I had exactly the same thought many many years ago, and in fact wrote a letter to a toy manufacturer asking if they'd be interested in making such foam rods. Never heard back, but in the meantime have not found it too arduous to carry around a box of rods. I do have some jumbo rods that I use with my large university class that would indeed be difficult to carry around, but I only need to lug them from my office across the hall to the classroom.

Thank you. I'm glad it helps illustrate the approach. Exactly the reason I made the videos.

Lucian, I am sorry your comment was not published until now. KZbin had for some reason automatically held it for review. I do talk, usually in the students' mother tongue (Japanese), to give them advice on making the correct sounds, or to set up an activity. As you can see from the videos, I start each lesson differently. The videos are not edited. It's warts and all.

Sorry, Luigi, for your comment being so late to be published. KZbin had automatically held it for review for some reason. Some of the students do indeed have a very advanced level of English. They take it for different reasons, most of them taking it just to improve their English, some because they like the Silent Way, others because they're teachers and want to learn about this approach.

Hi, Nico. I've always thought of this box of rods as just the regular size. Probably bought it from Educational Solutions or at my Grad School. Can't remember. I think they even sell them on Amazon. Let me know if you have trouble finding them, and I'll try to help.

It's twice the size of the ones we have and I've never seen this size before, that's why I asked; didn't know it existed :) Thanks for your prompt reply

Glad you found this interesting. I think students can benefit from using this method alone. I teach year-long university courses using this method alone.

Thanks, Susan. It's a lot of fun working with these students.

Hi Philippe. I got the story from a book called Picture Stories. You can see it here.www.amazon.com/Picture-Stories-Language-Activities-Beginners/dp/0801303664/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0801303664&pd_rd_r=Q7EYH4W07RTCNRCWR8RS&pd_rd_w=S20yP&pd_rd_wg=kdPpe&psc=1&refRID=Q7EYH4W07RTCNRCWR8RS. Or I might've gotten it from the sequel More Picture Stories. Not sure, as I'm not at school now. Both are good books, though.

Each rectangle represents a sound in English. Look at the playlist on this site titled Silent Way: Sound-Color Chart 2016 at kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGSyf3yJadGhrdU

Thank you massively

Glad you found it helpful!

I don't know about other countries in Asia, but Japanese speakers do have some trouble with /r/ and /l/. I think a better way to think of it is that they have a sound that is kind of between the /r/ and /l/ (probably closer to /l/).

Thanks, Nico! Of course I only see the faults in the lesson, so I appreciate your comment. Trying each class to try and get out of each student's way so that they can learn as efficiently as they've learned their entire life. I see you doing the same. Have a beautiful spring!

Hi Steve. You can order charts and rods from Educational Solutions at www.educationalsolutions.com. You can also find rods at the Cuisenaire company's website, or by searching for cuisenaire rods on Amazon.

Thanks. Got lots more to edit. Takes such a lot of time! And I'm so lazy.

You're very welcome, Cathy.

You're very welcome. Glad you found it helpful.

+Paulina A Hi Paulina. I assume you are talking about the pale yellow dot towards the bottom right of the rectangle chart. That represents schwa. Glad you found the video helpful.

+Nick Patrick Cooper No, Nick. Her name is Saori, which we anglicized to something approaching "sorry". But do what you were thinking of doing. Don't let my lack of imagination hinder you! : )

+Nick Patrick Cooper Very glad to hear the videos are helping you, Nick. I am not making lesson plans, just the videos, all of which I've uploaded. I am actually going to do another series at a 5-day workshop I plan on teaching April 30, May 1, 3-5. If you're around Japan, email me and I'll send you the details. Otherwise, I'll probably be uploading those videos in half a year or so.

+Donald E. Cherry Stellar. Thank you for your hard work. It always looks like you're the one having the most fun! Your Ss look like they are really learning! I'd like to visit you in Japan. Maybe someday.

It's really a mixed level class. I'd say everything from A2 to C2.

This "or" thing, prompting students for equivalent expressions (which I think is VERY important), does not begin with me mouthing the word. It begins with me tapping the word while mouthing it. Eventually, I don't need to tap the word, and just mouthing it gets students saying "or" and then an equivalent expression. It just becomes a very handy gesture that the class comes to recognize. Another way to prompt equivalent expressions that HAVE ALREADY BEEN INTRODUCED is to go quickly around the class from student to student, and if they keep saying the same expression even though there are already other equivalent expressions in circulation, the teacher can start to feign boredom, or exasperation, until somebody gives one of the other expressions.

+Donald E. Cherry Thank you. Lots to think about and try to implement. I recognize the importance of equivalent expressions during SW. I appreciate your help. Every day is a new adventure in class using this excellent approach.

Have a nice time!

Hi Nick. Are you talking about the sound/color chart or the word charts? Or both? I think one way to approach this is to begin with just a hand-drawn chart of the words you anticipate using in a given lesson. Just black marker on white sheet/whiteboard, or chalk on blackboard. Just get used to pointing and using the words up there to free you from modelling or interrupting the students' work. Even without the color, you can do fun things--tapping fast or dragging the pointer to show liaison, etc. And, again, it frees you from modelling or orally correcting students, which so often interrupts the class. Eventually, you might begin to use the colored word charts. This will introduce color and discreet sounds into the lesson. And even without the sound/color chart, you can draw attention to those discreet sounds by virtue of the different colors among the words. For example, just pointing at the two versions of "the" on chart 1 alerts students to something, pricks their ears up, gets them wondering. Then drawing similarities among sounds and having students see how the colors reflect that. Helps to do some tapping on the charts prior to the class, anticipating some of the words that will come up. Then, if you're feeling really ambitious, whip out the sound/color chart. That's a bit trickier. I have stopped using it with my university classes because they only meet 30 times in an entire year, as well as some other reasons that would bore you. I do use the sound/color chart with those intensive courses I do in Tokyo and Kyoto, which is what you are seeing in the videos I've posted. I have developed a simpler sound/color chart for use with my university classes. It incorporates some Japanese characters. You can see it on my homepage at donaldcherry.com/silentway/. And like I say, you can do a lot with just the word charts to work on pronunciation. But remember, all this stuff I just wrote is just based on my personal journey. Feel free to ignore it. Even laugh at it. Print it out and have parties where people drink and throw darts at it. Pour gasoline over . . . well, you get the idea. If it helps, great. If not, forget it.

Nick, one more thing. About the sound/color chart, the best advice I can give about that particular chart is to be careful not to turn it into a memory game. You know, making them remember a pile of colors and the sounds each represents. That is no fun, and in the end unproductive. It is a SOUND game. Work with a small number of sounds, and really WORK those sounds. All kinds of combinations. It is a SOUND game, and the students have to work on working their vocal tracts to get at those sounds. It is a PHYSICAL thing, not a mental/memorization thing. And don’t spend a lot of time teaching them sounds they already have. You may begin with a sound or two or three that is in their language (make use of what the students bring to class), but then go into a challenge. Then stay within a limited number of rectangles and really work it. And have a good time. That’s important.

Thank you, Najla. Glad to hear they have helped.