Information collection & exchange

Distinguishing Features 
All four language skills are 
w
chart, containing blocks of color, each one representing a sound in the ta
s
word charts, containing words whose letters are color coded in the same way as the sound-color chart. The 
teacher and students make up sentences, point to words on the chart and read the sentences they have 
spoken. Third, there are color coded charts wh
th
English, are listed and color coded together. 
Cuisenaire rods (bits of wood of varying lengths and differing colors) are used to introduce vocabulary and 
structures. At the beginning level they can be used to teach numbers and colors ("Take two red rods."). At 
an intermediate level they can be used to teach comparatives ("The blue rod is bigger than the red one."). 
And at a later stages they can be used to teach conditionals ("If I had a blue one, I would give it to you."). 
A
Our teacher put the rods on the table, picked up each rod and told us the color of the rod. She used 
gestures to show when she wanted one of us to give the word for the color "red" or "blue." If the 
pronunciation was wrong she used gestures to get us to repeat the word again. Everyone in the group 
helped, offering his or her version until our teacher gestured that someone had the right version. When 
we had learned the colors, she used the same method with the rods to te
that she asked, for instance, for three blue rods or four green rods. We listened and then gave her the 
rods she asked for. It sounds pretty simple, but she could keep us busy for hours with those rods. 
Impact on Your Classroom and Your Teaching 
e Silent Way is designed to be used with small groups. I
d philosophy. Given these facts, what can you take from this method to use when teaching classes of forty 
dents? There are some sound pedagogical principles to consider in this method, principles which you can 
ply in your teaching. First is the idea that what students discover for themselves is retained and owned in 
ore permanent and meaningful way than are materials which have been packaged and only require 
dents to memorize them. Second is the idea of peer coaching in a noncompetitive environment. Having 
sented the m
tributions of all its members.