SUCCESTOPEDIA FOR THE

DISADVANTAGED READER

Allyn Prichard
Jean Taylor

Dr. Georgi Lozanov believes that there exist reserves (strong

capabilities) within the individual which are rarely activated. He
defines these reserves as “all those possibilities, known or still
unknown, which are not a customary phenomenon for the average
individual under given time and place.” Lozanov’s entire instruc-
tional technology is focused on freeing the hyperlearning reserve;
that is, he believes that humans are capable o f learning much
faster than we ever thought possible if instructional procedures
include use o f the power of suggestion.
We instructed 40 remedial reading students through a meth-
odology employing two basic elements o f the Lozanov system.
Those elements were: (1) presenting lesson material in both
attentive and non-attentive states (alternating levels of aware-
ness for presentation o f the same material) and (2) attempting
to create a relaxed, non-defensive atmosphere in which both
external and internal distractions to learning are minimized.
Test results showed large pretest-posttest gain scores, indi-
cating support for Lozanov’s theory.

Allyn Prichard, EdD, 1932 SW Third St., Ankeny, Iowa 50010, i s president
of the Society for Suggestive-Accelerative Learning and Teaching (SALT)
[organization for professionals engaged in Lozanov-based research]. He i s
assistant director of Iowa State University’s public school suggestopedia
research project. Jean Taylor, MA, i s a remedial reading teacher a t Huntley
Hills Elementary School in the DeKalb County (Georgia) public schools.

SEPT. 1978 87
Description o f Sample

O f the 40 participants in the Lozanov-type remedial reading

program at Huntley Hills Elementary School (DeKalb County,
Georgia, School District) during the 1975-76 school year, 17 o f
them met both the following criteria: (1) they scored a t least one
year below grade level on the silent reading subtest o f the Spache
Diagnostic Reading Scales, and ( 2 ) they were not classified as
EMR (educable mentally retarded). The remaining 23 participants
either (1) scored higher than one year below grade level on the
Spache silent reading subtest or (2) were classified as EMR stu-
dents. Thus the subsample data reported here were obtained by
measuring a part o f the population o f children whose concerns
A cademic Therapy addresses.
These 17 participants (as well as the 23 others not reported
here) were randomly selected from the eligible group by the
DeKalb County reading coordinator assigned to the Huntley
Hills geographical area. Agesvaried from 8 t o 13, grade placement
ranged from the third to the seventh grade.

Theoretical Background

For those readers yet unfamiliar with Lozanov’s “Suggesto-

pedia” approach, some preliminary commentary may be in order.
As the name o f Lozanov’s method indicates, suggestion is the
lever which unlocks the hyperlearning reserve. A brief overview
o f the way suggestion should operate in the classroom i s as
follows:
I. The student i s enveloped by inaccurate beliefs con-
cerning his ability to learn. Sources found every-
where in his environment generate these beliefs.
A. Anxieties ranging from “I am not a worthy,
capable person” to “I don’t perform well on
tests’’ cause the student to achieve below his
top capacity.
B. Through a variety o f cues ranging from direct
comments to nonverbally perceived cues (the
teacher’s body language), the teacher indicates
lack o f confidence in the student’s ability to
learn.
C. IQt e s t scores and normed t e s t data fix concepts
o f students’ intelligence and learning capability

82 ACADEMIC THERAPY / 14:l

 as social norms and establish the rate a t which
“typical’’ students usually learn.
It. The teacher has at his or her command several
tools to counteract the effect o f negative sugges-
tion and t o create a positive atmosphere which pro-
motes higher learning rates than the teacher pre-
viously thought were possible. The tools are:
words (direct verbal suggestion), nonverbally
perceived cues (management of body language to
reinforce positive verbal suggestions), drama,
mental relaxation, music, intonation, rhythm, and
breathing. These are used in combination to help
the student feel good about himself and to feel
relaxed and comfortable in the classroom.
111. All o f these suggestions must comply with three
“barriers t o suggestion.” That is, the teacher should
not eliminate these barriers; he must instead deal
with them in such a way that they permit the child
to absorb suggestions. The barriers are:
A. The critical-logical barrier, which a person uses
t o reject any suggestion which does not fit in
his view o f how reality operates.
B. The intuitive-emotional barrier, which a person
uses t o reject suggestions which cause him to
feel uncomfortable or insecure.
C. The ethical-moral barrier, which a person uses
t o reject any suggestion which contradicts his
ethical standards.
When a teacher successfully complies with these
barriers, he will find that rapid rates o f learning
will result.
IV. The teacher orchestrates suggestion so that it will
have positive impact upon the student’s expectancy
o f himself and o f the learning process (he can learn
much more than he thought he could; learning i s
more pleasant than he thought it could ever be).
Suggestion should also have positive impact on the
student’s motivation t o participate whole-heartedly
and freely in the scheduled classroom activities.
The goals o f suggestion are realized when hyper-
learning takes place. Successful use o f suggestion
results in an increase o f the child’s learning rate

SEPT. 1978 / SUGGESTOPEDIA 83

 from two to five times as‘fast as traditional meth-
ods in experiments conducted in the U.S.A. Bul-
garian results (after a four-year transition period)
show examples o f students who covered two years
o f curriculum material in four months of instruc-
tion (Lozanov 1971, p. 122).

