Analysis of Benefits and Defects of the Silent Way

Abstract

The Silent Way(SW), introduced by Celeb Gattegno, is well known for the use of Cuisenaire rods to the teaching of sounds of foreign language by different colors. And it is also known for its tenet that teachers should be as silent as possible in class and that learners should speak as much as possible. As one of the famous eight teaching methods in western academy, it used to be an important foreign language teaching theory. This unique teaching method has significant benefits and defects, which is the main reason why it has disappeared from its popularity. The purpose of this paper is to briefly introduce the features and explore the two aspects of the silent way.Also it will combine the flipped classroom with the silent way to explore the further application of it.