Teaching method

What makes us special

Our Method in one video

Despite the rapid changes in today’s world, the classroom appears to be the same unchanging place it was nearly 200 years ago.  As far as language learning is concerned, we are still learning a new language the way our grandfathers did, that is via homework, repetitive grammar exercises and lots of meaningless practicing. Even in the contemporary distance learning environments, the traditional schemes of teaching are still reproduced.

The comparative advantage of the Glossonauts’ teaching approach is the combination of Suggestopedia and educational technology.  Suggestopedia[1] is a teaching-learning methodology, whose main aim is to activate the learners’ untapped reserves of the brain.  Suggestopedia deliberately cultivates a strain-free environment of humanistic love, which is ideal for children’s education. Suggestopedia has been proven through the years to be capable of addressing the needs of students in terms of second language acquisition. Not only that but it also stimulates the personality as a whole: interests, perceptions, memory, intellectual activity, creative development, attitudes to work and study.

A brain-friendly way to learn Greek

We are all naturally inclined to learn and acquire new knowledge and skills. However, the human brain is traditionally challenged to learn a language via monotonous repetition of words, grammar roles or phrases.

This strategy activates only the left hemisphere of the brain which is most active in cognitive processing or analysis. The suggestopedia-driven syllabus utilizes simultaneously not only the left but also the right hemisphere of the brain (mostly associated with synthetic tasks and imagination).

Instead of the traditional methodology, the Glossonauts’ courses employ various forms of art like paintings, posters, photographs, songs and dance . All the artistic elements are combined with grammatical features promoting implicit learning. Improvisations, storytelling, role-playing games, or other forms of theatrical practices during the lessons support the students’ unconscious learning system, as well.

Greek lessons homework-free

The more difficult the study material is, the more inappropriately we try to memorise it!  Homework is thought to be one of the best ways to memorize and comprehend a new language.  Glossonauts have a homework-free philosophy, where students are not forced to do a huge number of drills and exercises. This practice discourages young learners and deprives them of their precious free time. According to his/her age, each glossonaut – student works on small thematic projects (music, mythology, culture) throughout the course, without any  imposed homework.

The teacher-student relationship

Students are free to enjoy the learning process and express themselves creatively according to their personality. Love and freedom of choice are the two fundamental laws of learning according to the Glossonauts’ pedagogy. The teacher supports students like a mother supports her child while teaching them how to ride a bicycle.

 

The textbooks

The textbook is more than a compilation of didactic dialogues. It is enriched with multi-modal texts such as photos of art and culture, music notes and links to music tracks, handwritten messages, maps, drawings, symbols, charts, advertisements, announcements, and other everyday utility texts. At the end of each chapter, there is a list of all the structures and vocabulary fields contained in it. The textbook is designed to facilitate the students’ comprehension and memorization in a subtle, implicit manner. The text is accompanied by a translation whereby equivalencies between syntactic, lexical, or morphological units in the two languages are underlined. Apart from that, the textbook is tailored-made based on the needs and profile of the specific target group of students.

Digital tools

The traditional language skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing were important in the last decades. Today, however, they are not that relevant.  The world has been transformed from a world told through the medium of writing on the page of the book, magazine, or newspaper, to the world shown through the medium of audiovisual representation. This requires a shift in language teaching and pedagogy.

[1] For more information, please visit the official LITTA site: https://www.litta.net/suggestopedia/introduction/

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