SHARE

 

An Electronic Magazine by Omar Villarreal and Marina Kirac ©

 

Year 7                Number 156                 December 14th 2005

         
9450 SHARERS are reading this issue of SHARE this week
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Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being SHARED
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Dear SHARERS,

 

We wanted to open this issue of SHARE with a message from a very dear friend, a doyen of ELT in Argentina and a founding SHARER. For both Marina and I Elida Messina will always be our fairy godmother. She was there when SHARE was born (one of the original 48 recipients of the first issue of SHARE) and she encouraged us to carry on with our “madness” in the most difficult early stages of our e-magazine that turned 7 years old last November. Thank you dear Elida. Thank you all dear SHARERS!

 

Querido Omar.

 

...Lo que vos y Marina hacen sigue siendo para mí algo tan valioso y generoso que agradezco a Dios cada vez que recibo SHARE. Thank You Dear Lord that they've managed to put all that together once more! Sé bien el esfuerzo que hay detrás de cada número y uno tras otro me maravillan, me hacen sentir agradecida como receptora de todo eso que alguien más se ocupó de buscar, de crear, de recrear para que me llegue a través de este maravilloso medio de comunicación silenciosa, pero enriquecedora, nutriente, estimulante, revivificante. 

 

Mis queridos Omar y Marina: Que el Ser Superior continúe iluminando sus mentes y multiplicando infinitamente lo que con tanto esfuerzo y cariño hacen por todos nosotros. Gracias de corazón. Los quiero mucho aunque nos veamos every blue moon, if at all.

 

Elida    

 

Love

Omar and Marina

 

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In SHARE 156

 

1.-    Teaching English to Young Learners: The Last Decade.

2.-    Using Video with Teenagers.

3.-    Music, Relaxation and Suggestion in the Classroom.

4.-    El Origen de la Violencia en el Aula.

5.-    Tools For Teachers December Programme.

6.-    Curso Sobre Violencia Escolar y Stress Docente.

7.-    News from APIBA,

8.-    Tercera Escuela de Verano de Lingüística Formal de América del Sur.

9.-        Talleres de Brain Gym.

10.-   Curso de Ingreso a la Docencia para Escuelas Plurilingües.

11.-   Español para Extranjeros: Curso a Distancia.

12.-   Beca de Perfeccionamiento Docente del Gobierno Japonés.

13.-   Wacky-Wacky, a $Radio Show!
14.-   Curso Virtual sobre Vida Cotidiana y Conflictos en las Escuelas.

15.-   Becas del Programa Alban.

 

 

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1.- TEACHING ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS: THE LAST DECADE

 

Our dear SHARER Bridget O´Farrell has sent us this article to SHARE with all of you:

 

Teaching English to Young Learners: Reflections on a decade (1990-2000)

By Gail Ellis,The British Council

 

Introduction

 

I recently gave a talk entitled A story-based methodology - 10 years on at a conference in Paris for teachers and trainers of English working in the primary sector. The purpose of this short paper is not to discuss the merits of a story-based methodology, but to reflect on some of the developments that have taken place over the last decade in English language teaching for young learners (5 - 11 year-olds).

It has indeed been an active and evolving decade with the primary ELT market expanding worldwide and more and more children and teachers involved. The latest volume of the English Language Teaching Journal (No 54) alone reports on two ambitious projects to train primary teachers, the Primary English Teaching in Rural Areas (PETRA) in rural areas in South Africa and the Sri Lanka Primary English Language project (PELP). Other countries like Taiwan and Vietnam are expanding rapidly while in some countries in Europe and Latin America the teaching of English to children has been established for many years.

From a European perspective I have observed the following developments over the last decade.

 

Experience, expertise and confidence

 

The last 10 years have brought accumulated experience, expertise and confidence. This sounds an obvious point but it represents a bank of knowledge that did not exist 10 years ago when, for many, the introduction of foreign languages into the primary curriculum was a new venture. What shall I do? How do I teach children? How do children learn foreign languages? What materials shall I use? There was a general feeling of excitement in the air but also one of apprehension, bringing together primary and secondary school inspectors for the fusion of ideas and resources. Training courses were organised when and where possible and the pedagogy and practicalities of teaching children were discussed. Ten years on we witness teachers and trainers whose current practice has been informed through experimentation, reflection and modification. They are now experienced and in a position to pass on their knowledge to new teachers and learners of English.

 

Materials

 

Ten years ago there was a dearth of materials for teaching children, both course materials and teacher support material. Over the decade there has been an explosion of materials. Today there are now over 20 handbook titles from major British ELT publishing houses on the primary market ranging from more academic to practical titles. The Keltic Guide to ELT Materials 2000 lists over 40 coursebooks for children and this does not include those that have come and gone in between or those which have been written for specific markets. These publications represent a wealth and variety of resources for the teacher to choose from which did not exist 10 years ago, and with the possibility of on-line purchasing they are easily available.

 

Mixed ability

 

For any teacher of any subject differentiation is a day-to-day reality due to a variety of factors: attitudes, motivation, learning styles, ability for academic study, different world or cultural knowledge, etc. For the foreign language teacher, we have also observed a sometimes marked difference in the level of English amongst children in any one class. This is due to a greater provision of private structures for learning English (for example, the British Council's worldwide network of teaching centres), where parents send their children for additional and complementary English classes; to greater global mobility where families may move to an English-speaking country for professional reasons and their children are educated in English; to new families arriving in a host country for political reasons from countries where English already had an established role in their curriculum. Consequently, classes consist of very mixed levels, possibly ranging from beginner to bilingual. Teachers have therefore had to develop a range of skills and the flexibility to accommodate the needs of all these children in one class.

 

The globalisation of English

 

English has become the world's global language and classroom practice reflects a greater emphasis on 'world Englishes' and other cultures. Class materials now provide images of different countries where English is spoken, and models of English as spoken throughout the world rather than just one selected model. Stories, for example, from other English-speaking cultures provide a rich resource for the teacher to develop their pupil's awareness of 'world Englishes'.

 

The technological explosion

 

The explosion in technology offers radical changes for the child learning English. CD-Roms and Internet offer interesting and fun sources for children to practise their English at school or at home. The British Council's Learn English site includes a section for children.

 

Variety of 'intelligences'

 

There has been a greater awareness of and emphasis on the different types of 'intelligences' that contribute to language learning, including the development of emotional intelligence. Ten years ago the teaching of English was often still done in a formal, conventional way which may have suited the learning style of the more academic learner where learning was assessed only in terms of linguistic outcomes with little or no attention to social, cognitive or psychological gains. Today each child is recognised as an individual and as having the potential to learn a foreign language, as many different types of intelligences come into play. Consequently methodologies and materials are designed to develop all 'intelligences' in order to create an all-round, holistic language learner.

 

Intercultural awareness and citizenship

 

In the increasingly global world and linked to the above is a greater awareness of and emphasis of the importance of developing intercultural awareness, where the development of tolerance and empathy are high priorities in our struggle to create a more just and peaceful world. Also related to this area is the development of citizenship skills, which include an understanding of environmental and ecological issues, gender issues, human rights issues, and health and safety issues.

 

Learning to learn

 

Also linked to the above two points is the greater awareness of and emphasis on helping children learn how to learn and become more responsible for their own learning so they develop their potential as autonomous learners. This will involve helping children become aware of what they are doing in the classroom and why, in other words understanding the methodology of language teaching and learning which may differ radically to the way other subjects are taught in the curriculum. This will allow children to express themselves meaningfully about what goes on in the language learning classroom. This is especially important in terms of accountability to parents who may be paying for their children to learn a language. It is meaningless if a child describes their language learning experience as follows, Today we played/we watched a video, we coloured. Learning to learn will help children to go beyond this phase and say why they played, watched a video or coloured. For example, Today we played a game to practice saying where things are. Today we watched a video to learn the names of, and find out about, animals in the Kalahari desert. Today we coloured a picture to learn the words for clothes. This aspect of learning is linked to the point below. Learning to learn also involves helping children become aware of the range of learning strategies at their disposal so they can select the ones they prefer and, finally, it involves helping children reflect actively on their learning so they can perceive their progress and maintain their motivation.

 

Parental perceptions

 

Ten years ago many parents perceived language learning at school as an additional subject which was 'fun' for their children. Parents now recognise the important role a foreign language can play in their child's global development as well as the instrumental role it can play in their future at school, at university and in the work place. Consequently, more and more parents are keen to support their child's learning and involve themselves in this process. A need has therefore arisen for parent courses which not only help them form realistic expectations about their child's language learning, but also to provide them with an understanding of what goes on in the classroom and why. Such a course should also provide them with practical tips on how they can help their children and therefore maximise their learning.

 

Conclusion

 

It has been an evolving and exciting decade. The teacher of English to children has become a highly skilled teacher who can incorporate the above developments into classroom practice. In short, the teacher's role has greatly expanded. With the development of the website of the worldwide survey on practice and policy in Young Learners Teaching, and its regular updating, we will be able to keep abreast of future developments in a systematic way. I look forward to the website and the next decade.

 

Gail Ellis The British Council, France, and Centre for Research into Second and Foreign Language Pedagogy, University of Nottingham, UK

 

 

Produced in United Kingdom by The British Council (c) 2000. The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for educational and cultural relations. Registered in England as a Charity.

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2.- USING VIDEO WITH TEENAGERS

 

 

A lot has been said about the use of the Internet and new technologies in the classroom, but in the rush to modernise our classrooms and update our teaching styles it's easy to overlook video. It seems that video is suddenly out of fashion and not innovative any more. Ben Goldstein disagrees, and here he shares with us some tried and tested adaptable video activities which appeal to teenagers.

 

 

Video With Teenagers

By Ben Goldstein

 

The idea that video is old-fashioned is still largely due to a very conservative use of video in the classroom, espe-cially with teenage classes. If a class is yawning, grumbling, or playing up then it's very tempting to throw a video of Friends on which they won't understand but will make them shut up. But it's important that we do not fall into this trap.

Some of the following activities are often focused on particular films, but these can be modified for others and they can be adapted according to the level you're teaching. They all, however, have a direct appeal to teenagers, and I have found them a good way to motivate students. They can also make students see that video can play an integral role in the classroom and not be just an extra.

One aspect which links all the activities is that students are encouraged to read between the lines, to think, and to analyse what they see, not just to answer comprehension questions on tedious news bulletins.

We begin with advertising. As we all know, advertisements are an excellent resource in the teenage classroom. Students are experts in them and are exposed to hundreds a day. They will certainly know a lot more about them than you do! But one of the snags is to how to make the use of ads genuinely interactive in the classroom.

 

Advertising

Aim

To enable students to analyse television advertisements and identify the techniques that are used.

 

Procedure

Step 1: Ask students to discuss current ads which they particularly like or dislike and why. Encourage them to explain the ad to the rest of the class.

Step 2: Show the class an ad from a magazine which uses a simple advertising technique, such as 'before and after', for example-you could show the class the photo of a man with grey hair and ask them what product is needed and how it will be shown in the ad. Other good before-and-after ads include those for clean-ing products, medicines, hair gel, and so on.

Step 3: Ask students to explain the 'before and after' technique; for instance, we see a rapid transformation and the sudden change is always positive.

Step 4: Introduce other techniques with some sample products or specific ads that adopt this technique (this can also be done as a matching activity). Encourage the students to complete gaps (sample answers given).

a Before and after: cleaning products

b Association of ideas: Marlboro (US cowboys)

c Expert/celebrity: Coca-Cola (Figo)

d Key words (slogans): Nokia - Connecting People

e Story line - Yellow Pages

f Science and technology: ads that include all kinds of technical data that you can't understand

g The camera never lies: McDonald's (the hamburger you see in the photo will be twice as big as the one you'll get in your hand)

h Testimonials ('the man in the street'): deodorant, cleaning products

Step 5: Show a series of ads which incorporate these techniques. Ask students to identify which techniques have been used and if they like/dislike the ad. The ads can be in any language.

Step 6: Give students various products or photos of products and ask them which technique they would use to sell it (you could use aspirin, takeaway pizza, trainers, and so on). Ask them to create their own ads.

 

Other alternatives with TV ads

 

1 Guess the ad: Show the first part of an ad and freeze it before the product is revealed. Students have to guess the product. (Yellow Pages ads are often good for this.)

 

2 Political ads: find ads which do not sell a product but promote an idea (anti-drinking and driving, water conservation, and the like), and ask students what the message is, who the target audience is, and to rate how successful / effective it is on a scale of 1 to 10.

Tip: Very often award-winning ads are shown in special programmes on television. These are some of the best to use and are easier to record and store. Keep a file of magazine / newspaper ads related to similar products. You can ask students to write a comparison of two perfume ads or two car ads, for example.

 

Films

 

Using whole feature films in class can be problematic from a number of points of view: it can be boring, demotivating, or something which can be done out of class. We know that using extracts from films is a great way to engage teenagers, but how can we do this in a way which will be both accessible and which will motivate them? And more importantly, how do we choose the sequences themselves?

One way to make the best use of original films is to link sequences thematically. Here are some suggestions for finding scenes with a common link: suspense, dating, openings, and humour.

 

Suspense (all levels)

 

For lower-level students it's good to show sequences which feature suspense. Particularly good are chase sequences which are very visual and do not depend on comprehension. Such high-action adventure scenes are naturally very popular with teenagers. You can choose any kind of suspense thriller, but here are two examples, and as we are using them without sound, they do not need to be in the original English version.

