What is accelerated learning?

Show biz secrets for adult learning succes

 In this article we define the term Accelerated Learning.

Accelerated Learning (AL) is a theory of learning built on the pioneering work of Bulgarian psychotherapist Georgi Lozanov.

Lozanov postulated that all adults have core thinking reserves deep within their brains and that those reserves can be harnessed to enhance learning once learning becomes a pleasurable experience. Drawing on the two words “suggestion” and “pedagogy,” he called his theory Suggestopedia.

Lozanov believed that learning should happen in an environment designed to bring forth positive emotions that celebrated learning and create a feeling of possibilities within the learner.

A key tenet of Suggestopedia is the role of the instructor as facilitator of learning rather than lecturer, that the teacher must be fully congruent with the subject being taught and absolutely positive in the learners’ abilities to learn the material.

A second tenet is the role of the environment. All the elements in the learning environment either support or detract from the learning. Lozanov stated that it is critical to align the entire environment towards the learning goal.

A third tenet is the need for learners to be actively engaged in their learning through participation, games, and sharing. In AL, learning becomes participant driven, with learners cooperating with, and supporting, each other.

A fourth tenet is the use of the arts – music, acting, drawing, posters, mnemonics – to reach past the logical components of the human brain into the deeper, emotive core.

Over the years, AL has become a catchall phrase for techniques that support suggestopedic goals. In future article, we will explore those methodologies in greater detail.