Procedure

The “suggestopedic cycle” adopted by the researchers con-

sisted o f two 45-minute class sessions (about 40 minutes of
actual instruction) on consecutive days; they spent both days on
the same lesson (stories from the Barnell Lof t series, A, B, D, and
E.). Each session contained both active and passive instructional
activities.
The nature o f the suggestive ritual they employed has be-
come somewhat stylized, and has been reported as a procedure
elsewhere. We are reproducing it here for readers.

Session 1

I. Active: Students played commercially produced

games which were designed t o aid students in
acquiring the basic phonics skills (consonants,
vowels, digraphs, etc.).
II. Active: Teachers presented new vocabulary through
an approach combining contextual and kinesthetic
methods. Students paired each new vocabulary
word with a sentence in which it was used. For
example, “Where was the car going?”
The student traced over the new word in isolation,
wrote it in the sentence, then read it to the other
group members. Sentences consisted o f minor
tural and wording changes from the story lesson
material which the teacher presented later. Teach-
ers presented an average o f eight new vocabulary
words i n this component o f session 1.
111. Active: The teacher wrote a play, based on the les-
son material (Barnell Loft, A, B, D, and E), and
the children acted it out. Each child had a part in
the script and dressed in a makeshift costume.

84 ACADEMIC THERAPY / 14:l

 I V. Passive:
A. Students lay down on rugs, closed their eyes,
and breathed to the beat of a metronome.
B. The teacher conducted visualization suggestions
lasting three to five minutes, taking the class on
fantasy trips t o exercise their visualization
faculties. The teacher employed five separate
story themes, alternating Monday through
Friday to eliminate the danger of boredom.
C. The teacher gave suggestions which emphasized
the worthiness and uniqueness of each class
member. Further suggestions described the
“magic drawing board” on which children
could visualize the vocabulary material.
D. The teacher presented instructional material by
reading the previously introduced vocabulary
material over a musical (Baroque, 4/4 time)
background according t o the following
rhythm and intonation pattern.
1. First quarter-note beat o f a measure: pro-
nounce vocabulary word.
2. First quarter-note beat o f the following
measure: spell vocabulary word.
3. First quarter-note beat of the following
measure: use the vocabulary word in a
sentence.
E. Following the Lozanov pattern, the teacher
used a normal intonation (declarative). The
teacher’ presented the second vocabulary word
in the same three-part manner and rhythm, this
time in a whisper (quiet, ambiguous, misleading
tone). The teacher presented the third vocabu-
lary word in the same manner and rhythm but
used a loud domineering voice.
F. The teacher then instructed the students to
breathe in on the first quarter note beat of
each measure and out on the first quarter note
beat o f the following measure. The presenta-
tion of material and the children’s breathing
were thus coordinated with each other, and
cued by the musical tape’s click at the proper
.
interval
1. The process was reinforced by suggestions

SEPT. 1978 / SUGGESTOPEDIA 85

 for general academic health and excellence.
2. The students returned to a normal waking
state (counting forward, 1 t o 5 ) .
V. Active: The teacher conducted an oral check of
words which he presented initially (re-reading the
day’s vocabulary list).
Session 2
1. Active: Phonics games were again played, similar to
those o f the previous day.
11. Active: Teacher reviewed word list presented in
Session 2 (oral reading only).
III , Passive:
A. Students lay down, relaxed, and breathed to
the beat o f a metronome as before.
B. Visualization suggestions as before.
C. Other suggestions, as before.
D. Presentation o f material: The instructor read
one page directly from the Barnell Loft material
according to the rhythm previously described,
beginning each sentence on the first quarter-
note beat o f the measure beginning after the
completion o f the previous sentence. The in-
structor altered intonations as before, and then
again instructed students t o breathe on cue
with the tape’s click signal and encouraged
them t o visualize the scene described by the
story. After the story, the teacher presented
the vocabulary again, as on the previous day.
E. Suggestions for general academic excellence
and health.
F. Return to normal waking state (counting
forward 1 to 5).
IV. Active: Students read story orally while the in-
structor noted any vocabulary errors.
V. Active: Teacher used questions provided in the
Barnell L o ft series for a comprehension check-
up. Results were charted daily.
Results
The children’s gain scores were high on the Oral Reading (0)
and Silent Reading ( S ) subtests, and less so on the Word Recog-
nition (WR) subtest.
86 ACADEMIC THERAPY / 14:l
 TABLE 1
Frequency Count of Spache
Gain Score Ranges In Months