1 Sequences from Hitchcock's Vertigo

a Kim Novak throwing herself into the San Francisco Bay

b Kim Novak throwing herself off the church tower

You should show approximately five minutes before these climactic moments.

Procedure

Step 1: Show the sequence without sound. Student A sits with his back to the screen, while student B narrates what she sees on the screen.

Step 2: After watching, all the students A-who didn't watch the screen-are asked to piece together what they can remember. Students B will corroborate or not. This is quite fun because obviously how accurate their accounts are depends on the narrators in question.

Step 3: The whole class watches the sequence through without sound. The teacher

pauses to highlight key vocabulary, mistakes that students had made in their descriptions, and so on.

 

2 Sequences from Seven

Show the chase sequence (about seven minutes), which is about halfway through the film. Or you could choose any other chase sequence that is full of action.

Procedure

Ask students to watch whole sequence and note down any aspects which add to the suspense of the film. They have to imagine this from both the director's and the audience's point of view (for example, long corridors, shouting, close-ups, intense music). Some of this vocabulary can be pre-taught. Get feedback from students and then run through the sequence, pausing at key moments.

 

Humour (High Levels)

 

It's always good to introduce a bit of a laugh into the classroom. In a similar way to the activity on advertising, this task encourages teenagers to read between the lines and analyse why something is funny. This is a great way to introduce different senses of humour as well.

Procedure

Step 1: Ask students to discuss programmes or comedians they consider funny/unfunny. Encourage them to think why they believe this.

Step 2: Introduce different types of humour (this for older students), such as satire, English, feminist, absurd, black humour.

Step 3: Show clips from different films which encapsulate this type of humour.

 

Suggestions:

Four Weddings and a Funeral (English)

Thelma and Louise (feminist)

The Life of Brian (satire)

Trainspotting (black humour/sick)

Mr Bean (slapstick)

 

Ask students to rate how funny the sequences are on a scale of 1 to 10 and why they are funny/unfunny. This forces them to pay attention to the purely visual aspect, it is often not important how much they actually understand.

Consider these factors when discussing why a scene is funny or not: element of surprise, play on words, misunderstanding, embarrassment, facial expression. What type of humour is represented in this scene?

Even if you don't have access to these materials or you consider that some might not work with your particular teenage class, I hope these ideas will at least stimulate you to doing more experimental things with video in the classroom. And with DVD just around the corner, the possibilities that could open up are endless.

 

Ben Goldstein teaches English at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. He is the author of the celebrated series “Framework” published by Richmond/ Santillana.

He is also researching his doctoral thesis on video at the UPF.

His recent tour of our country included a visit and teleconference at Universidad Tecnológica Nacional where is well liked and remembered by faculty and  students alike.

 

 

© Richmond Publishing 2005

 

 

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3.- MUSIC, RELAXATION AND SUGGESTION IN THE CLASSROOM

 

Dr. Uschi Felix has generously offered to SHARE this article with all of us:

 

The Effects of Music, Relaxation and Suggestion in the learning environment.
By Uschi Felix .PhD

 

Introduction

The aim of this article is to investigate whether music, relaxation and suggestion, the three major elements present in most versions of Accelerative Learning, have indeed been shown to be effective in the learning process. For this purpose studies have been reviewed not only within the field of Accelerative Learning, but also outside it.

One of the interests in Accelerative Learning research has been to isolate individual elements involved in the method in order to determine their effect on a number of dependent variables. This has been particularly true for the element of music. Some studies have investigated the effect of background music on vocabulary learning, both in laboratory settings (Schuster & Mouzon 1982, Stein et al 1982, Schuster 1985) and in the normal teaching environment (Schiffler 1986b). Other studies, some independent of Accelerative Learning, have looked at the effect of background music on reading performance (Mullikin & Henk 1985), on students' on-task behaviour (Davidson & Powell 1986) and on context-dependent memory (Smith 1985).

While the majority of studies explored the effect of music on achievement, Lehmann (1982) investigated psycho-physiological responses to different types of music in order to determine which music may be most readily accepted by students in Accelerative Learning classes. His findings, together with those of Smith (1985), who included white noise as a background to learning, and those of Mullikin and Henk (1985), who investigated the effectiveness of easy-listening background music, are particularly interesting since they indicate that music selections other than those recommended by Lozanov (1978) and Lozanov and Gateva (1988) may be effective in the learning environment. Generally, the role of music in Accelerative Learning has been given more attention by researchers than either relaxation or suggestion.

Since Lozanov himself no longer recommends specific relaxation exercises, the question arises whether this element ought to be retained in Accelerative Learning on the basis of the Western research. There have been a number of studies investigating the effect of various forms of relaxation training on achievement (Biggers & Stricherz 1976, Stricherz 1980, Johnson 1982, Baur 1982), on creativity (Gamble et al 1982), and on physiological and psychological variables (Matthews 1983, Setterlind 1983).

The most extensive research on the effect of relaxation on achievement independent of Accelerative Learning has been carried out in the field of anxiety research. Since one of the principles of Accelerative Learning is that learning ought to be free from stress and tension, elements closely related to anxiety, the findings of this research were found to be relevant to this article and have therefore been included.

The least researched of the three major elements in Accelerative Learning is suggestion. One reason for this may be that this element is particularly difficult to isolate in any teaching environment. Results of studies in which the effect of suggestion in Accelerative Learning was investigated (Bordon & Schuster 1976, Biggers & Stricherz 1976, Schuster & Martin 1980, Renigers 1981) are conflicting. Another reason for the lack of research on suggestion may be its close association with hypnosis. The possible relationship or distinction between Accelerative Learning and hypnosis will therefore also be explored in this article.

Music

 La musique est la langue du cœur
    [Music is the language of the heart]
Rousseau

While most elements of Accelerative Learning can be found in education in some form or other, the genuinely innovative element which Accelerative Learning brings to today's classrooms is the systematic use of music in the instruction process. While the coupling of music and messages is extensively used in advertising and in entertainment, music in education, outside official music classes, tends to be restricted to use with young children in kindergarten and primary school. Although we know from experience that words synchronised with music or rhythm are easier to learn than words alone, preparation of materials in this form with older children or adults are usually only found in music or drama classes, and perhaps in some language classes. The idea of a mathematics class relaxing to the sounds of Handel's Watermusic while the teacher recites a list of formulae, or an English class listening to Pachelbel's Canon while the teacher reads excerpts from a novel, tends to elicit a variety of responses from today's educators, ranging from amusement to disbelief. This form of learning, however, is not new, and has been shown to be effective. As Rose (1985) points out, the coupling of music and recital of words was already used by the ancient Greeks.

.....audiences would attend a festival in the Panathenes [of the Panatheneia] once every four years. A presenter would chant the entire Iliad to the heartbeat rhythm of a softly playing lyre. From memory. Records show that many of the audience could remember large passages afterwards. (p.97)

Although the music used has changed, the technique of presenting words and music simultaneously in order to enhance retention of materials has been reintroduced in Accelerative Learning. Two major rationales for this can be identified in Lozanov's (1978) original work. The first was Lozanov's belief that music has the potential to create a state of relaxed alertness in the students which he calls psychorelaxation. Lozanov (1978) found that the body rhythms of students adjusted to the rhythms of the baroque music he used. He recorded a significant increase in alpha brain waves during the passive concert sessions with a corresponding decrease in beta waves. He also recorded a drop in blood pressure and a slowing of the pulse. According to the relaxation and anxiety research discussed below, this state may be conducive to better performance.

The second rationale for the use of music in the instruction process was the idea of whole brain learning. Lozanov (1978) believed that the interaction of both hemispheres together with the neo-cortex had a positive effect on retention rates of learned materials. Research by Claycomb (1978) supports this claim. Other models on brain functioning, such as the Triune Brain system (McLean 1973), the Taxon and Locale Memory system (O'Keefe & Nadel 1978) and the Holographic Memory system (Pribram & Coleman 1979) also suggest, according to Stein et al. (1982), that multiple channels of input will increase information retention.

In Accelerative Learning language and music are presented simultaneously resulting in a complex interaction between both hemispheres and the neo-cortex. Strict lateralisation of music and language processing, as has been shown by Duffy et al (1981), can no longer generally be supported since it has been demonstrated that different and extended areas of both hemispheres undergo changes during musical tasks (Petsche et al 1985). While Duffy et al (1981) suggested that language is processed by the left hemisphere while music is processed by the right hemisphere, Petsche et al (1985) found that subjects listening to a Mozart symphony generated totally different topographic patterns of changes of the E.E.G. parameters studied. The latter's findings support the proposition of Bever and Chiarello (1974) who suggested that the holistic appreciation of music of naive listeners is usually processed by the right hemisphere, whereas musically trained listeners tend to use their "analytical" left hemisphere.

The most detailed research on the role of music in Accelerative Learning has been carried out by Lehmann (1982,1983,1984) in the G.D.R. whose major findings are reported in translation in Lehmann and Gassner-Roberts (1988). In this publication Lehmann and Gassner-Roberts (1988:47) offer an even more detailed description of the relative roles of the two cerebral hemispheres in the processing of music and language:

In righthanded people and at least 60% of lefthanders the rhythm of music appears to be processed by the left (speech) hemisphere, while melody, tonality, timbre (in speech: intonation, pitch, gestures, mimicry), etc. seem to be processed by the right hemisphere. Although both hemispheres interact closely, each has specific tasks to fulfill.

Lehmann's work draws on the findings of music therapy which have shown that "the use of music for therapeutic purposes and for rehabilitation of the learning-disabled children can lead to a behaviour modification which contributes to mental and physiological recovery" (Lehmann & Gassner-Roberts 1988:3). He states, however, that:

Contrary to the use of music in music therapy and pedagogy for the learning- disabled, music in the normal learning process has to be seen as a medium of communication additional to language. In this process the experience gained from the use of music therapy has to be utilized, but always keeping in mind the specifics of the learning behaviour of the average student. However, music has an ideal combination of cognitive, affective and psychomotor elements which stimulate and activate the psychic reserves of the learner so that these reserves can be utilized in the learner's learning behaviour, thus improving his/her mental capacity. (p.3)

Lehmann believes that the function of the music in Accelerative Learning is twofold. On the one hand it relaxes the students, on the other it broadens and changes the potential perceptions of the students. He claims that "the change of perception through music can influence the attitude to learning" and "effect an expansion of attention" (Lehmann & Gassner-Roberts 1988:29).

Assuming that there are sound physiological and psychological reasons for using music in the instruction process, can the research back up the claims for the consequent improved performance? We will now look in detail at studies which have investigated the effect of background music either during learning or during testing or both. We will also look at different music styles in order to find out which type of music may be the most effective.

Bordon and Schuster (1976) found that baroque music by Vivaldi and Bach resulted in a significant improvement in scores in a Spanish paired-associates task as compared to when this music was not played during the learning period in a laboratory setting. This study is further discussed in the suggestion section below. The findings for significantly improved performance as a result of baroque background music in a laboratory setting are supported by Renigers (1981), Baur (1982), and by Stein et al. (1982). In the natural teaching environment they are supported by Schiffler (1986b)

While all the laboratory studies investigated the effect of baroque music on learning, Schuster and Mouzon (1982) also included classical music for investigation. The effects of three treatment conditions - no music, baroque music as background to presenting rare English words and their definitions, and classical music in the same context - on the recall score immediately after the learning task and on retention scores 7 days later, were investigated in this study. It must be pointed out that the format for the immediate and the delayed tests was not identical. In the immediate test students were required to provide the appropriate definition of the words presented. This can be described as testing the students' recall ability. In the delayed tests students were required to match words to the correct definition. This can be described as testing the students' recognition ability.

Subjects were 228 volunteer college students divided into 18 treatment groups. They were sequentially given four vocabulary lists to learn, two of which were classified as easy and two as hard. Subjects' recall scores on a preliminary test were used as a covariate. Music was presented for three minutes before the presentation session and during the three minute presentation when the words and their definitions were read out aloud by the experimenter. Subjects in the baroque music condition received excerpts from Handel's Watermusic, while subjects in the classical music condition received excerpts from Rimsky-Korsakoff's Scheherazade Suite, The Young Princess and the Young Prince. Subjects in the control condition had the same amount of time devoted to the learning task with the same oral presentation, but no music was played. The same conditions were reinstated during the testing. Affective ratings were also taken at various times during the experiment.

Results showed that when music was played during the learning session, the control group performed lowest, with the classical condition next and the baroque condition performing best. All differences between groups were statistically significant for both immediate recall and retention. Music played during testing resulted in significantly improved performance for immediate recall but not for retention. The best results were achieved when subjects had learned with baroque music and had been tested with baroque music. The authors concluded that this condition was best because it also had the highest affective ratings for pleasantness and alertness.

The results of Schuster and Mouzon (1982) suggest two possible explanations for the positive effect of music on learning. Firstly, they indicate that students experience the learning environment with a music background as more pleasant than no music conditions which may lead to improved performance. This view is also held by Lozanov (1978) who refers to it as a "placebo effect" and Lehmann (Lehmann & Gassner-Roberts 1988:23) who refers to the work of Metzger (1961) which discusses the close relationship between mood and achievement. Secondly, the findings show for the first time in this context that recall is positively affected by the reinstatement of the learning conditions during testing. Therefore another effect, such as context-cueing, as suggested by Smith (1985), may be produced by the use of music in the learning environment.

