The Silent Way is a teaching method for foreign languages developed by Caleb Catteau in the 1960s, focused on learner independence and problem-solving through the use of movement, pictures, and colored rods. The teacher remains mostly silent, allowing students to discover meaning themselves and correct their own mistakes, while learning materials like sound/color wall charts and Cuisenaire rods facilitate this process. While this method promotes autonomy and interaction among students, it has disadvantages, such as difficulty for students to grasp concepts without extensive teacher explanation.

1. Mousa Hussein
Methods of Teaching
Silent Way

2. 
SW: is a method of teaching foreign
language in which the teacher doesn’t
speak much, but uses movements,
pictures, and wooden rods to explain
meaning.
Definition

3. 
SW is the method was
created by Calab Cattengo
in 1960s.
This method focused on the
learners production of
utterances by their own,
with the teacher silence.
And well known for the use
of colored sticks called
‘Cuisenaire Roods’
History

4. 
 Emphasize for students to work as independent
language learning.
 Learning is facilitated by accompanying physical
objects. (colorful charts and roods which are of
varying length they are used to introduce
vocabulary).
Basic Features

5. 
 Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving
the material to be learned.
This can be summarized by Benjamin Franklin’s
words:
Tell me and I forget
Teach me and I remember
Involve me and I learn
Basic Features

6. 
 Errors are important, teacher does not directly
correct the errors. His/her is responsible to correct
their mistakes.
 Teacher understands whether the students have
learned or not through their actions.
 Speaking is first, but reading and writing are treated
as equal important skills.
 Translation is not allowed and meaning is
discovered through meaningful practice
Basic Features

7. 
 To use this method, some types of materials are required:
 A Sound/Color Wall Chart: each color presents one
phoneme.
Type of objects

8. 
 Word Wall Chart: words are introduced in the same
color code as the sound/color wall chart suggests.
Type of objects

9. 
 Spelling/ the Fidel Chart: these chart use the same
color code as the sound/color wall chart, show how
each phoneme is spelled in English.
Type of objects

10. 
 Cuisenaire rods: these colored wooden rods allow
students to practice grammar and create words using
phonemes.
Type of objects

11. 
 A Pointer: teacher uses this to attract students, attention
to the sounds, the stressed syllables, and proper
pronunciation of words in the target language.
Type of objects

12. 
Movements
Stop
Repeat
One word for each
finger
Speak louder

13. 
 Teacher is technician or an engineer who facilitates
learning.
 The teacher is silent most of the time.
 The teacher uses gestures, charts, to give the students
the material easily.
Teacher’s role

14. 
 Learners are expected to develop independence,
autonomy and responsibility.
Learner’s role
• learners must
depend on their
own idea and
realize that thy
can use the
knowledge of their
own language.
Independence learners
• Learners choose
proper
expressions in a
given set of
circumstances and
situations.
Autonomous learners
• Learners know
that they have
free will to
choose among
any set of
linguistic
choices.
Responsible learners

15. 
 Its learner’s center.
 Students interact not only with teacher but also the
each other.
 Students correct their errors by themselves.
 Teacher silence in SW passes the opportunity to the
learner to participate.
 Students can improve their vocabulary from their
speaking.
 Students become independent.
Advantages

16. 
 Students don’t understand the material because the
teacher is less explain.
 No repetition and no answers by the teacher, it will
be meaningless.
 SW cannot be used in the large group of student.
 The students cannot easer to catch the materials,
because the teacher command the material so fast.
Disadvantages

17. 

18. Q/A