New Edition

Por: Paulo Sergio Santos Negrete

Welcome to Suggestopedia and the New developments of Neuroscience

This wonderful method, which has its origins in the science of Suggestology, accelerates the learning process up to 10 times more than any conventional method. It has several positive by-products, such as psychotherapeutic and psychohygienic effects in the "Suggestopedic environment" created in the classroom.

During my years of teaching English as a foreign Language, I could never accept the fact that my students needed so many years to start speaking a new language with confidence. Some others, even with years of study and dedication could not develop, despite my efforts to create better classes and activities. Others had constantly to review the verb "to be". The results? The students were afraid of speaking and learning.

Many people may ask: "But how can it be possible to learn effectively in a short time? What's the secret?" Others say: "That's impossible! It is just propaganda!" But actually, we are beings with an incredible power to learn, but the "Social Suggestive Norms" so present in our pedagogical system for centuries dictates how much we can learn and how long we need to. But I ask you: "How did we learn our mother language? How could our brain collect, organize, understand and reproduce words and sentences when we were children?" No one went to school to learn to speak. Our parents or who may have raised us never taught us grammar in order to make us speak.

We can realize that we are missing something in our system of foreign language teaching. It does not use the resources available in our brain/mind. Our way of teaching in the present is not structured to follow the way the brain receives stores and processes information. So, why not to change the whole system? The answer is quite simple. Who wants to train teachers? Change textbooks and methods? How long would it take? But the fact is that more scientists are discovering what Dr. Lozanov did decades ago when he didn't have the technology we have today. Our researchers have noticed that our system is not the best approach to learn. That's why so many so-called accelerated learning systems or brain-friendly approaches have appeared. The main problem is that most of them have never been really tested. They have not had a follow up for decades to check if they would not harm the students. Suggestopedia is the ONLY method that had a scientific and medical background. Before publishing his results Dr. Lozanov accompanied his students for 10 years to be sure that nobody would have any negative by-product. On the contrary, his students became healthier and more intelligent.

Prof. Paulo Negrete

Academic Director

Certified in Desuggestive Pedagogy