Smith (1985:591) states that a number of dimensions of background context, such as general physical environment (Godden & Baddeley 1975), drug states (Eich 1980), mood states (Bartlett & Santrock 1979), or background colours (Dulsky 1935) have shown to be effective for inducing context-dependent memory. Smith (1985), independent of Accelerative Learning, investigated whether memory is likewise affected by acoustic background stimuli. Subjects in this study were 54 volunteer adult students. No music/noise conditions were compared with Mozart, Jazz and white noise. For the Jazz condition two instrumental pieces entitled People Make the World Go Around and Destiny's Children were used. For the Mozart condition the Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor was used, and for the white noise condition noise recorded at subjectively similar sound levels from a white noise generator was used.

Smith's study consisted of two experiments. The first compared Mozart, Jazz and quiet conditions, the second Jazz, white noise and quiet conditions. Smith found that if music or white noise was used during learning then the reinstatement of the same condition improved recall performance. When learning took place in quiet conditions, performance was unaffected by the testing condition. Both experiments showed no significant differences between conditions on initial recall, but the first experiment showed that significantly less forgetting occured in the condition which had Mozart for both learning and testing. The noise/noise condition was next, followed by the Jazz/Jazz condition with the quiet/quiet condition being last.

It is interesting to note that in Smith's (1985) study the white noise condition performed better in terms of retention of materials than both the Jazz and the quiet conditions. These findings are difficult to interpret in the light of the conclusions of Schuster and Mouzon (1982) who felt that the music played may have produced a more favourable environment in affective terms. While subjects in the Mozart/Mozart condition in Smith's (1985) study may have performed best because they felt best, it is difficult to imagine that subjects in the white noise condition would have felt better than either the Jazz or the quiet condition since this type of background stimulus is usually either not consciously perceived or perceived as an irritant.

A study by Jellison (1977), reported in Brislan (1986), for example, showed that subjects who received white noise as a background when placed in a stress situation reported significantly more stress than subjects who had received background music. While both Bach's Air on a G-String and Dvoràk's New World Symphony had been effective in significantly decreasing anxiety scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), white noise resulted in significantly increased anxiety scores.

Smith (1985:600) explains the fact that music or noise can serve as a memory cue while quiet does not in the following way:

One idea is that white noise and unpopular music selections are far less likely than quiet conditions to be encountered frequently during the 48-hr retention interval, and therefore should serve as more distinctive cues than the more common experience of relative quiet. Another idea is that subjects encode an experimentally presented music or noise selection, but they do not encode the absence of experimentally presented sounds any more than they might encode the absence of any type of stimulus, such as pain or food. This assumes, of course, that subjects are not expecting to hear experimentally presented background music or sound. At the time of testing, a replayed background sound could act as a memory cue if its encoded representation is associated with learned material, but the reinstatement of quiet conditions would not cue memory if there were no encoded representation of quiet.

While this is a plausible conclusion to arrive at in the light of other studies on context-dependent memory, it does not explore the reasons for the superiority of the Mozart/Mozart condition in this study or the superiority of the baroque music in Schuster and Mouzon (1982). Perhaps there is indeed an added effect of the subjects' liking of the background environment as suggested by Schuster and Mouzon (1982). Judging from polarity profiles collected by Lehmann (1982), it is quite possible that the Mozart condition was experienced as the most pleasant by the adult students in this study. Would this mean that teenagers who generally prefer rock music to classical or baroque music (Felix 1986) would perform better with such music as a background to learning?

A study by Mullikin and Henk (1985) investigating the effectiveness of background music on comprehension performance in reading with 45 4th-8th grade children at a private school does not support this notion. No music conditions were compared to classical and rock music conditions. For the classical condition Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, described as "a soft composition with a slow, methodical cadence" (p.355) was used. For the rock condition music from an album by a popular rock group (not further described) was used. The two music selections were administered at the same volume.

Nine children were randomly selected from each grade level. The sample was approximately half male and half female, and approximately one third was black. Each grade was tested separately in intact groups. The study was carried out over three consecutive days. Each day the children read one of 15 social studies passages of equal difficulty and answered 10 comprehension questions. During this time either no music or classical or rock music was played. For each level the order of treatments and reading passages was randomised. Each child read a total of three passages and answered 30 questions.

Results were consistent across all grade levels. The rock condition performed the least well, with the no music condition next and the classical condition performing best. All differences between conditions were statistically significant. It is interesting to note that while the trend for the two music selections was clear, there were 3 subjects for whom the rock condition yielded better results than the classical condition. Although the results of this study show that classical music is more effective in a reading comprehension task with teenage children, they show that not all children are affected in the same way.

While the results of Schuster and Mouzon (1982), Smith (1985) and Mullikin and Henk (1985) suggest that certain styles of music are more effective in learning than others, caution has to be taken with drawing definite conclusions about which type of music may be most effective. There are not only distinctions between styles, such as baroque or rock music, in terms of tempo, melody, rhythm and timbre, but also between pieces within the same period such as baroque and between movements within the same piece. It is therefore important to know excactly which part of a musical piece was used in the investigation. All too often, however, studies do not report this information in detail. In Schuster and Mouzon (1982), for example, music was played for three minutes during the learning task, yet the music used was described as Handel's Watermusic which is a piece of 20 minutes duration with distinct variations in tempo, rhythm and melody. In the light of Lehmann's (1982) findings, it is quite possible that students may react differently to the different sections of this work which range in mood from a very solemn overture to cheerful dancing music and in tempo from adagio to allegro. Similar variations can be found in rock and pop music. It is therefore important to know exactly which piece was used, since differences in rhythm and instrumentation may have an effect on the outcome.

The differential effect on learning of musical pieces within the same period or style has been shown by Schuster (1985) who investigated the effect of various styles of background music on vocabulary learning with 256 volunteer adult subjects. The different styles of music investigated were baroque, classical, dissonant, Japanese, march, meditative and rock. The study used a mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) design with between subject factors of type of music, music selection replication, suggestion, order of lists learned and subject gender. Dependent variables were as in Schuster and Mouzon (1982), the immediate recall and recognition after 7 days of 25 vocabulary items per list and affective ratings. One of the baroque pieces was identical to the one used in Schuster and Mouzon (1982). Schuster reports that neither recall immediately after learning nor retention scores were significantly affected by any of the background music when compared to the no music control groups.

However, there were significant differences between the individual music pieces for recall scores. Two selections of each style were used, and the one topping the list for recall performance, after scores had been adjusted according to the pre-test performance, was one of the dissonant selections, way ahead of the baroque and classical pieces. The inconsistency of the findings is highlighted by the fact, however, that the other dissonant selection was in 14th place out of 16 on the same list! In the light of Schuster and Mouzon's (1982) speculations about a positive correlation between affective ratings of the condition in which learning took place and consequent performance, it is interesting to note that the dissonant music was rated the least liked of all music conditions in Schuster (1985). Unfortunately no information is given as to the relative affective ratings of the individual pieces within each style.

Why Schuster's (1985) study showed radically different results in terms of the influence of music on learning in general from the studies reviewed above is difficult to ascertain. The study was well designed and controlled. Schuster's main speculation was that background music is probably most effective in the SALT or suggestopedic setting, and would therefore be better investigated in the natural classroom environment. However, of the above studies only Schiffler (1986b) investigated the effectiveness of music in this environment. All other studies took place in laboratory settings. And Schiffler's findings were the most conservative of all. Although he found a better performance with adults in intensive teaching settings as a result of using music in the instruction process, he reported a reduction of this effect when teaching took place for only four lessons a week, as is normal in the natural teaching environment.

Another type of music was investigated in a study by Davidson and Powell (1986) who looked at the effect of "Easy-listening" background music on fifth-grade science students' on-task performance. Twenty-six students were observed over 42 class sessions over a period of four months. Observations were recorded every three minutes. A significant increase in on-task behaviour was found for the total class and the male subjects. Although the female subjects also showed increased on-task performance, the effect was inhibited by a ceiling effect since the mean pre-treatment score had already been 99%.

Unfortunately no titles of the music used were given in this study. "Easy-listening" background music was defined as: "the type of music which has a melodic melody line over non-dissonant chordal structures and is non-percussive in beat. The orchestration is traditional in that there is a rich use of strings and winds. Easy-listening music is more lushly orchestrated than pop music." (p.30) Although the authors appear to refer to contemporary music this definition is not too far removed from Lehmann's (1982) recommendations for music selections for the concert sessions in the G.D.R.

While Lozanov (1978) recommended a variety of pieces from the baroque and the classical periods, Lehmann (1982:15), after extensive research with polarity profiles, narrowed these selections down to an even more precise period:

 [In the sense of a psychologically harmonising effect on the recipients, melodic slow movements of the early classical period and the Vienna classical period have been shown to be most successful in the practice of suggestopdia, i.e. music which comprises a succession of slow movements, each with a characteristic melody, a melody so structured that although different musical themes follow each other, an evenly calm and relaxed affective quality is constantly retained. The members of the Research Institute for Mnemology, in the light of findings in music therapy, attribute the suitability for suggestopedic purposes of the string music of the early classical period and the Vienna classical period especially to the fact that it is easier for the average listener to identify more quickly and profoundly with this music than with contemporary music which is often experienced as cool and distant and not seldom as complicated and intellectually charged. This statement should not, however, give the impression that other music than that of the early classical period and the Vienna classical period, would be unsuitable for suggestopedic purposes.]

As Lehmann himself suggests, it may not be necessary to adhere strictly to prescribed music selections since other types of music may share characteristics with the above. He suggests that "better" pop music shows basically the same liguistic symbols as the music of the pre-classical period, the Vienna classical period and the early 19th century" (Lehmann & Gassner-Roberts 1988:30). There may also be a difference in affective reactions to different types of music between adult students and children. Lozanov (1978) claims that it is unimportant whether or not students like the music used. However, this view is not shared by the researchers in the G.D.R. (Lehmann & Gassner-Roberts 1988) who do not only believe that liking the music is important, but that students' attitudes towards the music can be transformed from negative to positive as a result of taking part in a suggestopedic course. Lozanov's claim is further refuted by a study on children's attitude towards music in their learning environment (Felix 1986) which showed that teenage students would be more receptive to Accelerative Learning in their classroom if the music was more to their liking.

While the majority of studies looked at the effects of music during the learning task, some studies have also investigated the effect of music during testing only. Results here, however, are not as consistent as they are with music during learning. Of the two studies already discussed above, Schuster and Mouzon (1982) reported that baroque and classical music during testing had a significant effect on immediate recall but not on retention of vocabulary, while Smith (1985) reported no significant effect of classical music, jazz or white noise as a background during testing.

Render, Hull and Moon (1984), too, found no significant effect on vocabulary recall when baroque music was played during testing only. In this study four groups of volunteer undergraduate students (N=62) were given four multiple choice tests under four different conditions each: (a) guided relaxation before testing, (b) baroque music during testing, (c) a combination of both (a) and (b), and (d) neither relaxation nor music. Overall, findings did not show a significant effect for any of the three treatment conditions, although the general pattern was for the relaxation condition to perform high and the control condition low.

The findings of Render, Hull & Moon (1984) and Smith (1985), however, are not supported by Blanchard (1979) who reported significantly increased exam performance by students when classical or rock and roll music had been played during testing. Unfortunately the author does not give further details about the music used. In this study 254 volunteer university students, taking a traditional final examination, were divided into three groups, equated as to students' age, weight and educational background. While the control group sat the 2.5 hours exam under standard exam conditions, the two remaining groups had either classical or rock and roll music playing in the background. All subjects' blood-pressure and pulse-rate was taken before, during and after the exam. Findings were that the blood-pressure of the control group rose to a much higher level than that of either music group. The control group also showed much poorer recuperative activity of the heart after the exam while both music groups displayed excellent recuperation. Exam scores were 215.9 out of 300 for the control group, 250.9 for the rock and roll condition and 253.2 for the classical condition. The difference between the control group's performance and that of both experimental groups was statistically significant.

Blanchard's (1979) results strongly support the use of music during testing, both for increasing academic performance and for the physiological benefits associated with background music. However, looking at the findings of all studies discussed, it appears that music during testing only may not be as effective as music either during learning or especially both during learning and testing. The findings of Schuster and Mouzon (1982) and Smith (1985) indicate that the reinstatement during testing of the musical background used during learning may yield the best results in terms of retention of materials.

Conclusions - Music. Judging from the findings of these studies it can be said that background music appears to have a positive effect in the learning environment. While most studies found a positive effect on the recall of vocabulary, one reported better reading performance and another better on-task behaviour asssociated with the use of background music. Of the ten studies which investigated the effectiveness of music during learning, nine reported significant positive effects either on short-term or on long-term memory. Of the eight studies which looked at the effects of music immediately after the learning task, six reported significant positive results. Of the seven studies which looked at the effects of music after 48 hours or even later, six again reported significant positive results.

The effect of music during testing has not been as extensively investigated, and findings are not as consistent as the above. While one study found a significant positive effect on performance when either classical or rock and roll music was played during testing, two studies found no significant effect when classical, baroque or jazz music was played during testing. Another study reported a significant positive effect of classical and baroque music played during testing on vocabulary recall when students were tested immediately after learning but not when testing took place after one week. There is an indication, however, that best results are achieved when the same music is played both during learning and during testing. The two studies which investigated the effect of the reinstatement of the learning conditions during testing found this.

