Short bio

I am 65 years old and a teacher trainer in Suggestopedy. I also teach Swedish for asylum seekers from all over the world at Restad Gård in Sweden. I have trained adults throughout my professional career and have exclusively used the Suggestopedy for the last ten years. Since the start of 2017, approximately 350 adults have participated in our language training each year and, in this way, have had a flying start to their new life in Sweden.

My story

My life and work have changed in three ways: First, I have become a lifelong learner myself because I cannot stop searching for better ways of empowering my learners and raising the learning and communication barriers. Suggestopedia is an ideal approach to do this because it is based on psychotherapy and the development of the whole personality. But it is not enough to practice Suggestopedia. In addition, I need to study old and new resources and do my own action research by designing and redesigning my lessons. I am even writing a book about Suggestopedia and other approaches.

Next, I have become empowered by teaching in this way daily because I have the opportunity to see how the theory (an interdisciplinary theoretical complex) is put into practice with real people from diverse backgrounds, sometimes also illiterate. This is a great challenge, and I have always tried my best to teach in a learner-centred way and inclusive way (that's my personality), but now I know the how and the why I work this way because I have the theoretical grounding, as well. I have always been fascinated by learning. Always experimented and did what others would say was a little different, and sometimes even got questioned for it. When I had the opportunity in middle age to learn Italian in a way that was both familiar to me and yet completely different, I understood that I had not been wrong when I turned away from traditional classroom teaching. For three months, I didn't study a word of Italian but, only the teacher. And you know - I ended up at B1 level without doing a single homework task. Suddenly, through suggestopedia, I was given a name for what I had done myself and proof that you can learn very quickly if only the environment and the pedagogy are the right ones. Since my time in Italy, I myself have learned Suggestopedia. Every day, I get to experience the same thing that I did myself in my classroom. My students interact, communicate, and help each other learn enthusiastically, with lots of fun and activities. They have completely forgotten that you learn worse when you are older, that they have difficulty with one or the other, and that it is actually great fun and easy to learn.

Last, my work has made me even more creative than before! I cannot stop thinking of new activities and learning environment setups for my students to fully develop their learning capacities. After all, this is what Suggestopedia is about: liberating the unused or reserved capacities for learning and life.

Some comments from students:Nazife Kormac from Turkey: Many things are special about the method. It's not just words that we learn. Instead, we learn whole sentences in a context. I don't actually know when I learned. I just can. I have also learned as a teacher. The material includes all the pictures, books, songs, and playing cards. Everything is different from what I am used to. Here, it is 100% better! No tests, no homework, no stress.It is very important. I tell everyone I meet to go here!

Faiq Äväzoglu from Azerbajdzjan: 
When the school opened at Restad Gård, we started learning Swedish in practice. I will never forget the verb corners on the floor and all the pictures on the walls. I went to school every day. It is important to be able to speak Swedish and know traditions and such in order to integrate.

Abdolmallik Rajih from Yemen: 
It was no ordinary school. We only spoke Swedish, and I got a new name. Daniel Lejon, I will never forget that. I felt that I was Swedish. It gave me a passion to learn Swedish. The name meant that I was Swedish and could be like a Swede. No stress, just joy. Life has become easier, and you get a job faster if you know Swedish. It is not enough that you want to work. You must also be able to communicate with your employer. They will not hire interpreters to help you understand your duties. The language is the key and has opened several doors for me.