This document presents an overview of the Silent Way language teaching method. It was developed in the 1970s by Caleb Gattegno as a constructivist approach focused on problem solving. Key features include engaging students actively in the learning process, using physical objects to facilitate vocabulary and grammar acquisition, and giving students space to struggle with and solve problems with minimal teacher intervention. Advantages include increased creativity, discovery, and long-term memory, while disadvantages include separating language from its social context and the time required for repetition.

1. Presentation by
Sami Jendoubi

2. Plan
1 – Definition and the historical background
2 – Features :
a) The Role Of The Student in The Learning Process
b) The Use Of a Physical Objects
c) The Problem Solver Learner
3 – Advantages
4 – Disadvantages

3. The Definition Of Silent Way
 In the 70’s , many of new motheds were
developed to highlight the cognitive demain in
language learning .
 they were based on the Chomskyan
Critisism of the ‘’ Audiolingual Method ‘’ .
 Among The new methods , there was ‘’
the Silent Method ‘’ which was invented
by ‘’ Caleb Gattegro ‘’

4. Caleb Gattegro
( 1911 – 1988 )

5. ‘’ Caleb Gattegro … devoted his thinking
to the to the importance of problem solving
approach in education. He contents that the
method is contrustivist and leads the
learners to develop their own conceptual
models of all the aspects of the language .
The best way of achieving this is to help
students to be experimental learners . ‘’
Myenglishpages.com

6. Features
The features of The Silent Way are based on discovery ,
creativity, problem solving , the use of accompaying
materiels .
1 – The Role Of The Learner In Learning Process :
The teacher and the student work together to
reach the course goals ; the learner is not a passive
addressee of the information but an active
contributor to the learning process .

7. 2 – The Use Of a Physical Objects To Falicitate the Learning process :
It’s about using colorful charts and rods ,
they are used to introduce vocabulary and
syntax .
3 – the Learner Is Involved In Solving The problems :
In the silent way , the learner is an active problem solver .
The teacher’s role is only about giving minimum repetition
and correction , remaining silent most of the time so he give
more space to the learner to stuggle in solving the problems .

8. Advanteges
 Creativity
 Discovery
 Increase in intellegent potency
 More freedom for the students to depend on themselves
 Longterm memory

9. Disadvanteges
 Language is seperated from its social context
 Repitition is time consuming

10. Refrences :
+ The British Council website
+ MyEnglishPages.com
+ TEYL 2011 – 2012 Booklet