In terms of the effectiveness of different types of music, the findings of the majority of studies discussed here lend strong support to the special effectiveness of baroque and classical pieces, as originally suggested by Lozanov (1978). However, it must be pointed out that this type of music has also been most extensively used and tested. Other types of music have only been sporadically tested in the same context. Yet the three studies which investigated jazz or rock music did not find these types of music to be effective in learning. One study, however, found rock music effective during testing. A study which investigated the effect of easy-listening music, which shared characteristics with the classical music found most effective for suggestopedic teaching in the GDR, also found this type of music effective in improving on-task behaviour. When making statements about the relative effectiveness of music in learning, it is important to give either exact titles or an accurate description of the musical piece used. It is not possible to state categorically that classical music is more effective in learning than pop music, since it appears that the individual properties of the pieces are important factors in the outcome.

Although there is strong support for the effectiveness of music in learning, we still know little about how the reported effects of music on learning are actually achieved. In the context of the studies reviewed here the effectiveness of music can be explained in several ways. Music appears to create a more pleasant learning environment in terms of affective criteria (Schuster & Mouzon 1982) which may improve performance. It further appears to have the potential to affect concentration and attention rate and in turn improve on-task behaviour (Davidson & Powell 1986). Music also appears to be associated with physiological effects such as a lowered heartrate (Blanchard 1979) and increased alpha brain waves (Lozanov 1978) which may be instrumental in improved performance. Finally, studies which included the reinstatement of music during testing (Schuster & Mouzon 1982, Smith 1985) indicate that context-cuing may be involved.

Relaxation

While Lozanov (1978:269) argues that the suggestive environment itself is enough to produce concentrative psychorelaxation without special emphasis on physical or mental exercises, Western users of all versions of Accelerative Learning tend to include some form of relaxation exercise in almost every class. Is there any evidence in the research that students actually benefit from this rather unorthodox addition to their learning environment?

Positive effects of relaxation on psychological, physiological and academic measures have not only been shown within the field of Accelerative Learning (Gamble et al 1982, Barber 1982, Johnson 1982, Baur 1982, Moon 1985), but also independent of Accelerative Learning (Matthews 1983, Setterlind 1983). There are also some studies which show relaxation as having no effect (Stricherz & Stein 1980) or even a negative effect (Biggers & Stricherz 1976) on simple recognition tasks. Studies in the field of anxiety research (Sinclair 1971) suggest that the effectiveness of relaxation training may be related to the difficulty of the task and to the level of ego involvement. Other studies indicate that not all students are equally affected by relaxation training. While Straughan and Duford (1969) report a positive effect on high anxiety subjects, Wilson and Wilson (1970), Martin and Schuster (1977) and Schuster and Martin (1980) found relaxation to be most effective with low anxiety subjects. We will now look at the research in detail.

Within the field of Accelerative Learning research suggests that relaxation may improve performance. Barber (1982) reported that modified (relaxation only) suggestopedic sessions in a college management class led to some academic acceleration, improved morale and application to other areas of the students' lives. Johnson (1982) found that short term relaxation training (9 sessions) had a beneficial effect on 6th grade children's spelling scores. Gamble et al (1982) studied the effect of relaxation and music upon creativity in adults. They found that music plus relaxation showed the greatest positive effect favouring the experimental group over the control group, with the music only group being next.

A study (Matthews 1983), outside the Accelerative Learning research, which looked at relaxation training alone, found positive changes in elementary children's self-concept, discipline and achievement. In this study 532 grade seven students in 10 elementary schools received 15 minutes of relaxation training every day for a period of nine months.

Setterlind (1983) investigated the physiological and psychological benefits of relaxation training independent of Accelerative Learning in Swedish middle and high schools over a period of three years. 581 children between the ages of 12 and 17 took part in the main study. The 294 experimental children received relaxation training, consisting of progressive relaxation, autogenic exercises and simple meditation techniques, two or three times a week over a six week period. The relaxation exercises, tape recorded, were administered at the end of physical education lessons. The main findings of the study were that "over half of the experimental children said that they managed their school work better, one third slept better, 60% felt less stressed, 44% less irritated and 46% more rested and alert than earlier." (p.15) The experimental children also showed a significantly better recovery rate from strenuous activity in a second study.

Moon (1985) conducted a meta-analysis of 20 studies on the effects of relaxation training. Ten studies had college students as their subjects, the other ten involved elementary students. The main finding of the meta-analysis was that relaxation training, especially progressive relaxation, had a small positive effect on cognitive academic variables. Moon points out, however, that more care needs to be taken in the design and implementation of such studies.

This latter observation, supported by Setterlind (1983), is an important consideration in evaluating studies on the effect of relaxation. Especially in short term studies it is sometimes difficult to know how well relaxation was administered and controlled as a variable for investigation. Since relaxation tends to be most effective after a period of practice, caution must therefore be taken with interpreting or generalising results of short-term studies in which relaxation was tested as an independent variable but no information has been given on how relaxation was taught, administered and practised. Studies reviewed in this article have given most of this information.

Baur (1982) provides a good example of controlling that relaxation did in fact occur and could be measured as a variable to be tested. Eleven volunteer adult students who had been learning Russian for one semester were the subjects in this experiment. Texts consisted of 450 lexical items in Russian of which 40-50 items were new to the learners. Items were presented to the students as a coherent whole using the presentation sessions of Lozanov's first model of Suggestopedia. They consisted of a first and second decoding of the materials, followed by intonated reading and a concert session. During the concert session the following treatment conditions were instated:

(a) The students remained in the normal waking condition concentrating on the text being read.

(b) The text was read after students had been systematically relaxed using the Jacobson (1938) progressive relaxation technique. Students had been given five introductory sessions to this technique prior to the experiment. Relaxation levels before and during the experiment were checked via psycho-galvanic reflex (PGR) monitors. If students did not reach the desired level of relaxation, their data was excluded from the statistical analysis.

c) The text was read while students listened to the music playing.

About 42 lexical items per text were tested by means of translations both from the mother tongue to Russian and vice versa. The most interesting findings were the production ability of lexical items after one week. The mean rate of production in the neutral condition was 29.5%. With relaxation it rose to 39.7% and with music it rose to 43.8%. A chi-square analysis showed the differences between conditions to be statistically significant. If these figures sound low, it must be remembered that only the presentation phases had been used. In the complete Psychopädie cycle students would then spend 8-12 hours with activation exercises of these materials.

While there appears to be a positive trend towards improvement of academic, psychological or physiological variables when relaxation is used, there are also studies showing that relaxation has no effect or even a negative effect on similar variables which must be considered.

Stricherz and Stein (1980), for example, investigated the effect of relaxation, relaxation and musical background, a body awareness technique (open focus) and a guided fantasy technique (hyperempiria) on a recognition task. They found that none of these conditions was more effective than the control condition when students were tested after a period of 48 hours. The hyperempiria condition, however, produced significantly better results than the control condition when students were tested immediately after the presentation of the two-syllable rare English words. Subjects in this study were 112 volunteer graduate and undergraduate students who remained in intact classes which were assigned at random to one of the four treatment conditions and to the control condition.

Standardised introductory instructions were given to all groups. In the control class students were then asked to attend to the learning task. In the hyperempiria condition students were given an hyperempiric induction based on Gibbons (1974) which is described by the authors as a "guided fantasy induction based on suggestions of increased alertness, mind expansion and enhanced awareness and sensitivity." (p.101) The open focus condition combined "imagination and awareness of the body for deep relaxation (Fehmi 1975). The subject is asked to imagine the spaces between points in the body or within specified body regions." (p.101) In the relaxation conditions students received suggestions for deep breathing and direct suggestions for relaxation. They were also given visualisation exercises changing colours from yellow to black. The relaxation and music condition used the same exercises as in the relaxation condition with the addition of a musical background.

It is interesting to note that the relaxation plus music condition in this study was not shown to be effective when both Gamble et al (1982) and Baur (1982) found significantly positive effects when music and relaxation were combined. One possible explanation for the difference in outcomes may be the type of the relaxation and music used. While both Baur (1982) and Gamble et al (1982) used progressive relaxation (Jacobson 1938) techniques and baroque music, Sticherz and Stein (1980) used deep breathing and imagery techniques and unspecified background music. Since Stricherz and Stein (1980) shows differences in effectiveness between relaxation techniques, at least on short-term memory, it is perhaps possible that progressive relaxation is more effective than other techniques. This is supported by Moon's (1985) meta-analysis discussed above. An earlier study by Stricherz (1979) showed that progressive relaxation was more effective in lowering body rhythms for relaxation than mind expansion techniques which may explain its possible superiority. Mohr (1977:15), however, points out that "progressive relaxation may be most efficient with people who are more inclined to attend to physiological cues, where other techniques may be more effective for those who are not inclined to focus on physiological cues".

Another explanation for the difference in outcomes could be the difficulty or complexity of the task involved. While Baur (1982) looked at the production of Russian words and Gamble et al (1982) at creativity, both fairly complex tasks, Stricherz and Stein (1980) looked at a simple recognition task. It may be that relaxation and music are more effective in more difficult tasks. The findings of another study in which the task under investigation was simple recognition (Biggers & Stricherz 1976) support this notion. Findings of this study further suggest that relaxation in this context may be detrimental to learning. This experiment investigated the effect of suggestion and different types of relaxation, physical, mental, and a combination of both on the recognition of rare English words as in Stricherz and Stein (1980).

The suggestion condition received a five minute exercise "which concentrated on the suggestion that the procedure resulted in higher level mental functioning." (p.102) The physical relaxation condition received 12 minutes of progressive relaxation exercises. The mental relaxation condition received visualisation exercises. The combination condition received both muscle relaxation and visualisation exercises in a 1:1 ratio. Time used for the exercises in all relaxation conditions was identical. In the control group "students were asked to attend to the words when they were presented and to remember as many as possible." (p.102) The study which included 216 volunteer adult students assigned at random in a factorial design, showed that the control group performed significantly better on the recognition test for long-term memory (after 48 hours) than all relaxation conditions.

The relationship between the difficulty or complexity of the task and the possible effectiveness of relaxation has best been demonstrated by the research on anxiety. The effects of anxiety on achievement in controlled laboratory conditions have been summarised by Sinclair (1971:96):

Anxiety appears to facilitate performance on simple, straightforward tasks where there is little response competition and to interfere with performance on more complex tasks where response competition is likely. This has been shown by Taylor (1951), Spence & Taylor (1951), Montague (1953), Standish & Champion (1960) and Spielberger et al. (1971).

In conditions where ego-involvement is low, a number of studies (Lucas 1952, Deese et al. 1953, Sarason 1957, Kalish et al. 1958, Nicholson 1958, Feshbach & Loeb 1959) have found anxiety to be unrelated to performance, although some studies have found that anxiety facilitates performance (Sarason 1956, 1957, Longnecker 1962). In conditions of high ego-involvement, anxiety has typically been found to interfere with performance (Sarason 1956, 1957, Nicholson 1958, Harleston 1962).

Does it follow from this that in language learning which can be decribed as a complex task with a high content of ego-invovement, all students would benefit from relaxation?

A few studies which have investigated the relationship between anxiety level and relaxation in a learning task do not support this notion but show that relaxation may be beneficial only to some students. Straughan and Dufort (1969), for example, found that relaxation was associated with significantly faster reaction time on a paired associates task for high anxiety subjects but with poorer reaction time for low anxiety subjects. The 112 college students taking part in this study were divided into low and high anxiety subjects on the basis of their responses on the Anxiety Scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Subjects were presented either 10 easy or 10 difficult paired associates in 4 different conditions: a) relaxation before learning, b) relaxation before delayed recall (after 48 hours), c) relaxation before both learning and delayed recall, and d) no relaxation. The five minute relaxation instructions required the subjects "to concentrate on major muscle groups and to coordinate relaxation with exhalation". (p.623) Dependent variables were reaction time and number of correct responses measured immediately after learning and 48 hours later.

The findings concerning reaction time were that the effect of relaxation was greater for the hard task than for the easy task (when tested immediately after learning only), that relaxation before learning was more effective than before recall, and that relaxation made the low anxiety subjects slower in their reaction time while making the high anxiety subjects faster. Concerning the number of correct responses all subjects performed so well on the easy task that no effects of the relaxation training could be seen. On the hard task the effects of the relaxation instructions were in the same direction as for the reaction time, with the high anxiety subjects performing better and the low anxiety subjects worse. However, these results were not statistically significant.

These findings are not supported by Wilson and Wilson (1970) who found that subjects with high anxiety performed better on a paired-associates task in a state of induced muscle tension while low anxiety students performed better in a relaxed state. Subjects in this study were 63 male convalescent hospital patients. They were pre-tested for general verbal intelligence and for anxiety level (low, medium and high). Treatment conditions were (a) muscle relaxation, (b) muscle tension, and (c) normal tension.

Results were that regardless of anxiety level, subjects in the muscle tension condition performed significantly better than those in the relaxation condition. Subjects in the relaxation condition, in turn, performed significantly better than the subjects in the normal tension condition. Regarding anxiety level, subjects with high anxiety performed better in a state of induced muscle tension, while subjects with low anxiety performed better in a state of induced muscle relaxation.

The latter findings are supported by Martin and Schuster (1977) who in a similar design investigated the interaction of anxiety and muscle tension in learning a list of rare English words with 56 volunteer psychology students. Responding to Wilson and Wilson's (1970:64) concern that in studies of this nature subjects may have too little time to get relaxed or tense, Martin and Schuster (1977) used an analog electromyogram (EMG) feedback mechanism by which subjects were given feedback during both the learning and the testing periods in order to check whether relaxation or tension levels had been adequately maintained. Subjects also had 3 training periods of 10 minutes each prior to the experiment in which desired levels of relaxation and tension were reached. The findings of this study also showed that high anxiety subjects performed better when tensed in the learning situation while low anxiety subjects performed better when relaxed.