Gain Gain Gain

Subtest No Gain 1 to 9 I 0 to 19 20, above TOTAL
wR 2 6 8 1 17
0 0 3 9 5 17
S 0 3 8 6 17

Table 1 may be summarized as follows:

1. Fourteen of 17 participants (81 percent) gained a
year or more on the Oral Reading subtest.
2.Fourteen o f 17 participants (81 percent) gained a
year or more on the Silent Reading subtest.
3. Nine of 17 participants (53 percent) gained a year
or more on the Word Recognition subtest.
Further comparisons may be made between these results
and those obtained by the same teacher using non-Lozanov
methods during the 1973-74 school year. Teachers selected stu-
dents for comparison according to comparable Spache silent
reading pretest scores (a gain or more behind grade level) and
comparable amount o f instruction (minimum o f 70 days).

TABLE 2
A Comparison of Lozanov-type Remedial
Reading Instruction Procedures With
Previously Completed Traditional Methods

Type of Time I n Average Gain Score (in months)

Instruction Program WR 0 S
Traditional 4-4%mo. 6.00 8.47 9.20
1973/74 79-91 days
Lozanov 3%mo. 9.41 16.65 18.82
1975176 58-65 days

The results displayed in the two tables were most encourag-

ing. Although WR subtest gain scores were not as high as the
other two subtests, the researchers tiad anticipated such a result
for this reason: the. WR subtests generally were not those selected

SEPT. 1978 /SUGGESTOPEDlA 87

from the Barnell L o f t material for presentation in class. The
Spache WR subtest i s composed primarily o f nouns, not o f
basic sight words as defined by tests such as the Dolch. The
Barnell Loft material i s a beginning-level method for teaching
basic sight words which the researchers presented, knowing that
they would be more difficult for remedial students t o learn.
The data in Table 2 provoke further comment. The reader
undoubtedly knows that remedial reading instruction’s minimum
goal is “a month for a month” (i.e., the student should show a
month’s gain on standardized test scores for each month he
spends .in a remedial program). This rate o f gain would obviously
be greater than he had previously achieved in regular classes;
had he scored according t o this standard he would be on schedule
and in no need ot remedial help. The point here is that even b y
traditional methods, the teacher in this project was already pro-
ducing good results, showing gain scores higher than the “one for
one” standard just mentioned. The f a c t that Ms. Taylor’s students
doubled their average rate o f gain on the Oral and Silent Reading
test scores seems t o underscore the value of such procedures. It
also seems likely that in order to obtain strong results with this
approach, one should first be well in command of the principles
o f teaching his own subject matter area, whatever it is. Embark-
ing on the path o f learning the subtleties o f how suggestion
manifests its effects i s not a substitute for basic classroom
management skills. On the contrary, it.represents subtle refine-
ments o f those skills, employed in an orderly, consistent, yet en-
thusiastic manner.

Discussion

It should be noted that the first two weeks o f the 14-week

program were spent in preparation for the 12 weeks o f reading
instruction that followed. Teachers taught students a physical
relaxation technique which consisted o f deep breathing exer-
cises followed by teacher suggestions for progressive relaxation
o f body parts, in Joseph Wolfe’s manner.
Teachers then gave the participants visualization practice
through a series o f five exercises, each suggesting successively
more complicated visual. imagery. The main themes o f the ex-
ercise were: (1) visualizing colored walls, (2) visualizing and tast-
ing fruit, (3) v,isualizing and feeling various textures (wood,
velvet, etc.), (4) going on a visualization tour o f the classroom,
(5)taking a raft trip down the Chattahoochee River.

88 ACADEMIC THERAPY / 14:l

 In summary, we feel this research begins to describe Lozanov-
type procedures’ value in remedial reading instruction. Teaching
sight word vocabulary through fully explored context (paper and
pencil tasks, dramatization, and altered-states visualization) in a
strongly positive suggestive atmosphere appears to greatly im-
prove children’s scoring on Spache Oral and Silent Reading sub-
tests. This procedure seems to have a lesser effect on tasks such
as learning nouns in isolation, as measured by the Spache Word-
Recognition subtest.

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90 ACADEMIC THERAPY / 14:l