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switch from singing, to action, to talking, to viewing, to rhyme, to
Mind Mapping, to group discussions. This has a two-fold purpose:
1. It reinforces the information in all learning
styles; and
2. It breaks up the lesson into chunks for easy
learning.
Both have a major bearing on how well the information
is absorbed. For example, it is now well proven that, in any presentation, students can
generally remember easiest the information at the start, the end and any
"outstanding" examples that gripped their imagination. Regular "state
changes" provide the opportunity for many more "firsts", "lasts"
and graphic examples.
Make learning-how-to-learn a key part of
every course
This is probably the main overall desired result from
all learning. So the techniques should be blended into all activities.
The Lozanov "concerts"
Possibly Lozanov's greatest contribution to education
has again been in the sphere of music: not only to relax your mind and put it into a
highly receptive state - but to use music to float new information into your amazing
memory system.
Lozanov recommends two concerts. And again,
Charles Schmid has summarized the theory and practice neatly: "If, say, a class is
learning a foreign language, as the first step the teacher sets out the new vocabulary in
the form of a play, and with an overview of it in pictures. The student sits there taking
a 'mental movie' of it. Immediately following this comes the first concert - what Lozanov
called the active concert. With the student looking at the text, the teacher turns
on some selected music, and he reads the foreign language in time to the music. He
deliberately acts out the words dramatically in time to the music.
"Now there's no magic to this; it's precisely why
it is easier to learn the lyrics of a song, rather than remember all the words on a page
of notes. The music is somehow a carrier and the teacher surfs along with the music -
almost like catching a wave."23
Lozanov's second learning phase is called a passive
concert.
Charles Schmid again: "The second concert follows
immediately after the first. And here we use very specific slow baroque music - around 60
beats to the minute - very precise. And while the first reading of the language was very
dramatic, the second is in a more natural intonation. Now the students are invited to
close their eyes if they want -
Contents Page Preface
Introduction
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