These findings are further supported by Schuster and Martin (1980), again using a similar design, but putting even more emphasis on longer training periods (60 minutes) for relaxation and tension conditions and including subjects with medium anxiety levels. Subjects were 48 volunteer undergraduate psychology students, selected from a pool of 108 students on the basis of their responses on the State-Trait Anxiety Index (STAI). The findings were that medium anxiety subjects did not perform differently whether relaxed or tensed, but that high anxiety students did significantly better when tensed in the learning situation with the converse being true for low anxiety subjects. For higher order interactions the results significantly favoured relaxation overall. Even high anxiety subjects performed better when given suggestion with an easy test and when relaxed prior to learning, during learning and during testing.

Each of the four studies above shows in its particular environment that while relaxation may be effective in learning, it appears not to affect all students in the same way, and may even hinder some students' performance. Straughan and Dufort's findings (1969) suggest that relaxation may be more effective with high anxiety students, especially in terms of reaction time. Although a trend in the same direction was observed in this study concerning the number of correct responses, the findings of the majority of studies (Wilson & Wilson 1970, Martin & Schuster 1977 and Schuster & Martin 1980) which investigated the number of correct responses only, suggest that relaxation may be more effective with low anxiety students. Does this mean that Accelerative Learning does some students a disservice by relaxing them? Would high anxiety students perform better in a state of tension?

Here we must not forget two important aspects of anxiety and learning. The first is the difficulty of the task - the bulk of the research suggests that with increased difficulty anxiety interferes with performance. The second is the nature of the testing. Gaudry and Spielberger (1971:32) point out that the majority of studies on the subject support that the "reduction of the test-like characteristics of examination situations will facilitate the performance of high-anxious students."

In Accelerative Learning the learning task, although in conventional terms very demanding because of the large chunks of materials presented in one session, is seen as relatively easy by the students. For example, in a primary school study, where on the first day of teaching the experimental children had to deal with the materials in about half the time than the control children because much time had been spent on explaining the method, the children were overheard to say after the class: "We didn't do anything today!" Whether this is the result of the relaxation, the suggestion, a combination of both, the music or the entire suggestive environment, is impossible to say. What seems to be evident, though, from the research, at least on a naturalistic basis (Schuster & Gritton 1985) is that students are less stressed, anxious or fatigued than in conventional learning situations.

Further, testing in Accelerative Learning tends to be handled on a progressive basis in a non-threatening environment. This does not mean that tests are especially easy. On the contrary, tests need to be as demanding as the material that was presented. Even in environments, where for research purposes, students sit the normal exam at the end of the year, students taught with Accelerative Learning have reported fewer feelings of anxiety than their counterparts in traditional courses. Although there is not yet any systematic evidence for this, anecdotal reports from studies support this (Felix 1987).

Conclusions - Relaxation. Although we cannot say at this stage how great an effect relaxation alone has in Accelerative Learning, the findings of the majority of studies conducted within, as well as outside, this field give support to the retention of relaxation as an important element in the approach. Most studies report positive effects being associated with the use of relaxation. This is true for short term studies conducted in laboratory settings and for long term studies carried out in the natural learning environment. Findings include positive effects on achievement as well as on students' psychological and physiological states and creativity. However, one study reports no effect and another reports a negative effect of various forms of relaxation on long-term memory. In contrast to the bulk of studies reviewed here, both these studies investigated the effect of relaxation on a fairly simple task, namely recognition of vocabulary items.

Research into the relationship between anxiety and performance suggests that relaxation training may be most beneficial when the learning task is difficult or complex and ego-involvement is high. Easy tasks appear to be facilitated by anxiety while tasks with low ego-involvement appear to be either uninfluenced by anxiety or facilitated. Although the learning task in Accelerative Learning is not necessarily perceived as being difficult, it is nevertheless a complex task with a high content of ego-involvement, especially in language learning, and it appears therefore, that students are likely to benefit from relaxation in this context. There is some evidence that progressive muscle relaxation may be more effective than other types of relaxation.

There is also some evidence that the effect of relaxation may be related to the level of measured anxiety. Although results are not entirely consistent, a strong trend can be obvserved towards low anxiety students being more positively affected by relaxation during learning than high anxiety subjects. Since in Accelerative Learning, at least after a period of time, students appear to display more low anxiety characteristics towards learning and testing than high anxiety characteristics, this research further supports the retention of relaxation training in Accelerative Learning.

Suggestion

Suggestion has existed in one form or another as long as human communication itself. Its effectiveness has best been demonstrated in hypnosis from the classical approach of Bernheim (1880) to the recent naturalistic work of Erickson (1980). It has further been demonstrated in Autogenic Training (Schultz 1959), in Progressive Relaxation (Jacobson 1938), in Psychosynthesis (Assagioli 1965), in Biofeedback (Green & Green 1977) and in Subliminal Learning (Budzynski 1976). Detailed reports on the effects of suggestion on learning as a result of experimental investigations are scarce, however, and the findings of different studies (Biggers & Stricherz 1976, Bordon & Schuster 1976, Schuster & Martin 1980 and Renigers 1981) are conflicting.

Equally as important as establishing the effects of suggestion on learning is deciding whether or not is is ethical to use suggestion in the learning environment. One of the problems in Accelerative Learning is that the term suggestion may be seen as synonymous with hypnosis and the approach therefore dismissed by educators and administrators as unsuitable or dangerous in the learning environment. What is the evidence in the literature for such reasoning?

Harrison and Musial (1978), who reviewed the literature on hypnosis in education, report inconclusive and confusing results, yet a trend towards positive outcomes. Some examples given (p.72) are that Harley and Harley (1958) claim that hypnosis actually inhibits learning while Krippner (1966), Mutke (1967) and McCord (1962) all report success in using hypnosis to increase reading speed and comprehension. Hilgard (in Harrison and Musial 1978:73) points to the benefits of hypnosis in education:

The hundreds of students who have improved their learning and academic achievement do not need convincing. And those who may be helped in the future should not be denied the benefit of hypnosis simply because we do not understand precisely what it is or why it works. For now, it is enough to know that, for many, it does work.

The effectiveness of suggestion in hypnosis cannot be disputed on the basis of a large body of studies. However, very few studies exist on the effectiveness of suggestion as a single variable and unrelated to hypnosis. Three studies, apart fom Biggers and Stricherz (1976), discussed in the relaxation section above, could be located in the field of Accelerative Learning which investigated the effects of elements including suggestion on recall or recognition of vocabulary in laboratory settings. During the early years when synchronisation was still used, Bordon and Schuster (1976) conducted a study using a factorial design in which they isolated suggestion, words synchronised with students' breathing and words synchronised with background music. Thirty-two volunteer adult subjects, 4 per treatment cell, took part in the experiment. Findings were that all three elements separately had been effective in significantly improved recall, and that the variables interacted cumulatively such that learning was best when all three variables were present.

These findings concerning suggestion are supported by Renigers (1981) who in a similar design examined the effects of music, and suggestion coupled with relaxation. The rationale for coupling suggestion with relaxation was the belief that suggestion would be more effective when the subjects were in a relaxed state. Synchronised breathing was also used but not isolated as a separate variable for investigation. Ninety volunteer adult subjects, 15 per treatment cell, took part in this experiment. Renigers (1981) found that suggestion coupled with relaxation was effective in significantly improving vocabulary recall when compared to the control group.

These findings, however, are not supported by Biggers and Stricherz (1976), who did not find a significant difference in performance between the control and the suggestion condition in a recognition task. They are also not supported by Schuster and Martin (1980), discussed above, who included suggestion in a study on the effects of relaxation training on vocabulary recall. Although a positive influence of relaxation on recall was reported in this study, suggestion was not found to have a significant influence in the same context.

The conflicting findings of these studies in terms of suggestion highlight the difficulty of accurately investigating variables of this kind. All four studies were well designed and controlled. However, there is considerable variation in the manner in which suggestion is administered in different studies. As a consequence, findings are not readily comparable. In Renigers' (1981) study, for example, the subjects in the suggestion condition received one verbal suggestion relating to the ease with which subjects would learn the material, coupled with muscle relaxation (no time given) and four minutes of Zen breathing. In Biggers and Stricherz (1976) the suggestion condition involved a five minute concentration exercise focussing on the suggestion that this exercise would result in higher level mental functioning. In Bordon and Schuster (1976) the suggestion treatment consisted of a one hour preparation including a lecture on Suggestopedia, verbal suggestions and instructions in the use of imagery, and meditation procedures in order to establish an expectation that learning would take place. In Schuster and Martin (1980) the suggestion treatment consisted of an "early pleasant learning restimulation" (no time given) described as a technique which "focuses on the bodily feelings, sensations, emotions and thoughts associated with an early pleasant learning situation" (p.277). Although it can be said that in all four studies subjects in the suggestion condition also received some form of relaxation, the type of relaxation differed considerably between studies, and the time involved in administering this variable varied substantially.

Several other studies already discussed in previous sections of this article included suggestion (e.g. Wilson and Wilson 1970, Schuster and Mouzon 1982 and Schuster 1985). However, this variable was either not separately analysed as in Wilson and Wilson (1970), or the suggestion treatment was restricted to written suggestions relating to either the ease or the difficulty of learning the materials as in Schuster and Mouzon (1982) and Schuster (1985). Since we cannot be certain whether subjects in these studies actually read the suggestions, their findings were not included in the discussion here.

Studies which involve verbal suggestion might be described as having contained some form of hypnosis. Since the possible relationship to hypnosis is an important issue in the acceptance of Accelerative Learning in educational institutions, we will now look at the relevant literature in order to present distinguishing factors between Accelerative Learning and hypnosis, or between suggestion in the waking state and suggestion in hypnosis.

Lozanov's early work in suggestology led him to claim that hypnosis is not involved in suggestopedia because suggestions are exclusively administered in the waking state. Yet little information is available on the differences or similarities between suggestion in the waking state and suggestion under hypnosis, chiefly because of the difficulty of finding a widely accepted definition of suggestion or hypnosis. As Marcuse (1966:19) put it: "That hypnosis exists has become generally accepted; what it is, however, is generally disputed." He offered a tentative definition of hypnosis as an "altered state of the organism originally and usually produced by a repetition of stimuli in which suggestion (no matter how defined) is more effective than usual." (p.21) In the literature on hypnosis this altered state is often referred to as a form of sleep, which is in accordance with the etymological origin of the word hypnosis.

In the latest versions of Accelerative Learning there is no deliberate repetition of stimuli and at no stage do the students find themselves in a state of induced sleep. It is generally conceded, instead, that the students experience a state of alert relaxation which is at all times defined as wakefulness. However, Tart (1969:167) defines light hypnosis as "a state of relaxed wakefulness, accompanied by receptivity to suggestion, with alpha brain waves as the dominant pattern." Bayuk (1983) believes that his study establishes a direct relationship between the light hypnotic state and the intellective alertness which characterises Suggestopedia. Bayuk claims that descriptions of the suggestopedic state found throughout Lozanov's work (she has had access to the original Bulgarian texts) closely parallel Tart's observations in his studies of light hypnosis.

Marcuse (1966), too, speaks of waking hypnosis as a modification of hypnosis for patients who are overly anxious about the loss of conscious awareness as a consequence of being in a sleep-like state. Here, the verbal patterns of hypnosis are employed, but without any mention of sleep or drowsiness. Instead, the term relaxation is used. Bernheim (in Baudouin 1923:15) also points out the presence of suggestion in the waking state: "To define hypnosis as induced sleep, is to give a too narrow meaning to the word - to overlook the many phenomena which suggestion can bring about independently of sleep." The bulk of Erickson's (1980) work reflects this statement.

Stanton (1978) claims that the only difference between Suggestopedia and hypnosis is in the name. This view is supported by Harrison and Musial (1978). Stanton compares hypnotherapy procedures with the three phases of the suggestopedic cycle:

1. The preparation phase. The student/patient is being prepared for positive expectancy with mental and physical relaxation, rhythmic breathing and visualisation of pleasant experiences.

2. The presentation phase. This is characterised by concentration of the student/patient on non-related objects such as music in suggestopedia and backward counting in hypnotherapy.

3. The practice phase. Lozanov's sociodramas are similar in their effect to that produced by group therapy encounters. (p.250)

While this comparison is perhaps a little ambiguous and oversimplified, Lozanov (1978) himself is highly conscious of the similarities between suggestion in the waking state and hypnosis, and he has made some effort to isolate distinguishing factors. He maintains that a person in a truly hypnotic state is no longer critical and able to describe what is experienced, while the same person under the influence of suggestion in a waking state remains perfectly aware and critical. While claiming that "suggestion in a waking state in a surgical operation is equal in power to suggestion under hypnosis" (p.120), he believes that "this kind of control has considerable advantage over hypnosis; it permits not only a safer operation, but creates conditions under which the dynamics of suggestive anaesthetization can be observed in the various stages of the operation" (p.118). In contrast, Marcuse (1966) quotes the findings of a surgeon who used hypnotic anaesthesia in more than 300 patients before the discovery of chemical anaesthesia. The patients who underwent the hypnosis were described as either "lying like a corpse throughout or as having disturbed trances" (p.143).

