How to Apply Suggestopedia as a Method of Teaching

This article briefly discusses how to apply Suggestopedia as a method of teaching. This method was developed by a Bulgarian psychologist Georgi Lozanov. Specifically, this article explains the method’s goal and characteristics and provides sample activities for teaching.

This method is commonly used in English language teaching, but I believe that this can also be used in other foreign languages like Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, and others.

The Goal of Suggestopedia as a Teaching Method

Suggestopedia is a language teaching method developed by Bulgarian educator Dr. Georgi Lozanov. It aims to help students learn a foreign language at an accelerated pace, especially for everyday communication. What makes Suggestopedia unique is its emphasis on creating a relaxed and emotionally supportive learning environment that taps into the brain’s natural capacity for learning. Instead of relying solely on drills and memorization, it encourages holistic, meaningful interaction with the language.

One of the central ideas behind Suggestopedia is that many students struggle with language learning not because of intellectual limitations, but due to psychological barriers. Anxiety, fear of making mistakes, and low self-confidence can hinder language acquisition. Suggestopedia seeks to remove these obstacles by using positive suggestion, music, playful interaction, and a nurturing classroom atmosphere. These elements help students feel safe and motivated, which in turn allows them to absorb the language more effortlessly.

Through the use of music, drama, and role-playing, students engage both their conscious and subconscious minds. Lessons are often delivered in a story-based format where learners take on characters and participate in dialogues that mimic real-life situations. This imaginative and immersive approach promotes long-term retention of vocabulary and sentence patterns, making the learning experience more enjoyable and effective.

For educators and future teachers, Suggestopedia offers valuable insights into how emotional well-being, creativity, and student-centered techniques can significantly improve language learning. It challenges traditional assumptions about how languages should be taught and opens up possibilities for more dynamic, human-centered classrooms. While not without its critics, Suggestopedia continues to inspire educators who seek to make learning more natural, intuitive, and engaging for all learners.

Thus, the goal of Suggestopedia is to accelerate foreign language learning for everyday communication by creating a relaxed, emotionally supportive environment that removes psychological barriers and engages both the conscious and subconscious mind through music, storytelling, and meaningful interaction.

The goal of Suggestopedia is to accelerate foreign language learning for everyday communication by creating a relaxed, emotionally supportive environment that removes psychological barriers and engages both the conscious and subconscious mind through music, storytelling, and meaningful interaction.

Now let’s look into the 9 characteristics of suggestopedia as a method of teaching.

9 Characteristics of Suggestopedia as a Method of Teaching

According to Villamin et al. (1994), the nine characteristics of Suggestopedia are the following:

1. It uses the power of suggestion to help students eliminate the feeling that they cannot succeed.
2. There should be a relaxed, comfortable environment with dim lights and soft music to facilitate learning.
3. Students’ imagination is used. They can assume new names, and new identities and respond to the teacher accordingly using the target language.
4. Present and explain grammar and vocabulary words, but not discuss at length or thoroughly.
5. Native language translation is used to get the precise meanings of words in the target language.
6. Communication takes place in the conscious and subconscious of the learners. The former is about the linguistic message. The students pay attention to a dialogue that is being read, while the latter is where the music is played as a background. The piece suggests that learning is easy.
7. Teaching is done by integrating music, song, and drama.
8. The emphasis of teaching is more on content. Students’ errors are tolerated at the beginning of the lesson, but the teachers use the correct forms later.
9. No formal tests are given, but the evaluation is done during the typical in-class performance.

To sum up all the characteristics, I reiterate that Suggestopedia is a language teaching approach that seeks to facilitate accelerated learning by removing psychological barriers through the use of positive suggestion and a conducive learning environment. It emphasizes a relaxed classroom setting, often enhanced by dim lighting and soft background music, to reduce learner anxiety and promote receptivity.

The method encourages the use of imagination, allowing students to adopt new identities and engage in communicative activities in the target language. Grammar and vocabulary are introduced briefly, with the learners’ native language used to ensure precise comprehension.

Learning is believed to occur on both conscious and subconscious levels, supported by the integration of music, drama, and role-play. Instruction focuses on the meaningful use of language rather than immediate accuracy, with learner errors tolerated during initial stages and corrected subtly over time. Formal testing is not employed; instead, student progress is assessed through ongoing classroom interaction and performance.

Now, let’s proceed on how to apply Suggestopedia as a teaching method.

How to Apply Suggestopedia as a Method of Teaching in the Classroom: Two Examples

If you are a teacher or mentor, you may use the following activities using the Suggestopedia method.

How to Use Suggestopedia in Teaching with the Aid of Music

Choose background music that will give an impression or feeling that you are in a forest.

For example, the music may be punctuated by the birds’ chirping or the sounds of the leaves as they dance in the wind, or any sound indicating that the location is in the forest.

In the classroom, turn off the lights and play background music. Then, group the students into three, and ask them to close their eyes, and let them imagine, for one minute, that they are animals, birds, trees, or flowers.

After the activity, ask the students to create short dialogues about how people should take care of the environment. Remind them to speak from the point of view of the role they imagined. For example, if a student imagined being a bird, their dialogue should reflect what a bird might think or say—not what a human would say.

How to Use Suggestopedia in Teaching Through Storytelling

One effective way to apply Suggestopedia in your teaching is by using stories to facilitate learning. This method combines relaxation, imagination, and emotional engagement to help students absorb language more naturally.

Start by choosing a story that fits your lesson objectives. Practice reading it with expression and emotion to make it more engaging. Next, select suitable background music that matches the mood of the story—ideally something calming or atmospheric. It’s best to prepare everything in advance for a smooth flow during the lesson.

In the classroom, encourage your students to relax and get comfortable. They may sit at their desks, lie down, or sit on the floor—whatever helps them feel at ease. Turn off the lights, play the music, and begin reading the story. To keep students focused and involved, pause occasionally to ask simple questions related to the story. This helps check their understanding and keeps motivation high.

When students respond, avoid correcting their grammar right away. Focus on their ideas first. You can model the correct grammar later in the lesson through gentle repetition or paraphrasing.

Using stories with Suggestopedia not only makes learning more enjoyable but also lowers student anxiety and improves retention. Ready to try it? Suggestopedia might be just what your classroom needs to spark curiosity and creativity.

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Note: I provide a sample lesson plan on how to apply Suggestopedia as a teaching method. Enjoy!

Sample Lesson Plan: Suggestopedia as a Method of Teaching

References

Rhalmi, M. (2009). The origin of Suggestopedia. Retrieved 16 January 2015 from http://www.myenglishpages.com/blog/suggestopedia/#.VLjUy5X9ljo

Villamin, A.M., Salazar, E.L., Bala, E.C., & Sunga, N.R. (1994). Innovative strategies in communication arts. Quezon City, QC: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.

2015 M. G. Alvior | Updated: 13 July 2025