on activities go over well with students of all ages.
- Students gain autonomy by engaging in a process of self-discovery learning the language, as opposed to sitting in silence as a teacher drones on.
- The colored Cuisenaire Rods can be valuable when teaching specific grammar concepts, verb endings, etc.
Negatives
- Students may at first enjoy not having to listen to a teacher’s constant talking, but can become confused and frustrated if they don’t understand what to do.
- The use of the Cuisenaire Rods may prove too abstract for some topics or younger students. Not everything requires conceptual representation.
- Without teacher intervention, the supposed goal of proper pronunciation can be very difficult to attain.
- There is a lack of real-world application. Even if students decipher what they’re expected to do with the colored blocks, the lesson may not carry over into real-life situations.
Final Thoughts
Caleb Gattegno is a renowned and well-respected educator and innovator, but the Silent Way falls short in several areas and is now very rarely used. While the concepts of learner autonomy and independence should always be promoted, this method gives most educators and learners the impression of a technique that works well for math concepts, but was force-fit into foreign language learning. The Cuisenaire Rods can be helpful on special occasions, but relying on the Silent Way as a comprehensive language learning methodology is a recipe for disaster.