In Lozanov's (1978) suggestopedic teaching several changes were made, not least because of the unsatisfactory link with hypnosis:

The active session was dropped because it didn't produce the same satisfactory results as the concert session. At the same time it constituted a danger of insufficiently trained teachers intoning unsuitable material and creating external conditions similar to those for inducing a light form of hypnosis, something which has to be altogether avoided in suggestopedy. For the same reasons, all monotonous sounds and utterances were eliminated from the sessions, as well as the shading of light in the rooms with curtains. (p.269)

Schuster and Gritton (1985) maintain that suggestion used in suggestopedia is closer to suggestion used in commercial advertising than it is to hypnosis:

The difference is that suggestion in advertising attempts to persuade you to do something that you might ordinarily do anyhow; suggestion in hypnosis attempts to compel you to do something that you ordinarily couldn't do. Carrying this to the extreme, if suggestopedia is "hypnosis", then so is commercial advertising. (p.54)

While Schuster's definition might be seen as an oversimplification in the opposite direction from Stanton (1978) above, he nevertheless points out the fact that suggestion is widely and powerfully present in the waking state of our everyday life. Schuster further claims that hypnosis in the classroom does not generally work, and that suggestopedia lacks the formal trance induction to hypnosis, and the usual subjective experiences observed in hypnotic subjects.

From the evidence presented so far it would be naïve to claim that Suggestopedia has nothing in common with hypnosis, and it would be equally naïve to claim that Suggestopedia is hypnosis. To define the altered states of consciousness attained by subjects of either approach is as difficult as defining any transition state accurately. How do we define twilight, for example? And how it is related to dawn, daylight and night? The only scientific means we have for measuring the profoundness of states of altered consciousness are E.E.G. machines which measure brain wave patterns. Research in Accelerative Learning (Lozanov 1978) has shown that during the passive states, alpha waves are dominant, which suggests a state of consciousness that can at best be compared to very light hypnosis. On the other hand, this state can be attained by anyone, by simply closing their eyes and relaxing.

When we look at the relaxation or mind-calming sessions as they are used in the West, we can indeed find similarities to hypnosis as it is used by contemporary therapists. The following induction scenario given to children in an experiment on the use of hypnosis in a summer reading clinic by Krippner (1966) is not all that different from the relaxation scenarios that may be given at the beginning of an Accelerative Learning class:

For the next few moments, let us pause and relax our bodies. We can do this at any time of the day no matter where we are. All we need to do is stop and tell our bodies what to do. First let's close our eyes and take a deep breath… Now concentrate on your eyelids. They are controlled by the smallest muscles in your body. Concentrate on these tiny eyelid muscles. Tell them to relax. Let your eyelid muscles become so soft, so relaxed that they seem to melt like a dish of ice cream in the sun… In fact they are now so relaxed that they refuse to work. Your eyes want to stay so relaxed that they refuse to open. Now relax the rest of your body. Tell your face to relax… Tell your neck to relax. Tell your chest and shoulders to relax. Tell your stomach to relax. Tell your arms and hands to relax. Tell your feet and toes to relax. Now let your mind relax. Let it become quiet and silent. Do not let any thought distract you.

This scenario is as reminiscent of Jacobson's (1938) Progressive Relaxation as it is of Uneståhl's (1986) Systematic Approach to Relaxation for Youths and Schultz's (1959) Autogenic Training. None of these approaches is immediately associated with hypnosis. Maybe the difference really is only in the name. And maybe it is hypnosis which is incongruous. According to Harrison and Musial (1978) even Braid who coined the term hypnosis realised that the equation with sleep was probably erroneous, since a state of heightened awareness is not really synonymous with sleep.

Suggestion as used in the approaches above, as in medicine and dentistry, is usually seen as beneficial. Why then should we assume that suggestion used in education is not beneficial or even dangerous? It could be argued that teachers, in contrast to therapists and dentists, are not qualified to use suggestion. However, is suggestion not a constant part of their interaction with students? As Ginott ( in Schuster & Gritton 1985) put it:

I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanised or dehumanised. (p.80)

Ginott speaks neither of hypnosis nor of suggestion but of the teacher's everyday behaviour in the classroom. He is pointing out that a mood-setting is part of any teaching, that the teacher sets up some mood context for any lesson, and that this can be negative as well as positive. What Lozanov has done is make teachers aware of the power of the suggestions transmitted through everyday behaviour. These suggestions are not exclusively verbal, but more often found in gestures, mimicry, posture and tone of voice. Lozanov (1978:201) defines suggestion as "a constant communicative factor" and does not advocate bombarding students with obvious direct verbal suggestions such as Learning German will be fun. While this may be effective with volunteer adult students, a statement like this given to less motivated students in a secondary school, some of whom do the language only because it is a compulsory subject, may produce a counter-productive reaction such as Oh, no it won't.

If teachers believe that learning should be fun, easy and without stress and fatigue, then they have to demonstrate this to the students and let them experience it so that students in fact believe it as a result of their personal success, not as a result of a verbal suggestion which could not possibly have the same effect.

Maybe Lozanov's decision to call his method Suggestopedia was unwise in the light of the fact that suggestion may be regarded with suspicion in the education process. However, if educators are able to see suggestion with the same clinical neutrality demonstrated by Lozanov, they may agree with Galisson (1983:104):

 [I do not see how pedagogy (in general) could do without suggestion, when it is obvious that it constitutes an essential mode of interaction between human beings, and when it is in this capacity everywhere present in the school, which is par excellence a centre of socialising, and therefore of interaction. In short, suggestion in pedagogy is necessary; but surely not nothing but suggestion in pedagogy.]

Conclusions - Suggestion. We do not know from the research available exactly how effective suggestion is in Accelerative Learning. When efforts were made to isolate this element for investigation, studies showed conflicting results. Research in this area may be hampered by the fact that suggestion is difficult to isolate and administer in an environment which involves human communicaton. Other approaches in which suggestion is used, most noteably hypnosis, indicate that suggestion may indeed be effective in the learning process. Although findings concerning the effect of hypnosis on learning tasks are mixed, there appears to be a trend towards a positive effect of hypnosis in the learning environment. However, hypnosis is still largely regarded with apprehension and suspicion by educators and administrators in schools.

Since Accelerative Learning is often associated with hypnosis, it is frequently dismissed as a viable teaching method for the same reasons. While it cannot categorically be stated that Accelerative Learning has nothing in common with hypnosis, especially not when compared to recent naturalistic techniques, it can also not be claimed that Accelerative Learning is hypnosis. The difficulty with finding a clear distinction between the two is the fact that no widely accepted definition of hypnosis exists. Hypnosis may range from extremely light states, which are similar to the relaxed states reached in Accelerative Learning, to deep somnambulism, a state which cannot even remotely be associated with the state of relaxed alertness in which students in Accelerative Learning courses find themselves. While suggestion in hypnosis may be used for many forms of treatments, ranging from attitude changes to painless tooth extractions, suggestions in Accelerative Learning are confined to addressing the facilitation of the learning task.

This is done using suggestive means such as music and positive teacher behaviour, rather than by means of direct verbal suggestions. If students' attitudes towards learning are changed for the better in the process, then this is most likely the result of a combination of variables present in Accelerative Learning, one of which is suggestion. Suggestion per se is already constantly present in any learning environment, and teachers make use of it both consciously and unconsciously. Lozanov has simply drawn attention to this fact and developed a method into which suggestion is integrated as an exclusively positive means. There is therefore no reason to exclude its systematic and positive application in Accelerative Learning.

 

General Conclusions

Although findings are not completely consistent, it can be said that the bulk of the research on music and relaxation suggests that these elements are effective in learning. In music this applies especially to pieces from the baroque and classical period, although background music which shares characteristics with these has also been found to be effective. In relaxation there is some evidence that progressive relaxation may be more effective than other forms of physical and mental relaxation. Suggestion, as a variable, has not been extensively researched, and the limited results are not consistent. However, results from research in related fields indicate that suggestion may have a beneficial effect in learning.

What are the benefits, though, of isolating one element for investigation? Although we will know something about the effectiveness of that particular variable, we do not know anything about its relationship with the other variables used in Accelerative Learning. The most obvious question, of course, would be to ask which is the most important of all the common variables. No study has yet answered this question, although some have thrown light on the relationship between some variables, suggesting a cumulative effect. Stein et al. (1982) showed that music together with visualisation appeared more effective than music alone for long-term retention. Gamble et al (1982) found relaxation together with music more effective than music alone. Baur (1982) reports that relaxation plus music was more effective than relaxation alone, and Bordon and Schuster (1976) showed that the elements suggestion, synchronisation and music interacted cumulatively with each other so that learning was best when all elements were part of the treatment.

Although there are some conflicting findings in these studies, especially regarding the variables suggestion and relaxation, it appears that the findings for the variable music are consistent throughout, suggesting that music may well be the most important when more than one element is investigated. This conclusion must be treated with caution, however, bearing in mind the difficulties involved in isolating and measuring variables such as suggestion and relaxation. Furthermore, the bulk of these studies were short-term and conducted in a laboratory setting, their findings can therefore not be generalised to the natural learning environment. Although it is interesting to know about the contribution of individual elements in Accelerative Learning, the most important interest, however, is how effective the method may be in the natural learning environment.

©  by Uschi Felix (PhD)

 

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4.- EL ORIGEN DE LA VIOLENCIA EN EL AULA

 

Our dear SHARER Bethina Viale has sent us this article she wrote:

 

 

Para aquéllos a los que les toca, les tocó, y para aquellos que creen que se salvaron....

El origen de la violencia

 

“Pilatos está en todas partes. Lavarse las manos es lo usual. El compromiso es cosa de tontos: éste es el mensaje que los jóvenes constantemente reciben de la gran sociedad y de la pequeña también, es decir la familia.

La pregunta del por qué de tanta violencia es no sólo legítima sino imprescindible. ¿Acaso el "yo soy libre y hago lo que quiero", practicado por chicos y grandes, no tiene el sello de una invitación a la violencia?

La verdadera libertad es una elección  entre deberes y no la espontaneidad de lo que se nos antoja. Y anteponer la igualdad de derechos como un argumento que sirva para  todo pone en evidencia que sólo se es igual en derechos si se es igual en deberes, en normas a compartir. En las normas hay jerarquías.

Los chicos que maltratan física y síquicamente a sus maestros- y sólo algunos privilegiados trascienden en los noticieros- parten de la premisa de la igualdad; sin embargo, ella debería garantizar que maestros y maestras estuvieran autorizados igualmente a azotarlos cuando se les antoje.

La reacción de las autoridades a la violencia es la impunidad. Hoy se debate el tema de para qué sirven las amonestaciones y cualquier otro castigo a las dulces criaturas cuando en realidad no debería haber necesidad de castigar si los padres hicieran "los deberes".

Ésta es la revolución que ahora hace falta, urgentemente.

No sé muy bien para qué sirven los hijos. Pero sí sé, y con bastante precisión, para qué estamos nosotros los padres: para educar en las normas, en los límites, en el respeto, en la responsabilidad.”

 

Del libro "¿Para qué sirven los hijos?" , capítulo "La liberación bien entendida", de Jaime Barylko (2ª edición 1998):

 

 

...hasta aquí las palabras de Barylko.

 

Que un alumno se pare a la par del docente en el frente de un salón y después de recorrerlo a su alrededor en medio de una clase diga mirando a los compañeritos de 10 años "Qué olor ...( ¿a caca , era?...gracias que acá viene en auxilio la amnesia emocional)", eso es violencia.

Que un padre lo "puentee" a un docente cuando antes éste lo recibió personalmente o por teléfono o  por e-mail (o nunca se enteró el docente  de que el padre quería hablarle) para decirle a su superior lo que nunca dialogó con el maestro/profesor, eso es violencia. Y si encima lo hace por teléfono, eso es además cobardía sustentada por dudosos argumentos.

Que un padre le diga a un docente " Yo acá pago" cuando de lo se le está hablando es de la pésima conducta del hijo, eso es violencia. O "El año que viene no sé si lo voy a seguir mandando acá" o "el año que viene mi hijo no viene más acá" , cuando de lo que se le está hablando es de la falta de estudio del hijo, eso es violencia.

Que un alumno le diga a un maestro/profesor: "A ver si todavía yo a vos te hago echar ...", eso es violencia.

Si además todo esto- y tanto más- sucede porque el hijo/alumno no se exime ( o no tiene la nota que él y/o sus padres creen merece) o, dicho de otro modo, cuando esto sucede porque el docente quiere que aprenda lo que todavía no sabe, eso es violencia.

 

...y no es la historia de uno.

 

Existe el acoso, el acoso sexual.¿Existirá también el acoso "académico" ?

Alguien una vez me contó o en algún lado leí la siguiente anécdota:

Antes, cuando un alumno iba a su casa y le decía a la mamá: "¡Mamá, la señorita me retó!", la mamá le contestaba:"Algo habrás hecho...".

Hoy, cuando un alumno llega a la casa y le dice a la mamá:"¡Ma, la seño me retó!", la mamá le contesta: " ¡No le hagas caso a esa vieja loca!".

Viene a mi mente la película "Luna de Avellaneda" y ese estribillo que le sirve de fondo musical : "¡Siga el baile, siga el baile....!"

 

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5.- TOOLS FOR TEACHERS DECEMBER PROGRAMME

 

Tools For Teachers announces its end of the year program made up of

A. Relax, Let Go and Find your Balance

while you enjoy any or all of the following workshops

 

1. Simple Techniques for Well Being

We will engage in gentle stretches and twists which can be used as part of our daily routine to release stress and revitalize our body. We will introduce five extremely simple and effective exercises as well as self-massage  to raise our energy level whatever the circumstances.

December 21 or December 28, 10:30 to 13:00.

 

                 

2. Experiencing Meditation

You have most likely read or heard about meditation, but have you ever meditated? Do you know how to meditate? In this session we will explore some ways to quiet the mind, bring inner peace, relax, center and renew ourselves. Meditation is one of the best ways to prevent stress from wreaking havoc on our health.

December 21 or December 28, 14:30 to 17:00

 

 

 3. A Delight in Words     

This light hearted session will feature comparisons, metaphors, homophones and proverbs. This workshop for word lovers will give participants an opportunity to test their knowledge of areas of the English language not usually included even at the advanced level.

December 22, or December 26, 10:30 to 13:00

 

 4. Love Songs: Music for Yourself and your Students

We will focus on a number of songs, review the uses to which they can be put in the classroom, and basically and fundamentally we will just enjoy them, as we react to the lyrics and to the music. Participants will have an opportunity to voice their feelings, and memories as well as  share their favourite love songs and how they could exploit them in the classroom.

December 22, or December 26, 14:30 to 17:00

 

All sessions at SBS Palermo, Coronel Díaz 1747, Ciudad de Buenos Aires

Fees: $20 per session

Any two sessions: $35

Any three sessions $ 45

All four sessions: $55

Pre-register  by emailing your full name, address, and  phone number to palermo@sbs.com.ar  if you are sure you will be attending the workshop and pay the day of the seminar.

 

Conducted by Oriel E. Villagarcía (details of his CV are given below under B)

 

 

B.      Minding the Body, Minding the Soul

 

A one day workshop to unwind after a hard year’s work.

December 27, 2005 - 10:00 to 17:30

 

Tools For Teachers is proud to present once again a workshop for those who are looking for ways to look after their well being, through simple yet effective ways which are beneficial to our health. If you have attended this workshop before, you know this session is unique in many respects. If you have never joined us, be prepared to enjoy an exceptional blend of

 

  • Yoga-like exercises to promote flexibility
  • Energy sensing activities to bring balance to the self
  • Self-massage to feel fully alive
  • Visualization to promote deep relaxation
  • Touching as a way of healing ourselves and others

 

Please note that although the format of every MINDING…is roughly the same, the activities are different.

 

 

This time we will use Love Songs as a spring board for reflection, communication and bonding.

 

This workshop, conducted entirely in English, is both for teachers and advanced students of English. It thus offers the English language lover the advantage of practicing English and doing something useful for his/her health.

 

If throughout the year you have not minded your body because of the pressure of time, this is your opportunity to learn simple things that make the difference and which you can put into practice during your holidays. What we are offering at this workshop are true Tools for Well Being. 

 

Fee: $ 35

Venue: Gascón 1683, Ciudad de Buenos Aires

Pre-register by emailing your full name, address and phone number to newtoolsforteachers@yahoo.com.ar if you are sure that you are coming and pay the day of the workshop.

 

Coordinated by Oriel E. Villagarcia

Profesor en Inglés, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, British Council and Fulbright Scholar, post graduate work, University of Texas, Master of Arts, University of Lancaster, Former Head of English Department, Universidad Católica de Salta, Former Lecturer in Linguistics, Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, Former Lecturer for the Licenciatura level, Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero, Master Practitioner, Certificate of Completion, NLP University, Santa Cruz, California, Certified Administrator of the MBTI, Florida, Certified Instructor in Body Work on Balance Balls (Esferodinamia Terapeútica), Certified reflexologist, Certified Practitioner of Jin Shin Jyutsu, with vast experience in Esalen Type Massage (Masaje Californiano Oasis), Shiatsu and Thai Massage.

 

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6.- CURSO SOBRE VIOLENCIA ESCOLAR Y STRESS DOCENTE

 

 

Our dear SHARER Cristina de la Vega has sent us this announcement:

 

 

Taller De Planificacion Estrategica Para La Prevencion Y Abordaje De La Violencia En El Aula- Lic. Graciela Polti (Psicologa UBA)

Horario: 10 a 15hs Dirigido a: Docentes, directivos, profesionales que trabajan en áreas educativas -

Modalidad: teórico vivencial - requiere inscripción previa - cupos limitados.

Todo accionar debe ser organizado, planificado y con resultados "escritos", anticipados y verificables para que no sea sólo un intento más de buenas intenciones y promesas.

Esto significa que si procuramos llevar adelante algún resultado debemos empezar por organizarnos para realizarlo eficientemente.

El plan estratégico es un proceso que entraña un cambio. Todo cambio entraña algunos escollos. La mayoría de éstos son propios de cierta resistencia que oponemos a la concreción de aquellos mismos cambios que deseamos realizar. Otros devienen de posiciones erróneas o prejuiciosas, en relación a lo que se "planifica modificar" que, una vez detectadas y trabajadas no obstaculizan más el esperado proceso de cambio.

Las dificultades de convivencia en las aulas generan inconvenientes en la relación alumno/a-docente, alumno/a-institución escolar,alumno/a-pares,alumno/a-contenidos pedagógicos.

 

Abordaje del Estres  Docente - Lic. Alberto Montenegro (Psicologo UBA)

 

Horario 15 a 19hs -  Se requiere inscripción anticipada -

Dirigido a: Directivos de instituciones educativas , docente, profesores, profesionales de educación.  Muchos profesores y profesoras realizan su labor con fatiga, cansancio, irritación o depresión, algunos se sienten desvinculados del centro en el que prestan servicio y otros, superados por el trabajo, se muestran incapaces de hacer frente a la diversidad de tareas y de necesidades educativas. El estrés docente está relacionada con una excesiva activación física y psicológica vinculada con el esfuerzo para abordar las demandas de las instituciones educativas y que cuando se torna crónico; perjudica la salud de los profesores; acciona directamente en el rendimiento intelectual del docente, genera una modificación en el clima del aula, y es factor de respuestas negativas en el aspecto relacional.

 

La presente propuesta ha sido segmentada en dos módulos interrrelacionados entre si. Otorga puntaje docente y se entregará una constancia de asistencia laboral.

 

Hemos abierto dos fechas para el desarrollo del curso, Ud. podrá elegir que fecha es adecuada para asistir:

Viernes 16 de Diciembre (Inicia 10hs. y termina 19hs) o bien Sábado 17 de Diciembre  (Inicia 10hs y termina 19hs.)

 

Inscripción: $30 - en: Florida 141 piso 2º - Ciudad de Buenos Aires - o bien con deposito bancario en la cuenta Caja de Ahorro de Banco Nacion Nº 0180846713 - Sucursal 74 Plaza Italia Titular: Maria Cristina de la Vega.  

 

Informes: ACUARELL Capacitación -

Teléfono: 4827-5235 - congreso@acyf.com.ar 

Website: www.acyf.com.ar  

 

                                       

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7.- NEWS FROM APIBA

 

 

After their institutional crisis that shocked the porteño teachers of English, APIBA

members have fortunately managed to put together a new Committee. The new President of APIBA writes:

 

Como fuera anunciada, se realizó la Asamblea General de APIBA luego del cuarto intermedio, el día 11 de noviembre.

Resultó elegida como Presidente de la Asociación la Profesora Stella M. Schulte y también se cubrieron vacantes en la Comisión Directiva con la elección de los siguientes profesores: Virginia Lopez Grisolía, Gustavo Gonzalez, Albina García y Mary Godward.

 

Ya pronto nos comunicaremos con todos para informarles sobre la conformación de la nueva CD asi como de las actividades para el año entrante.

 

Creo que lo ocurrido en la Asamblea nos ha servido a todos para valorar lo que hemos logrado y darnos cuenta que APIBA necesita del  apoyo y la participación de todos sus miembros para funcionar y crecer.

 

Gracias por su apoyo, y permanecemos en contacto,

Saludos a todos,

Stella Schulte

Presidente de APIBA

 

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8.- TERCERA ESCUELA DE VERANO DE LINGÜÍSTICA FORMAL DE AMÉRICA DEL SUR
 

 

Our dear SHARER Laura Kornfeld has got an invitation for all of us:

 

Estimados colegas:


Les reenviamos el anuncio de la Tercera Escuela de Verano de Lingüística Formal de América del Sur (Evelin), que tendrá lugar entre el 16 y el 21 de enero del 2006 en el Instituto de Estudios del Lenguaje de la Universidad de Campinas, Brasil. Esperamos que el anuncio sea de su interés o que puedan retransmitirlo a posibles interesados.

Cordiales saludos,

 

Laura Kornfeld

 

 

La Tercera Escuela de Verano de Lingüística Formal de América del Sur (Evelin) tendrá lugar entre el 16 y el 21 de enero del 2006, en el Instituto de Estudios del Lenguaje de la Universidad de Campinas, Brasil. La escuela de verano es un encuentro de estudiosos del lenguaje que pretende proporcionar a los alumnos de grado la oportunidad de explorar informalmente los desarrollos de la lingüística formal, y a los graduados y alumnos de posgrado la oportunidad de participar en cursos donde se abordan discusiones teóricas actuales.
En esta edición de Evelin, habrá cursos en portugués de nivel introductorio (esto es, sobre temas específicos, pero que presuponen relativamente poco conocimiento previo) en las siguientes áreas: fonología, morfología, sintaxis, semántica, neurolingüística, adquisición del lenguaje, lingüística histórica, mente y lengua, y métodos de campo. Se dictaran, además, cursos avanzados en portugués, inglés o castellano sobre temas diversos, que incluyen la sintaxis de los sintagmas nominales, la estructura de las oraciones relativas, la sintaxis y semántica de la coordinación, la relación entre sintaxis y prosodia, y otros. Todos los docentes invitados tienen un compromiso activo con la investigación actual en lingüística formal.
Las inscripciones deben hacerse hasta el 15 de diciembre del 2005 en la página de Evelin (
http://mit.edu/kaitire/www/evelin2006). El arancel de inscripción es de 50R$ (aproximadamente 60$Arg), y puede ser abonado al llegar por los alumnos que no vivan en Brasil. Oportunamente, la comisión organizadora local proporcionará a los inscriptos información sobre alojamiento y comidas a precios económicos.

Para mayor información, pueden visitar la página de la Escuela de Verano, en http://mit.edu/kaitire/www/evelin2006.

Se agradecerá enormemente la difusión de esta información en tre los posibles interesados.

 

Evelin es una iniciativa de un grupo de alumnos de posgrado en lingüística de la Universidad de Campinas y del MIT, y cuenta con el apoyo del IEL/Unicamp, del Departamento de Lingüística y Filosofía del MIT, y del decano de Artes, Ciencias Sociales y Humanas del MIT.

 

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9.-        TALLERES DE BRAIN GYM

 

Our dear SHARER Gabriela Lombardo has sent us this invitation:

Joyful Learning Center 

Centro Integral de Aprendizaje  

 

Año 2006

 

Próximos talleres de Brain Gym

Sábado 18 de febrero: Taller introductorio: Descubrí Brain Gym!! de 10 a 14 hs. Arancel: $ 40

 

BRAIN GYM 101- Las tres dimensiones de la inteligencia: lateralidad, centrado y foco. Total de 28hs de entrenamiento.

Este taller se dicta los sábados 4,11,18 y 25 de marzo y sábados 1 y 8 de abril de 9.30 a 14.30 hs .

Material de trabajo y certificado de la Fundación de Kinesiología Educativa, Ventura , California.

Arancel: $ 380 para aquellos que se inscriban durante este año hasta el 15 de enero, el arancel es de $ 360.  Cierre de inscripción: 24 de febrero.

Página Web: http://www.centrojoyful.com.ar  

 

Informes e Inscripción: Gabriela Lombardo, instructora / consultora de Brain Gym

gabrielalombardo@citec.com.ar  - 4523-5261

 

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10.-   CURSO DE INGRESO A LA DOCENCIA PARA ESCUELAS PLURILINGÜES

 

Destinatarios: profesores de inglés, francés, italiano y portugués con título docente o alumnos a punto de recibirse

Inglés: del 20 al 24 de febrero de 2006 de 8.30 a 13 en la sede central del CePA, Av. Santa Fe 4360.

Francés, Italiano y Portugués: del 20 al 24 de febrero de 2006 de 8.30 a 13 en el IES en Lenguas Vivas "Juan Ramón Fernández", Carlos Pellegrini 1515.

 

La participación en el curso implica además de la cursada intensiva, dos observaciones en escuelas de modalidad plurilingües que se realizarán en el mes de marzo.

 

Inscripción: hasta el comienzo de los cursos en la sede central del CePA, Av. Santa Fe 4360 5° piso, de lunes a viernes de 10 a 20 y los sábados de 9 a 12.
Por correo electrónico:
cursos@buenosaires.edu.ar  


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11.-        ESPAÑOL PARA EXTRANJEROS: CURSO A DISTANCIA

 

Our dear SHARER María José Bravo announces:

 

Curso a Distancia para enseñar Español para Extranjeros

Cierre De Inscripción

 

Les informamos que el próximo curso a distancia  EnELE Iniciación comenzará en febrero de 2006.

 

Alpha Virtual ofrece el curso EnELE Iniciación (Curso de Iniciación para la enseñanza de español para extranjeros). Se trata de un curso de tres meses de duración diseñado y coordinado por profesionales especializados en el área, con el aval y la experiencia de Centro Alpha. Alpha Virtual recoge años de sólida experiencia en la capacitación en la enseñanza de español para extranjeros y pone al servicio de este proyecto innovador y de alta calidad sus recursos humanos en combinación con los avances tecnológicos que permiten llegar a interesados de todo el mundo. Con el curso EnELE Iniciación, Alpha Virtual viene a cubrir la necesidad de capacitación inicial para la enseñanza de español para extranjeros de muchos profesionales que tienen escasa o ninguna experiencia de aula en español.

Duración

El curso consta de 11 encuentros virtuales semanales. Cada participante podrá administrar su tiempo de la manera que le resulte más conveniente. Es indispensable, sin embargo, que todos participen activamente de los foros y que envíen en tiempo y forma las actividades que se pedirán.

Destinatarios

El curso EnELE Iniciación está dirigido a quienes dominen el español como lengua materna o extranjera, y quieran comenzar su formación en la enseñanza del español a extranjeros y quieran dedicarse a esta tarea en cualquier lugar del mundo. Dado que se trata de un curso de iniciación, no se requiere formación específica en el área del español como lengua materna o extranjera. (Ver condiciones de admisión).

Objetivos y actividades

Durante el curso EnELE Iniciación, usted:

  • participará de encuentros/clases semanales
  • participará de foros
  • aprenderá a enseñarle a hablar, escribir, leer y comprender mensajes orales en español a un alumno alófono (una persona que tiene una lengua materna diferente del español)
  • aprenderá a determinar el nivel de español de un alumno alófono
  • aprenderá a analizar, evaluar y confeccionar materiales para la clase de español para extranjeros
  • tendrá acceso a una biblioteca de recursos con los últimos materiales disponibles y con las últimas investigaciones del área
  • contará con monitoreo constante, a cargo de especialistas en el área
  • estará en contacto con otros profesores de español, e intercambiará experiencias
  • conocerá los últimos enfoques en la enseñanza del español para extranjeros


Modalidad de cursada

El curso se dicta en la modalidad virtual. Cada alumno, una vez que se inscriba, recibirá una clave personal con la que podrá acceder al campus virtual. Para acceder al campus se necesita disponer de una computadora con conexión a Internet. Se calcula que cada alumno necesita aproximadamente 3 (tres) horas semanales para seguir el curso y completar las actividades solicitadas. Una vez por semana se publicará en el campus virtual una clase (llamada “encuentro”), que los alumnos podrán leer en cualquier momento de la semana a partir de cuando se publica. Cada participante elige el momento que le queda más cómodo para conectarse y estudiar. Los alumnos formarán parte de un grupo y serán asistidos por un tutor. El campus virtual cuenta a su vez con una biblioteca de textos y recursos, y con espacios para foros de debate.

Para realizar el curso no se requieren conocimientos especiales de informática.

Condiciones de admisión

Para poder presentarse a la instancia de admisión, los aspirantes deben cumplir con alguno de los siguientes requisitos básicos:

  • Ser hablantes de español como lengua materna
  • Ser hablantes de español como lengua extranjera que puedan acreditar o demostrar un nivel de español suficiente para participar activamente del curso


Pasos para la Inscripción:

Paso 1: Registrarse en el campus virtual (puede hacerlo desde aquí). Usted recibirá un nombre de usuario y una contraseña para ingresar al campus virtual de Centro Alpha.

Paso 2: Inscribirse en el curso correspondiente desde el campus virtual.

Paso 3: Enviar por correo electrónico a
capacitacion@centroalpha.com.ar :

  • Curriculum Vitae (CV) completo
  • Carta de pedido de admisión

El curriculum vitae deberá contener información detallada sobre los siguientes temas:

  • Datos personales (nombre y apellidos completos, dirección postal, dirección de correo electrónico, teléfono, fax, teléfono celular o móvil)
  • Datos de formación o capacitación (estudios cursados, instituciones que otorgaron los títulos, años de estudio, título obtenido)
  • Experiencia laboral
  • Dominio de lenguas extranjeras
  • Formación o conocimiento en otras áreas

La carta de pedido de admisión deberá tener una extensión mínima de 40 líneas y una extensión máxima de 45 líneas a simple espacio en tamaño de letra 12. Deberá ir dirigida a la Esp. María José Bravo, coordinadora académica general del curso EnELE Iniciación, y deberá incluir los siguientes temas:

  • Breve reseña de su experiencia de formación en español (como lengua materna o como lengua extranjera),
  • Motivo por el que desea cursar el EnELE Iniciación: opinión acerca del español, de su enseñanza y de su importancia para el desarrollo profesional y personal,
  • Proyección personal en relación con la formación en la enseñanza del español para extranjeros.

El Comité de Admisión de Alpha Virtual estudiará la solicitud de inscripción y enviará a cada postulante su confirmación (por correo electrónico).
Una vez recibida la confirmación y abonado el arancel, se lo habilitará como integrante del curso virtual.

Dirección Académica

La coordinación general del curso EnELE Iniciación está a cargo de la Esp.
María José Bravo.

Evaluación y acreditación del curso EnELE Iniciación

Al finalizar el curso, los participantes recibirán una constancia de Centro Alpha. Para la obtención de la constancia de haber cursado EnELE Iniciación, los participantes deberán tomar parte activa del curso y presentar los trabajos que se les pidan a lo largo del mismo.

Quienes quieran solicitar el Certificado EnELE Iniciación, deberán realizar una evaluación final, que consistirá en la presentación de la planificación de una clase, a partir de un caso. Esta evaluación se entregará por correo electrónico un mes después de terminado el curso, y será evaluada y devuelta para su corrección, en caso de ser necesario. Los textos presentados para la evaluación serán seleccionados para ser publicados en nuestra página, previa autorización de los autores. Además, para la obtención del certificado, los interesados deberán abonar el arancel del certificado (ver Arancel).

Arancel del curso

Argentina y otros países Latinoamericanos: $700 (pesos argentinos) o su equivalente en dólares.
Países Unión Europea: Euros 240
Otros países: US$ 300 (dólares)

Formas de Pago en Argentina

  • En efectivo, en la sede de Centro Alpha, Sarmiento 1419, Oficina "A" (1er. piso) (C1042ABA) Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Depósito en Banco Galicia
    Cuenta corriente de María José Gassó y María José Bravo
    Nº 17175-5 005-4
  • Transferencia bancaria
    Número de CBU: 0070005420000017175542

Todos los gastos que surgieran del envío de dinero o de la transferencia, correrán a cargo de los inscriptos.

Formas de pago para los residentes en el exterior
Envío de dinero a través de Western Union a nombre de María José Gassó.

Enviar por mail a capacitacion@centroalpha.com.ar  el número de envio, el monto enviado. El envio debe hacerse exclusivamente dolares, euros o pesos.

Ante cualquier consulta escríbanos a:
capacitacion@centroalpha.com.ar

 

 Centro Alpha -  Español para extranjeros
 Capacitación en enseñanza de español

 Sarmiento 1419, 1er piso oficina "A"
 (C1042ABA) Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
 Tel: (54 11) 4373- 0767
 E-mail: capacitacion@centroalpha.com.ar

 Web: www.centroalpha.com.ar

 

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12.-   BECA DE PERFECCIONAMIENTO DOCENTE DEL GOBIERNO JAPONÉS

 

La Embajada del Japón inscribe para la Beca de Perfeccionamiento Docente del Ministerio de Educación del Japón, a docentes de primarias o secundarias que deseen perfeccionarse en universidades japonesas. Dura un año y medio: cubre el pasaje, gastos de estudio y un pago mensual. Deben ser menores de 35 años a octubre de 2006, graduado universitario, de profesorado o escuela normal, tener mínimo 5 años de antigüedad como docente y estar en servicio. Paraguay 1126, tel. 4816-3111, mirta@jpn.org.ar

www.ar.emb-japan.go.jp.

 

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13.-  WACKY-WACKY, A $RADIO SHOW!
 

Our dear SHARER Alfred Hopkins has got an invitation to make:

 

The Hopkins Creative Language Lab has not gone bananas. No, not yet. But we have decided to put on a radio show in which Mariana Goldman has a bit of a fit with the news and her commercials are really out of this world. Well, to tell the truth it is the professor, Alfred Hopkins, who is out of this world. In fact, so out that he dashes out of the studio and comes back as God. Yes indeed! And God doesn't like what he finds down here on earth. Well, if you'd like to try to bring Mariana and Alfred back to their senses, you are welcome to hop down to San Telmo on Friday December the 16th or, better yet, on Saturday for.....

Wacky-Wacky, a $Radio Show!

&December 16th at 8 p.m., December 17th at 9 p.m.
News and views and a very special guest!

Featuring:
Alfred Hopkins, as the professor and God
Mariana Goldman, as the radio broadcaster


“You’ll crack up at the gags  this duo have put into their bags!”
Henry Von Hiddleberg,
“End of the Road Theatre Review” 

Café del Tiempo, E.E.U.U. 523
Booking:) 15 62521028/    4334-1561
hopkins@speedy.com.ar/    www.a-hopkins.com

 

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14- CURSO VIRTUAL SOBRE VIDA COTIDIANA Y CONFLICTOS EN LAS ESCUELAS

 

Curso: Vida Cotidiana y Conflictos en las escuelas.

Estrategias, Intervenciones y Programas

 

Inicio: 24 enero de 2006

Duración: Desde 24 de enero al 10 de marzo de 2006

Modalidad: virtual

Cantidad de clases: 14 (catorce) publicadas con una frecuencia de 2 clases por semana

 

Coordinación académica y docentes: Daniel Korinfeld, Daniel Levy, Sergio Rascovan

Docentes invitados: Carina Kaplan, Sergio Meresman, Norberto Ianni, Sandra Borakiewicz, Gabriel Brener

 

Dirigido a: docentes,psicólogos, pedagogos, cientistas sociales, psicopedagogos, trabajadores sociales, psicoanalistas y otros profesionales y trabajadores interesados en las problemáticas de salud y educación

 

Principales Contenidos
Las transformaciones de la vida cotidiana escolar
La escuela y la metamorfosis de la infancia, adolescencia y adultez
Los conflictos en las escuelas
La construcción de un sistema de convivencia escolar
Los conflictos en los grupos escolares
Problemáticas psicosociales en las escuelas.

 

Becas: la entidad convocante conjuntamente con la DGESup otorgarán 4 (cuatro) medias-becas a docentes y/o alumnos de las instituciones dependientes de la DGESup que deseen participar de estas jornadas (en caso de no cubrirse con docentes y/o alumnos de instituciones dependientes de la DGESup, se extenderán a otros suscritos al boletín). Los solicitantes deben enviar sus datos a palomakipersain@yahoo.com : nombre y apellido; teléfono; dirección de mail; institución dependiente de la DGESup en la que trabaja o estudia

Fecha límite para la recepción de solicitudes de beca: 16 de diciembre de 2005
Informes e inscripción: www.puntoseguido.com/cursos.asp    vidacotidiana@puntoseguido.com  Cierre de inscripción: 17 de enero de 2006

 

 

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15.- BECAS DEL PROGRAMA ALBAN

 

 

Organismo: Unión Europea para América Latina (Programa Alban).

 

Requisitos: Ser ciudadano de uno de los 18 países elegibles de América Latina y haber residido físicamente en uno de ellos desde al menos el 1 de septiembre de 2004;

Cumplir los parámetros de edad fijados en la convocatoria (la edad máxima límite para solicitar una beca AlBan de postgrado es de 45 años, mientras que para las becas de especialización se han fijado edades límite mínima y máxima de 30 y 50 años);

Haber culminado satisfactoriamente sus estudios universitarios de pregrado;

Proponer un proyecto de postgrado (master o doctorado) o especialización a tiempo completo;

Tener el apoyo de una IES elegible u organización legalmente constituida en el país de origen;

Haber sido aceptado por una IES elegible u organización de formación avanzada reconocida en el país de acogida para desarrollar el proyecto de educación/formación.

Cierre de inscripción: El plazo para el envío de los formularios de candidatura online cierra el 22 de diciembre de 2005 a las 24h00 CET (hora de Europa Central). Para garantizar la adecuada recepción y registro de su candidatura y evitar posibles problemas de saturación del servidor, le aconsejamos que no deje para el último momento el envío del formulario online.
Las candidaturas en soporte papel podrán enviarse hasta el 9 de diciembre de 2005 (dará fe el matasellos) y deberán recibirse en el AlBan Office antes del 1 de febrero de 2006.

 

 

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Today we would like to finish this issue of SHARE with a message that our dear SHARER

Lidia Schliesinger sent us:

 

 

Dear Marina and Omar,

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for having reached a very "Sharing" eventh anniversary!

It's nice to be able to express our gratitude for the professional, lovely, interesting, friendly and brotherly job you have been doing...

 

Thanks also to all the beautiful people that have contributed unselfishly with their ideas, news and friendly thoughts through these fruitful 7 years.

 

Dear Marina and Omar, please SHARE with us our compliments for a job well done!

 

Love

Lidia

schliesingerl@ciudad.com.ar

 

 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK

Omar and Marina.

 

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SHARE is distributed free of charge. All announcements in this electronic magazine are also absolutely free of charge. We do not endorse any of the services announced or the views expressed by the contributors.  For more information about the characteristics and readership of SHARE visit: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ShareMagazine
VISIT OUR WEBSITE : http://www.ShareEducation.com.ar There you can read all past  issues of SHARE in the section SHARE ARCHIVES.

 

 

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